Book Recommendations

1. i.
   Poor Charlie's Almanack

   A collection of speeches and talks by Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's business partner. A great primer on Munger's mental models and investing philosophy.

2. ii.
   Ben Franklin's Autobiography

   The autobiography is written in simple language. The book demonstrates Ben's thinking style. The self-improvement plan had the most impact on me. In short, he made a list of 13 virtues 1.  Temperance
   2.  Silence
   3.  Order
   4.  Resolution
   5.  Frugality
   6.  Industry
   7.  Sincerity
   8.  Justice
   9.  Moderation
   10. Cleanliness
   11. Tranquillity
   12. Chastity
   13. Humility and tracked them daily to improve his character.

3. iii.
   How to Win Friends and Influence People

   I initially dismissed this book because it seemed to encourage inauthentic behavior. Over time, I found it helpful to understand people better. It's quite useful to read and re-read every couple of years.

4. iv.
   Never Split the Difference

   This is the best book on negotiation I've read. If I had to sum up the book in one quip, negotiation is "The art of letting someone else have your way."

5. v.
   Red-Blooded Risk

   It's not the easiest read, but there were several concepts that I found nowhere else. My favorite insight was in a truel (3 person duel), the person who is the best shot has the lowest chance of survival.

6. vi.
   Fortune's Formula

   The book is about the Kelly Criterion, a formula for determining the optimal size of a series of bets. This book exposed me to Claude Shannon, who is the father of information theory. A key insight is that you can go broke even when your expected value is positive.

7. vii.
   The Lessons of History

   “Only a fool would try to compress a hundred centuries into a hundred pages of hazardous conclusions. We proceed.”

   Will Durant

   History begins once we record it. Everything before that is prehistory. Will Durant traces civilization from ancient Egypt through to the 20th century.