Here are 42 books that Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds fans have personally recommended if you like
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.
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I’ve been fascinated by thrillers since I was first allowed to read them. My childhood bookcase was full of Hammond Innes, Alistair MacLean, and every Nevil Shute novel. Later, these were joined by many others, not least John Le Carré. Banking gave me an insight into the murky world of money, bringing with it real-life stories as compelling as those I love reading about. My obsession with the genre is not only with elegant, complex plots but also with what motivates the characters to take the extraordinary risks they do in such challenging environments. The five thrillers I’ve chosen are my absolute favorites. I hope you enjoy them.
Although this book is semi-autobiographical, it is still one of the best financial thrillers for me. I love the build-up of the characters working in the toxic mortgage and junk bond markets of the late 1980s.
I love, too, the way it depicts the moral bankruptcy of the major investment banks and exposes the culture of greed that ultimately led to the financial crash of the late ‘80s, which was to be replicated again many years later.
Michael Lewis was fresh out of Princeton and the London School of Economics when he landed a job at Salomon Brothers, one of Wall Street's premier investment firms. During the next three years, Lewis rose from callow trainee to bond salesman, raking in millions for the firm and cashing in on a modern-day gold rush. Liar's Poker is the culmination of those heady, frenzied years-a behind-the-scenes look at a unique and turbulent time in American business. From the frat-boy camaraderie of the forty-first-floor trading room to the killer instinct that made ambitious young men gamble everything on a high-stakes game…
When I was growing up, I saw family members and friends, who were otherwise smart people who could master other aspects of their lives, have difficulty with personal finance decisions and investing. When my dad was laid off during a recession, he had some retirement money distributed to him, and I got interested in investing as he researched and tried with difficulty to handle this money himself. In my young adult years, I was a sponge to learn as much as I could about personal finance.
I first read this book as required reading for a college course, and it greatly changed how I thought about investing.
Over the years, I’ve read updated editions, and it never gets stale and always includes new information and insights. But the foundational issues have stood the test of time and remain in the newest edition.
I also love this book because it introduced me at a young age to mutual funds and Vanguard.
Today's stock market is not for the faint hearted. At a time of frightening volatility, the answer is to turn to Burton G. Malkiel's advice in his reassuring, authoritative, gimmick-free and perennially best-selling guide to investing. Long established as the first book to purchase before starting a portfolio, A Random Walk Down Wall Street now features new material on "tax-loss harvesting"; the current bitcoin bubble and automated investment advisers; as well as a brand-new chapter on factor investing and risk parity. And as always, Malkiel's core insights-on stocks and bonds, as well as investment trusts, home ownership and tangible assets…
Well, all my life, I have been passionately involved in Marketing. I was an intrapreneur in the organisation, challenging the system and trying to build brands for the future. I always took an extremely long-term view, and when I was fired for launching Chivas Regal 18, which is now No. 1 in the world in its category, I became an entrepreneur. I backed start-ups, including my own company. The most successful brand I was ever involved with was called Mimecast, which is an anti-virus company, that sold not too long ago for $5.6 billion.
I am a firm believer that you never stop learning, and you learn from everybody.
I was very impressed by Nike. As a young athlete in the 60s, I sometimes had to run barefoot because I could not afford shoes, and I was a keen athlete. Phil Knight’s remarkable book was first published in 2016. I thought it was fascinating because he talked all about the tenacity, determination and commitment and the fact that you have to stand up to people because 99% of people will tell you you will never get there. He got there brilliantly, and, of course, Nike is a phenomenal success.
I was inspired by Phil Knight’s vision, courage, tenacity, and determination to overcome many enormous obstacles to build a great global brand. I sincerely believe this book will be very helpful to any entrepreneur.
