90 books like Anglo Republic

By Simon Carswell,

Here are 90 books that Anglo Republic fans have personally recommended if you like Anglo Republic. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, the Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals

Patrick Honohan Author Of Currency, Credit and Crisis: Central Banking in Ireland and Europe

From my list on big financial scams.

Why am I passionate about this?

There’s something clinical and yet human about big financial crises, especially those that involve some kind of trickery or fraud. I’ve always been fascinated by this dark side of the world of money, and have been fortunate enough in my career to have had ring-side seats at a few such events in rich and poor countries. Fraud is not at the heart of the “social contrivance of money” but the monetary system is built on an edifice of trust that can all too easily be abused by scammers. From these episodes, we can learn a lot about people, credit, and society’s ways of protecting itself.

Patrick's book list on big financial scams

Patrick Honohan Why did Patrick love this book?

From my reading of Frank Partnoy’s book, I get the impression that Swedish celebrity financier Ivar Kreuger did really start out as a skillful and legitimate businessman, negotiating exclusive rights to sell matches in a range of central and Eastern European countries in the 1920s and early 1930s.

But, as so often happens, when business became more difficult in the 1930s, his elaborate financial activities gradually morphed into recklessness and fraud.

By Frank Partnoy,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

At the height of the roaring '20s, Swedish emigre Ivar Kreuger made a fortune raising money in America and loaning it to Europe in exchange for matchstick monopolies. His enterprise was a rare success story throughout the Great Depression. Yet after his suicide in 1932, it became clear that Kreuger was not all he seemed: evidence surfaced of fudged accounting figures, off-balance-sheet accounting, even forgery. He created a raft of innovative financial products, many of them precursors to instruments wreaking havoc in today's markets. In this gripping financial biography, Frank Partnoy recasts the life story of a remarkable yet forgotten…


Book cover of The Man Who Stole Portugal

Patrick Honohan Author Of Currency, Credit and Crisis: Central Banking in Ireland and Europe

From my list on big financial scams.

Why am I passionate about this?

There’s something clinical and yet human about big financial crises, especially those that involve some kind of trickery or fraud. I’ve always been fascinated by this dark side of the world of money, and have been fortunate enough in my career to have had ring-side seats at a few such events in rich and poor countries. Fraud is not at the heart of the “social contrivance of money” but the monetary system is built on an edifice of trust that can all too easily be abused by scammers. From these episodes, we can learn a lot about people, credit, and society’s ways of protecting itself.

Patrick's book list on big financial scams

Patrick Honohan Why did Patrick love this book?

I found this book to be not only an astonishing story of outright fraud and theft, but one which raises unexpected questions about the nature and function of money.

A confidence trickster managed to persuade the eminent banknote printing company Waterlow to reprint and give him a large stock of Bank of Portugal escudo banknotes, which he proceeded to spend.

Learning how the scam was uncovered is fascinating in itself, but even more intriguing is the question of who lost from this scam, and by how much. 

By Murray Teigh Bloom,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Man Who Stole Portugal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Details the story of Artur Virgilio Alves Reis, who developed an ingenious scheme to legally counterfeit Portugal's currency


Book cover of John Law: Economic Theorist and Policy-Maker

Patrick Honohan Author Of Currency, Credit and Crisis: Central Banking in Ireland and Europe

From my list on big financial scams.

Why am I passionate about this?

There’s something clinical and yet human about big financial crises, especially those that involve some kind of trickery or fraud. I’ve always been fascinated by this dark side of the world of money, and have been fortunate enough in my career to have had ring-side seats at a few such events in rich and poor countries. Fraud is not at the heart of the “social contrivance of money” but the monetary system is built on an edifice of trust that can all too easily be abused by scammers. From these episodes, we can learn a lot about people, credit, and society’s ways of protecting itself.

Patrick's book list on big financial scams

Patrick Honohan Why did Patrick love this book?

I have always wondered whether John Law, the creator of the ill-fated Mississippi System that brought the financial system of France to its knees in 1720, a genius who understood money better than anyone before him, or a deluded fantasist who had learnt just enough to create a monetary weapon of mass destruction?

In his careful and well-researched account, Antoin Murphy leans towards the first interpretation, but he offers enough information to allow the reader to form their own conclusions.

