Patrick McKenzie
I work for the Internet and am an advisor to @stripe. These are my personal opinions unless otherwise noted.
10+ Book Recommendations by Patrick McKenzie
The Dragon's Banker
Scott Warren
@visakanv I on-again off-again want to write a fantasy book with basically exactly that premise. Also, see The Dragon's Banker, which absolutely delivers on the promise implicit in the title and is my odds-on favorite for the too-neglected genre of adventure capitalism.
The Dragon's Banker
Scott Warren
So if you have exactly my set of interests you'll buy this book on title alone: The Dragon's Banker It absolutely delivers on all promises of that title, and I'd rate it maybe 4/5 for writing and 5/5 for vicarious adventure capitalism thrills. https://t.co/gw1u2Mu4K9
Lying for Money [Paperback] Dan Davies
Dan Davies
@mjwhansen Dan Davies, Lying For Money. Covers many frauds and the meta-mechanisms rather than being a book-length explanation of a single fraud. Compulsively (re-)readable.
World War Z
Max Brooks
An account of the decade-long conflict between humankind and hordes of the predatory undead is told from the perspective of dozens of survivors who describe in their own words the epic human battle for survival.@webdevMason So many, so freaking many, parts of that book are practically dark prophecy, including most prominently the South Africa plotline, which if mapped to pandemic politics is among the most depressing and probably true observations of last year.
Lying for Money
Dan Davies
Financial crime seems horribly complicated but there are only so many ways you can con someone out of what's theirs. In fact, there are four. A veteran regulatory economist and market analyst, Dan Davies has years of experience picking the bones out of some of the most famous frauds of the modern age. Now he reveals the big picture that emerges from their labyrinths of deceit.Along the way you'll find out how to fake a gold mine with a wedding ring, a file and a shotgun. You'll see how close Charles Ponzi, the king of pyramid schemes, came to acquiring his own private navy. You'll learn how fraud has shaped the entire development of the modern world economy. And you'll discover whether you have what it takes to be a white-collar criminal mastermind, if that's what you want. (Which you don't. You really, really don't.)This is one of my favorite books of last several years. Extremely, extremely relevant to anyone who works in finance. Also, it's a crypto book without being a crypto book. https://t.co/DUhVEQW5es
Seeing like a State
James C. Scott
Scott analyzes failed cases of large-scale authoritarian plans in a variety of fields.Seeing Like a State is, indeed, really good. (A book whose thesis I’ve been marinating in for years but which I hadn’t gotten around to reading yet. Thoroughly deserves the classic status.)
Working in Public
Nadia Eghbal
For more fun meditations on this, see @nayafia’s book Working In Public: https://t.co/bgmhxbEKnP (which I am about two chapters into and am enjoying so far)
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel 75th Anniversary (Read Along Book)
Virginia Lee Burton
Mike Mulligan proves that, although dated, his steam shovel is still useful.@ByrneHobart @eigenrobot (The first five pages of that book are a bracing reminder that between about 1900 and about 1930 American life changed massively, in a way we mostly don’t appreciate.)
The Making of Urban Japan
André Sorensen
This is the first book to comprehensively examine the phenomenon of Japanese city planning. Japan is one of the world's most urbanized countries, with its own traditions of urban management that are remarkably little known in the rest of the world.@Pinboard Think this matches your intellectual interests plus Kyoto: https://t.co/KCYd8FBn9E
The Most Fun I Never Want To Have Again
R. D. Koncerak
In the early 2000's, America was in the midst of an economic boom. Nowhere was the prosperity more evident than across metro Atlanta and Georgia's thriving community banking industry. Georgia saw more new bank start-ups than almost any other US state between 1997 and 2007…and then suffered more bank failures than most states combined between 2008 and 2012. What happened? This book tells that story. At year-end 2012, the largest 1% of US banks controlled eighty six percent of American domestic deposits …which means that 99% of America's 7,083 financial institutions held only fourteen percent of domestic deposits. Despite their challenges, community-based financial institutions remain America's predominant banking model. This is a story about the “other” 99 percent of American banking.Join author R.D. Koncerak on an eye-opening, insider's look at Georgia's community banking industry. From the forces that fueled the boom through 2007 to the crises that sent world markets reeling in 2008, this book is part financial documentary, part autobiography, and entirely entertaining. Koncerak combines an engaging writing style with a range of industry sources to deliver a firsthand account of success and failure in the business of banking. Chapters include organizing and launching a bank as a new business venture, managing in times of crisis and the FDIC closure process for a financial institution in distress. The book also offers candid leadership and career advice based on the author's adventures in the field. This exposé includes trade articles and SEC extracts that provide insight into the greatest financial disaster to hit the United States since the Great Depression.Finally, "TMF" includes two guest chapters: an insightful industry overview from accomplished financial author John Mauldin, and advice on the future of community banking from strategist Karl Nelson.Anyhow: https://t.co/J6Rpb3LcvF Two thumbs up. Swashbuckling startup story with a heavy helping of career advice (of lets say limited utility to the modal person following me); quite a bit of behind-the-scenes color which was fascinating to me. The FDIC orientation a hoot.
