The Science of Fear is the first book that opened my eyes to how poor we are at interpreting risk.

The Big Change, a look at how life in America changed from 1900-1950, got me interested in the social and cultural part of economic growth.

The Quest of the Simple Life, written in 1907, totally changed how I think about personal finance and life goals.

Famous Financial Fiascos is one of the best investing history books that few people have heard of.

The Great Depression: A Diary is the best economics book I’ve read, written by a person who didn’t know he was writing one.

Nobody Wants to Read Your Shit has had the biggest influence on how I write.

The Patriarch, a biography of Joseph Kennedy, shows Kennedy to be one of the most fascinating people in American history even if his son had never became president.

Endurance is the best example of how far people can be pushed when the stakes are high.

Truman, a biography of the 33rd president, is an incredible story of the world’s biggest problems falling into the lap of someone who never thought he’d face them.

The Wright Brothers is one of the best business and innovation stories of all time.

The Frugal Housewife, written in 1833, shows how primitive everyday life was not that long ago.

23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism will make half of readers angry, but the other half will be better able to realize that no system for organizing an economy is perfect.