Want a job at Goldman Sachs? Before heading to that interview, you might want to pick up "Lords of Finance: 1929, The Great Depression, and the Bankers Who Broke the World," by investment manager Liaquat Ahamed.
The book recently was named Business Book of the Year 2009 by Goldman Sachs and the Financial Times. Goldman Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein was on the panel of judges for the award, so it's a good bet the book has been on the nightstands of rank-and-file Goldmanites.
For those dreading a dry financial history, fear not. The book gets kudos for its portraits of the elite bankers on the financial rescue team following World War I. Read the Wall Street Journal review by James Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer.
Last year's winner was "When Markets Collide: Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Economic Change," by Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive officer and co-chief investment officer of bond powerhouse Pacific Investment Management Co.
You also might want to check out the five runners-up for the 2009 award:
-- "Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism," George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller
-- "Good Value: Reflections on Money, Morality and an Uncertain World," by Stephen Green
-- "Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century," by Nandan Nilekani
-- "In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic," by David Wessel
-- "The Match King: Ivar Kreuger and the Financial Scandal of the Century," Frank Partnoy
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