77 books like Fortune's Formula

By William Poundstone,

Here are 77 books that Fortune's Formula fans have personally recommended if you like Fortune's Formula. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Trading Systems and Methods

Barbara Rockefeller Author Of Technical Analysis For Dummies

From my list on for traders using technical analysis.

Why am I passionate about this?

Economics isn't really a good starting point for financial market analysis for the simple reason that its models are wildly inaccurate. As behaviorial economists like Daniel Kahneman have been showing, irrationality and the inability to measure risk properly are a very big component of the investment and trading decisions. But statistical risk management is also sloppy when applied to human behavior because people are not objects that reliably behave the same way under similar circumstances. So when you read an economist about markets or an engineer about risk management, you're missing a lot of the story. In the end, technical analysis is fascinating because how and why humans behave is an enduring mystery.

Barbara's book list on for traders using technical analysis

Barbara Rockefeller Why did Barbara love this book?

Trading Systems is an encyclopedia of all the technical ideas ever devised and the trading methods associated with the technical ideas and how those methods can be used to manage risk. Like any encyclopedia, this book has far more information and insight than you can possibly absorb in a single sitting—or 50. Kaufman presents thorny math subjects with the math (if you can stomach it) and also in prose for those of us less-gifted. When I read some headline or assertion about a market that strikes me as absurd, I head straight for Kaufman to find out what he says about it. This usually ends in a reference to another author who has studied the topic in deep detail—Kaufman names just about every chart guru that ever developed anything worth knowing. I also consult Kaufman when I think I see something on a chart and want to know what it…

By Perry J. Kaufman,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Trading Systems and Methods as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The new edition of the definitive reference to trading systems-expanded and thoroughly updated.

Professional and individual traders haverelied on Trading Systems and Methods for over three decades. Acclaimed trading systems expert Perry Kaufman provides complete, authoritative information on proven indicators, programs, systems, and algorithms. Now in its sixth edition, this respected book continues to provide readers with the knowledge required to develop or select the trading programs best suited for their needs. In-depth discussions of basic mathematical and statistical concepts instruct readers on how much data to use, how to create an index, how to determine probabilities, and how best…


Book cover of Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns

Barbara Rockefeller Author Of Technical Analysis For Dummies

From my list on for traders using technical analysis.

Why am I passionate about this?

Economics isn't really a good starting point for financial market analysis for the simple reason that its models are wildly inaccurate. As behaviorial economists like Daniel Kahneman have been showing, irrationality and the inability to measure risk properly are a very big component of the investment and trading decisions. But statistical risk management is also sloppy when applied to human behavior because people are not objects that reliably behave the same way under similar circumstances. So when you read an economist about markets or an engineer about risk management, you're missing a lot of the story. In the end, technical analysis is fascinating because how and why humans behave is an enduring mystery.

Barbara's book list on for traders using technical analysis

Barbara Rockefeller Why did Barbara love this book?

We sometimes think patterns like a double top or a triangle are old-fashioned and not useful, but Bulkowksi not only demonstrates but proves otherwise. He set the standard for how technical analysis should be presented—with hard facts about how a pattern is identified, how well it works on specific securities over time, its gain/loss ratio, and other data. And he provides updates on his website. Bulkowski has also done simillar work on swing trading and candlesticks. I like Bulkowski’s work because he uses the scientific approach of forming a hypothesis, testing and re-testing it, and honestly reporting whether a hypothesis is valid (or to what extent it can be trusted).

By Thomas N. Bulkowski,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The market's bestselling and most comprehensive reference on chart patterns, backed by statistics and decades of experience

When the smart money trades the securities markets, they leave behind financial footprints. Combine enough footprints together and you have a trail to follow. That trail becomes what's called a chart pattern. Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns, Third Edition expands upon Bulkowski's immensely popular Second Edition with fully revised and updated material on chart patterns. Whether you're new to the stock market or an experienced professional trader, use this book as a reference guide to give you an edge.

Within the pages of this…


Book cover of Profitable Candlestick Trading: Pinpointing Market Opportunities to Maximize Profits

Barbara Rockefeller Author Of Technical Analysis For Dummies

From my list on for traders using technical analysis.

Why am I passionate about this?

