10 books like A Piece of the Action

By Joe Nocera,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like A Piece of the Action. Shepherd is a community of 7,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Where Are the Customers' Yachts? Or a Good Hard Look at Wall Street

Matthew P. Fink Author Of The Unlikely Reformer: Carter Glass and Financial Regulation

From the list on American financial history.

Who am I?

I was always interested in American history and studied at Brown University under an outstanding professor of American economic history, James Blaine Hedges.   During my career at the mutual fund association I often approached issues from an historical perspective. For example:  Why did Congress draft legislation in a particular way?  How would past events likely affect a regulator’s decisions today?  As a lawyer I had been trained to write carefully and precisely.  As a lobbyist I learned the need to pre

Matthew's book list on American financial history

Discover why each book is one of Matthew's favorite books on American financial history .

Why this book?

Although this book was written over 80 years ago it remains the most humorous and educational book ever written about securities investing. While its focus is on the 1920s, it is dead on point today. Only the names have changed. I’ve read this book a number of times. On each occasion, I laugh a lot and learn a lot.

Where Are the Customers' Yachts? Or a Good Hard Look at Wall Street

By Fred Schwed,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Where Are the Customers' Yachts? Or a Good Hard Look at Wall Street as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Once I picked it up I did not put it down until I finished...What Schwed has done is capture fully-in deceptively clean language - the lunacy at the heart of the investment business' - From the Foreword by Michael Lewis, Bestselling author of "Liar's Poker". '...one of the funniest books ever written about Wall Street' - Jane Bryant Quinn, "The Washington Post". 'How great to have a reissue of a hilarious classic that proves the more things change the more they stay the same. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent' - Michael Bloomberg. 'It's amazing how…


The Great Crash 1929

By John Kenneth Galbraith,

Book cover of The Great Crash 1929

Matthew P. Fink Author Of The Unlikely Reformer: Carter Glass and Financial Regulation

From the list on American financial history.

Who am I?

I was always interested in American history and studied at Brown University under an outstanding professor of American economic history, James Blaine Hedges.   During my career at the mutual fund association I often approached issues from an historical perspective. For example:  Why did Congress draft legislation in a particular way?  How would past events likely affect a regulator’s decisions today?  As a lawyer I had been trained to write carefully and precisely.  As a lobbyist I learned the need to pre

Matthew's book list on American financial history

Discover why each book is one of Matthew's favorite books on American financial history .

Why this book?

The book does an outstanding job in describing the people and events that produced the October 1929 stock market crash in a highly entertaining style. Galbraith wrote more like a witty and insightful journalist than the award-winning economist that he was. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about American financial history. The book is a model for writers who want to educate non-experts about public policy issues.

The Great Crash 1929

By John Kenneth Galbraith,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Great Crash 1929 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'One of the most engrossing books I have ever read' Daily Telegraph

John Kenneth Galbraith's now-classic account of the 1929 stock market collapse remains the definitive book on the most disastrous cycle of boom and bust in modern times.

Vividly depicting the causes, effects, aftermath and long-term consequences of financial meltdown, Galbraith also describes the people and the corporations who were affected by the catastrophe. With its depiction of the 'gold-rush fantasy' ingrained in America's psychology, The Great Crash 1929 remains a penetrating study of human greed and folly.


The Lords of Creation

By Frederick Lewis Allen, Mark Crispin Miller (editor),

Book cover of The Lords of Creation: The History of America's 1 Percent

Matthew P. Fink Author Of The Unlikely Reformer: Carter Glass and Financial Regulation

From the list on American financial history.

Who am I?

I was always interested in American history and studied at Brown University under an outstanding professor of American economic history, James Blaine Hedges.   During my career at the mutual fund association I often approached issues from an historical perspective. For example:  Why did Congress draft legislation in a particular way?  How would past events likely affect a regulator’s decisions today?  As a lawyer I had been trained to write carefully and precisely.  As a lobbyist I learned the need to pre

Matthew's book list on American financial history

Discover why each book is one of Matthew's favorite books on American financial history .

Why this book?

Allen reaches back to the post-Civil War Gilded Age to explain the beginnings of massive finance capitalism in the United States. He then goes on to take readers through the roaring 20s, the 1929 Crash, and the New Deal’s first steps at reform, The author is an entertaining writer and fun to read. He tells fascinating stories and does not bore the reader with technical explanations and statistics.

