100 books like The Origin of Wealth

This book is a rare attempt by an eminent economic historian to examine cultural determinants of economic growth and answer the question why it happens, which distinguishes it sharply from the discipline’s exclusive focus on how it proceeds.

Landes, in other words, disentangles the explanation of causes from the preoccupation with the process, which is why I recommend this book.

A renowned economist and Harvard professor with a bit of a cult following, Schumpeter provides a realistic evaluation of what capitalism is and whether it can survive if it does not do more to help a wider range of people.

First published in 1942, Schumpeter’s fear was the rise of socialism, but what he had to say about the failings of capitalism back then applies with equal force today.

Schumpeter was the originator of the term “creative destruction” to describe how capitalism works, and Part II of the book was the inspiration for my paper, “Can Liberal Capitalism Survive?”

The book has never been out of print. 

This is the second book that I read about entrepreneurship. It’s also my second favorite book on economics.

Unlike Schumpeter, Kirzner does not assume that entrepreneurship is an unusual activity. Most people are entrepreneurial at some point. Successful entrepreneurship means being alert to profit opportunities that others have not noticed.

The underlying message is that there is such a thing as a free lunch. Kirzner views the market as a process rather than an equilibrium state. It is a superb book for understanding why mainstream neoclassical economics is unrealistic, but it does not address uncertainty. 

Economists tend to characterize firms as profit maximizers, but the people who manage firms operate in an uncertain environment and the path to profitability is rarely clear.

Firms that suffer losses or go out of business provide evidence on this. Foss and Klein depict those who run firms as entrepreneurs who must use their judgment in the face of uncertainty to direct their firms.

They connect the concepts of management and entrepreneurship more closely than has been done in the past, creating a bridge between the academic literature in economics and management.

When people think of financial planning, their first thought is investing. Their second thought is retirement.

Kaplans explain risk succinctly: “Everything is possible, yet only one thing happens.” People understand risk but don’t really understand how to apply it rationally to investing (market risks) or to retirement (longevity risk).

But first, having an understanding of what risk is and isn’t, and where it comes from is important before you can apply it to what fuels your plans – markets and longevity.

This book helped me formulate the basic planning concepts I use in my book since personal finance is all about taking risks – as are any other decisions and actions you take in life.

Personal financial planning has to include investing. With investing comes risk. There are many books on investing. There are few on how to approach investing. Although a short book, it succinctly covers how to think about stock returns, modern financial theory, building a portfolio with risk also in mind, and applying Monte Carlo.

This book combines risk with returns so that you can better target risk to your financial plans. Having a long term, which means the rest of your life, view helps you understand everything has cycles. Using cycles of different investments in a portfolio construct, rather than viewing each investment separately, helps mute cyclical effects on your plans.

I always refer to the fundamentals discussed in this book when I begin to second guess my own plans when markets “misbehave” as they always do. It reaffirms how the application of modern financial theory has worked in the past… show more.

Everyone makes mental shortcuts and also have biases. How can we learn to recognize errors in thinking when it comes to our money? How can we make better choices when it comes to saving or spending? Are we normal or irrational?

Behavioral finance began in the 1970s and I found Statman’s discussion fascinating on almost every page. He sums up these biases when applied to our financial choices as well as to the markets.

Normal people have wants and emotions. This contrasts with many books about how people are irrational. Indeed, we are more normal than irrational once we understand that poor choices are actually normal. Statman describes how to make better choices by recognizing choice and biases we have.

These concepts are important if you want to grow your wealth without making someone else wealthy through your spending habits.

This is a wonderful book organized around four main concepts, each valuable in their own right: 1) The Theory of Investing; 2) The History of Investing; 3) The Psychology of Investing; and 3) The Business of Investing. 

The latter, the business section makes it clear the stockbroker is not your friend, even though they’re friendly (by design). Having started my career on the sales side of the business, I quickly learned the agenda is less about the customer and more about product sales, even though I was also a Certified Financial Planner ProfessionalTM. 

I dropped sales licenses and became a fee-only advisor and member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) where the focus is on planning and helping clients achieve their wants and goals.

The principles in Bernstein’s book marry well with those of both Swedroe’s and Statman’s books (above) in the application of growing… show more.

A fascinating look at Complexity Science and so-called self-organising systems and how they contribute to wealth creation.

This a rather long, and maybe slightly daunting, book. A criticism might be that the author is long winded in some of his detailed examination of new themes and ideas in economics. However, at the heart of the book is the desire to understand how real people, make real decisions in the real world.

For anyone interested in a comfortable tour through some of the greatest economists, this book is a must-read.

It is like having a personal conversation with the world's leading economic masterminds, as it explores their beliefs, backgrounds, and legacies. This book is well-written and easy to follow, making it an excellent choice for anyone.

Economics is not only concerned with fiscal policies and national economies. And this book does a good job of illustrating the fact that Economics plays a role in almost every aspect of human life.

Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge the inclusion of Daniel Kahneman in the book, an Israeli-American psychologist and Nobel Prize winner whose empirical findings challenged the assumption of human rationality, i.e. the foundation of modern Economics.