The Rule: How I Beat the Odds in the Markets and in Life--And How You Can Too


Larry Hite - 2019
    Through his early-life struggles and failures, Hite came to know himself well--his fears, his frustrations, his self-doubt, and his tolerance for all of the above. This motivational book reveals that by accepting the facts of his life and of himself, he was able to accept markets as they are. And that was the key to his success.In these pages, you'll walk of the footsteps of an investing legend, who imparts smart, practical trading lessons throughout the journey. Making a successful living in trading isn't about beating the markets. It's about meeting markets where they are, embracing the fact of risk, knowing yourself, and playing it strictly by the numbers.The Rule shows that investing decisions are not only bets or gambles, but investments in time, energy, and attention. By focusing on realistic returns on your investments--versus what you expect or hope to get--you immediately improve your probability for success.

The Baseball Economist: The Real Game Exposed


J.C. Bradbury - 2007
     Two hot topics team up in The Baseball Economist, and the result is a refreshing, clear- eyed survey of a playing field that has changed radically in recent years. Utilizing the latest economic methods and statistical analysis, writer, economics professor, and popular blogger J. C. Bradbury dissects burning baseball topics with his original Sabernomic perspective, such as: • Did steroids have nothing to do with the recent home run records? Incredibly, Bradbury's research, reviewed by Stanford economists, reveals steroids had little statistical significance. • Is the big-city versus small-city competition really lopsided? Bradbury shows why the Marlins and Indians are likely to dominate big-city franchises in the coming years. • Which players are ridiculously overvalued? Bradbury lists all players by team with their revenue value to the team listed in dollars—including a dishonor role of those players with negative values. • Is major league baseball a monopoly that can't govern itself? Bradbury sets out what rules the owners really need to play by, and what the players' union should be doing. • Does it help to lobby for balls and strikes? How would Babe Ruth perform in today's game? And who killed all the left-handed catchers, anyway? The Baseball Economist knows. Providing far more than a mere collection of numbers, Bradbury shines the light of his economic thinking on baseball, exposing the power of tradeoffs, competition, and incentives. Statistics alone aren't enough anymore. Fans, fantasy buffs, and players, as well as coaches at all levels who want to grasp what is really happening on the field today and in the coming years, will use and enjoy Bradbury's brilliant new understanding of the national pastime.

Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Ethereum & Smart Contracts


David Gerard - 2017
     A young physics student starts a revolutionary new marketplace immune to State coercion; he ends up ordering hits on people because they might threaten his great experiment, and is jailed for life without parole. Fully automated contractual systems are proposed to make business and the law work better; the contracts people actually write are unregulated penny stock offerings whose fine print literally states that you are buying nothing of any value. The biggest crowdfunding in history attracts $150 million on the promise that it will embody “the steadfast iron will of unstoppable code”; upon release it is immediately hacked, and $50 million is stolen. How did we get here? David Gerard covers the origins and history of Bitcoin to the present day, the other cryptocurrencies it spawned including Ethereum, the ICO craze and the 2017 crypto bubble, and the attempts to apply blockchains and smart contracts to business. Plus a case study on blockchains in the music industry. Bitcoin and blockchains are not a technology story, but a psychology story. Remember: if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

The Big Short: by Michael Lewis


aBookaDay - 2016
    If you have not yet bought the original copy, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial summary from aBookaDay. SPECIAL OFFER $2.99 (Regularly priced: $3.99) OVERVIEW This review of The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis provides a chapter by chapter detailed summary followed by an analysis and critique of the strengths and weaknesses of the book. The main theme explored in the book is how corruption and greed in Wall Street caused the crash of the subprime mortgage market in 2008. Despite being completely preventable, the big firms in Wall Street chose to ignore the oncoming fall in favor of making money. Michael Lewis introduces characters—men outside of the Wall Street machine—who foresaw the crisis and, through several different techniques, were able to predict how and when the market would fall. Lewis portrays these men—Steve Eisman, Mike Burry, Charlie Ledley, and Jamie Mai—as the underdogs, who were able to understand and act upon the obvious weaknesses in the subprime market. Lewis’s overall point is to demonstrate how the Wall Street firms were manipulating the market. They used loans to cash in on the desperation of middle-to-lower class Americans, and then ultimately relied on the government to bail them out when the loans were defaulted. Using anecdotes and interviews from the men who were involved first-hand, the author makes the case that Wall Street, and how they conducted business in regards to the subprime mortgage market, is truly corrupt beyond repair, and the men he profiles in this novel were trying to make the best out of a bad situation. By having the words from the sources themselves, this demonstrates Lewis’s search for the truth behind what actually happened. Ultimately, we as an audience can not be sure if the intentions of these underdogs were truly good, but Lewis does an admirable job presenting as many sides to the story as possible. The central thesis of the work is that the subprime mortgage crisis was caused by Wall Street firms pushing fraudulent loans upon middle-to-lower class Americans that they would essentially not be able to afford. Several people outside of Wall Street were able to predict a crash in the market when these loans would be defaulted on, and bought insurance to bet against the market (essentially, buying short). Over a time period from roughly 2005-2008, the market crashed and huge banks and firms lost billions of dollars, filed for bankruptcy, or were bailed out by the government. These men, the characters of Lewis’s novel, were able to bet against the loans and made huge amounts of money, but it was not quite an easy journey. Michael Lewis is a non-fiction author and financial journalist. He has written several novels—notably Liar’s Poker in 1989, Moneyball in 2003, and The Blind Side in 2006. Born in New Orleans, he attended Princeton University, receiving a BA degree in Art History. After attending London School of Economics and receiving his masters there, he was hired by Salomon Brothers where he experienced much about what he wrote about in Liar’s Poker. He is currently married, with three children and lives in Berkeley, California. SUMMARY PROLOGUE: POLTERGEIST Michael Lewis begins his tale of the remarkable—and strange—men who predicted the immense fall of the housing market by immediately exposing himself as the exact opposite type of person from them. He explains to the reader that he has no background in accounting, business, or money managing.

