The best books about the financial crisis of 2007–2008

Who picked these books? Meet our 26 experts.

26 authors created a book list connected to the financial crisis of 2007–2008, and here are their favorite financial crisis of 2007–2008 books.
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Learning to Use What You Already Know

By Stephen A. Stumpf, Joel R DeLuca, Dan Shefelman (illustrator)

Book cover of Learning to Use What You Already Know

Jeff Davidson Author Of Everyday Project Management

From the list on managing projects.

Who am I?

I am the recognized expert on work-life balance, harmony, and integrative issues, and since 2009, hold the registered trademark from the USPTO as the “Work-Life Balance Expert®." I'm the author of several popular books including Breathing Space, Everyday Project Management, Simpler Living, and The 60 Second Organizer. My books have been featured in 68 of the top 75 American newspapers and, in two instances, advertised in Time Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. I offer hands-on strategies for a balanced career and life to audiences from Singapore to San Diego, with clients as diverse as Novo Nordisk, Worthington Steel, Lufthansa, American Law Institute, Wells Fargo, the IRS, and more.

Jeff's book list on managing projects

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

Why did Jeff love this book?

The authors maintain that everybody experiences flashes of insight: those moments when an "aha!" reaction leaves us feeling enlightened and empowered. I have felt this and you probably have too. Insights are the bits of knowledge in different parts of ourselves and they can be harnessed into a more integrated and effective whole.

Learning To Use What You Already Know explains how you can encourage insight. Consider that each of us knows more than we think we do. Thus we can employ a reflective process, described in the book, that integrates our conscious and unconscious resources, and prompts our perceptions of everything from getting along with coworkers, to being a visionary leader, to coping with technological change.  

Here are what I consider to be some of the book’s amazing takeaways: Life repeats itself until we learn. Lack of fit is not failure. If you get it right the first time,…

Learning to Use What You Already Know

By Stephen A. Stumpf, Joel R DeLuca, Dan Shefelman (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Learning to Use What You Already Know as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Is there a way to encourage the kind of "aha!" perceptions that leave us feeling enlightened and empowered? Are there methods for facilitating the flashes of understanding that make us holler "eureka!" or smile with quiet contentment? Though insights may feel like they come out of the blue, Stumpf and DeLuca make us aware of the process behind the flash so that we can stimulate our capacity for learning and growth.
Beginning with the premise that each of us knows more than we think we do, Stumpf and DeLuca provide a reflective process that integrates all of our conscious and…


Open City

By Teju Cole,

Book cover of Open City

Elizabeth Greenspan Author Of Battle for Ground Zero: Inside the Political Struggle to Rebuild the World Trade Center

From the list on Post-9/11 New York City.

Who am I?

I have always loved cities, New York in particular. A few weeks after 9/11, I decided to study the rebuilding of the WTC site for my graduate thesis, compelled by the immensity of the project and the layers of conflict embedded in the reconstruction and memorialization. None of the books listed below are directly about 9/11, but the attacks and their aftermath thread through all of their stories. New York is an intense, fraught, sometimes fun, sometimes heartbreaking place, like these stories, which are listed from newest to oldest.

Elizabeth's book list on Post-9/11 New York City

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

Why did Elizabeth love this book?

This is a novel about a man who wanders ruminatively around New York a couple of years after the 2008 financial crisis. One of the reasons it works, I think, is because everything we see about New York, every person we meet or interaction we overhear or street we observe, is through the eyes of the story’s narrator. Getting to know him means getting to know the city, and vice versa. He has a relationship with New York, which is charged and at times deceptive, which felt true, if nothing else.

Open City

By Teju Cole,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The bestselling debut novel from a writer heralded as the twenty-first-century W. G. Sebald.

A haunting novel about national identity, race, liberty, loss and surrender, Open City follows a young Nigerian doctor as he wanders aimlessly along the streets of Manhattan. For Julius the walks are a release from the tight regulations of work, from the emotional fallout of a failed relationship, from lives past and present on either side of the Atlantic.

