Best books of 2015, an idiosyncratic list – As I surveyed the books I reviewed this year, I looked for ones with broad appeal that I personally enjoyed reading. Herewith my idiosyncratic list, with apologies to the authors of quite fine books, usually specialized, who aren’t recognized here. I compile these lists reluctantly (and not even annually), only because I have been asked to do so by readers of this blog. I don’t relish being a prize committee of one.
The Best books of 2015 are listed in alphabetical order by author, and each one is linked to my review of it.
François Bourguignon, The Globalization of Inequality
In The Globalization of Inequality, distinguished economist and policymaker François Bourguignon examines the complex and paradoxical links between a vibrant world economy that has raised the living standard of over half a billion people in emerging nations such as China, India, and Brazil, and the exponentially increasing inequality within countries. Exploring globalization’s role in the evolution of inequality, Bourguignon takes an original and truly international approach to the decrease in inequalitybetween nations, the increase in inequality within nations, and the policies that might moderate inequality’s negative effects.
Bill Browder, Red Notice
A New York Times bestseller: “Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice does for investing in Russia and the former Soviet Union what Liar’s Poker did for our understanding of Salomon Brothers, Wall Street, and the mortgage-backed securities business in the 1980s. Browder’s business saga meshes well with the story of corruption and murder in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, making Red Notice an early candidate for any list of the year’s best books” (Fortune).
Robert Carver, Systematic Trading
Systematic Trading: A unique new method for designing trading and investing systems is not just another book with yet another trading system. This is a complete guide to developing your own systems to help you make and execute trading and investing decisions. It is intended for everyone who wishes to systematise their financial decision making, either completely or to some degree. Author Robert Carver draws on financial theory, his experience managing systematic hedge fund strategies and his own in-depth research to explain why systematic trading makes sense and demonstrates how it can be done safely and profitably. Every aspect, from creating trading rules to position sizing, is thoroughly explained. The framework described here can be used with all assets, including equities, bonds, forex and commodities.
Best books of 2015 – Wesley R. Gray et al., DIY Financial Advisor
DIY Financial Advisor: A Simple Solution to Build and Protect Your Wealth is a synopsis of our research findings developed while serving as a consultant and asset manager for family offices. By way of background, a family office is a company, or group of people, who manage the wealth a family has gained over generations. The term ‘family office’ has an element of cachet, and even mystique, because it is usually associated with the mega-wealthy. However, practically speaking, virtually any family that manages its investments—independent of the size of the investment pool—could be considered a family office. The difference is mainly semantic.
Greg Steinmetz, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived
Richard Teitelbaum, The Most Dangerous Trade
Philip E. Tetlock & Dan Gardner, Superforecasting
Richard H. Thaler, Misbehaving
Richard H. Thaler has spent his career studying the radical notion that the central agents in the economy are humans?predictable, error-prone individuals. Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics is his arresting, frequently hilarious account of the struggle to bring an academic discipline back down to earth?and change the way we think about economics, ourselves, and our world.
