Here is a list of some of the best finance and economic books of 2011. Given that everyone is interested in the economy, you can find any number of people on your holiday gift list who would enjoy one or more of these great books. I never recommend anything I haven't read myself and all of these are a great read if you enjoy learning about the economy and finance.
The Lean Startup gives you the reasons you don't want to build the wrong thing or offer the wrong product and a methodology to allow you to create and manage successful start-up businesses. The premise behind this book is that most start-ups fail but those failures are preventable if you use the scientific method offered in the book. An interesting read and one of the top reads of the year.More »
Entrepreneurs have a variety of motivations for starting a company. Start-up companies are inundated with advice on how to grow and expand. However, some entrepreneurs don't necessarily want to grow and expand. The Big Enough Company explores how a company can be successful while meeting the owner's needs in terms of size and level of involvement. Instead of bowing to peer pressure to grow, this book, one of the top books of 2011, encourages the entrepreneur to meet their own goals.More »
Most business people have heard of this book and the "zombie bank" phenomenon since the Wall Street crash of 2008. Zombie banks are banks that are holding so many bad debts that they don't have the money to make new loans. If a bank can't make new loans, is it a bank? What is the purpose of its existence?
Zombie Banks prop up big debtor nations, like the U.S. and these failing institutions damage the global economy. The author is a veteran Bloomberg news reporter and financial sector expert. He discusses how we got here and what we have to do to get out - harsh realities. He also discusses what zombie banks actually are and how they must be dissolved in order to restore economic stability.More »
Reckless Endangerment, written by Pulitizer Prize winning columnist Gretchen Morgensen, is an account of the fall of the U.S. economy that is a must-read. We all know, by now, that government officials were complicit with the Wall Street barons that made risky loans and investments that led to the Wall Street Crash of 2008.
Morgensen digs deeper, however, and taps primary research sources from co-author Joshua Rosner. They expose the role of Fannie Mae as well as other big players such as Goldman Sachs, Countrywide Financial, and the Federal Reserve among others.
If you read no other book about the economic crash in 2008, read this one!More »
Doing Both is a fascinating book focusing on the success of Cisco Systems even during the Great Recession. After reading it myself, I felt I had been educated! Cisco has done amazingly well during the past seven years. They have doubled revenue, tripled profits, and quadrupled earnings per share, even in this highly unstable economy.
Doing Both focuses on the fact that companies usually have two paths they can take. First, they can focus on their core business. Second, they can focus on innovation and growth. Why can't they do both? Cisco and its success proves they can. The author also presents a plan for doing both in your company.More »
Exile on Wall Street is written by a veteran Wall Street analyst, Mike Mayo, who dares to speak out against Wall Street. The entire book centers around one premise - the crash of Wall Street in 2008 has not changed a thing. Mayo has worked for many Wall Street firms and he gives us a behind the scenes look at what really goes on. He looks at the fallout that occurred from the financial crash and pokes holes in the system.
This book is an wonderful resource for anyone interested in finance, capitalism, banking, and financial crisis.More »
If you want to understand China and the rise of China as a major player in the global economy, read Red Capitalism! Thirty years ago, China could not put together enough foreign currency for the Emperor to travel to the U.S. Now, it is the U.S.'s largest creditor and is set to grow at 8% despite the worldwide recession. China may even surpass the U.S. as a world economic power. The authors look deep inside the financial machine of China to understand and explain its business model. They also comment on the social and political consequences of China's economic expansion. A great read!More »
Back to Work is an excellent work by former President Bill Clinton. It is his take on the current state of the U.S. economy as well as recommendations on how to fix the unemployment problem, how to double our exports, create new businesses, increase bank lending and corporate investment, and restore manufacturing. He believes in the public and private sectors working together to restore our infrastructure and our country. An excellent read!More »
That Used To Be Us, written by a major columnist in the U.S., Thomas Friedman, and a foreign policy expert, Michael Mandelbaum, explains what the U.S. needs to do to get back to a place of American prosperity and values. They explain that the end of the Cold War, the nation was blinded to the issues it needed to address to move forward. These issues, according to the authors are globalization, the revolution in information technology, large deficits, and our pattern of energy consumption.
The authors offer a way out of the trap into which we've fallen. An excellent book!More »
What can one say about this book - the definitive work about Steve Jobs, the deceased head of Apple Computer? The author, Walter Isaacson, did more than 40 interviews with Jobs over a two year period and talked to over 100 family members, friends, colleagues, and competitors. Steve Jobs revolutionized the broader technology industry by knowing how to meld creativity with technology. His products also reflected his despair, his struggles, and his happiness.