Isolated amid crowds of bustling strangers, Julius criss-crosses not just physical landscapes but social boundaries too, encountering people whose otherness sheds light on his own remarkable journey…


J R

By William Gaddis,

Book cover of J R

Frank Partnoy Author Of The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, the Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals

From the list on financial schemes.

Who am I?

Frank Partnoy is the Adrian A. Kragen Professor of Law at UC Berkeley, where he co-runs an annual conference on financial fraud and teaches business law. He has written four trade press books (WAITThe Match KingInfectious Greed, and F.I.A.S.C.O.), dozens of scholarly publications, and multiple articles each for The AtlanticThe New York Review of BooksHarvard Business Review, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as more than fifty opinion pieces for The New York Times and the Financial Times. Partnoy has appeared on 60 Minutes and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and has testified as an expert before both houses of Congress. He is a member of the Financial Economists Roundtable and has been an international research fellow at Oxford University since 2010.

Frank's book list on financial schemes

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

Why did Frank love this book?

I read J R the first time in college, and it was the ideal combination of challenging, cynical, illuminating – and hilarious. The novel is a cult classic among well-read Wall Street types, but be warned: it’s 726 pages of almost entirely dialogue, with not much to guide you about who is speaking or where. Once you figure out what Gaddis is up to, the writing becomes immersive and you join a wild ride with the eponymous sixth-grader, who uses the school’s payphone between classes to trade surplus picnic forks, free catalog samples, and eventually controlling stakes in major companies. J R is one of those books you’ll be proud to finish, and never forget.

J R

By William Gaddis,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A National Book Award-winning satire about the unchecked power of American capitalism, written more than three decades before the 2008 financial crisis.

At the center of J R is J R Vansant, a very average sixth grader from Long Island with torn sneakers, a runny nose, and a juvenile fascination with junk-mail get-rich-quick offers. Responding to one, he sees a small return; soon, he is running a paper empire out of a phone booth in the school hallway. Everyone from the school staff to the municipal government to the squabbling heirs of a player-piano company to the titans of Wall…


They Ask, You Answer

By Marcus Sheridan,

Book cover of They Ask, You Answer: A Revolutionary Approach to Inbound Sales, Content Marketing, and Today's Digital Consumer

Joe Pulizzi Author Of Content Inc.: Start a Content-First Business, Build a Massive Audience and Become Radically Successful

From the list on content creation and content marketing.

Who am I?

I’ve been a content creator for over 20 years now. I’ve written six books on content creation and content marketing and founded two companies dedicated to helping companies create better content (The Tilt for content entrepreneurs and Content Marketing Institute for enterprise marketers). Some people credit me for coining the term “content marketing,” but really I only popularized it. Oh, and I’m very passionate about the color orange.

Joe's book list on content creation and content marketing

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

Why did Joe love this book?

Marcus Sheridan built a multi-million dollar business by doing one thing really well – he listened to his customer’s questions and then answered them online. Simple, right? Well, the strategy works. In this book, Marcus lays out the particulars for how content creators can leverage this strategy in their own organization and what the impact might be.

They Ask, You Answer

By Marcus Sheridan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked They Ask, You Answer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The revolutionary guide that challenged businesses around the world to stop selling to their buyers and start answering their questions to get results; revised and updated to address new technology, trends, the continuous evolution of the digital consumer, and much more

In today's digital age, the traditional sales funnel-marketing at the top, sales in the middle, customer service at the bottom-is no longer effective. To be successful, businesses must obsess over the questions, concerns, and problems their buyers have, and address them as honestly and as thoroughly as possible. Every day, buyers turn to search engines to ask billions of…


Book cover of International Corporate Governance: A Comparative Approach

Harry Korine Author Of Strong Managers, Strong Owners: Corporate Governance and Strategy

From the list on making corporate governance work.

Who am I?

Some time after starting out as an academic in the field of strategy, I became aware of the fact that strategists thought and acted as if board members and shareholders simply did not exist—executives made strategy. The revelatory moment for me came when I tested this conception of the world against the reality that I knew, Europe and family business, settings where shareholders in particular have always played a critical role in deciding on the direction of the firm. Ever since, I have made it my missionin research, in teaching, and in consultingto make sure that strategy and governance questions are always raised at the same time.

