1929
Economics & Business History books
Economic ideas and business stories that explain how markets and companies got here. From The Wealth of Nations and Capital in the Twenty-First Century to company and industry histories such as The Everything Store, Chip War, Bad Blood and Empire of Pain.
30 books1 foundation / essential2 recentFor executives, strategists and general readers
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Start here
Featured picks in Economics & Business History: good first reads.
Money to Burn
Money to Burn
Economics & Business HistoryThe Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations
Economics & Business HistoryAll 30 Economics & Business History books
Alphabetical by title, each with a short description. Open the details for related reads and courses, or go straight to Amazon.
1929
A narrative of the build-up to and fall-out from the 1929 stock market crash, told through the bankers, speculators and officials who were there. Andrew Ross Sorkin shows how a boom turned into panic, for readers interested in financial history and market psychology.
Bad Blood
Journalist John Carreyrou tells how the blood-testing start-up Theranos, led by Elizabeth Holmes, made claims about its technology that did not hold up, and how secrecy and pressure on staff kept the deception going. A cautionary tale for founders, investors and employees.
Billion Dollar Whale
Tom Wright and Bradley Hope investigate the 1MDB scandal, explaining how billions of dollars were drained from a Malaysian state development fund through a scheme linked to the financier Jho Low. A reporting-led account of financial fraud and weak oversight.
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
Long-run data on income and wealth underpin Thomas Piketty's argument that, when returns on capital outpace economic growth, wealth tends to concentrate. He considers the consequences for inequality and proposes responses such as progressive taxes on wealth.
Capitalism and Freedom
Milton Friedman argues that competitive capitalism and limited government protect political freedom, and applies that view to money, schooling and welfare, including proposals such as school vouchers. It presents free-market thinking for readers who want the argument at first hand.
Chip War
Chris Miller explains why semiconductors have become central to economic strength and national security, tracing the industry's growth and the rivalry between the United States and China over chip technology. It also covers the supply chain's dependence on a few firms and places such as Taiwan.
Conspiracy of Fools
Kurt Eichenwald gives a detailed narrative of Enron's downfall, following the executives, bankers and investigators involved as hidden losses came to light. It suits readers who want a thorough, event-by-event account of the scandal.
DisneyWar
James B. Stewart reports on the power struggles at the Walt Disney Company during Michael Eisner's tenure as chief executive, including his clashes with figures such as Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michael Ovitz and Roy Disney. A case study in boardroom politics and leadership.
Empire of Pain
Patrick Radden Keefe traces the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma, the company that marketed OxyContin, and shows how its marketing practices and the family's wealth became bound up with the American opioid epidemic. A detailed investigative account.
Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy
Fifty inventions and ideas, from the everyday to the abstract, are used to show how modern economic life took shape. Tim Harford tells the story behind each, making the book a good fit for general readers interested in innovation and economic history.
Free to Choose
Milton and Rose Friedman make a case for free markets and limited government, applying it to subjects such as welfare, education, consumer protection and inflation. The book suits readers who want an accessible statement of the free-market position.
Good Economics for Hard Times
Applying economic research to contested issues such as immigration, trade, inequality, growth and social policy, Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo weigh evidence over ideology. Their aim is to show how economics can inform public policy, for general readers.
Money to Burn
William D. Cohan is a financial journalist whose books examine Wall Street and corporate power through detailed reporting. This title is included in our Economics & Business History list.
The Ascent of Money
Niall Ferguson tells the financial history of the modern world through its building blocks: money, credit, bonds, stock markets, insurance and property. The book links these to booms, busts and crises, and suits readers wanting a narrative introduction to finance.
The Box
Marc Levinson tells how the humble shipping container transformed trade by cutting the cost and time of moving goods, reshaping ports, factories and global supply chains. It follows the trucking entrepreneur who pioneered it and suits readers interested in logistics and globalisation.
The Everything Store
The rise of Jeff Bezos's online retail business, from a start-up selling books to a sprawling enterprise, is traced here by Brad Stone, with attention to Bezos's management style and the firm's competitive tactics. A case study for entrepreneurs and managers.
The Facebook Effect
David Kirkpatrick tells the story of Facebook's early growth, from a student project to a global company, including the founder Mark Zuckerberg's decisions and the culture of the firm. It suits readers interested in technology start-ups and the rise of social networking.