Written while he was still alive, Jobs asked for no control over the book. He encouraged the people interviewed to speak honestly. Jobs himself is brutally honest when interviewed. A must read for anyone interested in technology or business.More »
1. The Lean Startup
The Lean Startup gives you the reasons you don't want to build the wrong thing or offer the wrong product and a methodology to allow you to create and manage successful start-up businesses. The premise behind this book is that most start-ups fail but those failures are preventable if you use the scientific method offered in the book. An interesting read and one of the top reads of the year.More »
2. The Big Enough Company
Entrepreneurs have a variety of motivations for starting a company. Start-up companies are inundated with advice on how to grow and expand. However, some entrepreneurs don't necessarily want to grow and expand. The Big Enough Company explores how a company can be successful while meeting the owner's needs in terms of size and level of involvement. Instead of bowing to peer pressure to grow, this book, one of the top books of 2011, encourages the entrepreneur to meet their own goals.More »
3. Zombie Banks: How Broken Banks and Debtor Nations are Crippling Global Economy
Most business people have heard of this book and the "zombie bank" phenomenon since the Wall Street crash of 2008. Zombie banks are banks that are holding so many bad debts that they don't have the money to make new loans. If a bank can't make new loans, is it a bank? What is the purpose of its existence?
Zombie Banks prop up big debtor nations, like the U.S. and these failing institutions damage the global economy. The author is a veteran Bloomberg news reporter and financial sector expert. He discusses how we got here and what we have to do to get out - harsh realities. He also discusses what zombie banks actually are and how they must be dissolved in order to restore economic stability.More »
4. Reckless Endangerment
Reckless Endangerment, written by Pulitizer Prize winning columnist Gretchen Morgensen, is an account of the fall of the U.S. economy that is a must-read. We all know, by now, that government officials were complicit with the Wall Street barons that made risky loans and investments that led to the Wall Street Crash of 2008.
Morgensen digs deeper, however, and taps primary research sources from co-author Joshua Rosner. They expose the role of Fannie Mae as well as other big players such as Goldman Sachs, Countrywide Financial, and the Federal Reserve among others.
If you read no other book about the economic crash in 2008, read this one!More »
5. Doing Both
Doing Both is a fascinating book focusing on the success of Cisco Systems even during the Great Recession. After reading it myself, I felt I had been educated! Cisco has done amazingly well during the past seven years. They have doubled revenue, tripled profits, and quadrupled earnings per share, even in this highly unstable economy.
Doing Both focuses on the fact that companies usually have two paths they can take. First, they can focus on their core business. Second, they can focus on innovation and growth. Why can't they do both? Cisco and its success proves they can. The author also presents a plan for doing both in your company.More »
6. Exile on Wall Street
Exile on Wall Street is written by a veteran Wall Street analyst, Mike Mayo, who dares to speak out against Wall Street. The entire book centers around one premise - the crash of Wall Street in 2008 has not changed a thing. Mayo has worked for many Wall Street firms and he gives us a behind the scenes look at what really goes on. He looks at the fallout that occurred from the financial crash and pokes holes in the system.
This book is an wonderful resource for anyone interested in finance, capitalism, banking, and financial crisis.More »
7. Red Capitalism
If you want to understand China and the rise of China as a major player in the global economy, read Red Capitalism! Thirty years ago, China could not put together enough foreign currency for the Emperor to travel to the U.S. Now, it is the U.S.'s largest creditor and is set to grow at 8% despite the worldwide recession. China may even surpass the U.S. as a world economic power. The authors look deep inside the financial machine of China to understand and explain its business model. They also comment on the social and political consequences of China's economic expansion. A great read!More »
8. Back to Work
Back to Work is an excellent work by former President Bill Clinton. It is his take on the current state of the U.S. economy as well as recommendations on how to fix the unemployment problem, how to double our exports, create new businesses, increase bank lending and corporate investment, and restore manufacturing. He believes in the public and private sectors working together to restore our infrastructure and our country. An excellent read!More »
9. That Used to be Us
That Used To Be Us, written by a major columnist in the U.S., Thomas Friedman, and a foreign policy expert, Michael Mandelbaum, explains what the U.S. needs to do to get back to a place of American prosperity and values. They explain that the end of the Cold War, the nation was blinded to the issues it needed to address to move forward. These issues, according to the authors are globalization, the revolution in information technology, large deficits, and our pattern of energy consumption.
The authors offer a way out of the trap into which we've fallen. An excellent book!More »
10. Steve Jobs
What can one say about this book - the definitive work about Steve Jobs, the deceased head of Apple Computer? The author, Walter Isaacson, did more than 40 interviews with Jobs over a two year period and talked to over 100 family members, friends, colleagues, and competitors. Steve Jobs revolutionized the broader technology industry by knowing how to meld creativity with technology. His products also reflected his despair, his struggles, and his happiness.
Written while he was still alive, Jobs asked for no control over the book. He encouraged the people interviewed to speak honestly. Jobs himself is brutally honest when interviewed. A must read for anyone interested in technology or business.More »
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