Gloom and Doom Investment Book Bundle

Tradestreaming says:

Tradestreaming is all about finding the best --highest quality -- investment products to help make us smarter, better investors.  

Why these two books?

With all the negativity out there, I wanted to pick two books that speak expertly to our current situation (priced really well, too).  I don't think there is a better place to start than with Taleb's The Black Swan and Bremmer's The End of the Free Market.  Markets are volatile and governments are becomming bigger -- these two books provide the background and gameplan for investors.

What is Black Swan all about and why should investors own it?

When I joined a hedge fund earlier in my career, I was given a book written by Taleb called Dynamic Hedging.  It was all about assessing risk, expecially for derivatives.  It's an insane book (I mean that in a good way) and it was very clear that its author is extremely smart.  Taleb's Black Swan commercializes some of these same ideas by exploring improbable events (9/11, Google, etc.) and offers surprisingly simple tricks for dealing/benefiting from them.  

It's a cornerstone of my library and an important enough type of book that I've had my kids read it("Not another one, Dad!").  Market volatility isn't going away and we'll always have outlying events occur -- Black Swan provides a framework for us to cope and ultimately benefit.

Here's what people smarter than me have to say about The Black Swan

"One of the most important books of the century... I learned a lot "(Daniel Kahneman)

"A masterpiece" (Chris Anderson)

Why read Bremmer's The End of the Free Market?  How will it help me?

I'm not a political animal (at least I don't think I am). But regardless of where you fall out on the political spectrum, it's hard not to see that the trends point squarely in the direction of bigger government with greater intervention in markets.  As we've seen through all the bailouts, the U.S. government is not only a stakeholder in this whole investment game but it's a shareholder.  If governments control influential companies, well, the whole free market system is suspect.

Bremmer is the president of a global political risk research and consulting firm and The End of the Free Market examines how he envisions growing government in China, Russia, Iran and elsewhere will impact our global commerce.  He's a serious player and the book is totally useful for any investor or business person who is looking for insights to understand emerging changes in international politics.

Here's what people smarter than me have to say about The End of the Free Market

"Nobody with a serious interest in the current dilemma should pass it by." (The Economist)

"Ian Bremmer's understanding of international commerce and politics is peerless. The End of the Free Market holds essential insights for anyone conducting business on the global level." (Sallie Krawcheck, President, global wealth and investment management, Bank of America)

Check out the deal, discuss them in the sidebar, ask questions and most of all, enjoy the gloom and doom.  Just know that like all things in life, this too shall pass.

-- Zack @ Tradestreaming