The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money
Keynes argues that total spending in the economy determines output and employment, and that markets need not return automatically to full employment. His case for active government policy in downturns shaped modern macroeconomics, though the text is dense and technical.
The Great Transformation
Karl Polanyi argues that the self-regulating market was a historical novelty that pulled the economy out of its social setting, provoking a protective reaction from society. He uses this to analyse the upheavals of the early twentieth century. Suited to readers of political economy.
The House of Morgan
A history of the Morgan banking family and its firms over several generations, showing how J. P. Morgan and his successors influenced finance, politics and the international economy. Ron Chernow uses the firm's story to explain how banking power developed.
The Innovators
Walter Isaacson traces the development of computers and the internet as the product of collaboration across generations, starting with Ada Lovelace and moving through the engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs who followed. It argues that teamwork often mattered more than lone genius.
The Narrow Corridor
Acemoglu and Robinson argue that liberty flourishes only in a narrow corridor where a strong state and an organised society keep each other in check. Drawing on historical examples, they explain how states can drift towards despotism or weakness. For readers of political economy.
The Power Law
Sebastian Mallaby traces the history of venture capital and the firms that shaped Silicon Valley, arguing that returns come from a small number of extreme successes. It looks at how investors choose founders and manage risk, for entrepreneurs and investors alike.
The Smartest Guys in the Room
Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind chart the rise and collapse of Enron, showing how accounting tricks, aggressive deal-making and overconfidence concealed the company's real condition. A case study in corporate governance failure for managers, investors and students.
The Undercover Economist
Tim Harford uses everyday settings, such as coffee shops and supermarkets, to explain ideas like scarcity, pricing, market power and why some markets work better than others. It is an accessible introduction to economics for readers with no prior background.
The Upstarts
Centred on Uber and Airbnb, this book follows the founders who built new platform businesses and the conflicts with regulators and established industries that followed. Brad Stone gives entrepreneurs and general readers a story-driven view of rapid start-up growth.
The Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith examines how nations create wealth, introducing ideas such as the division of labour, the role of markets and self-interest, and the case for freer trade over mercantilist restrictions. Often read as a starting point for modern economic thought.
The Worldly Philosophers
Robert Heilbroner introduces the lives and ideas of major economic thinkers, including Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes, and shows how each was shaped by his times. A story-led route into the history of economics.
Titan
Ron Chernow's biography of John D. Rockefeller follows his rise from modest beginnings to dominate the oil industry through Standard Oil, and examines both his business methods and his later philanthropy. It suits readers interested in industrial history and the origins of big business.
Why Nations Fail
Differences in national prosperity come down mainly to whether institutions are inclusive or extractive, argue Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, who reject explanations based on geography or culture. They back the case with historical comparisons from many countries.
Courses to go with Economics & Business History reading
Turn the ideas into skills with self-paced video courses. Each shelf shows the books it pairs with.
Udemy courses
Economics
Courses introducing economics.
Pairs well withThe Wealth of NationsCapital in the Twenty-First CenturyFifty Things That Made the Modern Economy
Browse Economics coursesUdemy courses
Microeconomics
Courses on microeconomics and how markets behave.
Browse Microeconomics coursesUdemy courses
Macroeconomics
Courses on macroeconomics, money and the business cycle.
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Common questions
- How many Economics & Business History books are on this list?
- This page lists 30 Economics & Business History books, 1 of them marked Foundation / Essential and 2 marked Recent / New thinking.
- Which Economics & Business History books should I start with?
- Good first reads are the featured picks: 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin, Money to Burn by William D. Cohan, and The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith.
- Who is this Economics & Business History reading list for?
- Executives, strategists and general readers.
- Are there courses to go with these Economics & Business History books?
- Yes. This page lists 3 Udemy course shelves for Economics & Business History: Economics, Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics. Udemy links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission if you enrol, at no extra cost to you.
- How are the books chosen?
- The Business Reading Room curates its library by topic and groups titles into collections: Foundation / Essential, Core / Recommended and Recent / New thinking.
- Where can I buy these books?
- Each book links to Amazon through an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Editions, formats and prices are shown on Amazon.