The Lords of Creation

By Frederick Lewis Allen, Mark Crispin Miller (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Lords of Creation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A "stimulating" account of the capitalists who changed America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, setting the stage for the 1929 crash and Great Depression (Kirkus Reviews).

In the decades following the Civil War, America entered an era of unprecedented corporate expansion, with ultimate financial power in the hands of a few wealthy industrialists who exploited the system for everything it was worth. The Rockefellers, Fords, Morgans, and Vanderbilts were the "lords of creation" who, along with like-minded magnates, controlled the economic destiny of the country, unrestrained by regulations or moral imperatives. Through a combination of foresight, ingenuity,…


Book cover of The Hellhound of Wall Street: How Ferdinand Pecora's Investigation of the Great Crash Forever Changed American Finance

Matthew P. Fink Author Of The Unlikely Reformer: Carter Glass and Financial Regulation

From the list on American financial history.

Who am I?

I was always interested in American history and studied at Brown University under an outstanding professor of American economic history, James Blaine Hedges.   During my career at the mutual fund association I often approached issues from an historical perspective. For example:  Why did Congress draft legislation in a particular way?  How would past events likely affect a regulator’s decisions today?  As a lawyer I had been trained to write carefully and precisely.  As a lobbyist I learned the need to pre

Matthew's book list on American financial history

Discover why each book is one of Matthew's favorite books on American financial history .

Why this book?

Professor Perino’s book explains how Ferdinand Pecora, counsel to the Senate Banking Committee, ran the explosive hearings that virtually guaranteed Glass-Steagall’s enactment. I particularly enjoyed reading about Pecora because he and the subject of my book, Carter Glass, were allies in the battle for financial reform. While Perino is a distinguished professor of law, he writes in a non-legalistic and gripping style.

The Hellhound of Wall Street

By Michael Perino,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Hellhound of Wall Street as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A gripping account of the underdog Senate lawyer who unmasked the financial wrongdoing that led to the Crash of 1929 and forever changed the relationship between Washington and Wall Street.

In The Hellhound of Wall Street, Michael Perino recounts in riveting detail the 1933 hearings that put Wall Street on trial for the Great Crash. Never before in American history had so many financial titans been called to account before the public, and they had come within a few weeks of emerging unscathed. By the time Ferdinand Pecora, a Sicilian immigrant and former New York prosecutor, took over as chief…


Jesse

By Gary Soto,

Book cover of Jesse

Lisa Rowe Fraustino Author Of I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony 1691 (Dear America Series)

From the list on historical fiction for tweens and teens.

Who am I?

As an avid young White female reader of everything from cereal boxes to any book I could get my hands on, historical fiction was my favorite genre from an early age. I still love experiencing a different time and place vicariously through the eyes of protagonists different from myself. Both an author and a scholar, I’ve taught children’s and young adult literature for three decades and currently direct the Graduate Programs in Children’s Literature at Hollins University. My once contemporary PhD dissertation, Ash: A Novel (Orchard Books, 1995), has become historical fiction of sorts, due to the passage of time.

Lisa's book list on historical fiction for tweens and teens

Discover why each book is one of Lisa's favorite books on historical fiction for tweens and teens .

Why this book?

In 2014, I was on the Phoenix Award Committee of the Children’s Literature Association, given to a book published twenty years prior that didn’t get a major award when it first came out. We decided to give the Phoenix to Jesse, published in 1994 by Gary Soto, about a seventeen-year-old who works in the fields with his brother while putting himself through junior college. I love the book for all the reasons in the committee’s description: "Jesse is both a coming-of-age story of one Mexican-American boy with a poetic sensibility and the story of a community and a country at a difficult time—facing poverty and prejudice and war, problems we are still facing today. Jesse offers an unembellished slice of life in Vietnam-era Fresno, California.” 

Jesse

By Gary Soto,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Jesse as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this new edition of his first young adult novel, Gary Soto paints a moving portrait of seventeen-year-old Jesse, who has left his parents' home to live with his older brother. These Mexican American brothers hope junior college will help them escape their heritage of tedious physical labor. Their struggles are humorous, true to life, and deeply affecting. Young adults will sympathize with the brothers as they come to terms with what is possible for each of them in an imperfect world.
    
Includes a reader's guide.