By Antoin E. Murphy,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

John Law (1671-1729) left a remarkable legacy of economic concepts from a time when economic conceptualization was very much at an embryonic stage. Yet he is best known-and generally dismissed-today as a rake, duellist, and gambler. This intellectual biography offers a new approach to Law, one that shows him to have been a significant economic theorist with a vision that he attempted to implement as policy in early-eighteenth-century Europe.

Law's style, marked by a clarity and use of modern terminology, stands out starkly against the turgid prose of many of his contemporaries. His vision of a monetary and financial system…


Book cover of Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of Our World

David Gerard Author Of Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Ethereum & Smart Contracts

From my list on cryptocurrency and finance crimes.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started writing about bitcoin and cryptocurrency for the funny dumb crook stories. It was ridiculous and arrogant in a particular way that needed and needs puncturing. Somehow this turned into a second job as a finance journalist specialising in the area. The crypto promoters are reprehensible, but their self-sabotaging foolishness makes their comeuppance extremely satisfying. I feel I’m making the world a better place with this.

David's book list on cryptocurrency and finance crimes

David Gerard Why did David love this book?

Davies’ Lying For Money lays out a taxonomy of fraud, illustrated with amazing stories of real-life frauds.

Per Davies: “A long firm makes you question whether you can trust anyone. A counterfeit makes you question the evidence of your eyes. A control fraud makes you question your trust in the institutions of society and a market crime makes you question society itself.”

Davies’ key trick to spotting a fraud: look at something that’s growing unusually quickly, and examine it in some way it hasn’t been examined before.

Only the second chapter is about cryptocurrency specifically, but understanding how frauds think is fabulously useful in understanding how crypto works. Not even crypto’s frauds are new.

Davies used different stories in the UK and US editions of the book – so get both.

By Dan Davies,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Lying for Money as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Financial crime seems horribly complicated but there are only so many ways you can con someone out of what's theirs. In fact, there are four. A veteran regulatory economist and market analyst, Dan Davies has years of experience picking the bones out of some of the most famous frauds of the modern age. Now he reveals the big picture that emerges from their labyrinths of deceit.

Along the way you'll find out how to fake a gold mine with a wedding ring, a file and a shotgun. You'll see how close Charles Ponzi, the king of pyramid schemes, came to…


Book cover of Tower of Basel: The Shadowy History of the Secret Bank that Runs the World

Mel Mattison Author Of Quoz: A Financial Thriller

From my list on exploring the dark side of finance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a huge thriller fan, and I love finance. In fact, I worked in the industry for over twenty years. I have an MBA from Duke and have been the CEO of three different SEC/FINRA-registered broker-dealers. Unfortunately, I’ve found myself deep into a thriller with a financial component that turns out to be implausible, overly simplistic, or both. It breaks the narrative for me. With these books, that’s not a concern. Financial thriller aficionados unite!

Mel's book list on exploring the dark side of finance

Mel Mattison Why did Mel love this book?

As a finance guy, I had always heard of the BIS or Bank for International Settlements, but I had no idea what it did, how it worked, or its history.

Adam LeBor expertly explains in the Tower of Basel not only what and who the BIS is, but how they have manipulated and influenced the global economy for generations. Despite the bank's strong connections to the Third Reich during the 1930s, the BIS continues to dominate global finance today as the central bank for central banks.

Every two months, leaders from the most powerful central banks in the world including the Federal Reserve meet in Basil to chart a course for the world economy under a cloak of secrecy. Tower of Basel rips the veil from this clandestine organization and exposes dark forces few are aware of.

By Adam Lebor,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Tower of Basel is the first investigative history of the world's most secretive global financial institution. Based on extensive archival research in Switzerland, Britain, and the United States, and in-depth interviews with key decision-makers,including Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve Sir Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England and former senior Bank for International Settlements managers and officials,Tower of Basel tells the inside story of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS): the central bankers' own bank.Created by the governors of the Bank of England and the Reichsbank in 1930, and protected by an international treaty,…


Book cover of The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co.

Philip Augar Author Of The Bank That Lived a Little: Barclays in the Age of the Very Free Market

From my list on financial history.

Why am I passionate about this?