Economics isn't really a good starting point for financial market analysis for the simple reason that its models are wildly inaccurate. As behaviorial economists like Daniel Kahneman have been showing, irrationality and the inability to measure risk properly are a very big component of the investment and trading decisions. But statistical risk management is also sloppy when applied to human behavior because people are not objects that reliably behave the same way under similar circumstances. So when you read an economist about markets or an engineer about risk management, you're missing a lot of the story. In the end, technical analysis is fascinating because how and why humans behave is an enduring mystery.

Barbara's book list on for traders using technical analysis

Barbara Rockefeller Why did Barbara love this book?

You may have noticed that hardly anyone uses simple lines on a chart anymore—everyone uses candlesticks. When I was revising my own book, the technical advisor recommended just deleting the part about different types of standard bars and presenting only candlesticks. What’s so likable about Bigalow’s work is his total clarity, in the book and also on his website. He identifies the candles you need the most, shows you what they look like, applies them in real cases, and tells you the outcomes. Not only are the charts as clear as can be, so is his prose.

By Stephen W. Bigalow,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Profitable Candlestick Trading as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The updated edition to one of the most popular books on technical analysis Japanese candlestick charting and analysis is one of the most profitable yet underutilized ways to trade the market. Signals created by this unique method of technical analysis-represented in the form of graphic "candlestick" formations-identify the immediate direction and effects of investor sentiment through price movements, allowing traders to profit by spotting trend reversals before other investors. This updated version of Profitable Candlestick Trading: Pinpointing Market Opportunities to Maximize Profits makes learning the method fast and easy by introducing specific patterns, as well as the psychology behind them.…


Book cover of Trader Vic--Methods of a Wall Street Master

Barbara Rockefeller Author Of Technical Analysis For Dummies

From my list on for traders using technical analysis.

Why am I passionate about this?

Economics isn't really a good starting point for financial market analysis for the simple reason that its models are wildly inaccurate. As behaviorial economists like Daniel Kahneman have been showing, irrationality and the inability to measure risk properly are a very big component of the investment and trading decisions. But statistical risk management is also sloppy when applied to human behavior because people are not objects that reliably behave the same way under similar circumstances. So when you read an economist about markets or an engineer about risk management, you're missing a lot of the story. In the end, technical analysis is fascinating because how and why humans behave is an enduring mystery.

Barbara's book list on for traders using technical analysis

Barbara Rockefeller Why did Barbara love this book?

This book is a classic and the best of the many books written by traders describing trading situations and what they did to conquer the market. Sperandeo delivers concise, specific definitions of how he defines and uses trends with some of the clearest charts you will ever see. I find myself going back to some of the same pages over the years in which he discusses how to tell if a trend is undergoing a correction or is an authentic reversal.

By Victor Sperandeo, T. Sullivan Brown,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Trader Vic--Methods of a Wall Street Master as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Trader Vic -- Methods of a Wall Street Master Investment strategies from the man Barron's calls "The Ultimate Wall Street Pro" "Victor Sperandeo is gifted with one of the finest minds I know. No wonder he's compiled such an amazing record of success as a money manager. Every investor can benefit from the wisdom he offers in his new book. Don't miss it!" --Paul Tudor Jones Tudor Investment Corporation "Here's a simple review in three steps: 1. Buy this book! 2. Read this book! 3. See step 2. For those who can't take a hint, Victor Sperandeo with T. Sullivan…


Book cover of Confessions of a Yakuza: A Life in Japan's Underworld

Howard Sounes Author Of This Woman: Myra Hindley’s Prison Love Affair and Escape Attempt

From my list on biographies to put you in the mind of a criminal.

Why am I passionate about this?

The author of biographies, histories, and true crime books, Howard Sounes is best-known for Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan, now in an updated edition; Charles Bukowski: Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life; and Fred & Rose, the bestselling story of married English serial killers Fred and Rose West. Other books include Amy, 27, Seventies, Heist, and biographies of Paul McCartney and Lou Reed.

Howard's book list on biographies to put you in the mind of a criminal

Howard Sounes Why did Howard love this book?

A doctor interviews an elderly Japanese yakuza (gangster) as he recalls his life. Adhering to his own criminal code, the yakuza exudes a wayward nobility as he discusses the choices he made. Bob Dylan saw romance in this and quoted from the yakuza’s dialogue on his album, Love and Theft.

