Christopher Bloomstran
Founded Semper Augustus in 1998 after managing UMB Investment Advisors' St. Louis and Denver trust offices and the Scout Balanced Fund; a CFA charterholder since 1994.
24 books they recommend · 28 appearances
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Synthesis of his mental-models framework, not a life.
“The two I'd recommend that I thoroughly enjoyed are Damn Right... and Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor by Tren Griffin.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2023 Letter to Clients, 'Worldly Wisdom', p. 81
Also recommended by: Andrew Wilkinson, Mohnish Pabrai and 6 others
Common investing mistakes catalogued by a working asset manager
“Barry Ritholtz dreamed up the perfect concept and wrote the perfect book to suit it” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2025 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Music', p. 88
Speeches making the case for a latticework of mental models from many fields.
“if you want to get to know Charlie, you can't do it properly without reading Poor Charlie's Almanack... Get the book.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2023 Letter to Clients, 'Worldly Wisdom', p. 80
Also recommended by: Andrew Wilkinson, Charlie Munger and 25 others
How to read financial statements sceptically and value bonds and stocks.
“I've spent more time with all of the editions of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd's Security Analysis than with any other book” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2024 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Tunes for Walking', p. 95
Also recommended by: Howard Marks, Joel Greenblatt, Michael Burry and 9 others
Spier on the psychology and habits behind durable value investing.
“his excellent memoir... As much a lesson on self-awareness as a super book on investing, Guy's book is a great read” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2022 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Stuff', p. 74
Also recommended by: Andrew Wilkinson, Mohnish Pabrai
Berkshire's shareholder letters arranged by topic: governance, valuation, mergers.
“The resource is as valuable as Larry Cunningham's The Essays of Warren Buffett, which similarly organizes by subject matter” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2024 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Tunes for Walking', p. 96
Also recommended by: Francois Rochon, Frank Martin, Jim Collins and 9 others
Treat stocks as parts of businesses and buy only with a margin of safety.
“Ben Graham's, The Intelligent Investor - the best investment book ever written for the lay person.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Bloomstran on the best investment book for the lay reader
Also recommended by: Benjamin Graham, Francois Rochon, Guy Spier and 25 others
Where small-cap and special-situation ideas actually come from.
“John Mihaljevic outdid himself and released a second edition of his terrific, The Manual of Ideas, a superb read on investment idea generation” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2025 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Music', p. 88
Also recommended by: Guy Spier, Mohnish Pabrai and 1 other
The Austrian account of 1929 and the policy response that followed
“It's a timeless and timely classic.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2020 Letter to Clients, 'To Read or Not to Read', p. 57
Also recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai
An insider's account of how Morgan Stanley built and sold derivatives in the 1990s.
“F.I.A.S.C.O.: The Inside Story of a Wall Street Trader by Frank Partnoy. Another great writer and great read.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2023 Letter to Clients, 'Worldly Wisdom', p. 81
Also recommended by: Charlie Munger, Mohnish Pabrai
How four central bankers and the gold standard turned a slump into the Depression.
“I'm going to use "classic" again but rightfully so.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2020 Letter to Clients, 'To Read or Not to Read', p. 57
Also recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai
Wall Street in the 1960s: performance funds, conglomerates and the paperwork crisis.
“Both books are outstanding histories of Rockefeller and Standard Oil and then of the booming 1960s.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2022 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Stuff', p. 75
Also recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai
Buffett's life from Omaha and Graham's class to building Berkshire Hathaway.
“To this day, if there's one book about Warren Buffett to read, this is it.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2025 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Music', p. 88
Also recommended by: Andrew Wilkinson, Guy Spier and 11 others
The only full biography; written with Munger's cooperation.
“The two I'd recommend that I thoroughly enjoyed are Damn Right: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger by Janet Lowe” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2023 Letter to Clients, 'Worldly Wisdom', p. 81
Also recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai
How Rockefeller built Standard Oil, faced its breakup and gave his fortune away.
“Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow. I've recommended this biography before.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2023 Letter to Clients, 'Worldly Wisdom', p. 81
Also recommended by: Andrew Wilkinson, Charlie Munger and 11 others
Hazlitt's 1946 distillation of Bastiat's 'broken window' insight: good economic reasoning requires seeing both what is visible and what is made invisible by a policy. A short book that teaches a single analytical habit, and that habit is genuinely useful regardless of your politics.
“I've given dozens of copies of this classic to students... The book should be required reading on every campus.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2020 Letter to Clients, 'To Read or Not to Read', p. 57
Also recommended by: Changpeng Zhao, Marc Andreessen and 2 others
Why the inventions of 1870 to 1970 raised living standards as nothing since has.
“This is a heavyweight (literally) masterpiece... It's a data-rich textbook as well as a phenomenal read.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2020 Letter to Clients, 'To Read or Not to Read', p. 57
Also recommended by: Bill Gates, Patrick Collison, Satya Nadella
Polemic against Keynesian policy from an Austrian-leaning investor
“This is another timely classic given the present condition. The outline structure of the book is brilliant.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2020 Letter to Clients, 'To Read or Not to Read', p. 57
How Apple built its manufacturing base in China, and what it gave China in return.
“This is a phenomenal read... A brilliantly researched book. This book was hard to put down.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2025 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Music', p. 87
Teledyne from the inside; the conglomerate that actually compounded.
“This is a great history of Henry Singleton and the conglomerate, Teledyne... I've recommended this several times as well.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2023 Letter to Clients, 'Worldly Wisdom', p. 81
Also recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai
How Knudsen and Kaiser led America's industrial build-up for the Second World War.
“One of the best books I've read, it's a great story of industrial production and heroes.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2020 Letter to Clients, 'To Read or Not to Read', p. 57
Also recommended by: Patrick Collison
Diamond's central question — why did some civilizations come to dominate others over 10,000 years? — is precisely the kind of question that requires long-term thinking to even ask. The answer, rooted in geography and biology rather than culture or intelligence, is a model for how to reason about slow causes and fast effects.
“This is an insightful read on the pace at which societies develop and why.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2023 Letter to Clients, 'Worldly Wisdom', p. 81
Also recommended by: Charlie Munger, Mohnish Pabrai, Bill Gates and 12 others
An investor in Russia is expelled, his firms seized, and his lawyer Magnitsky dies.
“my favorite read of the year, Bill Browder's terrific Red Notice... I highly recommend the read” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2022 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Stuff', p. 73
Also recommended by: Mohnish Pabrai, Nat Eliason, Eric Jorgenson and 4 others
Six principles of compliance, from reciprocity to scarcity, and how sellers use them.
“Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini. This has been one of the most useful books I've ever read.” — Christopher Bloomstran
Source: Semper Augustus 2023 Letter to Clients, 'Worldly Wisdom', p. 81
Also recommended by: Andrew Wilkinson, Charlie Munger and 28 others