Harry's book list on making corporate governance work

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

Why did Harry love this book?

Too often, people in the corporate governance field jump to the conclusion that what works in one country has to work the same way in another country. Although corporate governance is fundamentally about power and accountability, no matter the setting, one size does not fit all. Thomas Clarke’s book is an excellent introduction to understanding how different legal systems and different histories have shaped corporate governance in different national environments. Learn from the best no matter the source and adapt to local needs.

International Corporate Governance

By Thomas Clarke,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Thomas Clarke's International Corporate Governance offers a comprehensive guide to corporate governance forms and institutions and examines the recurring crises in corporate governance and the resulting corporate governance reform around the world.

While the popular structure of the original text has been retained, significant changes have been made to take account of the global financial crisis, ever-changing regulations and worldwide governance developments. Key topics include:

The governance failures of international corporations such as Enron and Lehman Brothers

Diversity in corporate and institutional forms across the world

The role of international corporate governance standards

Digital disruption in capital markets and proposals…


The Long Game

By Rush Doshi,

Book cover of The Long Game: China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order

Pádraig Carmody Author Of Africa's Shadow Rise: China and the Mirage of African Economic Development

From the list on China’s global and African strategies.

Who am I?

I became interested in China-Africa relations fifteen years ago when I realised that the rise of the former was going to have major and long-lasting effects on the politics and economics of the continent. In a sense, the rising role of China in Africa foretold its rise to global power and influence. Since then I have been fascinated by the ways in which China has restructured, or been involved in the restructuring, of African economies and politics and the ways in which that country’s global strategies and roles have continued to evolve and their impacts. I have written several books on the impacts of emerging powers in Africa.

Pádraig's book list on China’s global and African strategies

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

Why did Pádraig love this book?

There is a veritable cottage industry now on books on China and its global strategy and influence. This book by Rush Doshi is one of the best because its analysis is based on extensive analysis of Chinese Communist party documents over decades. Doshi's analysis asks whether or not China has a grand strategy by examining China’s foreign policy concepts, capabilities, and conduct. This makes for a compelling and detailed analysis. 

The Long Game

By Rush Doshi,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Given the turbulence in the international order in recent years, one of the central concerns among observers of world politics is the question of China's ultimate goals. As China emerges as a superpower that rivals the United States, American policymakers grappling with this century's greatest geopolitical challenge are looking for answers to a series of critical questions. Does China have expansive ambitions? Does it have a grand strategy to achieve them? If so,
what is it and what should the United States do about it?

In The Long Game, Rush Doshi draws from a rich base of Chinese primary sources,…


Hall of Mirrors

By Barry Eichengreen,

Book cover of Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, the Great Recession, and the Uses-And Misuses-Of History

Tobias Straumann Author Of 1931: Debt, Crisis, and the Rise of Hitler

From the list on the Great Depression and its impact on history.

Who am I?

Since I began to study history at the university, I have always wondered why things could get so wrong in Europe in the 1930s. The key to understanding this crucial period of world history was the failure of economic policy. In the course of my studies, many of my questions have been answered, but I am still wondering about the extent of human and institutional collapse. Hence, to me, the Great Depression is such a fascinating topic that you can never leave once you started doing research about its causes and consequences.

Tobias' book list on the Great Depression and its impact on history

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

Why did Tobias love this book?

Our view of the Great Depression was changed by the Great Recession following the financial crisis of 2008. No one has a better grasp of the similarities and differences between the two major economic shocks of the last 100 years than Barry Eichengreen. Most interesting are Eichengreen’s reflections about the right and wrong lessons the firefighters of the 2008 financial crisis drew from the Great Depression.

Hall of Mirrors

By Barry Eichengreen,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The two great financial crises of the past century are the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Recession, which began in 2008. Both occurred against the backdrop of sharp credit booms, dubious banking practices, and a fragile and unstable global financial system. When markets went into cardiac arrest in 2008, policymakers invoked the lessons of the Great Depression in attempting to avert the worst. While their response prevented a financial collapse and
catastrophic depression like that of the 1930s, unemployment in the U.S. and Europe still rose to excruciating high levels. Pain and suffering were widespread.