'A refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like ... It's an amazing tale' Bill Gates
'The best book I read last year was Shoe Dog, by Nike's Phil Knight. Phil is a very wise, intelligent and competitive fellow who is also a gifted storyteller' Warren Buffett
In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the boot of his Plymouth, Knight grossed $8000 in his first year. Today, Nike's annual…
My passion for developing entrepreneurial and business instinct is simple. It is all based on confidence. Over time, my experiences have shown me that many leaders (myself included) can end up in “decision paralysis” and default to taking no action at all. Leaders can have all of the information and indicators that a decision is the right thing to do, but they default to doing nothing. By developing a better understanding of my own instincts, I have been able to build confidence in the decisions I have made over the past 20 years, thus eliminating any deterrents from making sound decisions.
I really hesitated putting The Art of War on my list. It is almost cliché as a lot of pretentious students of business and entrepreneurs will have a copy of this book prominently displayed in their office or listed as an influence in their professional profiles.
However, the lessons in this book are simple and profound. When you cannot win the battle, do not engage with the enemy. While these seem like simple common sense insights, all business leaders should revisit them in their most simplest terms. There are too many books and resources that will take one of the concepts from The Art of War and turn it into a thesis and completely water down the lessons at hand.
To refine your entrepreneurial instinct, you should frequently revisit what it was built upon. The Art of War is the foundation.
I’ve always been fascinated with money and investing. Trading is but one segment of the market, but it’s one that creates a lot of drama and excitement that draws people in—and that creates great stories. I also want people to do their research before they trade, because so many people lose money. Preparation, discipline, and strategy improve the odds of success. I’m a long-time financial author and consulting analyst. I have an MBA and am a CFA charter holder, the whole bit, and want to make financial information more accessible. There are a lot of people with a vested interest in making things more complicated than they need to be.
Great trades come from market analysis, not hot tips on Reddit. Candlestick charts contain an enormous amount of information about market trends and activity. Learning charting takes some time, and this book is a great start. Whatever system you decide to follow, make notes of your trades. Plan them out, then note what worked and what didn’t.
Want to gain a trading edge with candlestick charts? Find them a little confusing? No worries! Candlestick Charting For Dummies sheds light on this time-tested method for finding the perfect moment to buy or sell. It demystifies technical and chart analysis and gives you the tools you need to identify trading patterns - and pounce! This friendly, practical, guide explains candlestick charting and technical analysis in plain English. In no time, you'll be working with common candlestick patterns, analyzing trading patterns, predicting market behavior, and making your smartest trades ever. You'll discover the advantages candlestick has over other charting methods…
I’m Darius Foroux (pronounced Dare-eus For-oe), and thanks for exploring my recommendations. As a former mutual funds advisor, I understand the complexity of finance, a lesson driven home when I lost two-thirds of my investment in 2007. Not wanting to repeat my costly mistakes, I earned degrees in business and finance, launched a business, and continuously educated myself on investing. The biggest thing I learned? Investing and wealth-building aren’t logical but emotional. I'm passionate about helping others achieve financial independence and live on their terms. My book empowers you to manage your emotions, build wealth, and enjoy life, regardless of the stock market's ups and downs.
As mentioned, I’m a big fan of Buffett’s investing strategy. That’s because it can be applied by anyone, even those who don’t work in finance–while yielding a good profit. Since I don’t want to be stressing over the markets daily, the best fit is a passive investing strategy.
This book gathers 50 years of Warren Buffett’s letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, a great way to better understand the man’s thinking process. Buffett doesn’t only talks about how investing really works, he also shares his philosophy for life.
Warren E. Buffett first took control of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a small textile company, in April of 1965. A share changed hands for around $18 at the time. Fifty letters to shareholders later, the same share traded for $226,000, compounding investor capital at just under 21% per year-a multiplier of 12,556 times.
This book compiles the full, un-edited versions of 50 years of Warren Buffett's letters to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. In addition to providing an astounding case study on Berkshire's success, Buffett shows an incredible willingness to share his methods and act as a teacher to his many…
I have produced twenty books/DVDs and three academic papers on finance and social-mood theory. I also write a monthly publication on markets titled The Elliott Wave Theorist. For a bio, visit robertprechter.com. My recommended titles convey financial markets’ nonrational nature in a visceral way. If you understand that feature, if you feel it, you will have a fighting chance to succeed at investing.