By Junichi Saga, John Bester (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Confessions of a Yakuza as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is the true story, as told to the doctor who looked after him just before he died, of the life of one of the last traditional yakuza in Japan. It wasn't a good' life, in either sense of the word, but it was an adventurous one; and the tale he has to tell presents an honest and oddly attractive picture of an insider in that separate, unofficial world.
In his low, hoarse voice, he describes the random events that led the son of a prosperous country shopkeeper to become a member, and ultimately the leader, of a gang organizing…


Book cover of Shadow Woman

Steve Liskow Author Of Oh Lord, Won't You Steal Me a Mercedes Benz

From my list on mysteries featuring feisty females.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in a family of strong women, and have always been drawn to women with brains and a sense of humor. When I worked in theater as an actor, director, and designer, my favorite stage manager and designers were women because they looked at the production challenges from a different angle than mine, so we both learned something while coming up with the best possible ideas and solutions. I can’t stand fluffy “victim” females. The women in my stories are always looking for a better way and a better world. Both my detective series feature several strong, resourceful women that complement the male detective, adding humor and insight, and—I hope—more humanity.

Steve's book list on mysteries featuring feisty females

Steve Liskow Why did Steve love this book?

American Indian Jane Whitefield rescues people the police can’t protect and helps them find new identities and new homes. But now her job is complicated because Pete Hatcher, a Vegas gambling executive, is the target of Earl and Linda, a lethal tag team who will become very rich if Hatcher dies. The job is even more complicated because Jane has recently married Corey, a successful local surgeon, so it’s harder to maintain a low profile in the town. When Earl and Linda hone in on Corey, Jane realizes she has to protect her own family as well as her client, and her foes know every trick that she knows, too.

By Thomas Perry,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shadow Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In her latest adventure, Jane Whitefield, who helps people in trouble disappear from one life and establish a new identity, is hired by a Las Vegas gambling casino executive running from contract killers. But the killers are on the trail of the shadow woman and soon Jane becomes the principle target of their rage and revenge.


Book cover of Last Call

Terry Madden Author Of Three Wells of the Sea

From my list on mythic fantasy novels.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been studying Celtic myth and history since I was in college and took a class on Arthurian literature. Drawing heavily from Irish and Welsh lore to build my “land beyond the veil” known as the Five Quarters, I have always been intrigued by the Celtic view of the land of the dead as a distinct world to which we go and then return, like two sides of the mirrored surface of a well. I hope you enjoy these mythic fantasy books as much as I did!

Terry's book list on mythic fantasy novels

Terry Madden Why did Terry love this book?

As I read this book, it made me think of American Gods. The presence of god-like forces of good and evil interfering with human lives is the basis for all mythic stories, and I love the wit and humor with which Powers delivers this tale.

The story references myth directly, and the random chance so loved by the gods is a driving force behind this novel of redemption and crazy, universal connections. 

By Tim Powers,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Last Call as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Twenty years ago Scott Crane abandoned his career as a professional poker player and went into hiding, after a weird high-stakes game played with Tarot cards. But now the cards - and the supernatural powers behind them - have found him again.

Crane's father killed gangster Bugsy Siegel in 1948 to become the Fisher King, and to keep that power he is determined to kill his son. Now Scott Crane must cross the Mojave Desert to his father's Perilous Chapel in Las Vegas, and take up the cards again for one last poker duel. And the stakes are the highest…


Book cover of Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas: How Jay Sarno Won a Casino Empire, Lost It, and Inspired Modern Las Vegas

Mark Bollman Author Of Basic Gambling Mathematics: The Numbers Behind the Neon

From my list on people who challenged Las Vegas.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been playing card games since childhood, and have had a parallel interest in the mathematics behind the games for nearly as long. While I didn’t visit Las Vegas in person until 2000, the stories of how that city was built around the gaming industry quickly came to fascinate me. Digging into the details of the people who have made that city what it is and have come to make their way in the desert has been a fascinating sidelight that has enhanced my recent work writing books on gambling mathematics.

Mark's book list on people who challenged Las Vegas

Mark Bollman Why did Mark love this book?

Grandissimo is a biography of Jay Sarno, the entrepreneur who built Caesars Palace and Circus Circus on the Las Vegas Strip and then lost his empire. 