By the late nineties, I had lost faith in the industry where I had made a living for twenty years. Deregulation on Wall St and in the City had left investment banking with a business model riddled with conflict of interest. The rewards spiralled out of control and the businesses became too complicated for the regulators to supervise. I have a doctorate in history and had been a top-ranked investment analyst in several sectors. I took an idea to Penguin and my first book, The Death of Gentlemanly Capitalism, was published in 2001. I've since written six more, and contributed regularly to the Financial Times and BBC.      

Philip's book list on financial history

Philip Augar Why did Philip love this book?

Discrete, mysterious, and powerful, Wall St’s great financial institutions shaped corporate America in the 20th century and none more so than Lazard Freres. But towards the end of the century, as competitors scaled up, Lazard was distracted by a power struggle involving hard-charging Wall St bankers and an inscrutable French billionaire. Who really played the winning hand? This book reveals all!

By William D. Cohan,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A grand and revelatory portrait of Wall Street’s most storied investment bank

Wall Street investment banks move trillions of dollars a year, make billions in fees, pay their executives in the tens of millions of dollars. But even among the most powerful firms, Lazard Frères & Co. stood apart. Discretion, secrecy, and subtle strategy were its weapons of choice. For more than a century, the mystique and reputation of the "Great Men" who worked there allowed the firm to garner unimaginable profits, social cachet, and outsized influence in the halls of power. But in the mid-1980s, their titanic egos started…


Book cover of Financial Risk Management: Applications in Market, Credit, Asset and Liability Management and Firmwide Risk

Alain Ruttiens Author Of Mathematics of the Financial Markets: Financial Instruments and Derivatives Modelling, Valuation and Risk Issues

From my list on quantitative finance applied to financial markets.

Why am I passionate about this?

Having a master's degree in chemical engineering, I wasn't destined to work in the area of quantitative finance… the reason why I professionally moved to this discipline aren't worth exposing, but as a matter of fact, I've been quickly fascinated by this science, and encountered some of my favorites, such as maths and statistics, as used in the traditional activity of an engineer. And I had many opportunities of combining the knowledge and practice of financial markets with pragmatism, typically of the engineer’s education, i.e. oriented toward problem solving. In addition, I've always loved teaching, and writing books on financial markets & instruments, hence the importance I'm giving to pedagogy in professional books.

Alain's book list on quantitative finance applied to financial markets

Alain Ruttiens Why did Alain love this book?

For financial market practitioners, it would be unwise not to deeply care about the various financial risks associated with their uses.

This book thoroughly covers the whole set of such financial risks, i.e. market risk, credit/counterparty risk, liquidity risk (both on the asset and liability sides), broadening the subject up to the firmwide level risk. It goes both into theoretical and practical considerations (risk management of a portfolio of financial instruments), illustrated by useful examples, with a great pedagogical sense. 

By Jimmy Skoglund, Wei Chen,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A global banking risk management guide geared toward the practitioner

Financial Risk Management presents an in-depth look at banking risk on a global scale, including comprehensive examination of the U.S. Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review, and the European Banking Authority stress tests. Written by the leaders of global banking risk products and management at SAS, this book provides the most up-to-date information and expert insight into real risk management. The discussion begins with an overview of methods for computing and managing a variety of risk, then moves into a review of the economic foundation of modern risk management and the…


Book cover of The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade That Transformed Wall Street

Claire A. Hill Author Of Better Bankers, Better Banks: Promoting Good Business through Contractual Commitment

From my list on bankers, especially bankers behaving badly.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been interested—a vast understatement to anyone who knows me—in what makes people tick. I’ve focused on analyzing business actors – bankers, lawyers, investors, executives, shareholders, and others. What do they want? Some combination of money, power, or prestige? How does loving to win fit in? How about hating to lose? When is enough (money/power/prestige) enough? What do they think is ok to do to get what they want? What do they think is not ok? Amazingly, as a law professor, I can pursue that interest as part of my job, and – I think and hope – do so in a way that might help lawmakers, regulators, and policymakers do better.

Claire's book list on bankers, especially bankers behaving badly

Claire A. Hill Why did Claire love this book?

This book is a wry look at investment banking from the inside. The author, a banker and professor school professor, provides a rich and entertaining perspective on banks and bankers.  

The book captures an era when banks were changing dramatically, and, some might say, were getting less genteel. The author is really gifted at conjuring up and caricaturing some of banking’s pathologies.

