10 books like The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money

By John Maynard Keynes,

Here are 10 books that authors have personally recommended if you like The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. Shepherd is a community of 8,000+ authors sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Thinking, Fast and Slow

By Daniel Kahneman,

Book cover of Thinking, Fast and Slow

Oagis Revilo Author Of Spirituality Why Give a ****

From the list on helping to leggo that ego.

Who am I?

Admittedly, I’m just a painfully average Joe, but therein lies the paradoxical aptness of my credentials. Like most people, I wasn’t raised specially educated or trained, fed by a spiritual spoon. Instead, my qualifications arise from transitioning out of the common, materialistically driven, atheistic perspective to see the contrasting light of the other side. What was originally a drive for self-development has evolved into a passion for spirituality, which inevitably arises if one introspects long enough. These past few years, I’ve been motivated to try and make more sense out of this senseless topic with the intent of sharing its value with others. 

Oagis' book list on helping to leggo that ego

Discover why each book is one of Oagis' favorite books.

Why did Oagis love this book?

This book has helped me explore the way we think and make decisions.

By highlighting the cognitive biases that can impact our decision-making, it provides practical insights and strategies for making better choices. Written in an engaging and accessible style, the book is relevant not only for individuals but also for larger group entities.

It has helped me objectivize my thinking processes and to think more critically and to be less impulsive. It has also been useful in how I go about trying to form better habits while minimizing detrimental ones.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

By Daniel Kahneman,

Why should I read it?

33 authors picked Thinking, Fast and Slow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The phenomenal international bestseller - 2 million copies sold - that will change the way you make decisions

'A lifetime's worth of wisdom' Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics
'There have been many good books on human rationality and irrationality, but only one masterpiece. That masterpiece is Thinking, Fast and Slow' Financial Times

Why is there more chance we'll believe something if it's in a bold type face? Why are judges more likely to deny parole before lunch? Why do we assume a good-looking person will be more competent? The answer lies in the two ways we make choices: fast,…


Nudge

By Cass R. Sunstein, Richard H. Thaler,

Book cover of Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Markus Eberl Author Of War Owl Falling: Innovation, Creativity, and Culture Change in Ancient Maya Society

From the list on innovation in the past when this wasn't yet a thing.

Who am I?

As an archaeologist, I love prehistoric things and what can I learn from them about the people that made them and left them behind. I study ancient Maya commoners in what is now modern Guatemala. Their material remains are humble but include depictions and symbols normally found in the palaces of Maya kings and queens. First I wondered and then I studied how the title-giving war owl fell into the hands of Maya commoners. By approaching this process as innovation, I discuss creativity in the past and cultural changes that result from it.

Markus' book list on innovation in the past when this wasn't yet a thing

Discover why each book is one of Markus' favorite books.

Why did Markus love this book?

This book introduced the concept of nudging into the public discourse, and I guess all of us have encountered it one way or the other. How many reminders have I gotten to sign up for this or that program?… Alas, I love Thaler and Sunstein's concept of choice architects. It made me think about power as a capacity to affect not only people but also the very framework in which people make decisions.

Nudge

By Cass R. Sunstein, Richard H. Thaler,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Nudge as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Now available: Nudge: The Final Edition

The original edition of the multimillion-copy New York Times bestseller by the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, Richard H. Thaler, and Cass R. Sunstein: a revelatory look at how we make decisions—for fans of Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit, James Clear’s Atomic Habits, and Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow

Named a Best Book of the Year by TheEconomist and the Financial Times

Every day we make choices—about what to buy or eat, about financial investments or our children’s health and education, even about the causes we champion…


Irrational Exuberance

By Robert J. Shiller,

Book cover of Irrational Exuberance

Robert Isaak Author Of Brave New World Economy: Global Finance Threatens Our Future

From the list on the world economy, finance trends, and options.

Who am I?

Since completing my PhD in political economy (dissertation: ‘International Integration and Foreign Policy Decision-making’) I have gone deeper into economic origins of change (eg. Modern Inflation, coauthored with well-known economist Wilhelm Hankel in Bologna, Italy at Johns Hopkins SAIS) and find the interactions between economic, politics, and psychology fascinating—presenting an infinite number of ‘Sherlock Holmes-like puzzles’. We are all now confronted with political, economic, and psychological uncertainties, put on high speed due to the war in Ukraine and great power tensions. So it is time to learn about the origins of our problems and their trends in order to better cope and find a basis for individual, if not collective, peace.