The question,…


Rupturing The Dialectic

By Harry Cleaver,

Book cover of Rupturing The Dialectic: The Struggle Against Work, Money, and Financialization

Anitra Nelson Author Of Beyond Money: A Postcapitalist Strategy

From the list on anti-capitalist struggles for a postcapitalism.

Who am I?

I don’t think of myself as a dreamer but, rather, a hard-headed activist scholar. Globally, most of us live under the domination of production for trade. We have ceded co-governance of production—collectively deciding what we produce, how we produce it, and for whom—to the abstract logic of markets operated via money. We face two great challenges reproduced by capitalism—growing socio-political inequities and ecological unsustainability. So, I argue that we must replace monetary values and operating systems with ‘real’, social and ecological, values and production for demand, for the basic needs of humans and the planet. Postcapitalism means moving beyond money to realize our self-value and emancipation. 

Anitra's book list on anti-capitalist struggles for a postcapitalism

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

Why did Anitra love this book?

Cleaver by name, cleaver by nature? Certainly, as an analyst following in Marx’s footsteps, Harry Cleaver resembles a nimble knife aspiring to a heavy-duty hatchet.

His ideas are impressive but make easy reading. So much so, he has attracted a great following since the publication of his now classic work Reading Capital Politically (1979). Rupturing the Dialectic (2017) is one of Cleaver’s most recent books. In three parts, he sings the praises of Marx’s work-oriented concept of ‘value’, delves into ‘decoding’ the financial sphere that currently mires us, and argues that "getting rid of money and markets entirely is not only a necessary condition for getting rid of capitalism but also desirable in its own right."

Observe the cleaver in action!

Rupturing The Dialectic

By Harry Cleaver,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"Rupturing the Dialectic rejects the quietism inherent in all economistic approaches to the current crises within capitalism, and furnishes working people with a clear, concrete, sensible program for how to move forward. This is a fine book, and it is one from which activists will greatly benefit." —David Sherman, author of Sartre and Adorno

"Cleaver's theory of the value of labor to capital, explanation of money as a critical mediator of class conflicts, and discussion of strategies for resistance and transformation are remarkable. Rupturing the Dialectic offers emancipating ways to understand everyday life and financial crises in capitalism today." —Anitra…


Crashed

By Adam Tooze,

Book cover of Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World

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?

Focusing on the financial crisis of 2008 Adam Tooze’s book shows the transition from a geopolitical to a geo-economic world order in which the political destiny of old nation states is determined by the needs of international financial industry – including the rearrangement of global governance and the erosion of democracies.

I admire the way in which Adam Tooze demonstrates the entanglement between financial capitalism, crises, and the rise of populist and right-wing movements in Europe and the US.

Crashed

By Adam Tooze,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

WINNER OF THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018
ONE OF THE ECONOMIST'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR
A NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS' TOP BOOK

"An intelligent explanation of the mechanisms that produced the crisis and the response to it...One of the great strengths of Tooze's book is to demonstrate the deeply intertwined nature of the European and American financial systems."--The New York Times Book Review

From the prizewinning economic historian and author of Shutdown and The Deluge, an eye-opening reinterpretation of the 2008 economic crisis (and its ten-year aftermath) as a global event that directly…


Book cover of A Brief History of Neoliberalism

Adam Kotsko Author Of Neoliberalism's Demons: On the Political Theology of Late Capital

From the list on understanding neoliberalism.

Who am I?

I grew up outside of Flint, Michigan, which during my lifetime went from being a pretty nice place to live to being a perpetual basket case that still doesn’t have clean water. I’ve always been very concerned with the question of what went wrong, and very early in my graduate education, it became clear to me that the neoliberal agenda that started under Reagan has been at the root of the economic rot and destruction that has afflicted Flint and so many other places. That personal connection, combined with my background in theology, makes me well-suited to talk about how political belief systems “hook” us, even when they hurt us.

Adam's book list on understanding neoliberalism

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

Why did Adam love this book?

This is the book that put “neoliberalism” on the map in contemporary debates. Published years before the Global Financial Crisis, it offers a global and historical perspective on the neoliberal order. I have some questions about Harvey’s definitions—especially his claim that China is a neoliberal country—but no one can beat him for mastery of economic data and trends.

