Want to know what books David J Lynch recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of David J Lynch's favorite book recommendations of all time.
1
The idea of China has always exerted a pull on the adventurous type. There is a kind of entrepreneurial Westerner who just can't resist it: red flags, a billion bicycles, and the largest untapped market on earth. What more could they want? After the first few visits, they start to feel more in tune and experience the first stirrings of a fatal ambition: the secret hope of becoming the Mr. China of their time.
In the 1990s, China went through a miraculous transformation from a closed backwater to the workshop of the world. Many smart young men saw this transformation coming and... more The idea of China has always exerted a pull on the adventurous type. There is a kind of entrepreneurial Westerner who just can't resist it: red flags, a billion bicycles, and the largest untapped market on earth. What more could they want? After the first few visits, they start to feel more in tune and experience the first stirrings of a fatal ambition: the secret hope of becoming the Mr. China of their time.
In the 1990s, China went through a miraculous transformation from a closed backwater to the workshop of the world. Many smart young men saw this transformation coming and mistook it for their destiny. Not a few rushed East to gain strategic footholds, plant their flags, and prosper. After all, the Chinese had numbers on their side: a seemingly endless population, a thirst for resources, and the tide of history. What they needed was Western knowledge and lots of capital. Or so it seemed ...
Mr. China tells the rollicking story of one man's encounter with the Chinese. Armed with hundreds of millions of dollars and a strong sense that he and his partners were -- like missionaries of capitalism -- descending into the industrial past to bring the Chinese into the modern world, Clissold got the education of a lifetime.
The ordinary Chinese workers, business owners, local bureaucrats, and party cadres Clissold encountered were some of the most committed, resourceful, and creative operators he would ever meet. They were happy to take the foreigner's money but resisted just about anything else. At every turn, the locals seemed one step ahead of Clissold's crew threatening to take the Westerners for all they were worth.
In the end, Mr. China isn't a tale of business or an expatriate's love for his adopted land. It's one man's coming-of-age story where he learns to respect and admire the nation he sought to conquer. less 
David J LynchThis is a history of the Federal Reserve. I tried to read it when it first came out and I’ll confess I didn’t get very far. I went back to it a few years ago and found it fascinating. He does a wonderful job. He sees the Fed as the real locus of power in the US democracy. Not the president, not the congress, but the central bank, and he does a great job of making that argument. This book was the... (Source)
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2
"In just 25 years we have gone from the American century to the American crisis," Felix Rohatyn, financier & social critic, sets the theme: the fateful challenge to American industrial supremacy. Five years in the making, THE RECKONING reveals a society that got too rich for its own good, racing thru its postwar prosperity, developing wasteful habits. Finally in the mid-70s it fell prey to an unlikely rival: Japan, a nation only recently scorned for the low quality of its goods. This chastening study, portrays the conflict between the culture of affluence & that of adversity. It's a... more "In just 25 years we have gone from the American century to the American crisis," Felix Rohatyn, financier & social critic, sets the theme: the fateful challenge to American industrial supremacy. Five years in the making, THE RECKONING reveals a society that got too rich for its own good, racing thru its postwar prosperity, developing wasteful habits. Finally in the mid-70s it fell prey to an unlikely rival: Japan, a nation only recently scorned for the low quality of its goods. This chastening study, portrays the conflict between the culture of affluence & that of adversity. It's a high-minded reminder that America's greatness is on the line & that vigilance is the price of survival.
