Category: Books

The Money Plot: A History of Currency’s Power to Enchant, Control, and Manipulate

by Fred Fuld III

As a financial historian, the book, The Money Plot: A History of Currency’s Power to Enchant, Control, and Manipulate by Frederick Kaufman, is right up my alley. This is an engrossing treatise on the history of money, but not just the facts about money, but the psychology behind it.

The author covers the very beginning of currency with ostrich eggs, then the cowrie shells which were the world’s first global reserve currency, all the way up to cryptocurrency. Have you heard of the CannabisCoin crypto for marijuana or Dentcoin crypto for dentists?

Chapter 2, called The Trophy Wife, contains the somewhat disturbing yet extremely fascinating details about women as money. Kaufman even mentions that females were advertised for sale on Instagram as recently as last year.

There is a lot of history about investments and the stock market, especially in Chapter 10, The End of Money.

If you have any interest in money at all, and you are looking for a great read during the holidays or even a nice gift, I highly recommend  The Money Plot.

 

 

 

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Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea’s Most Iconic Bank

by Fred Fuld III

The book, Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea’s Most Iconic Bank, is an engaging look at how an American private equity firm, took over and turned around South Korea’s largest bank.

The author, Weijian Shan, takes you through the trials and tribulations of getting the deal don after more than a year of negotiations. My favorite chapter was Chapter 12 Sign It or Forget It.

The book includes photographs and even a few comics. Also included is A Primer on Commercial Banking, which is in the Appendix.

The author has a way of making private equity sound fascinating. If you want an interesting business-related read, I recommend  Money Games.

 

 

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The Entrepreneur’s Faces: How Makers, Visionaries and Outsiders Succeed

by Fred Fuld III

The book, The Entrepreneur’s Faces: How Makers, Visionaries and Outsiders Succeed, by Jonathan Littman and Susanna Camp, is a great resource for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs.

The authors break down the phases needed for success into seven steps:

  • The Awakening
  • The Shift
  • The Place
  • The Launch
  • The Money
  • The Test
  • The Scale

There is a chapter covering each one of stages, and within each chapter, the authors give real life example of various types of entrepreneurs, and how they succeeded.

As a matter of fact you can find out what type of entrepreneurial archetype you are and what other types you need to bring on board to round out the organization, by going to a free online quiz, which can be found at the following link:

susannacamp.typeform.com/to/pPYSe5pb

For those who are planning on starting their own business or just getting started, I suggest you check out The Entrepreneur’s Faces.

 

 

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Winning Now, Winning Later: How Companies Can Succeed in the Short Term While Investing for the Long Term

by Fred Fuld III

When I first got the book Winning Now, Winning Later: How Companies Can Succeed in the Short Term While Investing for the Long Term, the first thing that caught my eye was the list of successful people who gave it endorsements, including Bob Iger, Executive Chairman of Disney, Hank Paulson, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Marc Benioff, Co-CEO of Salesforce, and Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo.

The author, David M. Cote, was the CEO behind the enormous success of Honeywell. He covers, in great detail, the process for successfully achieving both short-term goals and long-term goals for your company. Every chapter has a summary at the end called Questions to Ask yourself.

The book includes many informative and sometimes amusing anecdotes, which help to explain his process for business success for both a short term and long term basis.

I found Chapter 4 Focus on Process, to be the most important. It explains how it is imperative to get employees involved in improving company processes, and the utilization of phases to improve success.

Whether you are the head of a large publicly traded corporation, the CEO  of a mid-size business, or managing a fast growing startup, I recommend that you read Winning Now, Winning Later as you will find extensive advice and information that will help your organization.

 

 

 

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Books that Warren Buffett Recommends about Himself Part 2

Vlast month, we published a list of books that Warren Buffett recommends about himself.

At last year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Buffett actually provided such a list. Here are more books that he recommends about himself.

My Warren Buffett Bible: A Short and Simple Guide to Rational Investing: 284 Quotes from the World’s Most Successful Investor

 

The Oracle & Omaha, How Warren Buffet and His Hometown Shaped Each Other

 

Tap Dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on Practically Everything, 1966-2013

 

Warren Buffett on Business: Principles from the Sage of Omaha

 

Warren Buffett’s Ground Rules: Words of Wisdom from the Partnership Letters of the World’s Greatest Investor

Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World’s Greatest Investor

Enjoy your summer reading!!!

Books that Warren Buffett Recommends about Himself

Yes, Warren Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) (BRKB), actually comes out with a list of books that he recommends, and he even recommends books about himself.

At last year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Buffett actually provided such a list. Here are his recommended books about himself.

Berkshire Beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values

 

Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders

 

50 Years of Berkshire Hathaway Wall Print
This is actually a wall print poster.

 

Buffet: The Making of an American Capitalist

 

Buffett’s Bites: The Essential Investor’s Guide to Warren Buffett’s Shareholder Letters

 

The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Fifth Edition

 

A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers From Warren Buffett

Happy reading!