This is one of my favorite books because rather than observing the follies of others, this author details his own. Reading it is like watching a tragedy when you already know the well-meaning protagonist is going to die.
The author chose to remain anonymous for obvious reasons: He thought he was a rare fool. But getting wiped out happens all the time, to many people. If you want to experience vicariously a dangerous thrill ride that you may or may not already have taken, this is your ticket. The book is out of print and hard to find.
This is the totally galvanizing confession of an amateur investor who at first made money in the stock market and then tried to make money faster.... With a directness that startles, with specific references to specific stock transactions, with an abundance of detail unique in investment literature, the author takes the reader on a devastating roller-coaster ride through the market. From the "hot" tip and the impulsive phone-order to buy or sell, to the verdict in next morning's financial pages; from the chase after people who "know their way around," to the frantic switching of brokers and systems; from the…
I have produced twenty books/DVDs and three academic papers on finance and social-mood theory. I also write a monthly publication on markets titled The Elliott Wave Theorist. For a bio, visit robertprechter.com. My recommended titles convey financial markets’ nonrational nature in a visceral way. If you understand that feature, if you feel it, you will have a fighting chance to succeed at investing.
Over 100 years ago, a stockbroker wondered why his clients lost money over a full cycle in the stock market. After all, if stocks were back to where they started, shouldn’t they have broken even? He found that at bottoms, investors were cautious short-term traders, whereas at tops, they were confident long-term owners.
This little booklet is available inexpensively on Amazon.
The circulation of a mere rumor that the Morgan interests are accumulating Steel or that the Standard Oil crowd is getting out of St. Paul is sure at any time to create a market following. Most of the tips that are hawked about the Street are based on the supposition that somebody-or-other of consequence is buying or selling certain stocks. I do not know of a single case where anyone has been able to make money consistently by following information of this character, even when the information comes to him first hand. -from "A Speculative Decision" In 1917, an insider…
After years of struggling to start my own business, I had a revelation that changed everything for me. The best marketers weren’t marketers—they were resourceful punks, propagandists, cult leaders, and other assorted riff-raff. I began to adopt their tactics, and I started having some success—first as a freelance copywriter and then as a marketing agency owner. Ever since, I’ve been obsessed by the weird psychology we fall into when we’re with other humans and how people can hack that psychology to make others do what they want.
It was during the earliest days of the first Trump campaign, and I was reading this one-hundred-plus-year-old book with one of the first debates playing in the background. It felt like he had used this book as his operating manual (although I'm almost positive he never read it). When I got home, I started telling my friends, "I think this guy could win." They thought I was crazy. The rest was history.
This book is the definition of timeless. Le Bon was remarkably perceptive about what makes groups of people react in certain ways and how leaders can get them to do their bidding.
One of the most influential works of social psychology in history, The Crowd was highly instrumental in creating this field of study by analyzing, in detail, mass behavior. The book had a profound impact not only on Freud but also on such twentieth-century masters of crowd control as Hitler and Mussolini — both of whom may have used its observations as a guide to stirring up popular passions. In the author's words, "The masses have never thirsted after the truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim."…
I have produced twenty books/DVDs and three academic papers on finance and social-mood theory. I also write a monthly publication on markets titled The Elliott Wave Theorist. For a bio, visit robertprechter.com. My recommended titles convey financial markets’ nonrational nature in a visceral way. If you understand that feature, if you feel it, you will have a fighting chance to succeed at investing.
When I was at Yale, Professor Irving Janis became aware of my interest in mass psychology and asked if I would be interested in seeing a manuscript he was working on. I jumped at the chance and soon was reading Victims of Groupthink.
The book relates histories of bureaucratic decision-making that went wrong. Janis postulated that in a group setting, people defer the hard work of reasoning to others, whom they assume must be working on the problem. As a result, no one works on the problem, and whatever decision emerges derives from the dynamics of group psychology. This book is out of print and hard to find.