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Recommended Reading

These lists feature curated Lauinger Library materials.

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Movies (1) The big short; (2) Enron: the smartest guys in the room

Why- Inside look of two biggest scandals in business/finance

Who- Claire Liang, MSB


 

Book- R.J. by William Gaddis

Why- Savagely funny critique of American capitalism ever, new New York Review of Books edition out this Fall (as well as his Recognitions)


 

Book - New York 2140

Why- Robinson is one of the few science fiction authors who include information about the future roles of banks in the economy in his stories... so much so that his books are now sometimes reviewed in the Financial Times, and he's even been writing articles for Bloomberg.

Who- Steve Fernie, Lauinger Library


 

Books- American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, Things: A Story of the Sixties by Georges Perec

Why- I think the effect of business on everyday life and the ways we think is what we should care about, not just giving advice to businesses. 

Who- Luc Wathieu, MSB Marketing


 

Book- The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Why- It exposed harsh working conditions in the Chicago meat packing industry as well as food safety. Led to the development of the FDA.

Who- Anon


 

Book- All In Startup Diana Kander (GU Law alum)

Why- The book teaches important entrepreneurial principles using an engaging fictional story.

Who- Jeff Reid, Georgetown Entrepreneurship


 

Book- Bleeding Edge

Why- Essentially a detective story, with the main character a fraud inspector tracing money in the tech world of pre-9/11 New York. Trippy conspiracy theories and a dense postmodern plot.

Who- Steve Fernie. Lauinger Library


 

Movie and Book- Working Girl

Why- Working girl makes good.

Who- Anon


 

Book- A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe

Why- Great account of real estate development business

Who- J Healey, MSB FINC


 

Book- Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe

Why- Wall Street Backdrop

Who- J Healey, MSB FINC


 

Book- Bombardiers by Po Bronson

Why- Funniest Wall Street book ever written

Who-  J Healey, MSB FINC


 

Game- Cashflow: investing game from "Rich Dad"

Why- It educates on how to invest

Who- Tatiana, GU Qatar's Libraries


 

Book- Moby Dick by Herman Melville, 1819-1891

Why- Footnotes provide possibly best historical summary of a - dying - industry, whaling

Who- James Bodurtha, MSB Finance


 

Book- Something Happened by Robert Heller 

Why- Key concepts "closed doors", "black eyes", and "feather in the cap."

Who-  James Bodurtha, MSB Finance


 

Music - If You Ain't Got the Do-Re-Mi: Songs of Rags to Riches

Why- As a subject, money has always generated great interest. If You Ain't Got the Do Re Mi celebrates the songs and singers whose words express the human side of money: hope or frustration, criticism or humor, desire or avowed disinterest. This compilation from the Smithsonian Folkways archive marks the opening of the Museum of American Finance on New York City’s Wall Street

Who- Jennifer C. Boettcher, GU Business Librarian


 

December 2020

couple hugging for movie "killer of Sheep"

Image used with permission from Milestone Films

Finance Fiction Fix stories of people who have money or don't.

The world of finance can provide stories that both inspire and outrage. In this month’s Recommended Reading virtual display of online sources, transport yourself to that world with novels and feature films where economics is central to the plot. From Elinor Fulton (1837), Dreiser's The Financier(1912) and other stories of love and economics or videos like Killer of Sheep (2008) or Songs of the River (1954) revealing commerce as a way of life will provide entertainment over the holidays. There are also eBooks with themes from literature like Fictitious Capital: Silk, Cotton, and the Rise of the Arabic Novel (2017) or The merchant of modernism: the economic Jew in Anglo-American literature (2003) where you have a meta look at how finance and fiction merge. As well as foreign language items that incorporate economics and business. The list incorporates older stories that offer an intriguing look into how economic life has changed over the years. Don't forget to read the left column to learn of other people's favorites which you can check out from Lauinger or your local public library.

Narratives (old to new)

Films

About Financial Fiction

Foreign Language Items

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