Naked Money: A Revealing Look at Our Financial System


Charles Wheelan - 2016
    Yet even children recognize that tearing one into small pieces is an act of inconceivable stupidity. What makes a $20 bill actually worth twenty dollars? In the third volume of his best-selling Naked series, Charles Wheelan uses this seemingly simple question to open the door to the surprisingly colorful world of money and banking.The search for an answer triggers countless other questions along the way: Why does paper money (“fiat currency” if you want to be fancy) even exist? And why do some nations, like Zimbabwe in the 1990s, print so much of it that it becomes more valuable as toilet paper than as currency? How do central banks use the power of money creation to stop financial crises? Why does most of Europe share a common currency, and why has that arrangement caused so much trouble? And will payment apps, bitcoin, or other new technologies render all of this moot?In Naked Money, Wheelan tackles all of the above and more, showing us how our banking and monetary systems should work in ideal situations and revealing the havoc and suffering caused in real situations by inflation, deflation, illiquidity, and other monetary effects. Throughout, Wheelan’s uniquely bright-eyed, whimsical style brings levity and clarity to a subject often devoid of both. With illuminating stories from Argentina, Zimbabwe, North Korea, America, China, and elsewhere around the globe, Wheelan demystifies the curious world behind the paper in our wallets and the digits in our bank accounts.

The Moonshot Game: Adventures of an Indian Venture Capitalist


Rahul Chandra - 2019
    The second wave came in 2006 when home-grown VCs raised large amounts of capital and funded products and services companies for Indian consumers.This is a gripping behind-the-scenes story of a VC's journey, right from the beginning of the second start-up revolution in India in 2006 until the end of the funding frenzy in 2016. A story about how global conditions, local consumers, founder ambition and good old greed shaped the start-up story in India.Rahul Chandra is the co-founder of Helion Ventures, and in this candid memoir he tells us about his journey building one of India's oldest VC firms. In a remarkably gripping account, he recounts his adventures in India's hyper-funded start-up ecosystem.The Moonshot Game gives readers an insight into the secret world of a VC, with unguarded stories involving large bets and big mistakes, and tales of how one juggles several investments at the same time.Rahul shows why being a VC is a constant journey of ups and downs, why building value is a long-term business, and why no amount of failure can be an excuse to lose optimism in the power of entrepreneurship.

Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey: Learn Coupon Strategies to Save $1000s at the Grocery Store


Joanie Demer - 2012
    This is not you grandma's coupon book! Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey teaches you step-by-step how to:o Find coupons and "stack" them with a sale for huge savings.o Build a stockpile of food at rock-bottom prices to last you and your family up to a year.o Make passers-by gape at your cart full of groceries you purchased for 75% off retail price.o Get your cashiers to gasp and applaud as you purchase everyday items for pennies on the dollar.o Gain the confidence to strut down the aisles, flaunt your coupons, and maybe even wear high heels to the grocery store!Authors Joanie Demer and Heather Wheeler, founders of TheKrazyCouponLady.com, share their expertise along with hundreds of tried and true coupon tips in a fun, user-friendly format that will have shoppers high-fiving the grocery store cashier in no time.

