MARKET CYCLES, TRADING & CRASHES
The first three are must reads:
A History of Interest Rates (1996) Sidney Homer
I prefer my 1963 edition to this revised copy, but this is a thorough and well written book covering 3000 B.C. to the almost present day. Interest rates, fiat currencies and gold (this book only covers the first) or more relevant today than ever.
Anatomy of the Bear: Lessons from Wall Street’s Four Great Bottoms (2007) Russell Napier
Wraps U.S. economic history, market structure, media analysis and pattern recognition into a highly readable and useful approach to evaluating major market turns.
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (1923) Ed Lefevre (Jesse Livermore)
Before bitcoin, meme stocks and penny stocks you had the bucket shops of the 1890s and early 20th century. This is the shadow biography of legendary “Boy Plunger” Jesse Livermore. Why read it? Because nothing has changed!
Once in Golconda: A True Drama of Wall Street 1920-1938 (1969) John Brooks
The Great Crash of 1929 (1988) John Kenneth Galbraith
INVESTING
Security Analysis (The Classic 1934 Edition) (1934) Benjamin Graham
The tome from the man who taught Warren Buffet. I’ve actually used methods from this book to identify and call out crap from Fortune 500 companies. It’s awesome. You are not a real security analyst until you read this book.
The Intelligent Investor (1973) Benjamin Graham
Think of this as “security analysis lite” in some respects but really more focused on how to successfully use value investing strategies in the stock market. Originally published in 1949. Investors need to own this one.
How to Buy Stocks (1994) Louis Engel
There are two intelligent ways to purchase stocks: directly or using an Index Fund. If you are going to purchase stocks this is your first book to read.
John Bogle on Investing: The First 50 Years (2001) John Bogle
1. There is NO intelligent reason to invest in actively managed mutual funds. 97% of fund managers destroy value.
2. Investors lose (0.6%) per annum trying to time markets and sectors with ETFs.
3. Do what Bogle says and save 90% on your fees plus get another 2.2-2.5% per year in return. Questions?
BIG FINANCE
The Way It Was: An Oral History of Finance 1967-1987 (1988) Institutional Investor Editors
Big Deal (1998) Bruce Wasserstein
The Quest for Value (1990) G. Bennett Stewart III
Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk (1998) Peter L. Bernstein