A Brief History of Neoliberalism

By David Harvey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Brief History of Neoliberalism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Neoliberalism - the doctrine that market exchange is an ethic in itself, capable of acting as a guide for all human action - has become dominant in both thought and practice throughout much of the world since 1970 or so.
Its spread has depended upon a reconstitution of state powers such that privatization, finance, and market processes are emphasized. State interventions in the economy are minimized, while the obligations of the state to provide for the welfare of its citizens are diminished. David Harvey, author of 'The New Imperialism' and 'The Condition of Postmodernity', here tells the political-economic story of…


Book cover of ...and forgive them their debts: Lending, Foreclosure and Redemption From Bronze Age Finance to the Jubilee Year

Keith Harrison-Broninski Author Of Supercommunities: A handbook for the 21st century

From the list on how community can save society.

Who am I?

I studied Mathematics – the art of solving a problem by making it as general as possible, then attacking it with a combination of different techniques. By profession, I am a technologist, but the problem that interested me wasn’t technical – I wanted to know why, when most people are basically well-meaning, the world was in such a mess! Early on in my career, I came to believe that better collaboration was part of the answer. Later, I saw how you also needed the right kind of communities. Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about psychology, biology, systems theory, learning theory, anthropology, history, management, economics, finance, and more. I’m still learning.

Keith's book list on how community can save society

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

Why did Keith love this book?

I can’t say how much I love this book. It explains everything we know intuitively about economics but find hard to justify. Hudson was one of the few who saw the 2008 crisis coming, and he is still one of the few who know what we must do now. Taking the discussion of David Graeber’s extraordinary 2011 book Debt: The First 5000 Years to the next level, Hudson shows how Bronze Age rulers understood economic instability better than we do. When people get into serious debt, their personal crises not only destroy their own lives but ripple outwards to derail society, by giving their creditors enough power to compete with governments. To avoid society being run into the ground, governments must start cancelling debts – as they did long ago.

...and forgive them their debts

By Michael Hudson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In ...and forgive them their debts, renowned economist Michael Hudson – one of the few who could see the 2008 financial crisis coming – takes us on an epic journey through the economies of ancient civilizations and reveals their relevance for us today. For the past 40 years, in conjunction with Harvard’s Peabody Museum, he and his colleagues have documented how interest-bearing debt was invented in Bronze Age Mesopotamia, and then disseminated to the ancient world. What the Bronze Age rulers understood was that avoiding economic instability required regular royal debt cancellations. Professor Hudson documents dozens of these these royal…


Too Big to Fail

By Andrew Ross Sorkin,

Book cover of Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System—and Themselves

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

From the list on financial history.

Who am I?

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

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

Why did Philip love this book?

This is the definitive book about events in and around the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, the most globally significant banking crash since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The centerpiece is the brilliantly told, ‘in-the-room’ drama of the weekend Lehman Brothers collapsed. Tense and fearless, it is a vivid characterisation of the big beasts responsible for both the disaster and the rescue and of the desperate interplay between them. 

Too Big to Fail

By Andrew Ross Sorkin,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Too Big to Fail as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BBC SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE 2010

They were masters of the financial universe, flying in private jets and raking in billions. They thought they were too big to fail. Yet they would bring the world to its knees.

Andrew Ross Sorkin, the news-breaking New York Times journalist, delivers the first true in-the-room account of the most powerful men and women at the eye of the financial storm - from reviled Lehman Brothers CEO Dick 'the gorilla' Fuld, to banking whiz Jamie Dimon, from bullish Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to AIG's Joseph Cassano, dubbed 'The Man Who Crashed the…


Confidence Game

By Christine S. Richard,

Book cover of Confidence Game: How Hedge Fund Manager Bill Ackman Called Wall Street's Bluff

Matthew Leising Author Of Out of the Ether: The Amazing Story of Ethereum and the $55 Million Heist that Almost Destroyed It All

From the list on tech, media, and finance.

Who am I?