Coffee Can Investing

By Saurabh Mukherjea,

Book cover of Coffee Can Investing: The Low Risk Road to Stupendous Wealth

Prasenjit Paul Author Of How to Avoid Loss and Earn Consistently in the Stock Market: An easy-to-understand and practical guide for every investor

From the list on Indian Stock Market.

Who am I?

I am SEBI registered equity analyst, bestselling author & public speaker. I have started investing in the Indian stock market at the age of 18 and have a history of identifying several multi-bagger stocks like Chemcrux Enterprises, Lancer Container, Sirca Paints, Caplin Point Lab, Can Fin Homes, Mayur Uniquoters, etc. My portfolio consistently outperformed the index by a significant margin. For more details visit my website.

Prasenjit's book list on Indian Stock Market

Discover why each book is one of Prasenjit's favorite books on Indian Stock Market .

Why this book?

The book offers a low-risk, long-term investment approach by investing in high-quality stocks. There are lots of examples from the Indian stock market backed by data and charts supporting the method. Not for traders, the book will help serious long-term investors seeking wealth creation over the long run.

Coffee Can Investing

By Saurabh Mukherjea,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Coffee Can Investing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Most people invest in the usual assets: real estate, gold, mutual funds, fixed deposits and stock markets. It's always the same four or five instruments. All they end up making is a measly 8 to 12 per cent per annum. Those who are exceptionally unfortunate get stuck in the middle of a crash and end up losing a lot of money. What if there was another way? What if you could make not 10 not 15 but 20 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) on your investments? What if there was a way to grow your money four to…


Book cover of How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling

Dave Kurlan Author Of Baseline Selling: How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball

From the list on to become a sales superstar.

Who am I?

I've been selling professionally since 1973, and in the sales training and development business for more than 36 years. I founded Objective Management Group, the world’s leading provider of sales force evaluations and sales candidate assessments, and we have data on 2.2 million salespeople. OMG measures 21 Sales Core Competencies, so that’s around 250 findings on 2.2 million salespeople or close to 500 million data points! I've personally trained and coached tens of thousands of salespeople, sales managers, and sales leaders and I have published nearly 2,000 articles on my multi-award-winning blog, Understanding the Sales Force. I was installed in the Sales & Marketing Hall of Fame in 2013. 

Dave's book list on to become a sales superstar

Discover why each book is one of Dave's favorite books on to become a sales superstar .

Why this book?

Frank Betger was a sales guru before there were sales gurus! Most of his insights, despite being sixty years old, are still spot on and he influenced my sales consulting and writing career of thirty-five years and counting. Frank was a professional baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals prior to becoming a sales guru and everyone will relate to his story of failure and how he made himself successful.

How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling

By Frank Bettger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What are the selling secrets that raised Frank Bettger from initial failure to unparalleled success, and fame, as one of the highest paid salesmen in America? Encouraged to tell his story by admiring colleague Dale Carnegie, Bettger reveals his proven success formula so that you too can work magic with sales - and multiply your income and happiness a thousandfold! Inside you will find instructive examples and step-by-step guidelines on how to develop the style, spirit, and techniques of a first-rate salesperson. No matter what you sell, your on-the-job performance and profits will increase dramatically when you apply Bettger's keen…


Confessions of a Shopaholic

By Sophie Kinsella,

Book cover of Confessions of a Shopaholic

Stacy Juba Author Of Fooling Around With Cinderella

From the list on chick lit to bring a smile to your face.

Who am I?

I’m the author of the Storybook Valley chick-lit series, which includes Fooling Around With Cinderella and Prancing Around With Sleeping Beauty. I love reading and writing lighthearted novels about young women finding their Prince Charming—and also themselves. Setting is also important to me as a writer. To create my Storybook Valley novels I spied on Cinderellas at amusement parks and discreetly watched employees head off into off-limits areas. I watched hours of YouTube interviews with former Disney World princesses, behind-the-scenes videos with other amusement park employees, and listened to podcast interviews with managers of theme parks. All the novels I chose had well-developed settings that were an integral part of the book.  

Stacy's book list on chick lit to bring a smile to your face

Discover why each book is one of Stacy's favorite books on chick lit to bring a smile to your face .

Why this book?

I loved the plucky, flawed, and funny protagonist, Becky Bloomwood. She had an engaging voice and got herself into hilarious situations. This was one of the rare books that made me laugh out loud and it was what sparked my interest in writing a humorous chick-lit novel of my own. I also enjoyed the other books in the series, which follow Becky as she becomes a wife and eventually a mother. The series was a great example of an author creating character arcs for both the protagonist and supporting characters that evolve throughout different stages of their lives. 

