Wetfeet Careers in Investment Banking Recommended Reading

Recommended Reading

Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
Peter L. Bernstein (Wiley, 1998)
A cool study of the history of man’s understanding of risk and probability, starting with early gamblers in Greece, going through 17th century probability theory, and ending up with chaos theory. Fun reading for those interested in markets and investing.

Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco
Bryan Burrough and John Helyar (HarperCollins, 1991)
The ultimate inside story of the largest takeover in history, this book also provides an insightful look at the culture and personalities of Wall Street. Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR Nabisco at that time, needed a new PR agent after this book came out.

Bombardiers
Po Bronson (Penguin, 1996)
A black comedy about life on a trading desk, this story cuts mighty close to the bone. Bronson worked as a fixed-income sales analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston’s San Francisco office.

Den of Thieves
James B. Stewart (Simon & Schuster, 1992)
This is a classic about the 1980s insider trading scandals, which featured names like Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, and Dennis Levine, changed the world of M&A, and brought down the bank Drexel Burnham Lambert.

Goldman Sachs: The Culture of Success
Lisa Endlich (Knopf, 1999)
Hagiography, but still interesting. If you’re interviewing at Goldman, you should definitely read this. Even if you are interviewing with one of Goldman’s competitors, you might want to read this for more information about one of the Street’s biggest names.

Heard on the Street: Quantitative Questions from Wall Street Job Interviews
Timothy Falcon Crack (Timothy Crack, 2000)
This book is indispensable if you’re a PhD or other job candidate vying for a quantitative position (for example, derivatives analysis) on Wall Street.

The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance
Ron Chernow (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1990)
At 720 pages, this isn’t exactly beach reading, unless you need something to keep your towel from blowing away. Nevertheless, this is a surprisingly readable history of J. Pierpont Morgan and his empire, which still operates as the modern firms Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan Chase. Founded in England in 1838, the firm financed American wars, both foreign and civil; ruled over many of the turn-of-the-century trusts such as U.S. Steel, General Electric, and Standard Oil; survived disasters including the sinking of the Morgan-owned Titanic, the 1929 stock market crash, and tight regulation of banking and underwriting practices; and continues to thrive today. Because of the Morgans’ power, this book is also a history of investment banking in Europe and the United States. Highly recommended for anyone interviewing with one of the Houses of Morgan as well as anyone interested in financial history.

Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
Michael Lewis (W.W. Norton & Company, 1989)
This fun, easy read provides tremendous insight into the culture of Salomon Brothers, sales and trading, and Wall Street in general during the boom of the ’80s. You’ll also learn a fair amount about how investment banking works. Though much has changed since this era, the personality types remain exactly the same.

Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle
John Rolfe and Peter Troob (Warner Books, 2000)
This book takes readers behind the scenes at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (absorbed in 2000 by Credit Suisse First Boston), depicting the ridiculous lengths that entry-level grunts on Wall Street can go to cope with long hours, stress, and despotic managers; fit in with their peers; and stand out in the eyes of those who can advance their careers.

The Predators’ Ball: The Inside Story of Drexel Burnham and the Rise of the Junk Bond Raiders
Connie Bruck (Penguin, 1989)
Today, Michael Milken is a philanthropist, raising money to fight prostate cancer. This is the story of Milken before he was enjoined from working in investment banking—when he was hot and investment banking was about junk bonds and raids. A nice slice of the ’80s.