I am a writer and reporter who has spent two decades covering complicated topics for a wide audience. This started when I covered Wall Street for Bloomberg News, where I spent 17 years as a reporter, and continues to this day with my own crypto media company, DeCential Media. My love of distilling new technologies to their essence is what informs the best of my writing and comes with the added bonus of being able to interview and learn from some of the smartest people in tech and finance. 

Matthew's book list on tech, media, and finance

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Why did Matthew love this book?

This is my favorite book about the financial crisis of 2008. Richard had unparalleled access to Bill Ackman, one of the savviest investors around, and tells this story with amazing detail and insight. Everyone knows The Big Short, but Confidence Game is the book to read to really understand what created the credit crisis of 2008. 

Confidence Game

By Christine S. Richard,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An expose on the delusion, greed, and arrogance that led to America's credit crisis The collapse of America's credit markets in 2008 is quite possibly the biggest financial disaster in U.S. history. Confidence Game: How a Hedge Fund Manager Called Wall Street's Bluff is the story of Bill Ackman's six-year campaign to warn that the $2.5 trillion bond insurance business was a catastrophe waiting to happen. Branded a fraud by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, and investigated by Eliot Spitzer and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ackman later made his investors more than $1 billion when bond…


Book cover of Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance

Roger E. Backhouse Author Of Founder of Modern Economics: Paul A. Samuelson: Volume 1: Becoming Samuelson, 1915-1948

From the list on 20th century economists.

Who am I?

Roger E. Backhouse has been a Professor of Economics and the University of Birmingham (in the UK) for many years, specializing in the history of economic ideas, and has written several books on contemporary economics and where the ideas came from. Knowing that many people lose interest when economics gets technical, he has picked biographies of modern economists who have led interesting lives as well as contributing to the development of their discipline, defining “modern” economists as ones who were active during his own lifetime, a criterion that excludes John Maynard Keynes, on whom several outstanding biographies have been written.

Roger's book list on 20th century economists

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Why did Roger love this book?

Since the global financial crisis of 2007-8, everyone knows about the transformation of financial markets that has taken place in recent decades. It also well known that developments in information technology have played a major role in that transformation. What is less well known is where the ideas that made it all possible came from. In this book, Perry Mehrling tells the story of Fischer Black, one of the creators of the Black-Scholes formula for pricing options (rights to buy or sell assets at a specified price at some point in the future) which are one of the foundations on which modern finance rests. The book shows how these ideas emerged out of a new type of community that spanned university economics departments and business schools as well private-sector financial firms, many of them founded in order to trade on the basis of the theories their founders had developed.

Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance

By Perry Mehrling,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Praise for FISCHER BLACK AND THE REVOLUTIONARY IDEA OF FINANCE "The story of Fischer Black...is remarkable both because of the creativity of the man and because of the revolution he brought to Wall Street...Mehrling's book is fascinating." FINANCIAL TIMES "A fascinating history of things we take for granted in our everyday financial lives." THE NEW YORK TIMES "Mehrling's book is essential reading for anyone interested in the development of modern finance or the life of an idiosyncratic creative genius." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "Fischer Black was more than a vital force in the development of finance theory. He was also a character.…


The Big Short

By Michael Lewis,

Book cover of The Big Short

Robert Kerbeck Author Of RUSE: Lying the American Dream from Hollywood to Wall Street

From the list on cons and scams.

Who am I?

Growing up in the automobile business (my great-grandfather sold horse carriages before cars were invented!), I’ve always been fascinated by salesmen and con artists, and the very thin line that often separates the two. What is a sales pitch, for example, and what is an outright lie? Where does the truth live anymore? Media? Politics? Business? None of the above? It has never been more important to learn the truth, and never has it been harder to find it. And it’s this very issue that is dividing the world. We think the other side has been conned. They think we’ve been conned. One thing’s for sure—someone’s getting conned. And that’s why I love con books! 

Robert's book list on cons and scams

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Why did Robert love this book?

In my career as a corporate spy, I was able to see and learn many things I wasn’t supposed to. As a result, I saw the makings of what would become the world’s worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the 2008 Crash. At first, I thought I was the only one, until I read The Big Short. Michael Lewis documents the few oddballs and kooks prescient enough to read the financial tea leaves and see the crash coming. More than that, he shows how Wall Street didn’t care, until it was too late. 

