One of the Knights shot me an e-mail today asking if I would put together a short reading list maybe for Christmas presents or just for some reading. So here is a list in no way complete of course, but a few of the highlights I have read. All principally centered on finance, with a little history. Mainly to give one a deeper understanding of the world we live in. Feel free to add your suggestions.

First off I am putting together my drop the scales from your eyes – five pack. I would consider this a must read collection of books to get one up to speed on how the world really works and to give one the basis of understanding where we are and how we got here. I would suggest reading this pack in order

1. Creature from Jekyll Island- Edward Griffin. This has become somewhat of a cult book since its has been pretty well read now. Plenty of pushback from your establishment friends if you ever mention its name in polite conversation. This of course is the core must read book if one is to understand the financial system we operate under today.

2. The New empire of Debt = Bill Bonner. Bonner is simply the best author out there. Fun to read and funny. This book was written in 2005 I believe and what he spoke about is now happening. Big picture stuff here

3. The Great Deformation- David Stockman Wow this is Stockman at his angry best. He corrects all those false narratives of the last 100 years that you have been erroneously taught. This is a must read book. 700 pages, I scheduled it for a 2 month period and finished it in 1 week , couldn’t put it down. This is a profoundly powerful book another must read

4. America’s Great Depression- Murray Rothbard. Speaking of correcting false narratives, this book will fix you up. You know the old saw of “Its not what you don’t know its what you know that just aint so” Well just about everything you know about the great depression happens to be wrong. Why? because what you know is what they want you to believe. This book will set you straight.

5, The Prize- Daniel Yergin. This may seem different that I have included this in my 5-pack, however this is a book about 20th century political economy viewed from the history of oil. One simply has to know this stuff. Yergin is the master. From details of why the USN won the battle of Leyte Gulf… because of oil & NOT because the USN had superior admirals and tactics, to where the oil came from…. over 80% of the oil that fueled ALL of the allied effort came from HL Hunts “Black Giant” oil field in east Texas making him the richest man in the world.

So that’s the 5-pack of must read books to establish ones knowledge. Now on to some random books that were some of my favorites in no particular order.

Flash Boys- Michael Lewis Not really a favorite, but the book is timely as we were discussing it today. You don’t understand HFT if you don’t know this book. Lewis is of course America’s foremost financial author.. fun to read

The Colder War- Marin Katusa Just out last month. Here is what is really going on in the energy and political markets.

Family Fortunes- Bill Bonner Another book by Bonner. This would be my top book to recommend reading over Christmas since you are thinking about family. One should read all of Bonner’s books, but this one is different. It is made from a lifetime of introspection of how one should treat money within a family. If you are a family patriarch you should read this book.

The Death of Money- Jim Richards This is his follow on to Currency wars written 4 years ago. It gets a bit heavy in the middle, however its worth buying just for the last chapter where he tells you how to position for the upcoming monetary regime change.

The Forgotten Depression- James Grant Anything Grant writes I don’t order from Amazon I run to the nearest Barnes and Noble so I don’t have to wait. I recommend reading all of Grants books and this is the latest.

Panic Profits- Brown This is an old book about operating in market panics. Whenever a crash comes along I pull it down, dust it off and re read it.

Devil Take the Hindmost- Edward Chancellor – History of financial speculation. Lots of books on history of bubbles by Kindleberger and others which are all good, but this one is easy to read and entertaining. One realizes that there really isn’t anything new under the sun

History Book section:

Rainbows End- M Klein This is the best book on the crash of 1929 and I have read them all

The Big Rich- Bryan Burrough This was a lot of fun to read as its about the 4 major oil families of Texas. If you ever lived in either Dallas or Houston you will love this book as it will fill in a lot of the holes of how things came to be in Texas. Rich with colorful stories of Texas oil wealth and the characters who discovered it. The chapter on the oil collapse in the 1980’s was worth the cost of the book. Just blood curdling if your name was Murtcheson (founder of Dallas Cowboys)

As I see it- JP Getty This is Getty’s autobiography. He is my favorite businessman. He was truly an enlightened gentleman. I grew up as a kid remembering seeing pictures of this old geezer in the 1960’s and just saw him as a rich old coot all shriveled up looking like a curmudgeon . Boy was I wrong. I just love this guy so full of wisdom, humor and sage stories. What a master investor he was.. Imagine he bought the Pierre hotel in Manhattan for $4 million in 1938. Look it up (google images), what do you think its worth today? Also in July 1932 at the bottom of the bear market he was in there buying oil rich busted oil companies with both hands. This is how you do it boys and girls… learn it from the master, then go visit the Getty Villa next time you are in Santa Monica. What a rich man and I am not talking about money.

If you like Biographies I encourage you to read this one. Then move on to read his book “How to be rich” read closely that’s not how to get rich but be rich… this guy was very enlightened.

So thats just a few of my favorites. Let’s hear yours