15 Books Will Make You Rich

World's Greatest Investors You've Never Heard Of

By Chris Barth, Forbes.com

With the economy still sluggish and unemployment rates pushing 10%, many Americans are searching for ways to stretch their dollars this holiday season. So why not give a simple present that could pay for itself many times over? Whether you're looking for great gifts for the active investor in your life or simply searching for a guide to help a recent college graduate navigate the world of mutual funds, there are libraries full of books that will stuff a stocking with advice worth its weight in gold. Sometimes, though, the tidal wave of financial advice books on the market is overwhelming. How can you separate the good, the bad and the just plain ugly? That's where we come in. We've gone through the top books on investing to develop a list of good reads for investors of all types. Whether you're a value investor looking to refine your tactics, a buy-and-hold Boglehead looking to beef up on

the basics or a parent looking to start your kid down the right path, there's something on our list for you. Ten of the books on our list are classics that deserve a spot on the bookshelf of any financial whiz. Any investor would be well-served to read up on these tomes; the basic tenets of modern investing strategy and tactics are developed and discussed in their pages. For novice investors, two introductory books on our list offer distinctly opposing viewpoints.

The Little Book That Still Beats The Market By Joel Greenblatt; John Wiley & Sons, originally published 2005, $19.95.
Joel Greenblatt's The Little Book That still Beats The Market tells investors to focus on earnings to outperform the market.

John Bogle, on the other hand, dismisses the notion that investors can outperform the market and argues in Common Sense On Mutual Funds that indexing is the only smart way to invest. Investors beginning with a blank slate will enjoy letting the books do battle.

Seasoned investors, on the other hand, may enjoy reading more advanced theories and advice in books like The Essays of Warren Buffett or

The Intelligent Investor By Ben Graham; Harper Paperback, originally published 1949, $21.99.

Many regard this book as one of the best books ever written about investing. In it the esteemed Ben Graham lays out his case for value investing. Ben Graham's The Intelligent Investor. Those books from investing titans offer plenty of information to mull over as you contemplate your next portfolio moves. We realize that times are changing too. That's why our list includes five investing books that were published this year. These books integrate the knowledge of classic investment advice while simultaneously giving concrete advice for investing in the modern age. Again, there are books that offer contrasting advice.

The Age of Deleveraging: Investment Strategies for a Decade of Slow Growth and Deflation By A. Gary Shilling; John Wiley & Sons, 2010, $39.95. Gary Shilling predicts deflation and slow growth in the coming years. Accordingly, he picks out industries that will thrive and sectors that will bust; his insight is necessary for anyone interested in asset allocation and exchange-traded funds.
Gary Shilling's The Age Of Deleveraging: Investment Strategies for a Decade of Slow Growth and Deflation, provides foresight on which industries and sectors will boom and bust in the next 10 years.

The Great Reflation: How Investors Can Profit From the New World of Money By J. Anthony Boeckh; John Wiley & Sons, 2010, $34.95. The Great Reflation looks at the lasting effects of the recent housing and credit bubbles, and gives advice on how to capitalize in today's shifting financial world. The Great Reflation: How Investors Can Profit From the New World of Money disagrees with Shilling, and instead lays out a case for reflation rather than deflation.

The Warren Buffetts Next Door: The World's Greatest Investors You've Never Heard Of and What You Can Learn From Them By Matthew Schifrin; John Wiley & Sons, 2010, $29.95. Forbes Investing Editor Matt Schifrin writes about everyday people, from retired disc jockeys to truck drivers, who have outstanding investment records and, in some cases, made millions. Their life stories and investment strategies are explored.
In another 2010 book, The Warren Buffetts Next Door: The World's Greatest Investors You've Never Heard Of and What You Can Learn From Them , Forbes editor Matt Schifrin shares the investing success stories of individuals with strategies that have paid off over the years. Buffett himself says he's a better investor because he's also a businessman, and a better businessman because he's also an investor. Books like Harvard professor Michael Porter's Competitive Strategy help readers better understand a business and equip them to make a better judgment about its prospects.

The Billion Dollar Mistake: Learning the Art of Investing Through the Missteps of Legendary Investors By Stephen Weiss; John Wiley & Sons, 2010, $29.95. Sometimes it's easiest to learn from the errors of others. Stephen Weiss tells the story of eleven mistakes that ended up costing a billion dollars or more--mistakes we'd all prefer not to replicate.
"Get rich quick" strategies can often turn into "get poor quicker" realities. Stephen Weiss's The Billion Dollar Mistake: Learning the Art of Investing Through the Missteps of Legendary Investors tells the stories of investors who have messed up and survived to tell about it. The book provides an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others, while reminding the investors in your life that they should have a Plan B should their stock picks plummet. With these books on your bookshelf, you and yours will be better prepared to boost your bank accounts while minimizing risk. The advice of some of the world's most successful investors, along with the stories of others who have followed in their footsteps, will get you on the right track to big returns in 2011.

Profiting from the World's Economic Crisis: Finding Investment Opportunities by Tracking Global Market Trends By Bud Conrad; John Wiley & Sons, 2010, $27.95. Analyzing the uncertain--and ever-changing--financial world of 2010, Bud Conrad uses government action and global market trends to predict the long-term direction of the U.S. economy.

Common Stocks & Uncommon Profits By Philip Fisher; John Wiley & Sons, originally published 1958, $21.95. This book outlines the philosophies held by Philip Fisher, an influential and oft-quoted investor. Warren Buffett said that this book "enables one to make intelligent investment commitments."

Originally published in 2005, this updated book discusses strategies for buying into good businesses at bargain prices. It is already considered by many to be a classic investing book

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator By Edwin Lefevr; John Wiley & Sons, originally published 1923, $21.95. The oldest book on our list, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator tells the story of a trader who made his way from small brokerages in New England to the big time on Wall Street. Despite being almost 90 years old, the book remains relevant to modern investors.

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A Random Walk Down Wall Street By Burton Malkiel; W.W. Norton & Company, originally published 1973, $29.95. Malkiel's book applies the mathematical idea of "random walk" to the stock market. He concludes that most investors are best served by passively investing rather than trying to outperform the market.

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Competitive Strategy By Michael Porter; Free Press, originally published 1998, $40. Competitive Strategy is a business-oriented book that discusses how companies rise to the top in intra-industry competition via strategic positioning and innovation. As the aphorism goes, the better you are at business, the better you are at investing-this book will help you in both.

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Market Wizards: Interviews With Top Traders By Jack D. Schwager; HarperBusiness, originally published 1989, $17. In Market Wizards Jack Schwager sits down and talks with top traders who have seen great returns on the market floor. Their insights cover stocks, futures, currencies and even the psychology of trading.

A. Fooled By Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets By Nassim Taleb; W.W. Norton & Co., originally published 2001, $17.50. Nassim Taleb, best known for his 2007 book The Black Swan, wrote Fooled By Randomness to underline the omnipresence of random events and the frequency with which we try to explain chance using logic. It's a sobering look at investing, and good counterbalance to the get-rich-quick mentality.

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