The Big Short

By Michael Lewis,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Big Short as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The real story of the crash began in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn't shine and the SEC doesn't dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real estate derivative markets where geeks invent impenetrable securities to profit from the misery of lower- and middle-class Americans who can't pay their debts. The smart people who understood what was or might be happening were paralyzed by hope and fear; in any case, they weren't talking.

Michael Lewis creates a fresh, character-driven narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting sequel to his #1 bestseller Liar's Poker. Out of a…


Fool’s Gold

By Gillian Tett,

Book cover of Fool’s Gold: How Unrestrained Greed Corrupted a Dream, Shattered Global Markets and Unleashed a Catastrophe

Donald Angus MacKenzie Author Of Trading at the Speed of Light: How Ultrafast Algorithms Are Transforming Financial Markets

From the list on financial trading and the global financial system.

Who am I?

I'm a sociologist at the University of Edinburgh, and for almost fifty years I’ve researched a large variety of topics, from the story of the guidance systems of nuclear missiles to the instantaneous auctions that, today, determine the ads you are shown online. But I keep returning to the topic of trading and the global financial system. The processes that lie behind this shape our lives in profound ways, but they are often both complicated and opaque. We need reliable guides for them, and the authors and books that I am recommending are among the very best guides!

Donald's book list on financial trading and the global financial system

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

Why did Donald love this book?

The global financial crisis that erupted in 2008 was a shocking event. Britain’s cash machines came within a few hours of stopping working, and the global banking system would have collapsed were it not for unprecedented multi-billion-dollar government bail-outs. Gillian Tett, trained as an anthropologist, became a financial journalist but kept on applying her fieldwork skills. Almost alone in her new profession, she grasped the huge risks that were developing underneath the radar and wrote about them in the Financial Times. Her book, Fool’s Gold, was one of the first books written about 2008’s giant crisis and remains one of the best. 

To my mind, Tett is the world’s top financial journalist, and I’ve always learned a great deal from her pioneering in-depth reporting.

Fool’s Gold

By Gillian Tett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fool’s Gold as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A truly gripping narrative . . . The fact that Tett is able to reproduce such raw private communications is a tribute to her journalistic abilities' Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times

'Her blow-by-blow story is an impressive piece of detective work. She pulls back the curtain on a closed, unaccountable world of finance' Will Hutton, Guardian

In the mid 1990s, at a vast hotel complex on a private Florida beach, dozens of bankers from JP Morgan gathered for what was to become a legendary off-site meeting. It was a wild weekend. But among the drinking, nightclubbing and fist-fights lay a more…


To Die for

By Lucy Siegle,

Book cover of To Die for: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World?

Tansy E. Hoskins Author Of Foot Work: What Your Shoes Are Doing to the World

From the list on workers’ rights in the fashion industry.

Who am I?

I'm a journalist and author writing (mostly) about labour rights and the politics of the fashion industry. This work has taken me to Bangladesh, Kenya, Macedonia, and the Topshop warehouses in Solihull. I am the author of Foot Work – What Your Shoes Are Doing To The World, an exposé of the dark origins of the shoes on our feet. My award-winning first book Stitched Up – The Anti-Capitalist Book of Fashion, is available in six languages and was selected by Emma Watson for her "Ultimate Book List".

Tansy's book list on workers’ rights in the fashion industry

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

Why did Tansy love this book?

A classic book on the pain that fashion inflicts on both people and planet. This book does an excellent job of showing how the exploitation of people is inseparable from the exploitation of the biosphere. It is a searing critique of the fashion industry and its voracious appetite for evermore profit, and how this short-termist model is driving us towards disaster.

To Die for

By Lucy Siegle,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An expose on the fashion industry written by the Observer's 'Ethical Living' columnist, examining the inhumane and environmentally devastating story behind the clothes we so casually buy and wear.

Coming at a time when the global financial crisis and contracting of consumer spending is ushering in a new epoch for the fashion industry, To Die For offers a very plausible vision of how green could really be the new black.