The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence


Robert J. Samuelson - 2008
    The Great Inflation, argues award-winning columnist Robert J. Samuelson in this provocative book, was the worst domestic policy blunder of the postwar era and played a crucial role in transforming American politics, economy, and everyday life-and yet its story is hardly remembered or appreciated. In these uncertain economic times, it is more imperative than ever that we understand what happened in the 1960s and 1970s, lest we be doomed to repeat our mistakes. From 1960 to 1979, inflation rose from barely more than 1 percent to nearly 14 percent. It was the greatest peacetime inflationary spike in this nation's history, and it had massive repercussions in every area of our lives. The direct consequences included Ronald Reagan's election to the presidency in 1980, stagnation in living standards, and a growing belief-both in America and abroad-that the great-power status of the United States was ending." The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath" traces the origins and rise of double-digit inflation and its fall in the brutal 1981-82 recession, engineered by the Federal Reserve under then-chairman Paul Volcker and with the staunch backing of Reagan. But that is only half the story. The end of high inflation triggered economic and social changes that are still with us. The stock market and housing booms were both direct outcomes; American business became more productive-and also much less protective of workers; and globalization was encouraged. We cannot understand today's world, Samuelson contends, without understanding the Great Inflation and its aftermath. Nor can we prepare for the future unless we heed its lessons. This incisive and enlightening book will stand as the authoritative account of a watershed event of our times. Praise for "The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath"""Newsweek" and "Washington Post" columnist Samuelson is one of the rare journalists who debates politics and economics with a healthy skepticism toward conventional wisdom. Politicians would do well to study [the errors] the past that teach that choosing quick fixes only delays and worsens the inevitable.""- Booklist" "If you want to understand the economic events of the last half century, you should read. . . Robert Samuelson's The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: --U.S News & World Report.

Giving My Heart To An Atlanta Street King


Londyn Lenz - 2017
    The perfect life, the dream career, great friends and family who love her dearly, the sexy husband, and her beautiful baby girl Jaxon. But things are far from what they seem. Life for the successful, beautiful British is the furthest thing from what it seems. Although she’s married, her husband, Derrick seems to have a hard time remembering that he is. Heartbroken, alone and unhappy, British feels like she is on an emotional rollercoaster and cannot get off. That is until her best friends Kori and Ashley take her on a vacation to Jamaica, where she meets the intriguing Terrence King. Terrance has the streets of Atlanta on lock. Him, his brother Ty and their friends Ronny and Sleez make money as easy as it is to breathe. Unfortunately, jealousy, and larceny rears its ugly head, causing tension within the crew. Terrance’s nickname, Terror, precedes him well, when his gangsta is tested in more ways than one. Neither of the two are in search of each other, but when a simple trip to Jamaica brings British and Terrance together, sparks fly. Thing is, British is still married and Terrance is fresh out of a three year relationship. Will British finally walk away from the disaster she calls a marriage? Or will Derrick convince her to stay? Falling in love is the last thing on Terrance’s agenda. In spite of it all, will British’s mesmerizing ways pull emotions he buried long ago, out of him? Or will he devote one hundred percent of his time on the hustle and the drama rapidly unfolding within his squad, unfazed by British and her sultry ways? Find out how it all unfolds between the drama filled pages of Giving my Heart to An Atlanta Street King.

Kody and Kaci: Never Felt a Hood Love Like This


Sha Jones - 2019
     With a body that can make a blind man see and a tongue slicker than oil, Kaci can easily bring a grown man to his knees and talk him right out of his pockets like a crooked preacher standing in the congregation. After her father’s untimely death when Kaci was just a little girl, Kaci, her brother Rodrick, and mother, Karen, are left to figure their lives out without the man that has always led the way and provided for them. With Karen’s new boyfriend J-Lo in the house, beating her silly, Kaci feels as though she’s living a nightmare, and the only outlet is sex, drugs, and money. She builds up strong resentment towards her mother and turns to the most dangerous streets of Houston. No longer having a father to teach her how to love herself, Kaci makes up her own rules and develops her own beliefs in how a woman is supposed to conduct herself. With a heart as cold as ice and a mind made of Teflon, Kaci lives life on the edge, that is until she finally meet her match, Kody. Not only is Kody paid, but he’s sexy and smart as hell. He also has a mind that’s just as tough as Kaci, and when their worlds collide, Kaci finds herself being swept off her feet. Kody is nothing like the men that Kaci is used to. He challenges her, makes her feel worthy, but he also plays hard to get, which only makes her want him even more. However, Kody isn’t as perfect as he seems. With Kody having a crazy baby mama straight out of hell, Kaci is now caught up in something that she never in a million years thought she would be caught up in. The rule that Kaci always taught herself was to never love a man, but now that Kody is so deep in her mind, she’s unsure of herself. Kaci has to make a decision; go back to what she knows or stick it out with Kody, knowing he comes with baggage. Find out what happened in another one of Sha Jones’ love story.