It is fascinating to see read about how Caesars Palace started with humble beginnings before rising to its current prominent place of the Strip. The book’s title is taken from Sarno’s last great obsession: a new Las Vegas mega-resort that was never built, and the story of how that project never happened is just as interesting as the tales of how the other casino resorts succeeded.

By David G Schwartz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Grandissimo as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jay Sarno built two path-breaking Las Vegas casinos, Caesars Palace (1966) and Circus Circus (1968), and planned but did not build a third, the Grandissimo, which would have started the mega-resort era a decade before Steve Wynn built The Mirage. As mobsters and accountants battled for the soul of the last American frontier town, Las Vegas had endless possibilities—if you didn’t mind high stakes and stiff odds. Sarno invented the modern Las Vegas casino, but he was part of a dying breed—a back-pocket entrepreneur who’d parlayed a jones for action and a few Teamster loans into a life as a…


Book cover of A Rogue by Any Other Name

Britt Belle Author Of The Earl Was Wrong

From my list on historical romance heroes who were wrong.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love a romance where the hero has his viewpoint changed by the woman he falls in love with. He might become a better family man, or transform his politics, or change his priorities, but it all cases loving her alters him. Additionally, I love a heroine who is exceptional in a distinct way but overlooked or dismissed by others. They can be bluestockings or spinsters, reformers or quiet and shy, but they’re all steadfast and they all derive strength from the hero’s support. In short, the love they find together makes them better people. 

Britt's book list on historical romance heroes who were wrong

Britt Belle Why did Britt love this book?

I loved this book because Penelope is supposed to be a means to an end, but she ends up being Bourne's everything.

Bourne wants revenge. He believes that his happiness lies in recovering the land that he foolishly lost in a card game. Penelope proves to him that regaining his legacy is not enough. She helps him rediscover the man he would have become if he hadn’t lost everything that mattered to him.

When he lets himself love her, he chooses to abandon his quest for revenge so he can be worthy. Bourne is an absolute sweetheart by the end and is completely devoted to his wife.

By Sarah MacLean,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Rogue by Any Other Name as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What a scoundrel wants, a scoundrel gets. . .

A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London's most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance—including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury.

A broken engagement and years of disappointing courtships have left Penelope with little interest in a quiet, comfortable marriage, and a longing for something more. How lucky that her new husband has access to an unexplored world of pleasures.

Bourne may be a prince of London's illicit…


Book cover of The Music of Chance

John Bowie Author Of Weston-super-Nightmare: A Hellbent Riff Raff Thriller

From my list on gritty noir full of poetic lines and dark humour.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of the Black Viking and Hellbent Riffraff Thrillers and several volumes of dirty realism poetry. I am also the Founder and editor-in-chief of Bristol Noir, an indie publisher and ezine specialising in curiously dark fiction and crime noir. Since 2017 Bristol Noir has been publishing up-and-coming and best-selling authors from around the world. I’m a writer originally from Northumberland in Northern England. In the late 90s, I studied in Greater Manchester when the IRA bomb went off and during the infamous years of the Hacienda club. I now live in Bristol. I’ve devoted my writing to exploring my heritage and the environments I’ve been in.

John's book list on gritty noir full of poetic lines and dark humour

John Bowie Why did John love this book?

This is Auster exploring all the themes he’s well known for now, and crafting them into a beautifully absurd almost surreal tale. Not strictly a noir book this has a protagonist struggling with his place in the world and his identity, whilst getting drawn into situations out of their control—all tropes which are seminal to the genre. 

Auster’s first book released under the pseudonym Paul Benjamin, called Squeeze Play, is a more typical crime, or pulp noir. And it's easy to see his blend into literary fiction whilst holding the noir handles close for The Music of Chance.

Often writers start out literary then a genre attaches itself. Here, Auster appears to have hit big by penning a commercially aimed work, then shifting back to where his core themes ring out.

I’m a huge fan of these themes he’s so good at; stories within stories, back-tales of characters,…

By Paul Auster,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Music of Chance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Nashe comes into an inheritance and decides to pursue a life of freedom. He meets Pozzi, a gambler, who exerts a terrible fascination over, him and together they take a desperate gamble. By the author of "The New York Trilogy", "Moon Palace" and "The Invention of Solitude".


5 book lists we think you will like!

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