Listmania!
Decisions, statistics and probability (in that order).
Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody ElseTalent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin
Buy new: £7.59 / Used from: £6.08
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly ImprobableThe Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Buy new: £5.36 / Used from: £3.76
An understanding of Black Swans is very important to inform our decisions even if they cannot be predicted.
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and HappinessNudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard H Thaler
Buy new: £5.84 / Used from: £3.84
More about making policy than what the individual should do.
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without ThinkingBlink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
Buy new: £5.96 / Used from: £3.20
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our DecisionsPredictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely
Buy new: £4.94 / Used from: £3.75
IrrationalityIrrationality by Stuart Sutherland
Buy new: £5.97 / Used from: £3.69
This feels somewhat dated now but provides excellent examples of what have been considered 'bias' in our thinking.
The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our LivesThe Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow
Buy new: £5.97 / Used from: £3.49
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the MarketsFooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Buy new: £5.29 / Used from: £3.55
Written before 'Black Swan' and is some ways superior.
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big DifferenceThe Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
Buy new: £5.59 / Used from: £2.77
The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the FewThe Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few by James Surowiecki
Buy new: £5.96 / Used from: £3.75
Sources of Power: How People Make DecisionsSources of Power: How People Make Decisions by G Klein
Buy new: £14.90 / Used from: £14.07
If you want to have an understanding of how experts (such as firemen and soldiers) make real decisions then this is excellent.
Supercrunchers: How Anything Can be PredictedSupercrunchers: How Anything Can be Predicted by Ian Ayres
Buy used from: £6.00
Important for deciding when multiple linear regression is realistic.
Reckoning with Risk: Learning to Live with UncertaintyReckoning with Risk: Learning to Live with Uncertainty by Gerd Gigerenzer
Buy new: £6.36 / Used from: £2.82
I love this book because it claers the statistical fog. Medical and justice issues covered.
Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the UnconsciousGut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious by Gerd Gigerenzer
Buy used from: £6.75
A layman's introduction to this fascinating subject of heuristics. More academic than Blink.
The Empire of Chance: How Probability Changed Science and Everyday Life (Ideas in Context)The Empire of Chance: How Probability Changed Science and Everyday Life (Ideas in Context) by Gerd Gigerenzer;Zeno Swijtink;Theodore Porter;Lorraine Daston;John Beatty;Lorenz Kruger
Buy new: £18.83 / Used from: £24.35
Heavy going but academic gold-standard.
Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart (Evolution and Cognition Series)Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart (Evolution and Cognition Series) by Gerd Gigerenzer
Buy new: £20.89 / Used from: £29.38
Very Smart.
Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of RiskAgainst the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk by Peter L. Bernstein
Buy new: £8.34 / Used from: £5.60
I have read this more than once and enjot it every time.
RandomnessRandomness by DJ Bennett
Buy new: £13.95 / Used from: £14.03
I really liked this although it is more about games than decisions in the real world.
Dance with Chance: Making Luck Work for YouDance with Chance: Making Luck Work for You by Spyros Makridakis
Buy new: £6.96 / Used from: £4.50
Builds on Black Swan and is easier to read!
Understanding Probability: Chance Rules in Everyday LifeUnderstanding Probability: Chance Rules in Everyday Life by Henk Tijms
Buy new: £17.87 / Used from: £16.91
Close to a maths text, but readable.
The Cult of Statistical Significance: How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives (Economics, Cognition & Society)The Cult of Statistical Significance: How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives (Economics, Cognition & Society) by Stephen Thomas Ziliak
Buy new: £16.28 / Used from: £17.65
Made me really think hard about my statistical understanding.
Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth CenturyLady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century by David Salsburg
Buy new: £8.16 / Used from: £6.99
Very American but a great read.
Dicing with Death: Chance, Risk and HealthDicing with Death: Chance, Risk and Health by Stephen Senn
Buy new: £15.04 / Used from: £8.20
Medical statistics described by an expert (true sense) statistician.
How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based MedicineHow to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine by Trisha Greenhalgh
Buy new: £18.25 / Used from: £17.40
This is a resource for informing my own medical decisions. Evidence-based medicine (EBM) for real.
Lateral Thinking: A Textbook of CreativityLateral Thinking: A Textbook of Creativity by Edward de Bono
Buy new: £6.46 / Used from: £1.35
To make a decision you need to come up with some options.