The Smead Book List - Fall 2025

The Pilgrim's Progress is a Christian allegory that follows the journey of Christian, a man burdened by his sin, as he travels from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Along the way, he encounters various characters and obstacles that symbolize spiritual realities. The book is presented as a dream sequence and is divided into two parts, the second part following Christian's wife, Christiana, and her children on a similar journey. The narrative is rich in biblical references and explores themes of redemption, faith, and perseverance.

In this book, Guy Spier narrates his early career struggles in investment banking on Wall Street and his transformation into a value investor. The book covers his experiences working at D.H. Blair, his education at Oxford and Harvard Business School, and the significant influences of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger on his investment philosophy. It also emphasizes the importance of authenticity, continuous learning, and ethical considerations in investing. The book has been translated into several languages and has sold over 175,000 copies in English.

This book, first published in 1978, tracks various financial crises through time, from 'Tulipmania' to the global financial crisis of 2008. It disentangles the narrative of many financial disasters into their component parts and educates readers on how to identify different phases of the financial cycle. The book covers historical financial manias, typical patterns of crisis evolution, and fraudulent behaviors. Later editions, updated by Robert Z. Aliber and Robert McCauley, include new chapters on cryptocurrency, the US as the global lender of last resort, and recent financial bubbles in China and the US housing market. The book is a valuable resource for finance and economic researchers, students, practitioners, and policymakers.

In this book, Thomas E. Woods, Jr. challenges the common narrative that deregulation and free markets led to the 2008 financial crisis. Instead, he argues that government interventions, such as those through Fannie Mae and the Community Redevelopment Act, were the primary causes of the housing bubble and subsequent market collapse. Woods also critiques government bailouts, suggesting they exacerbate the problems rather than solve them. The book provides a detailed explanation of Austrian business cycle theory and its application to the crisis, as well as a historical context comparing the government's response to the Great Depression.

Alok Sama's "The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble" offers an insider's perspective on his three decades in global finance and technology. The book details his experiences working alongside Masayoshi Son at SoftBank, navigating major tech deals, and witnessing the rise and fall of the tech bubble. Sama shares candid insights into the complexities of dealmaking, the challenges of working with larger-than-life personalities, and the lessons learned from both successes and failures. The narrative provides a unique blend of personal reflection and professional analysis, offering valuable lessons for aspiring leaders in the tech industry. The book's title reflects the author's disillusionment with certain aspects of the tech world, highlighting the risks and rewards of ambitious ventures.