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Simon Johnson's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Simon Johnson recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Simon Johnson's favorite book recommendations of all time.

1
David Wessel, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning reporter, columnist, and bestselling author of In Fed We Trust, dissects the federal budget: a topic that is fiercely debated today in the halls of Congress and the media, and yet is misunderstood by the American public.

Now a New York Times bestseller.

In a sweeping narrative about the people and the politics behind the budget, Wessel looks at the 2011 fiscal year (which ended September 30) to see where all the money was actually spent, and why the budget process has grown wildly out of control. Through the...
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Recommended by Simon Johnson, and 1 others.

Simon JohnsonI think we need more of these: Intelligent, thoughtful, well-documented books that scare the pants off you and convince you that action on debt is needed. (Source)

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2
By most accounts, China has quickly grown into the second largest economy in the world. In this controversial new book, Subramanian argues that China has already become the most economically dominant country in the world in terms of wealth, trade and finance. Its dominance and eclipsing of US global economic power is more imminent, more broad-based and larger in magnitude than anyone has anticipated. Subramanian compares the economic dominance of China with that of the two previous economic superpowers--the United States and the United Kingdom--and highlights similarities and differences. One... more
Recommended by Simon Johnson, and 1 others.

Simon JohnsonHe’s arguing that China is a very large economy and it trades a lot. That will bring it the status of safe-haven currency and it may displace the dollar. (Source)

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3

A History of Interest Rates (Wiley Finance)

A History of Interest Rates presents a very readable account of interest rate trends and lending practices over four millennia of economic history. Despite the paucity of data prior to the Industrial Revolution, authors Homer and Sylla provide a highly detailed analysis of money markets and borrowing practices in major economies. Underlying the analysis is their assertion that "the free market long-term rates of interest for any industrial nation, properly charted, provide a sort of fever chart of the economic and political health of that nation." Given the enormous volatility of rates in the... more
Recommended by Simon Johnson, Marc Faber, and 2 others.

Simon JohnsonSome of my favourite books are just about data. This history shows us that interest rates can go down for a very long time – and then they go up. (Source)

Marc FaberInvestors should realise that interest rates move in long cycles and this is fairly well documented in Homer’s history of interest rates. I think that in general — because I go to lots of seminars and so forth — investors and professional fund managers may have a CFA, but they have no clue about history. (Source)

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4

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time

Described by the Chicago Tribune as "a classic," The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt stands as one of the greatest biographies of our time. The publication of The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt on September 14th, 2001 marks the 100th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt becoming president.
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Barack ObamaThe Oval office can be a lonely place, so reading about your forefather’s experience could only help. “The biographies have been useful, because I do think that there’s a tendency, understandable, to think that whatever’s going on right now is uniquely disastrous or amazing or difficult,” said President Obama in an interview. (Source)

Ryan HolidayWhen I was younger I would ask any smart or successful person I met to recommend a book for me to read. Dr. Drew recommended that I read The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. It immediately became a lifetime favorite that I have reread several times (Amazon tells me I bought it Oct 26, 2006). It ends the day he is telegraphed that McKinley has been assassinated–so the book focuses on everything before... (Source)

Simon JohnsonThis book is about admiration for a man who rises through a series of remarkable coincidences. The key thing is that he channelled the times. (Source)

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5

Why Nations Fail

The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine?

Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are?

Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra...
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Mark ZuckerbergMy next book for A Year of Books is Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoğlu and James A. Robinson. This book explores the different kinds of social institutions and incentives that nations have applied to encourage prosperity, economic development and elimination of poverty. This is a good complement to our last book, Portfolios of the Poor, which focused on how people live in poverty. This one... (Source)

Bill Gates"I read two books that raise big, interesting questions about social change and technological progress. I’m planning to write longer reviews of each of these books, but let me flag them for you now. One is Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson.The topic of this book is why some countries have prospered and created great living... (Source)

George MagnusThe role of institutions is really important for societal development. (Source)

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