Confessions of a Shopaholic

By Sophie Kinsella,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Confessions of a Shopaholic as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet Rebecca Bloomwood. She has a great flat, a fabulous wardrobe full of the season's must-haves, and a job telling other people how to manage their money. She spends her leisure time ... shopping.

Retail therapy is the answer to all her problems. She knows she should stop, but she can't. She tries Cutting Back, she tries Making More Money. But neither seems to work. The letters from the bank are getting harder to ignore. Can Becky ever escape from this dreamworld, find true love, and regain the use of her credit card?


Beat the Fraudster

By Doug McAdam,

Book cover of Beat the Fraudster: How to Easily Protect Yourself Online and Offline

Paul Lewis Author Of Money Box: Your Toolkit for Balancing Your Budget, Growing Your Bank Balance and Living a Better Financial Life

From the list on money and your life.

Who am I?

I realised in my twenties that there were millions of people who desperately needed advice about their money but could not afford an accountant or an adviser. Since then my passion has been to simplify the deliberately complex financial world, explain the obscure and often unintelligible rules about tax, childcare, benefits, investment, savings, and borrowing. Recently as the tsunami of fraud has swept across the UK I have devoted more time to help people avoid losing money to scammers – both criminal and respectable. Most people can’t afford professional advice, but they can afford me – I’m freely available in print, on air, and online. 

Paul's book list on money and your life

Discover why each book is one of Paul's favorite books on money and your life .

Why this book?

Fraud is now 40% of all crime. It is the crime we are most likely to come across. Yet the authorities seem powerless to stop it. This book explains how frauds work and, armed with that knowledge, how to prevent them happening to you. Doug has years of experience and understands the world of fraud as well as any fraudster. Read it and keep safe. 

Beat the Fraudster

By Doug McAdam,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Beat the Fraudster as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Email protection, PayPal security, web browser attacks... how to prevent cybercrime and protect your digital self from being a target of scammers.

Not all frauds require your participation. Whilst scams require you to fall for their ruse, other frauds occur in the background completely without your knowledge or consent, such as identity theft.

Whilst millennials and the elderly are statistically at a higher risk, due to lack of life experience or technological advancements, fraudsters often actively target business owners aged between 30-60 as they often have better credit ratings. Even high-ranking police officers and fraud specialists have fallen victim. Anyone…


Single White Female

By John Lutz,

Book cover of Single White Female

Julia Stone Author Of The Accident

From the list on a character pretending to be someone they’re not.

Who am I?

I’m a psychologist by profession and I’m fascinated by the way personalities develop and change with life events. In novels, I’m drawn towards wounded characters who are searching for something to make them feel whole. Common issues I see in my psychotherapy work include imposter syndrome, low self-esteem, feelings of not being good enough. Many people try to hide their vulnerability behind a mask, faking confidence or bravado, or pretending to be something they’re not. But these fictional characters take it up a level, one small step at a time, until the lies build and they end up in a web of deceit with no way out.

Julia's book list on a character pretending to be someone they’re not

Discover why each book is one of Julia's favorite books on a character pretending to be someone they’re not .

Why this book?

Published in 1990, this book reflects the era in which it was written and may be slightly over-written for modern tastes. The short chapters draw you through the story as we see inside the heads of different characters, so the reader is often one step ahead of Allie, the protagonist. As Allie’s subdued flatmate starts to idolise her, I was keen to discover whether easy-going Allie would realise something was wrong. When their roles start to change halfway through the novel, it seemed things could only go one way and I started turning the pages faster. This is an interesting early example of the genre and I can see why it was made into a film.

Single White Female

By John Lutz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Single White Female as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Imitation is the deadliest form of flattery. . .

After a messy break-up, Allie Jones finds herself living alone in her New York City apartment, no one to share her bed with--and more urgently, no one to share her rent. The solution seems clear: she needs a roommate. And Hedra Carlson seems perfect--she's shy, quiet. . .safe. But soon Hedra's disturbing envy of Allie's looks and social life becomes unsettling. She wears Allie's clothes, even buys a wig in Allie's color and style. Then the obscene phone calls begin, Allie's credit cards vanish, and she discovers Hedra is living a…


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