Recommendations based on Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System from Crisis — and Themselvesby Andrew Ross Sorkin

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management

    by Roger Lowenstein
    The story of the hedge fund that almost brought down the financial system in 1998, and the hubris and greed that led to its downfall.

    With a new Afterword addressing today’s financial crisis A BUSINESS WEEK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR In this business classic—now with a new Afterword in which the author draws parallels to the recent ... (Goodreads)

  2. Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco

    by Bryan Burrough
    The story of the highly competitive bidding war for RJR Nabisco, one of the biggest corporate takeovers in history.

    A #1 New York Times bestseller and arguably the best business narrative ever written, Barbarians at the Gate is the classic account of the fall of RJR Nabisco. An enduring masterpiece of ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

    by Bethany McLean
    The dramatic story of the Enron scandal, exposing the hidden corruption behind the company's meteoric rise and fall.

    There were dozens of books about Watergate, but only All the President's Men gave readers the full story, with all the drama and nuance and exclusive reporting. And thirty years later, if you're ... (Goodreads)

  4. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

    by Michael Lewis
    How an unconventional approach to baseball changed the competitive landscape.

    Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball , had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every ... (Goodreads)

  5. Liar's Poker

    by Michael Lewis
    A Wall Street insider's look at the culture of high finance and the dynamics of the markets.

    The time was the 1980s. The place was Wall Street. The game was called Liar’s Poker. Michael Lewis was fresh out of Princeton and the London School of Economics when he landed a job at Salomon ... (Goodreads)

  6. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

    by Jared Diamond
    Tracing the origins of human civilizations through the lens of geography, technology, and biology.

    "Diamond has written a book of remarkable scope ... one of the most important and readable works on the human past published in recent years." Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a national bestseller: ... (Goodreads)

  7. Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World

    by Liaquat Ahamed
    An exploration of the economic decisions of four central bankers that changed the course of history.

    The book discusses the personal histories of the four heads of the Central Banks of the United States, Great Britain, France, and Germany, and their efforts to steer the world economy from the period ... (Wikipedia)

  8. The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

    by Niall Ferguson
    Outlines the history of money and its pivotal role in human society.

    Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance. Bread, cash, ... (Goodreads)

  9. Den of Thieves

    by James B. Stewart
    Uncovering the inside story of the Wall Street scandals of the 1980s.

    A #1 bestseller from coast to coast,, Den of Thieves, tells the full story of the insider-trading scandal that nearly destroyed Wall Street, the men who pulled it off, and the chase that finally ... (Goodreads)

  10. Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World

    by Michael Lewis
    A journey through the economic crisis in Europe and the United States, and its global implications.

    The tsunami of cheap credit that rolled across the planet between 2002 and 2008 was more than a simple financial phenomenon: it was temptation, offering entire societies the chance to reveal aspects ... (Goodreads)

  11. The Intelligent Investor

    by Benjamin Graham
    An in-depth guide to investing, providing strategies to become a successful investor.

    More than one million hardcovers sold Now available for the first time in paperback! The Classic Text Annotated to Update Graham's Timeless Wisdom for Today's Market Conditions The greatest ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

    by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
    A study of the role of randomness in life, and how it can lead to unexpected events.

    A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear ... (Goodreads)

  13. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

    by John Carreyrou
    The rise and fall of Theranos, a fraudulent blood-testing startup, and the deceitful actions of its founder Elizabeth Holmes.

    The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face ... (Goodreads)

  14. The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don't

    by Nate Silver
    An exploration of the art and science of prediction, examining why some predictions succeed while others fail.

    Nate Silver built an innovative system for predicting baseball performance, predicted the 2008 election within a hair's breadth. He solidified his standing as the nation's foremost political ... (Goodreads)

  15. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

    by Peter Thiel
    A guide to launching a startup, exploring the power of entrepreneurship.

    If you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets. The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, ... (Goodreads)

  16. The Post-American World

    by Fareed Zakaria
    Exploring the changing global order, and the implications for America's future.

    "This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else." So begins Fareed Zakaria's important new work on the era we are now entering. Following on the success ... (Goodreads)

  17. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

    by James C. Collins
    Analysis of successful companies and their long-term strategies, identifying key habits and practices that lead to enduring success.

    "This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. ... (Goodreads)

  18. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

    by Robert B. Cialdini
    An analysis of the psychology of persuasion and how to use it to influence people.

    Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say "yes"—and how to apply these understandings. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

    by Alice Schroeder
    An in-depth biography of Warren Buffett, exploring his career, investments, and life.

    Here is THE book recounting the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one ... (Goodreads)

  20. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

    by Jon Krakauer
    A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.

    When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (Goodreads)

  21. In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives

    by Steven Levy
    An inside look at the history, culture, and technology behind Google, the world's most powerful search engine and tech giant.

    Written with full cooperation from top management, including cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, this is the inside story behind Google, the most successful and most admired technology company of ... (Goodreads)

  22. The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor

    by Howard Marks
    A renowned investor shares his insights on successful investing, emphasizing the importance of risk management and contrarian thinking.

    "This is that rarity, a useful book."–Warren Buffett Howard Marks, the chairman and cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management, is renowned for his insightful assessments of market opportunity and risk. ... (Goodreads)

  23. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

    by Nathaniel Philbrick
    True account of a whaling ship's disastrous voyage and the survivors' struggle for survival.

    "With its huge, scarred head halfway out of the water and its tail beating the ocean into a white-water wake more than forty feet across, the whale approached the ship at twice its original speed - ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Prince

    by Niccolò Machiavelli
    A timeless political treatise on the art of acquiring and maintaining power.

    Machiavelli needs to be looked at as he really was. Hence: Can Machiavelli, who makes the following observations, be Machiavellian as we understand the disparaging term? 1. So it is that to know the ... (Goodreads)

  25. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness

    by Richard H. Thaler
    A groundbreaking exploration of how subtle influences can shape decisions and improve people's lives.

    From the winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics, Richard H. Thaler, and Cass R. Sunstein: a revelatory look at how we make decisions,New York Times bestseller,Named a Best Book of the Year by, ... (Goodreads)

  26. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

    by Ashlee Vance
    A revealing look into the life and accomplishments of tech innovator Elon Musk.

    Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

    by Siddhartha Mukherjee
    A comprehensive account of the history and science of cancer, from its origins to modern treatments.

    An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found, here, and, here,. The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer - from its first documented ... (Goodreads)

  28. Thinking, Fast and Slow

    by Daniel Kahneman
    An exploration of the two systems of the mind, and how they influence decision-making.

    In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow , Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and ... (Goodreads)

  29. What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures

    by Malcolm Gladwell
    Collection of essays about the surprising connections between seemingly unrelated topics.

    What is the difference between choking and panicking? Why are there dozens of varieties of mustard but only one variety of ketchup? What do football players teach us about how to hire teachers? What ... (Goodreads)

  30. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

    by Jared Diamond
    Study of past societies' successes and failures in terms of environmental, economic, and political decisions.

    Brilliant, illuminating, and immensely absorbing, Collapse is destined to take its place as one of the essential books of our time, raising the urgent question: How can our world best avoid ... (Goodreads)