The uncertainty surrounding Covid-19 is reaching beyond the markets. Many are forced to shelve or radically change their summer holiday plans.
Whether you spend your summer break in your own home or venture to your holiday destination of choice, we have assembled a list of books that, we hope, will take your mind temporarily off the markets.
Our suggestions attempt to dive into the past and to enlighten our present. They deal with the importance of sleep and how to improve decision-making while we’re awake.
Of course, we could not resist adding one book that covers the markets. Rest assured, it is an easy and entertaining read.
The team at Tramondo wishes you a relaxing summer break. Stay safe!
The Lessons of History
Will Durant, Ariel Durant
Called a masterpiece of distillation, this book dives into the themes and lessons of 5000 years of world history.
The authors expertly examine wars, revolutions, or, like today, pandemics, across twelve perspectives, namely geography, biology, race, character, morals, religion, economics, socialism, government, war, growth and decay, and progress.
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress
Steven Pinker
An instant New York Times bestseller and one of The Economist’s books of the year, Enlightenment Now expertly tackles the occasional feeling that the world is coming to an end, and provides a brilliant other perspective as the world grapples with Covid-19 and its implications.
Cognitive scientist Steven Pinker takes on tribalism, authoritarianism, demonization, and magical thinking. He argues that life, health, prosperity, and happiness are on the rise worldwide because of reason and science.
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
Matthew Walker PhD
In this excellent book, neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker builds on the groundbreaking scientific discoveries of the last twenty years by explaining the vital importance of sleep and dreaming. And the devastating consequences on our health if we don’t.
Learn how to learn better, memorize, and make rational decisions. And beef up your immune system, calibrate your metabolism and lose weight. Not into self-help books? Neither are we. Pick this one up.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahnemann
There is a reason advertising uses bold type face. We tend to believe things more if they are written in bold. Have you been disappointed by the incompetence of someone who also happened to be attractive? You are not alone.
World-famous cognitive psychologist and Nobel Price for Economics Laureate Daniel Kahnemann explains why we entangle ourselves in biases. He provides tips and tricks on how to combine the two ways we think, i.e., the fast and intuitive and the slow and rational.
The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America’s Top Traders
Jack D. Schwager
A classic in its own right, and the second book in a must-read series that deals with questions anyone interested in trading the markets would love to ask the titans of the industry.
While we eagerly await his upcoming book (expected in November of 2020), US author and trader Jack D. Schwager takes us into the minds of Bill Lipschutz, Randy McKay, Bill Eckhardt, Monroe Trout, Al Weiss, Stanley Druckenmiller, Gil Blake, Victor Sperandeo, Tom Basso, Linda Bradford, Mark Ritchie, Blair Hull, Jeff Yass, Charles Faulkner, and Robert Krausz.
