Hustler's Empire · Research
Further Reading
The scholarship and archival sources behind Hustler's Empire are catalogued on the Sources & Reference page. These are the books — the narrative histories and biographies — that shaped the novel's world and characters, for readers who want the fuller story behind the fiction.
Amazon links below will become affiliate links soon — for now they open an Amazon search for the exact title and author, since a mismatched link is worse than no link.
Section 1
Core Must-Read Books
- 1.
The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market's Perfect Storm
Robert F. Bruner and Sean D. Carr
View on Amazon ↗ - 2.
- 3.
The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance
Ron Chernow
View on Amazon ↗ - 4.
- 5.
- 6.
The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family
Ron Chernow
View on Amazon ↗ - 7.
The Money Kings: The Epic Story of the Jewish Immigrants Who Transformed Wall Street and Shaped Modern America
Daniel Schulman
View on Amazon ↗ - 8.
- 9.
The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve
G. Edward Griffin
View on Amazon ↗ - 10.
- 11.
The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J.P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy
Charles R. Morris
View on Amazon ↗ - 12.
Dark Genius of Wall Street: The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barons
Edward J. Renehan Jr.
View on Amazon ↗ - 13.
- 14.
- 15.
The Battle for Butte: Mining and Politics on the Northern Frontier, 1864–1906
Michael P. Malone
View on Amazon ↗ - 16.
The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865–1896
Richard White
View on Amazon ↗ - 17.
- 18.
Section 2
Author's Favorites
A personal list, in no particular order — the books that shaped how I think about money, power, risk, and history.
- 1.
- 2.
The 48 Laws of Power
Robert Greene
A great snapshot of history — nothing changes. The companion workbook is worth having too.
View on Amazon ↗ - 3.
The Art of Contrary Thinking
Humphrey B. Neill
A must-read, and a must-read-between-the-lines.
View on Amazon ↗ - 4.
- 5.
The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market's Perfect Storm
Robert F. Bruner and Sean D. Carr
History, money supply, the Fed — and why the dollar is the reserve currency. also on the Sources & Reference page
View on Amazon ↗ - 6.
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Charles Mackay
Nothing ever changes.
View on Amazon ↗ - 7.
Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
Peter L. Bernstein
Risk is the only thing that matters in the end — price is the exchange for risk.
View on Amazon ↗ - 8.
Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis
James Rickards
The story of money supply, reserve currency, and banking.
View on Amazon ↗ - 9.
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
Michael Lewis
Understanding what actually matters, not what everyone perceives to matter. The crowd is mostly wrong.
View on Amazon ↗ - 10.
The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man
David Maurer
The con is always going on somewhere. Be careful of schemes.
View on Amazon ↗ - 11.
The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family
Ron Chernow
A great story of a family and a family business. Chernow also appears on the Must-Read list above
View on Amazon ↗ - 12.
- 13.
For Fun
On Austrian Economics
I think it's worth knowing the basics of Austrian economics to really understand money supply. This is a good place to start: A Primer on Austrian Economics (Mises.org) ↗
The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes
Zachary D. Carter
View on Amazon ↗Good Profit: How Creating Value for Others Built One of the World's Most Successful Companies
Charles Koch
View on Amazon ↗