Soldier of Finance: Take Charge of Your Money and Invest in Your Future


Jeff Rose - 2013
    Author, army veteran, and Certified Financial Planner(TM) Jeff Rose modeled this financial survival guide on the Soldier’s Handbook that is issued to all new US Army recruits. Inside the 14 modules that Rose used to systematize his essential elements of financial success, you will learn how to:• Evaluate your position and commit to change • Target and methodically eliminate debt • Clean up your credit report • Create tactical budgets • Build emergency savings • Invest for the short and long term • Determine an affordable mortgage size• And moreComplete with tales from the trenches, useful quizzes, debriefings, and more, Soldier of Finance is the strategy manual and survival guide you need to win victory over your debt and bring order and prosperity to your life.

The Future Is Faster Than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives


Peter H. Diamandis - 2020
    Then, in Bold, they chronicled the use of exponential technologies that allowed the emergence of powerful new entrepreneurs. Now the bestselling authors are back with The Future Is Faster Than You Think, a blueprint for how our world will change in response to the next ten years of rapid technological disruption. Technology is accelerating far more quickly than anyone could have imagined. During the next decade, we will experience more upheaval and create more wealth than we have in the past hundred years. In this gripping and insightful roadmap to our near future, Diamandis and Kotler investigate how wave after wave of exponentially accelerating technologies will impact both our daily lives and society as a whole. What happens as AI, robotics, virtual reality, digital biology, and sensors crash into 3D printing, blockchain, and global gigabit networks? How will these convergences transform today’s legacy industries? What will happen to the way we raise our kids, govern our nations, and care for our planet? Diamandis, a space-entrepreneur-turned-innovation-pioneer, and Kotler, bestselling author and peak performance expert, probe the science of technological convergence and how it will reinvent every part of our lives—transportation, retail, advertising, education, health, entertainment, food, and finance—taking humanity into uncharted territories and reimagining the world as we know it. As indispensable as it is gripping, The Future Is Faster Than You Think provides a prescient look at our impending future.

Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know(r)


Leonard E. Burman - 2012
    But with heated debates over taxation now roiling Congress and the nation, an understanding of our tax system is of vital importance. Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know(R), by preeminent tax scholars Leonard E. Burman and Joel Slemrod, offers a clear, concise explanation of how our tax system works, how it affects people and businesses, and how it might be improved. Accessibly written and organized in a clear, question-and-answer format, the book describes the intricacies of the modern tax system in an easy-to-grasp manner. Burman and Slemrod begin with the basic definitions of taxes and then delve into more complicated and indeed contentious concerns. They address such questions as how to recognize Fool's Gold tax reform plans. How much more tax could the IRS collect with better enforcement? How do tax burdens vary around the world? Why do corporations pay so little tax, even though they earn trillions of dollars every year? And what kind of tax system is most conducive to economic growth?What Everyone Needs to Know(R) is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest & Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics


Henry Hazlitt - 1946
    But it is also much more, having become a fundamental influence on modern “libertarian” economics of the type espoused by Ron Paul and others.Considered among the leading economic thinkers of the “Austrian School,” which includes Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich (F.A.) Hayek, and others, Henry Hazlitt (1894-1993), was a libertarian philosopher, an economist, and a journalist. He was the founding vice-president of the Foundation for Economic Education and an early editor of The Freeman magazine, an influential libertarian publication.  Hazlitt wrote Economics in One Lesson, his seminal work, in 1946. Concise and instructive, it is also deceptively prescient and far-reaching in its efforts to dissemble economic fallacies that are so prevalent they have almost become a new orthodoxy.Many current economic commentators across the political spectrum have credited Hazlitt with foreseeing the collapse of the global economy which occurred more than 50 years after the initial publication of Economics in One Lesson. Hazlitt’s focus on non-governmental solutions, strong — and strongly reasoned — anti-deficit position, and general emphasis on free markets, economic liberty of individuals, and the dangers of government intervention make Economics in One Lesson, every bit as relevant and valuable today as it has been since publication.

True Wealth: How and Why Millions of Americans Are Creating a Time-Rich, Ecologically Light, Small-Scale, High-Satisfaction Economy


Juliet B. Schor - 2011
    In True Wealth, economist Juliet B. Schor rejects the sacrifice message, with the insight that social innovations and new technology can simultaneously enhance our lives and protect the planet. Schor shares examples of urban farmers, DIY renovators, and others working outside the conventional market to illuminate the path away from the work-and-spend cycle and toward a new world rich in time, creativity, information, and community.