Brian Gongol
- The Millionaire Next Door, Thomas Stanley and William Danko
Read it because: This is the single most important book most people can read to start to understand the difference between saving a little money to buy a few stocks and actually doing something deliberate to get wealthy.
- Bogle on Investing, John (Jack) Bogle
Read it because: If you intend to invest in stocks and mutual funds, then this is the best place to start. If you read no other books specific to buying stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, read this one.
(full book review)
- Yes, You Can Still Retire Comfortably, Ben Stein and Phil DeMuth
Read it because: It's the best primer on how to make sure you're saving enough, complete with charts for how much you should have saved by different ages.
- Buffett, Roger Lowenstein
Read it because: Warren Buffett is the most successful individual in investing history, and this biography is the most insightful of all the works ever written about Buffett.
(full book review)
- Getting It Right, Robert J Barro
Read it because: Barro explains how wealthy nations get that way, and how poor nations can escape their poverty. He inadvertently also ends up explaining how individuals do the same.
- The Wealthy Barber, David Chilton
Read it because: By this stage in the reading list, assuming you've read sequentially, it's time to refresh some of the lessons from The Millionaire Next Door. This book is shorter and far less involved, but it delivers most of the same principles. Every once in a while, you need psychological reinforcement about the value of thrift and investment.
- The (Mis)Behavior of Markets, Benoit Mandelbrot
Read it because: There is no more valuable book anywhere for explaining why people who think they can get rich by gambling on stock tips and patterns they think they see in stock prices (but really don't) are completely wrong.
(full book review)
- The Intelligent Investor, Benjamin Graham
Read it because: It's the equivalent of a graduate-level course in finance and investing, but yet it's readable and makes as much sense today as it did decades ago.
(full book review)
- Yes, You Can Time the Market, Ben Stein and Phil DeMuth
Read it because: Just like goods go on sale in department stores and at the grocery, stocks sometimes go "on sale" as well. This book explains how to take advantage of those sales.
(full book review)
- The Way to Wealth, Benjamin Franklin
Read it because: Like The Wealthy Barber, Franklin's book is a reminder of the value of thrift and investment.