 | The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron by Peter Elkind
Buy new: £6.96 / Used from: £3.90 How Enron fell and why. Makes you wonder how many other structured finance deals are just a big con.
|
 | My Life as a Quant: Reflections on Physics and Finance by Emanuel Derman
Buy new: £16.06 / Used from: £5.18 Surprisingly readable. It's not just the lawyers who feel like outsiders in an investment bank: apparently these guys have the same problem.
|
 | Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough
Buy new: £6.46 / Used from: £4.27 Any story that includes a guy named Joe Flom must be a good one. But don't let it seduce you into working in M&A.
|
 | The Predator's Ball: The Inside Story of Drexel Burnham and the Rise of the Junk Bond Raiders by Connie Bruck
Buy used from: £2.33 Michael Milken had a fantastic business, and would never have lost it if he had had a good lawyer sitting next to him (and had followed his advice).
|
 | When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital Management by Roger Lowenstein
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £2.46 To a lawyer, this story shows the importance of having all your swap confirmations in good order in case you go bust. Sad really.
|
 | Liar's Poker (Hodder Great Reads) by Michael Lewis
Buy new: £5.38 / Used from: £3.44 This is a really good book. If you only read one on this list, make it this one.
|
 | Rogue Trader by Nick Leeson
Buy new: £6.36 / Used from: £0.01 Not great literature, but still essential reading. How an ordinary, likeable guy inadvertently trashed his bank.
|
 | Principles of Corporate Finance by Myers
Buy used from: £32.98 By no means a good read, so don't bother. But it should be on display in your office.
|
 | Inside the House of Money: Top Hedge Fund Traders on Profiting in the Global Markets by Steven Drobny
Buy new: £12.88 / Used from: £11.99 Useful if you would like to know what a hedge fund actually is. Less nauseating than "Hedgehogging".
|
 | Where Are the Customers' Yachts?: Or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street (Wiley Investment Classics) by Fred Schwed Jr.
Buy new: £9.79 / Used from: £7.25 Funny and true
|
Listmania!