You Suck at Cooking
You Suck at Cooking
Inspired by the wildly popular YouTube channel, this cookbook contains more than 60 recipes for beginner cooks and noobs alike, in addition to hundreds of paragraphs, sentences, photos, and drawings."What cookbook?" I mean not exactly the point of the observation but if you also spend a little bit of time on Youtube for mindless entertainment and have a similar aesthetic sensibility: https://t.co/NKIROVY6qm https://t.co/NcCLs2oohG
Binging with Babish
Andrew Rea
Recipes recreated from beloved movies and TV shows by the host of one of the most popular food programs on the internet"What cookbook?" I mean not exactly the point of the observation but if you also spend a little bit of time on Youtube for mindless entertainment and have a similar aesthetic sensibility: https://t.co/NKIROVY6qm https://t.co/NcCLs2oohG
Invested
Charles Schwab
@Walkuriie @MorlockP Invested by Charles Schwab. https://t.co/KjdMsCszWN
The Man Who Solved the Market
Gregory Zuckerman
Bestselling author and veteran Wall Street Journal reporter Zuckerman answers the question investors have been asking for decades: How did Jim Simons do it? Simons is the greatest money maker in modern financial history. His track record bests those of legendary investors including Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, Ray Dalio, and George Soros..@patrick_oshag The Man Who Solved The Market, followed by Lying About Money.
Lying for Money
Dan Davies
Financial crime seems horribly complicated but there are only so many ways you can con someone out of what's theirs. In fact, there are four. A veteran regulatory economist and market analyst, Dan Davies has years of experience picking the bones out of some of the most famous frauds of the modern age. Now he reveals the big picture that emerges from their labyrinths of deceit.Along the way you'll find out how to fake a gold mine with a wedding ring, a file and a shotgun. You'll see how close Charles Ponzi, the king of pyramid schemes, came to acquiring his own private navy. You'll learn how fraud has shaped the entire development of the modern world economy. And you'll discover whether you have what it takes to be a white-collar criminal mastermind, if that's what you want. (Which you don't. You really, really don't.)@patrick_oshag The Man Who Solved The Market, followed by Lying About Money.
The Man Who Solved the Market
Gregory Zuckerman
Bestselling author and veteran Wall Street Journal reporter Zuckerman answers the question investors have been asking for decades: How did Jim Simons do it? Simons is the greatest money maker in modern financial history. His track record bests those of legendary investors including Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, Ray Dalio, and George Soros..The Man Who Solved The Market is probably my favorite book this year, and it is *wild* that it recounts a single lifetime.
Flash Boys: Not So Fast
Peter Kovac
In Flash Boys, Michael Lewis alleged that the entire U.S. stock market is rigged. This is an extraordinarily serious accusation. If it is true that a conspiracy of stock exchanges, banks, regulators and high-frequency traders has rigged the market, this has profound implications for every aspect of our financial system. It's rather surprising, then, that this book alleging a vast high-frequency trading conspiracy included no high-frequency traders. Flash Boys lacks a single insider's account, and it shows. Electronic trading is extremely complicated, and if you neglect to talk to any electronic traders, you're probably going to get it wrong. Flash Boys: Not So Fast, written by a former high-frequency trading executive and regulatory compliance expert, provides the missing insider's perspective on today's stock market and answers the question of whether or not Michael Lewis is right. Not So Fast reviews the alleged scams described by Lewis and applies the same rigorous analysis that real trading strategies are subjected to, methodically walking through them step by step and explaining what is actually possible in today's markets and what is not. Extensively researched and documented, Not So Fast provides a clear, accurate picture of how today's markets operate, including what works, what doesn't work, and what changes need to be made.@plytle23 https://t.co/GHqV5WzrXV
- Whether you're buying a family home, a ski chalet or an investment property, Landed Japan will save you time, money and headaches. In Landed Japan you'll find: - Step-by-step instructions for buying new and pre-owned real estate - Case studies about building and buying new homes and purchasing repossessed, income and recreational properties - Introductions to the real estate markets in Hokkaido, Greater Tokyo, Nagoya, Kansai, Fukuoka and Okinawa - Profiles of new infrastructure and development projects that can affect your property's value - Explanations of how demographics, Abenomics, the Olympics and Airbnb are changing Japan's real estate market - Information about Japan's finance, insurance and tax environments - Guidance for managing Japan-specific risks, ranging from abandoned houses and asbestos to earthquakes and volcanoes - Resources to help you build, buy, maintain, manage and renovate your property - Extensive checklists for buyers - Much more
@Ale_Mercier If you're more interested in neighborhoods than mechanics I have no particular advice; consider talking to a broker (in the knowledge that they've got something to sell you). For mechanics, the book Landed Japan was a good primer; did most of my reading in Japanese at-need.
Lying for Money
Dan Davies
Financial crime seems horribly complicated but there are only so many ways you can con someone out of what's theirs. In fact, there are four. A veteran regulatory economist and market analyst, Dan Davies has years of experience picking the bones out of some of the most famous frauds of the modern age. Now he reveals the big picture that emerges from their labyrinths of deceit.Along the way you'll find out how to fake a gold mine with a wedding ring, a file and a shotgun. You'll see how close Charles Ponzi, the king of pyramid schemes, came to acquiring his own private navy. You'll learn how fraud has shaped the entire development of the modern world economy. And you'll discover whether you have what it takes to be a white-collar criminal mastermind, if that's what you want. (Which you don't. You really, really don't.)Sick and rereading Lying for Money, and chapters 5 and 6 (Cooked Books and Control Fraud) are hilarious in a “I feel guilty about how many lives that are going to be ruined but this is a comedic sentence” sort of way. Not about cryptocurrency... not not about cryptocurrency.