The Investor's Shelf — one person
CB
Christopher Bloomstran
President and Chief Investment Officer, Semper Augustus
25 books they recommend
Books they recommend 25
Bloomstran's annual client letters run past 150 pages and include a book-recommendation section; every entry below links to the letter and page.
Semper Augustus 2023 Letter to Clients, 'Worldly Wisdom', p. 81 7
Biography and Memoir 2
Janet Lowe
“The two I'd recommend that I thoroughly enjoyed are Damn Right: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger by Janet Lowe”
Investing 1
Tren Griffin
“The two I'd recommend that I thoroughly enjoyed are Damn Right... and Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor by Tren Griffin.”
Company Histories 1
George A. Roberts, Robert J. McVicker
“This is a great history of Henry Singleton and the conglomerate, Teledyne... I've recommended this several times as well.”
Financial History 1
Frank Partnoy
“F.I.A.S.C.O.: The Inside Story of a Wall Street Trader by Frank Partnoy. Another great writer and great read.”
General History 1
Jared Diamond
“This is an insightful read on the pace at which societies develop and why.”
Psychology and Behaviour 1
Semper Augustus 2020 Letter to Clients, 'To Read or Not to Read', p. 57 6
Economics 3
Henry Hazlitt
“I've given dozens of copies of this classic to students... The book should be required reading on every campus.”
Robert J. Gordon
“This is a heavyweight (literally) masterpiece... It's a data-rich textbook as well as a phenomenal read.”
Hunter Lewis
“This is another timely classic given the present condition. The outline structure of the book is brilliant.”
Financial History 2
General History 1
Arthur Herman
“One of the best books I've read, it's a great story of industrial production and heroes.”
Semper Augustus 2025 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Music', p. 88 4
Investing 3
Barry Ritholtz
“Barry Ritholtz dreamed up the perfect concept and wrote the perfect book to suit it”
Benjamin Graham
“I read Graham's The Intelligent Investor (the best investing book ever) twice”
John Mihaljevic
“John Mihaljevic outdid himself and released a second edition of his terrific, The Manual of Ideas, a superb read on investment idea generation”
Biography and Memoir 1
Roger Lowenstein
“To this day, if there's one book about Warren Buffett to read, this is it.”
Semper Augustus 2025 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Music', p. 87 1
Company Histories 1
Patrick McGee
“This is a phenomenal read... A brilliantly researched book. This book was hard to put down.”
Semper Augustus 2023 Letter to Clients, 'Worldly Wisdom', p. 80 1
Investing 1
Charles T. Munger, Peter D. Kaufman
“if you want to get to know Charlie, you can't do it properly without reading Poor Charlie's Almanack... Get the book.”
Semper Augustus 2022 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Stuff', p. 73 1
Finance and Markets 1
Bill Browder
“my favorite read of the year, Bill Browder's terrific Red Notice... I highly recommend the read”
Semper Augustus 2024 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Tunes for Walking', p. 95 1
Investing 1
Benjamin Graham, David L. Dodd
“I've spent more time with all of the editions of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd's Security Analysis than with any other book”
Semper Augustus 2022 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Stuff', p. 74 1
Investing 1
Guy Spier
“his excellent memoir... As much a lesson on self-awareness as a super book on investing, Guy's book is a great read”
Semper Augustus 2024 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Tunes for Walking', p. 96 1
Investing 1
Lawrence A. Cunningham, Warren Buffett
“The resource is as valuable as Larry Cunningham's The Essays of Warren Buffett, which similarly organizes by subject matter”
Semper Augustus 2022 Letter to Clients, 'Books and Stuff', p. 75 1
Financial History 1
John Brooks
“Both books are outstanding histories of Rockefeller and Standard Oil and then of the booming 1960s.”
Bloomstran on the best investment book for the lay reader 1
Investing 1
Benjamin Graham
“Ben Graham's, The Intelligent Investor - the best investment book ever written for the lay person.”