 

 

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Do You Have Trouble Remembering Passwords?

by Fred Fuld III

If you are like me, you have hundreds of different passwords, and if you are doing what you are supposed to for protecting your accounts, those passwords should all be different.

Just as one example, I have 31 different accounts that just begin with the letter A, including Amazon, AT&T, American Stock Transfer, AAA, American Express, Apple, and many others. I have even more accounts that begin with the letter C.

I used to write down all the passwords on a list but with hundreds of passwords, it took forever to find the one I want. In addition, I never wanted to type my passwords on a file on my computer, in the event the computer got hacked. I figured writing them down would be easier.

Now I have a book called Email and Website Password Logbook which is set up in sections by letters of the alphabet. In other words, all the accounts with the letter A, all the accounts with the letter B, and so forth, making it easier to find the password I am looking for. It is much easier than looking down a list where everything is scrambled in terms of the alphabet.

The Email and Website Password Logbook is currently available on Amazon for less than $7, and I highly recommend it.

 

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Classic Historical Books About Wall Street and the Stock Market

by Fred Fuld III

Sometimes history repeats itself. Sometimes it pays to look at the past to get perspective about the present and the future. Sometimes it’s just fun and fascinating to read about what was going on in the investment market years ago.

Here is a list of stock market and Wall Street books written a long time ago, one of which is from the 1800’s. With the quarantine in place, you probably have a lot more reading time. Here is a refreshing change from the “get rich quick in the stock market” books.

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator – first published in 1923
by Edwin Lefevre
This is the classic book on investing, trading, market timing, and crowd psychology, just as true today as it was almost a century ago. It is based on the life of top notorious trader, Jesse Livermore.

My Adventures with Your Money – first published in 1911
by George Graham Rice
About a conman who make money off the early gold mining stock boom.

The PLUNGERS and the PEACOCKS. 150 years of Wall Street – published in 1967
by Dana L. Thomas
Written during the bull market of the 1960s, it provides an entertaining history of the stock market.

Den of Thieves – published in 1991
by James B. Stewart
The “newest” of these old books, it covers the insider trading scandals involving Ivan Boesky, Michael Milken, and other Wall Street financiers  during the 1980s.

Storming The Magic Kingdom – published in 1987
by John Taylor
A must read book about the fight for control of one of America’s most famous companies.

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841) by Charles Mackay included as part of Stock Market Trivia Volume 2 (2014)
The Extraordinary Popular Delusions book was written in the mid-1800s. It has many chapters, but most are unrelated to investing, such as alchemy, witches, haunted houses, etc. However, three of the chapters have extensive and entertaining information about three of the largest investment bubbles in history: the Mississippi Scheme, the South Sea Bubble, and the Tulip Mania. These three chapters are included as the last half of the  Stock Market  Trivia Volume 2 book. (In interest of full disclosure, I wrote the Stock Market Trivia 2 book.) In addition, the trivia book includes such things as the chocolate chip cookie/stock market correlation, celebrity stock indices, weird stock certificates, and more.

Happy reading.

 

 

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Startup Myths and Models: What You Won’t Learn in Business School

by Fred Fuld III

The book, Startup Myths and Models: What You Won’t Learn in Business School, by Rizwan Virk is a great resource for those who are considering launching a startup nd those who have already established their startup.

Virk uses an interesting approach to provide advice to startupers, by listing over 20 myths, including bonus myths, relating to startups, and why those myths are wrong, and provides advice relating to these issues and misconceptions.

Just a few of the myths are:

  • You have to be first to market
  • A great product and a big market are the most important things
  • Talk to as many investors as you can
  • Hire the most experienced people you can find
  • and many more

My two favorite chapters (myths) were There is No Such Thing as Bad Publicity (a very short but important section) and Startups Are Hard Work.

The author includes numerous real life examples and anecdotes to get his points across.

If you have any interest in creating your own startup, or if you are in the beginning or middle stages of your startup, I highly recommend that you read Startup Myths and Models.

 

The Retirement Remix: A Modern Solution to an Old School Problem

by Fred Fuld III

The book, The Retirement Remix: A Modern Solution to an Old School Problem, by Chip Munn, offers a new approach to retirement planning. He describes how you shouldn’t have to slave away at a job you hate, socking away as much money as you possibly can and avoiding spending on yourself.

Munn came up with a more modern way to plan for your retirement, without making it a drudgery. He includes several real life examples.

The book goes into detail about changing your mindset, with regard to saving, investing, and retiring. One of the more interesting chapters is Take Your Retirement for a Test Drive.

If you have concerns about retirement, you should read  The Retirement Remix.