Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Liar's Poker relates the adventures and misadventures of a young trainee, investment banker, and bond salesman at Salomon Brothers during the '80s. As one of the most brilliant representatives of the liberal left, Galbraith shaped the economic and political debate of his generation. He's also a gifted and entertaining writer. Difficult reading, at times infuriating, but worth the effort.
Markets are among the most complex systems ever studied.
Traditional models may not have provided adequate methods to examine a system which acts as if it is alive, and where a small input may have huge impacts as it ripples through the system. The great fallacy of classical economics is its attempt to describe a system at equilibrium. Both chaos and complexity theory would argue that it will never attain equilibrium. That insight and others is reshaping the way we look at markets and economies. Two of the better programs I have seen recently are from Vanguard and Scudder.