Taking particular issue with our current mania for both big-name labels and cheap fashion, To Die For sets an agenda for the urgent changes that can and need to be…


The Haves and the Have-Nots

By Branko Milanovic,

Book cover of The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality

D. Sánchez-Ancochea Author Of The Costs of Inequality in Latin America: Lessons and Warnings for the Rest of the World

From the list on inequality as one of our significant challenges.

Who am I?

I am a political economist committed to building a better world for all. In my academic work, I explore the obstacles to human flourishing and the best policies to promote more equitable development. The growing concentration of wealth among a small elite have become one of our most significant challenges to create better societies. In a growing number of countries, the wealthy control more than a third of all the income generated every year, contributing to social discontent and reducing the opportunities for the majority. I want to convince everyone out there about the urgency of understanding why inequality takes place, why it is costly and how we can fight against it is.

D.'s book list on inequality as one of our significant challenges

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

Why did D. love this book?

Reading about income inequality can be fun! 

Branko Milanovic combines critical accounts of the literature on inequality with short illustrative vignettes that cover everything from English literature to Marx´s ideas. 

Over three chapters, he reviews the three key dimensions of inequality: income gaps between people within a single country, income gaps between countries, and (combining both) income gaps between all citizens of the world. 

There are so many interesting examples in this book: you will learn what Pride and Prejudice teach us about wealth concentration, the degree of inequality in the Roman empire, or the links between income distribution and the 2008 financial crisis. 

A must-read if you want to understand economics while learning about interesting facts in an entertaining way.

The Haves and the Have-Nots

By Branko Milanovic,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Haves and the Have-Nots as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Who is the richest person in the world, ever? Does where you were born affect how much money you'll earn over a lifetime? How would we know? Why- beyond the idle curiosity- do these questions even matter? In The Haves and the Have-Nots , Branko Milanovic, one of the world's leading experts on wealth, poverty, and the gap that separates them, explains these and other mysteries of how wealth is unevenly spread throughout our world, now and through time. Milanovic uses history, literature and stories straight out of today's newspapers, to discuss one of the major divisions in our social…


The Money Illusion

By Scott Sumner,

Book cover of The Money Illusion: Market Monetarism, the Great Recession, and the Future of Monetary Policy

Helena Chytilová Author Of Economic Literacy and Money Illusion: An Experimental Perspective

From the list on economic reads about money illusion.

Who am I?

I am associate professor at Prague University of Economics and Business. My passion is to discover blank spaces in the economy, for which standard mainstream economic models have not provided answers yet. I was usually fascinated by biased behavior of individuals, which might lead to substantial implications at aggregate level. This has led me to narrow my focus on behavioral macroeconomics with special emphasis on monetary theory and policy, vibrant field with a great potential. After all, experimental economics seems to be a wonderful tool to examine phenomena, which is hard to grasp or for which there is no available data, such as money illusion, coordination failure, bank runs or Modigliani-Cohn hypothesis. 

Helena's book list on economic reads about money illusion

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

Why did Helena love this book?

I like this book especially due to its ability to illustrate money illusion in a very unconventional context.

Normally, money illusion means that people take nominal variables as proxy for real variables, which leads to suboptimal choice having real effects on the economy and affecting business cycle.

However, to my great surprise this book claims that even economic experts might suffer from some kind of money illusion, because they tend to misinterpret what is happening in the monetary system. This offers a very interesting explanation of recession and suggests that economists have not targeted adequate variables.

Unconventional suggestion to practice nominal GDP (gross domestic product) targeting instead of targeting the money supply is “outcome” of unique author´s vision called market monetarism. Inattention of policymakers to development of nominal GDP is blamed to be the direct cause of recession. 

The Money Illusion

By Scott Sumner,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The first book-length work on market monetarism, written by its leading scholar.

Is it possible that the consensus around what caused the 2008 Great Recession is almost entirely wrong? It's happened before. Just as Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz led the economics community in the 1960s to reevaluate its view of what caused the Great Depression, the same may be happening now to our understanding of the first economic crisis of the 21st century.

Foregoing the usual relitigating of problems such as housing markets and banking crises, renowned monetary economist Scott Sumner argues that the Great Recession came down to…