Recommended Books?

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Jan Van
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by Jan Van »

Pres wrote: "In one hour"? Seriously? 256 pages?
Well, yes and no. Yes, they use little text on each page and big fonts. No, you are supposed to break for a couple of days between the sections.
Check out the sample pages, you'll se what I mean. I like the book a lot, way cool...
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by Pres »

Okay. I may give it a try. (for my VP of course) Thanks!
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by Hobbery »

I can't recommend enough, a book by the late Peter McWilliams called: "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do- The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Country".

This is one of those books that has EVERYTHING.  It's all over the place.  Even the footnotes are wildly informative and entertaining.  There's even a box on every page with a related quote.  You will not be sorry. 

Even Harry Browne mentioned McWilliams on his political show...

It's one of those books that's about sooo much more than the title lets on...  I'll pry read it 3 more times.
Last edited by Hobbery on Thu Dec 30, 2010 6:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Storm
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by Storm »

That is a great book.  You can read the whole thing online for free:  http://www.mcwilliams.com/books/aint/toc.htm
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by Hobbery »

Hell yeah Storm, good lookin out...  Although I'd recommend dropping $4 on a used copy. 

I remember it being like 650 pages and (believe it or not) I read the WHOLE THING sitting on the can...  I've done so much profound thinking there....
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by MediumTex »

Hobbery wrote: I remember it being like 650 pages and (believe it or not) I read the WHOLE THING sitting on the can...
Was that in one sitting?
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by blackomen »

The 5 Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth by Richard Paul Evans.

He goes over some simple yet often overlooked ideas about building wealth.  His philosophies complement nicely with Harry Browne's philosophies.  You learn Evans' ideas about cutting back on spending , looking for opportunities to earn more money, etc.  THEN apply Harry Browne's Permanent Portfolio to protect and grow that wealth!   ;D
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by Jake »

This is such an awesome forum- I now have some great looking books added to my list. Thanks especially to Medium Tex, your choices (overshoot, fourth turning) look extremely thought-provoking.

A couple of suggestions to add to the mix below:
  • "What has government done to our money" by Murray Rothbard is a great and highly readable primer on the Austrian economics understanding of money. It is online for free at the Mises Institute.
  • "The Millionaire Next Door" by Thomas Stanley has some enjoyable data in it and is nicely down to earth and sensible.
  • "How To Get Rich" by Felix Denis is not really PP related at all but has lots of entertaining thoughts from a highly opinionated entrepreneur.
Also, if you enjoyed Harry Browne's "How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World", here are some others you might like:
  • "Unjobbing" by Michael Fogler chimes nicely with Harry's approach to getting as much personal freedom in your work life as you can.
  • "Instead of Education" by John Holt is extremely intelligent book and highly thought provoking for anyone interested in personal freedom. It's about how useless and demeaning the compulsory education system is and what the alternatives are.
Last edited by Jake on Thu Feb 09, 2012 4:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Recommended Books?

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Last edited by escafandro on Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by Tortoise »

Two books that dig deeply into the idea of uncertainty--the concept that motivates much of Harry Browne's investment philosophy--are Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan and Fooled By Randomness. I found them both to be entertaining and thought-provoking.
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by MediumTex »

Tortoise wrote: Two books that dig deeply into the idea of uncertainty--the concept that motivates much of Harry Browne's investment philosophy--are Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan and Fooled By Randomness. I found them both to be entertaining and thought-provoking.
Those two books are essentially the same book written twice from slightly different perspectives.  Of the two I think I enjoyed "Fooled by Randomness" a bit more.
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by dualstow »

I read the first couple chapters of Borrow and I really like it. Will probably buy.
Last edited by dualstow on Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by jackely »

If anyone is interested in a book on fail-for-sure investing, I just finished "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine" by Michael Lewis. It's about the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and how some very smart people made a lot of money betting against some very stupid people. This was my first free Amazon Prime Kindle book and a very good read. Unfortunately it was so good I finished it in one weekend and now have to wait 28 days for my next free book.
Last edited by jackely on Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Recommended Books?

Post by lazyboy »

On a different note I recommend  Stars of Wisdom http://www.amazon.com/Stars-Wisdom-Anal ... pd_sim_b_2
This a very readable Buddhist teaching that explores and deconstructs assumptions about reality and how suffering is perpetuated through our concepts. I found the analytic meditation sections presented well, easy to follow and, also, very profound. I like the other sections on song and prayer, however, I know they are not going to appeal to everyone.
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