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16 Best Finance Books to Read Today

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Finance Books: Put These On Your List

By the time you read this, you may be nearing the end of your first day digging into this wonderful and slightly weird world of trading, or you could be starting your 2nd year, or anywhere else between those points in time.

No matter how long you’ve been on this journey towards becoming a trader, you’ve probably figured out that one of the major requirements of the “job” is to read.

A lot.

You’ll be reading articles about getting started, articles about various theories, articles about certain phrases used in trading, Wikipedia articles on assets, companies and people, advanced blog posts and what must seem like the library of congress in terms of the sheer volume of pages.

And you do all of that to enhance your financial education.

We’d like to say that it gets easier, but that would be misleading because the fact of the matter is that any great trader knows they can never take the foot off the gas when it comes to learning more new things.

So instead, we want to answer a question you and many other traders may have had, which is: What are the best books on investing and finance?

A list of the Best finance books

the Art Of War Sun Tzu

1. The Art Of War – Sun Tzu: Originally meant to serve as a strategy guide for Chinese generals, this book has long since morphed into a general guide on strategies for various walks of life, including finance and trading. While its advice may not directly apply to finance, it does teach traders how to conquer fears and opponents.


Liars Poker Michael Lewis

2. Liar’s Poker – Michael Lewis: The 1980’s was a great time to be a trader on Wall Street and author Lewis details his time in the trenches of what was one of the bigger firms of its day – Salomon Brothers, while giving an inside look into the intricacies of the premier financial arena in the world.


The Simple Path To Wealth Jl Collins

3. The Simple Path To Wealth – JL Collins: If you’re after a relatively easy to understand “digest” of tips, this may be the one for you, as the author originally drafted its content in letters meant for his daughter. Despite being simple in tone, it is not short on easy-to-grasp investing tips.


I Will Teach You To Be Rich Ramit Sethi

4. I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Ramit Sethi: This book makes no bones about what it is – an easy-to-understand and possibly easier to execute 6-week guide to managing your finances along with creating new avenues for income.


The Automatic Millionare David Bach

5. The Automatic Millionaire – David Bach: Much like the previous book on the list, this book helps readers set up the systems they need to rid themselves of debt and start accruing wealth; and what’s best about it is the fact that – if determined – readers can accomplish this in a single afternoon.


Unshakeable Tony Robbins Book cover

6. Unshakeable – Tony Robbins: Self-help books are not for everyone, but if you are inclined to read them you can do no better than this entry by financial self-help guru Robbins, which posits that salary, age, location or other factors can & should be overcome on the path to success.


The Four Pillars Of Investing William J Bernstein book cover

7. The Four Pillars of Investing – William J. Bernstein: This book chooses to focus on giving readers practical advice, a “how-to” in near “step-by-step” form on how to construct a portfolio that is diverse, wide-ranging, not costly and – perhaps most importantly – highly successful.


Freakonomics Steven Levitt Stephen Dubner book cover

8. Freakonomics – Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner: Some things need to be looked at from a different perspective in order to be truly understood. That is the simple premise behind this book: it will take you on a ride that will some time defy logic but will end up making you realize the true faces of economics, markets, traders and the forces that combine them.


The Essays Of Waren Buffett

9. The Essays of Warren Buffett – Warren Buffett: It would be nearly impossible to have a list of books concerned with investing without devoting at least one item to the one man many consider to be the premier investor of all time. This book is simply a collection of his letters to shareholders in famed investment company Berkshire Hathaway through which readers are able to gain insight into his once-in-a-lifetime business mind along with everything that comes with it.


Investing For Dummies Eric Tyson book cover

10.  Investing For Dummies – Eric Tyson: We don’t mean to offend anyone, nor are we name-calling, but books in this series are famous for often taking complex topics and breaking them down into easily digestible bits, which may be a godsend after reading complex and overbearing articles.


Thinking Fast And Show Daniel Kahneman book cover

11. Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman: Understanding psychology and decision making is one of the most important things in a trader’s arsenal; yet it is hardly mentioned in lists such as these. Reading this book may alter the very way you go about investing and even other aspects of your life.


Competitive Strategy Michael Porter

12. Competitive Strategy – Michael Porter: One of the things that will likely never change is the competitive nature of human society. So, despite being 40 years old, this book breaks down the creation of a competitive advantage and how it can be maintained.


The Economist Guide To Financial Markets Marc Levinson book cover

13. The Economist Guide To Financial Markets – Marc Levinson:  In a span of about 300 pages, author Levinson manages to cram an incredible amount of data on everything from commodities and bonds to derivatives and how markets work. Think of this as a crash course in terminology and a no-nonsense explanation of topics you will need to be well versed in as a trader.


Stocks For The Long Run Jeremy Siegel book cover

14. Stocks For The Long Run – Jeremy Siegel: Some books provide information while others provide a historical context of some kind. Few books provide both and even fewer do so in a successful and compelling way. This book not only gives traders actionable advice, but also puts it in a proper historical background.


The $100 Startup Chris Guillebeau

15.  The $100 Startup – Chris Guillebeau: The great thing about this book is that it looks at specific instances of how people got their business to succeed at a really in-depth level and comes away with lessons that could be applicable to all walks of life, including trading.


I Will Teach You To Be Rich Ramit Sethi

16. The Man Who Solved The Market – Gregory Zuckerman: At some point, early in your trading career, you will run into the need to understand the math and algorithms that help breakdown how markets act. This book looks at the man who begat that revolution and how it can impact you.


Summary

Books, like traders, come in all shapes and sizes and while you may initially want to concentrate on the practical aspects of getting to know the market and terminology that surrounds it, at some point you will likely want to start expanding your horizons into more theoretical aspects of trading.

It is our hope that this list has helped you find at least a few books to put on your list of the best personal finance books.