Robert's book list on the world economy, finance trends, and options

Discover why each book is one of Robert's favorite books.

Why did Robert love this book?

Shiller predicted both the dot-com crisis (2001) and the financial crisis stemming from real estate (2008) in advance in two editions of this book.

Since receiving the Nobel prize in economics he published his book Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral which together with the book recommended will help the reader predict the timing of coming economic trends.

Irrational Exuberance

By Robert J. Shiller,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Irrational Exuberance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this revised, updated, and expanded edition of his New York Times bestseller, Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller, who warned of both the tech and housing bubbles, cautions that signs of irrational exuberance among investors have only increased since the 2008-9 financial crisis. With high stock and bond prices and the rising cost of housing, the post-subprime boom may well turn out to be another illustration of Shiller's influential argument that psychologically driven volatility is an inherent characteristic of all asset markets. In other words, Irrational Exuberance is as relevant as ever. Previous editions covered the stock and housing markets--and…


Book cover of Stabilizing an Unstable Economy

Joseph Vogl Author Of The Ascendancy of Finance

From the list on the political power of contemporary finance.

Who am I?

How did I – as a scholar of German literature – turn to economic topics? That had a certain inevitability. When I left for Paris in the early nineties, reading traces of anthropological knowledge in literature and aesthetics of the 18th century, I came across economic ideas on almost every page, in natural history, in medicine, in philosophy, in encyclopedias, in the theories of signs and in the teachings of beauty. There was circulation, communication, flows of exchange all over the place, and the Robinsons were the model. This reinforced the impression that the human being was engaged in aligning himself with homo oeconomicus. The question of  modern economics has therefore become unavoidable for me.

Joseph's book list on the political power of contemporary finance

Discover why each book is one of Joseph's favorite books.

Why did Joseph love this book?

Minsky’s thesis on financial instability is a brilliant intellectual blow against the liberal legend concerning the balancing powers of (financial) markets.

It suggests that manifest crises and breakdowns are not simply caused by external tremors, by fiscal or political coups de théâtre; rather, they are brought about by the parameters and endogenous movements of the financial economy itself.

Unlike cybernetic and self-regulating systems, the financial market is inclined to be spooked by its own tranquillity and destabilized by its own stability. The very efficiency of its functioning turns out to be utterly dysfunctional.

Stabilizing an Unstable Economy

By Hyman P. Minsky,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Stabilizing an Unstable Economy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Mr. Minsky long argued markets were crisis prone. His 'moment' has arrived." -The Wall Street Journal

In his seminal work, Minsky presents his groundbreaking financial theory of investment, one that is startlingly relevant today. He explains why the American economy has experienced periods of debilitating inflation, rising unemployment, and marked slowdowns-and why the economy is now undergoing a credit crisis that he foresaw. Stabilizing an Unstable Economy covers:

The natural inclination of complex, capitalist economies toward instability Booms and busts as unavoidable results of high-risk lending practices "Speculative finance" and its effect on investment and asset prices Government's role in…


Negotiation

By Roy Lewicki, Bruce Barry, David Saunders

Book cover of Negotiation

Bill Eddy Author Of So, What's Your Proposal? Shifting High-Conflict People from Blaming to Problem-Solving in 30 Seconds!

From the list on negotiating anything.

Who am I?

When I got out of college, I fell in love with mediation—resolving other people’s conflicts in all kinds of settings. In developing my mediation career, I got deep into psychology as a therapist, and then deep into law, as a family lawyer. Putting these professions together, I developed a niche in handling high conflict personalities in family, workplace, and legal disputes. Now I teach how to mediate and negotiate with high conflict people around the world. I am excited to share how to negotiate in high conflict situations to bring peace to relationships everywhere. 

Bill's book list on negotiating anything

Discover why each book is one of Bill's favorite books.

Why did Bill love this book?

I got this book when I was in law school and found it to be filled with insights that I never expected nor got anywhere else. It must be good because it’s on its 8th edition now! However, I should warn you that it’s dense (over 600 pages) and designed for students. But for the reader who wants to become a serious professional negotiator, this is the book I keep referring back to. This is for the person who wants a really deep dive into the subject of negotiations. It covers every aspect from psychology to economics to closing the deal. 

Negotiation

By Roy Lewicki, Bruce Barry, David Saunders

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Negotiation is a critical skill needed for effective management. Negotiation 8e by Roy J. Lewicki, David M. Saunders, and Bruce Barry explores the major concepts and theories of the psychology of bargaining and negotiation, and the dynamics of interpersonal and intergroup conflict and its resolution. It is relevant to a broad spectrum of management students, not only human resource management or industrial relations candidates.


