Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company

Published: 2007

Edition: 9th Revised edition

Format: Hb

"Malkiel says professionals are no better at selecting shares than blindfolded monkeys. If, like me, you reckon private investors can beat simian stockpickers you should have answers to the many awkward questions he poses. You also get an exposition of conventional investment analysis and financially planning that is simply the best there is, for the intelligent layman. Malkiel does not explain why the monkeys need to be blindfolded though, or whether sighted ones would beat the pros."

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Publisher: Souvenir Press

Published: 1992

Edition: 2nd Revised edition

Format: Pb

"This book is dangerous. It is the free-spirited individual's antidote to Malkiel. Not only does Max Gunther say speculation can make you rich, he says anyone can do it, often by turning conventional investment wisdom on its head. He boils success down to twelve folksy principles in a volume slim enough, and engaging enough to read in an afternoon. Sceptics will cry foul, but by picking apart the mechanics of buy and sell decisions the axioms challenge us all to work out why we make the decisions we do, and unlike most get-rich quick books there is no expensive follow-up to buy."

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Publisher: Prentice-Hall

Published: 2007

Edition: 5th Revised edition

Format: Pb

"Analysis of company accounts is the bedrock of investment, but how many of us actually do it? Understanding the books that 'demystify' accounts is tricky enough. Some get bogged down in detail, others are glib to the point of uselessness. I found the only way to treat this strain of financial illiteracy was with a cocktail of books of which 'Accounts Demystified' was the most potent. Anthony Rice takes the reader through the creation and analysis of a fictional set of accounts. It is clear and efficient, but beyond that Rice understands the misconceptions those not steeped in accountancy can jump to, and corrects them."

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Publisher: Batsford

Published: 1996

Format: Pb

"You cannot argue with a good trading record and when I met him in 1999, David Charters had been charting for more than twenty-five years. His book is as perfect as a step-by-step guide can be, written with clarity and wit by a master of the trade. It also includes a quiz, and 'A day in the life of a technical analyst' in which, curiously, Charters reveals he was still plotting by hand in 1998. Unfortunately Charters on Charting is out of print, but you can pick up a second-hand copy on the internet. Otherwise Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets is worth buying, I am told, in fact Charters suggests it as further reading."

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Publisher: Random House Business Books

Published: 2003

Edition: New ed of 5 Revised ed

Format: Pb

"How to Read the Financial Pages is a set text for financial journalists written by former editor of the Investor's Chronicle, author and lecturer Michael Brett. It is one of those books to reach for when faced with a bid, or a rights issue or, as so frequently happens to journalists, you need a primer on a financial subject you know little about; say derivatives, or commodities, the euromarkets, insurance, or foreign exchange. Brett serves the meat and drink of stockmarkets, shares, companies and accounts well too. He has written a book for anyone interested in the City, and how it works."

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Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Published: 2002

Format: Pb

"Do not judge a book by its cover, especially this book. Going by the glowing testimonials, you would be forgiven for thinking FFN is about what is in our food. It is, but to focus on revelations like the incidence of excrement in burgers is to miss the point, so expertly argued, that big business shapes society, culture and the individual, often unchallenged. Much more than a catalogue of poisoned consumers, exploited workforces and brow-beaten suppliers it is a surprisingly optimistic and colourful commentary on the state of capitalism today. Essential reading if investing in unprincipled companies gives you indigestion."

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Publisher: Profile Books

Published: 2005

Format: Pb

"According to conventional financial theory, the odds of calamitous events in the market are extremely long. So long they ought not to happen. But as any investor will tell you companies go bust all the time. Markets crash. And products we supposed were safe turn out to be leaky junks sinking into the ocean swell. Mandelbrot has an alternative model, fractals, the geometry he invented to describe coastlines, the inside of your lung and the distribution of earthquakes. It might one day change the way we value investments."

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Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Published: 2000

Edition: 2nd Revised edition

Format: Pb

"I love all three of Peter Lynch's books, but this is the best. It contains within it the secret of successful stockpicking and much wit and wisdom. Lynch was a successful fund manager, a claim to fame in itself, with a disarmingly simple style. Follow it and you will be casing department stores and cozying up to investor relations departments in no time. You see: "All you have to do is put as much effort into picking your stocks as you do into buying your groceries.""

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Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2003

Edition: 1st

Format: Pb

"Like Peter Lynch, Rogers is of that rarest of breeds: a successful fund manger. Some would say they both had the sense to quit while they were ahead. Lynch chose to spend more time with his family and Rogers set off round the World, first on a motorbike and then in a yellow Mercedes sports car perched on the carcass of a Toyota Landcruiser. Since he likes to invest "where there is blood on the streets" you are assured of thrills. High adventure meets high finance. You could not make it up, which is why it is so good."

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