I particularly loved the culminatory line in an account of junior analysts’ jobs in preparing “pitch books” – the analysts had to tout the bank’s “number one” status, and, scrambling to find something the bank was number one in, might fantasize about saying “We have 100% market share of all deals we did.”  

By Jonathan A. Knee,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Jonathan A. Knee had a ringside seat during the go-go, boom-and-bust decade and into the 21st century, at the two most prestigious investment banks on Wall Street-Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. In this candid and irreverent insider's account of an industry in free fall, Knee captures an exhilarating era of fabulous deal-making in a free-wheeling Internet economy-and the catastrophe that followed when the bubble burst. Populated with power players, back stabbers, celebrity bankers, and godzillionaires, here is a vivid account of the dramatic upheaval that took place in investment banking. Indeed, Knee entered an industry that was typified by the…


Book cover of If God was a Banker

Anurag Anand Author Of To Hell and Back: Not all Tragedies are Orchestrated by Fate

From my list on Indian crime fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

Anurag Anand is a keen observer of humankind. He believes that the diversity of human emotions, motivations, and actions offer him a rich palette of tones to paint his stories with. He is the author of thirteen books across genres like self-help, historical fiction, crime thrillers, and contemporary fiction. Anurag’s works have been lauded for their realism, simplicity, and sharp characterization by readers across the spectrum. Of course, he is an avid reader and likes to remain abreast with the developments in the Indian writing space. He is a familiar face (and voice) in literature festivals, television debates and other related forums across the country.  

Anurag's book list on Indian crime fiction

Anurag Anand Why did Anurag love this book?

If God was a Banker is Ravi Subramanian’s debut book and my personal favorite among all his works. The story centers around a multinational bank in India and an array of exciting characters that make up its management cadre. A heady mix of aspirations, passions, jealousy, and alliances result in the characters pushing boundaries of convention and sometimes even legality. The twists and turns that consequently emerge make the book a gripping page-turner.

By Ravi Subramanian,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked If God was a Banker as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In If God Was A Banker, the story revolves around two management graduates in the rat race for success. Sundeep is ambitious and selfish, which leads him to achieve his goals through unscrupulous means. Swami is the exact opposite as he sticks to his morals and ethics to ensure success in his career. Swami's ideal and ethics keeps him behind Sundeep in terms of performance at the New York International Bank where they both work. Sundeep's rapid rise up the corporate ladder and his popularity with colleagues disguises his real motives and cunning mind. The story also has a main…


Book cover of Bankers and Empire: How Wall Street Colonized the Caribbean

Marc-William Palen Author Of The 'Conspiracy' of Free Trade: The Anglo-American Struggle over Empire and Economic Globalisation, 1846-1896

From my list on late-19th-century American capitalism and empire.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a historian based in England, raised in Texas. While undertaking a summertime spoken Latin course at the Vatican in 2001 I found myself in the midst of Italian protests against that year’s G8 summit in Genoa. The strength of the anti-globalization movement, and the violent response from the Carabinieri, sparked an early interest in the historical controversies surrounding globalization and US foreign policy. Ten years later, I had a PhD in History from the University of Texas at Austin and the first draft of what would become my book, The “Conspiracy” of Free Trade

Marc-William's book list on late-19th-century American capitalism and empire

Marc-William Palen Why did Marc-William love this book?

Recovering histories nearly erased from the archival record is no easy task.

Hudson takes this daunting challenge on here as he traces the hidden ties binding the Gilded Age’s exploitative racial capitalist system with Wall Street’s subsequent imperial practices in the Caribbean. It’s a sordid tale that still resonates today; some of these same financial colonizers of the Caribbean still exist in the guise of Citigroup and Chase. 

By Peter James Hudson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From the end of the nineteenth century until the onset of the Great Depression, Wall Street embarked on a stunning, unprecedented, and often bloody period of international expansion in the Caribbean. A host of financial entities sought to control banking, trade, and finance in the region. In the process, they not only trampled local sovereignty, grappled with domestic banking regulation, and backed US imperialism-but they also set the model for bad behavior by banks, visible still today. In Bankers and Empire, Peter James Hudson tells the provocative story of this period, taking a close look at both the institutions and…


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