The Aristocracy of Talent

By Adrian Wooldridge,

Book cover of The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World

Dag Detter Author Of The Public Wealth of Nations: How Management of Public Assets Can Boost or Bust Economic Growth

From the list on how we as societies can thrive in challenges ahead.

Who am I?

I advise private and public sector clients on the unlocking of value from public assets. After a few years in investment banking in Asia and Europe, I was asked to lead the comprehensive restructuring of Sweden’s USD70bn national portfolio of commercial assets—the first attempt by a European government to systematically address the ownership and management of government enterprises and real estate. This experience has allowed me to work in over thirty countries and serve as a Non-Executive Director. Ultimately sharing the collective experience in two books written together with Stefan Fölster—The Public Wealth of Nations—which was awarded The Economist and Financial Time’s best book of the year, as well as The Public Wealth of Cities.

Dag's book list on how we as societies can thrive in challenges ahead

Discover why each book is one of Dag's favorite books.

Why did Dag love this book?

Would you rather that your local football team or even the national team was selected through family ties or political connections? How did meritocracy—the idea that people should be advanced according to their talents rather than their birthbecome the world's ruling ideology? Why is meritocracy now under attack from both right and left? Adrian Wooldridge shows what transformative effects it has had everywhere it has been adopted, especially once women were brought into the meritocratic system. He also shows how meritocracy has now become corrupted and argues that the recent stalling of social mobility is the result of the failure to complete the meritocratic revolution. Rather than abandoning meritocracy, he says, we should call for its renewal.

The Aristocracy of Talent

By Adrian Wooldridge,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Aristocracy of Talent as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

'This unique and fascinating history explains why the blame now being piled upon meritocracy for many social ills is misplaced-and that assigning responsibilities to the people best able to discharge them really is better than the time-honoured customs of corruption, patronage, nepotism and hereditary castes. Wooldridge upends many common assumptions and provides an indispensable back story to this fraught and pressing issue.' Steven Pinker

'The Aristocracy of Talent provides an important and needed corrective to contemporary critiques of meritocracy. It puts meritocracy in an illuminating historical and cross-cultural perspective that shows how crucial the…


Mixed Signals

By Uri Gneezy,

Book cover of Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work

John A. List Author Of The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale

From the list on changing the world and/or yourself.

Who am I?

My passion is using field experiments to explore economic questions. Since the early 1990s I have generated more than 200 papers published in academic journals using the world as my lab. That’s what we do as academics. The problem is that locked away in these journals is an enormous amount of wisdom and insights that can not only help the realm of academia, but also change the world as we know it. The brilliant authors of these books unlock the ideas and knowledge found in the academic papers that are full of jargon and math, aimed towards a narrow audience, and put them in language aimed towards the masses where real change can be implemented.  

John's book list on changing the world and/or yourself

Discover why each book is one of John's favorite books.

Why did John love this book?

Many people are now aware of the power of incentives. However, it is not hard to find examples of times when incentives and signals do not align.

Take an example addressed in this book: organizations highlight teamwork but use individual incentives. Incentives and signals can help you achieve your goals, but you must make sure that incentives are signally what you intend.

My co-author of The Why-Axis and many academic papers, Uri Gneezy, combines learnings from behavioral economics, game theory, psychology, and fieldwork to teach you to do just that. You will learn how to ensure that your incentives send the signal that you want. 

Mixed Signals

By Uri Gneezy,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An informative and entertaining account of how actions send signals that shape behaviors and how to design better incentives for better results in our life, our work, and our world

Incentives send powerful signals that aim to influence behavior. But often there is a conflict between what we say and what we do in response to these incentives. The result: mixed signals.

Consider the CEO who urges teamwork but designs incentives for individual success, who invites innovation but punishes failure, who emphasizes quality but pays for quantity. Employing real-world scenarios just like this to illustrate this everyday phenomenon, behavioral economist…


Book cover of The Theory of Money and Credit

Michael G. Pento Author Of The Coming Bond Market Collapse: How to Survive the Demise of the U.S. Debt Market

From the list on fiscal destruction of America’s foundation of freedom.

Who am I?

