Investing - Read All about It

If you’re still stalking that perfect gift for a friend or colleague who’s interested in things financial, books can be a good choice, and there are books aplenty about investing. There are how-to books, books that show you how to make money in the markets, and books that show you how great bundles of cash were lost (and made) in the great market landslide.

Looking for a classic overview of the stock market? Try The Intelligent Investor, an updated edition of the landmark work on value investing by Benjamin Graham, who was Warren Buffett’s mentor. Another timeless tome is Fred Schwed’s Where Are the Customers’ Yachts?, a humorous but piercing look at the folly and hypocrisy of Wall Street that shows how the world of finance, unfortunately, is much the same today as it was 55 years ago. There’s also Burton Malkiel’s A Random Walk Down Wall Street, which has become a basic primer for anyone interested in the science of investing.

In the how-to category, you can choose from dozens of books, including Jim Cramer’s Getting Back to Even, or The Investor’s Manifesto from physician/finance guru William Bernstein. Or you can opt for the explicitly titled How to Make Money in Stocks, by William O’Neil, founder of Investor’s Business Daily. For disaster buffs, there’s A Colossal Failure of Common Sense, which traces the collapse of Lehman Brothers. On the flip side, you might take a look at The Greatest Trade Ever, the story of John Paulson, a hedge fund manager who made billions shorting the subprime mortgage market. All of these books are available at your local bookstore or at online vendors like Amazon.com.