Maxwell's warning --
Amaya surveys the oil age --
Detroit's bleak winter of 1982 --
The founder --
The destroyer --
The victor --
The banker --
The turning point --
The crushing of Masuda --
Tough little rich boy --
The whiz kids --
Ford goes public --
The quiet man --
The Gaijin teachers --
The engineer --
The first victory --
Deming finds an audience --
Henry Kaiser tries Detroit --
The organizer --
The Mustang --
The rivals --
The statue --
The boss --
The pioneer --
The liberation of Yukata Katayama --
The Emperor Shioji --
War and oil --
Henry Ford besieged --
The alienated --
Citizen Nader --
Datsun saves --
The struggle at the top --
Big cars again --
A vacancy at Chrysler --
The arrivistes --
Greathouse in Tokyo --
A man of the system --
Hard times come home --
The fall of a free trader --
Amaya ends an era --
The defection of Marvin Runyon --
The hammer and the nail --
A grateful worker --
Bonus time again --
The scion --
The new American hero --
The raiders --
OPEC unravels --
The upstarts --
The jobs depart --
Instant replay : the rise of Korea --
The venerables --
The reckoning --
The past becomes the future
Author's Note
Bibliography
Index less David J LynchThis one sort of speaks to something I’ve long been interested in. We get this general education in schools that follows the basic themes of presidents and wars and that kind of thing and then there’s this alternative history of finance and economics, and Lords of Finance impressed me because it gives you that alternative history, particularly through the inter-war years from the end of World War... (Source)
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3
Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize
"A magisterial work...You can't help thinking about the economic crisis we're living through now." --The New York Times Book Review
It is commonly believed that the Great Depression that began in 1929 resulted from a confluence of events beyond any one person's or government's control. In fact, as Liaquat Ahamed reveals, it was the decisions made by a small number of central bankers that were the primary cause of that economic meltdown, the effects of which set the stage for World War II and reverberated for decades. As... more Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize
"A magisterial work...You can't help thinking about the economic crisis we're living through now." --The New York Times Book Review
It is commonly believed that the Great Depression that began in 1929 resulted from a confluence of events beyond any one person's or government's control. In fact, as Liaquat Ahamed reveals, it was the decisions made by a small number of central bankers that were the primary cause of that economic meltdown, the effects of which set the stage for World War II and reverberated for decades. As yet another period of economic turmoil makes headlines today, Lords of Finance is a potent reminder of the enormous impact that the decisions of central bankers can have, their fallibility, and the terrible human consequences that can result when they are wrong. less 
Barry RitholtzIt covers a 50-year period from before World War I and leading up to World War II. Even if you’re not interested in finance, it’s a great read. (Source)
David J LynchLords of Finance gives you that alternative history, particularly through the inter-war years from the end of World War I into the Great Depression. (Source)
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4
The real story of the crash began in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn't shine and the SEC doesn't dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real estate derivative markets where geeks invent impenetrable securities to profit from the misery of lower- and middle-class Americans who can't pay their debts. The smart people who understood what was or might be happening were paralyzed by hope and fear; in any case, they weren't talking.
Michael Lewis creates a fresh, character-driven narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting sequel to his #1 bestseller... more The real story of the crash began in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn't shine and the SEC doesn't dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real estate derivative markets where geeks invent impenetrable securities to profit from the misery of lower- and middle-class Americans who can't pay their debts. The smart people who understood what was or might be happening were paralyzed by hope and fear; in any case, they weren't talking.
Michael Lewis creates a fresh, character-driven narrative brimming with indignation and dark humor, a fitting sequel to his #1 bestseller Liar's Poker. Out of a handful of unlikely-really unlikely-heroes, Lewis fashions a story as compelling and unusual as any of his earlier bestsellers, proving yet again that he is the finest and funniest chronicler of our time. less 
Sheryl SandbergMichael Lewis's ability to boil down the most complicated subjects is like a magic trick. You can't believe your own eyes. He takes on important issues - from the 2008 Wall Street crash in "The Big Short" to parenting in "Home Game" - and breaks them down to the deepest truths. His combination of an extraordinarily analytical mind and a deep understanding of human nature allows him to weave... (Source)
Tim HarfordIf I had any criticism of the book, it’s that he makes it seem too obvious. It becomes mysterious how anyone could have been confused. (Source)
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5
William Greider’s groundbreaking bestseller reveals how the mighty and mysterious Federal Reserve operates—and manipulates and the world’s economy.
This ground-breaking best-seller reveals for the first time how the mighty and mysterious Federal Reserve operates—and how it manipulated and transformed both the American economy and the world's during the last eight crucial years. Based on extensive interviews with all the major players, Secrets of the Temple takes us inside the government institution that is in some ways more secretive than the CIA and more powerful than the... more William Greider’s groundbreaking bestseller reveals how the mighty and mysterious Federal Reserve operates—and manipulates and the world’s economy.
This ground-breaking best-seller reveals for the first time how the mighty and mysterious Federal Reserve operates—and how it manipulated and transformed both the American economy and the world's during the last eight crucial years. Based on extensive interviews with all the major players, Secrets of the Temple takes us inside the government institution that is in some ways more secretive than the CIA and more powerful than the President or Congress. less 
Chris HayesBill was an incredible journalist, reporter, writer, listener and mentor. He was always so so kind to me, and a role model. His book on the Fed is still, I think, the best one ever written
https://t.co/SgaBOdbtmR https://t.co/Ib8Mywkxa9 (Source)
Marc CaputoGreider’s “Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country” is a must read. I never thought a book about the fed could be a page-turner, but he did it https://t.co/PDmGvJDEkd (Source)
David J LynchI read this when it came out in the mid-80s and it’s always stuck with me. I’m a big fan of Halberstam’s writing anyway. You love him or hate him, what with his constant digression and everything else. The Reckoning is an account of the problems in the American auto industry and is the story of how America goes from dominating the auto industry and really being synonymous with it to losing a step... (Source)
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