My passion is to prepare clients' investments for the impending debt crisis. That is why I started Pento Portfolio Strategies and created the Inflation/Deflation and Economic Cycle Model. The US faces an entirely new paradigm – due to onerous debt, central banks are forced to either massively monetize the nation's debt or allow a cathartic deflationary depression to reset the economy. Our government is now compelled to seek a condition of perpetual inflation to maintain the illusion of prosperity and solvency. Our central bank is now walking the economy on a tightrope between inflation and deflation. This will require a vastly different and active investment strategy to fit the new dynamic.

Michael's book list on fiscal destruction of America’s foundation of freedom

Discover why each book is one of Michael's favorite books.

Why did Michael love this book?

Written over a century ago, this is a book for the ages.

I read this book early in my career, and it provided a basis for understanding money that helped form my current economic theories. Mises reveals how money originated in the market and how its value is based on its efficacy as a commodity in exchange.

Mises concisely lays out the case for sound money with no inflation and introduces the beginnings of a full-scale business cycle theory. 

The Theory of Money and Credit

By Ludwig von Mises,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"It is impossible to grasp the meaning of the idea of sound money if one does not realize that it was devised as an instrument for the protection of civil liberties against despotic inroads on the part of governments." - from The Theory of Money and Credit

Originally published in 1912, Ludwig von Mises's The Theory of Money and Credit remains today one of economic theory's most influential and controversial treatises. Von Mises's examination into monetary theory changed forever the world of economic thought when he successfully integrated "macroeconomics" into "microeconomics" -previously deemed an impossible task -as well as offering…


Economics in One Lesson

By Henry Hazlitt,

Book cover of Economics in One Lesson

Philipp Bagus Author Of Blind Robbery! How the Fed, Banks and Government Steal Our Money

From the list on Austrian economics.

Who am I?

In high school I became interested in politics and economics. Soon I found the Austrian school and decided to make it my profession. I went to the US to study Austrian economics and later to Spain to study with Prof. Huerta de Soto. Finally, I became a Professor of Economics myself, teaching and writing in the tradition of the Austrian School. 

Philipp's book list on Austrian economics

Discover why each book is one of Philipp's favorite books.

Why did Philipp love this book?

I read this book very early, because it was recommended to me by senior Austrian economists as the best introduction to the Austrian School, being much easier to read than Human Action.

Hazlitt´s book is a classic. It destroys many fallacies such as the broken window fallacy. Hazlitt´s book is unrivaled as an introduction into sound economic thinking.

Economics in One Lesson

By Henry Hazlitt,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Economics in One Lesson as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With over a million copies sold, Economics in One Lesson is an essential guide to the basics of economic theory. A fundamental influence on modern libertarianism, Hazlitt defends capitalism and the free market from economic myths that persist to this day.

Considered among the leading economic thinkers of the “Austrian School,” which includes Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich (F.A.) Hayek, and others, Henry Hazlitt (1894-1993), was a libertarian philosopher, an economist, and a journalist. He was the founding vice-president of the Foundation for Economic Education and an early editor of The Freeman magazine, an influential libertarian publication.  Hazlitt wrote…


Man, Economy, and State

By Murray N. Rothbard,

Book cover of Man, Economy, and State: With Power and Market

Philipp Bagus Author Of Blind Robbery! How the Fed, Banks and Government Steal Our Money

From the list on Austrian economics.

Who am I?

In high school I became interested in politics and economics. Soon I found the Austrian school and decided to make it my profession. I went to the US to study Austrian economics and later to Spain to study with Prof. Huerta de Soto. Finally, I became a Professor of Economics myself, teaching and writing in the tradition of the Austrian School. 

Philipp's book list on Austrian economics

Discover why each book is one of Philipp's favorite books.

Why did Philipp love this book?

This treatise written by Mises student Murray Rothbard is very systematic and well-thought.

Rothbard is an excellent writer. He goes through all topics of economics and has a great analysis of interventionism. Every serious scholar of Austrian economics should have read this book which is somewhat more accessible for neoclassical economists than Human Action.

Man, Economy, and State

By Murray N. Rothbard,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

New Edition, with new introduction!

Murray N. Rothbard's great treatise Man, Economy, and State and its complementary text Power and Market, are here combined into a single edition as they were written to be. It provides a sweeping presentation of Austrian economic theory, a reconstruction of many aspects of that theory, a rigorous criticism of alternative schools, and an inspiring look at a science of liberty that concerns nearly everything and should concern everyone.

The Mises Institute's new edition of Man Economy, and State, united with its formerly sundered companion volume Power and Market, is a landmark in the history…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in economics, psychology, and the Austrian school of economics?

8,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about economics, psychology, and the Austrian school of economics.

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