The Best Investment Books for All Levels

Under the radar and under appreciated investment books that should be in your library

To accelerate your learning, don't be afraid to highlight and write in your books. Take plenty of notes.

These are the best investment books that you will continually reference throughout your investing journey.

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Includes a collection of 10 checklists to help you make better decisions.

EASY Investment Books

for Beginners or Brushing Up

Easy to read and understand books. Helpful to build knowledge for beginners and useful for

experienced investors to brush up on the basics.

A very good book investment book introducing value investing, basic accounting and financial analysis.


The section on valuation and DCF is easy to understand and the detail and clarity of explanations will benefit the first time investor and reader.

Great investing book to follow Why are we so clueless about the stock market?. It dives into slightly more detailed and complex investing acronyms, concepts and investing ideas. 


The author does a fantastic job of making it easy to read and understand.

This is a quick and easy investment book to help you understand durable competitive advantages - also known as moats.

Read this book to get a good idea of how a business can create, sustain or lose its moat.

Welcome to the world of "low risk, high return".


This book goes through the "Dhandho" framework which Mohnish Pabrai uses to invest as it helped propel himself to guru status.


Highly enjoyable and intriguing read.

This book has a little of all the books in the easy category. Understanding and applying what you learn in this book will be the equivalent of building a home on a solid foundation.


The basics are solid and even seasoned investors should read this book to maintain their knowledge.

Buffett said that he is 85% Phil Fisher and 15% Ben Graham, yet most people have never heard of Phil Fisher.Phil looked for growth stocks to hold forever.

Read this book to discover his methods and thinking behind the influence he had on Warren Buffett.

INTERMEDIATE Investment Books to Push Your Learning Curve

Practical books that requires thought and practice.

Practical books that require thought and practice.

Easy to understand with emphasis on process and methodology.

A big fat book for investors that is chock full of practical advice and checklists.


Every investor should have a checklist to reference when researching, buying and selling stocks.


Full of checklists and questions to think about in your investing.

A very good book investment book introducing value investing, basic accounting and financial analysis.


The section on valuation and DCF is easy to understand and the detail and clarity of explanations will benefit the first time investor and reader.

The first half talks about why the market has been moving sideways and goes onto talk about how you can actively pick and manage stocks.


It introduces the QVG (Quality Value Growth) framework using qualitative and quantitative factors to analyze stocks.

A "special situation" is an investment which relies on a catalyst and/or timeframe to realize a profit.


Mergers, arbitrage and bankruptcies are ways to profit from without taking on market risk.


This book will open your eyes to a new world of possible investments.

Think of this investment book as the value investing manual. Everything you can think of within the topic of value investing is covered here.


The book is also filled with interviews from the best value investing minds to pack quality wisdom and knowledge into your head.

Through numerous case studies, read how a short seller identifies accounting and management flaws in companies.


There is always a wealth of knowledge to gain by reading into a short sellers mind. Although the examples are dated, everything is applicable to today's stocks.

Making money and building wealth in the stock market is fine.But another way to make money from the stock market is to not lose money.

By protecting yourself from losses, you'll be able to continue investing and sleep well. Read this book to learn how not to lose money.

A complete manual on value investing.


Topics covered include deep value stocks, sum of parts analysis, magic formula investing, tracking gurus, quant screening, spin offs and more.


You'll come away with plenty of new ideas and insight into the process of value investing.

The collection of Warren Buffett letters in a single neat book.

Get the kindle version as it's only $2.99 and is updated yearly for free.

Don't bother downloading the PDF's because you won't read it that way. Dirt cheap price for such valuable accessible wisdom.

ADVANCED Investment Books for Experienced Investors

Heavy in theory, practical application and deep thinking. Many of these books are dry and academic. Take plenty of notes and go through them slowly.

Requires a solid understanding of accounting and financial analysis to fully appreciate this book.


The book from front to end is about valuing companies using the Earnings Power Value method.


One of the best investing books on valuation.

Learn how to interpret the financial statements from an investors point of view and learn ways to determine the true quality of earnings instead of relying on the numbers provided by management and Wall Street.


One of the biggest hidden gems that you can read.

This book is so good that it is used as a text in business school.


Uncover every trick in the book that companies will perform to manipulate and enhance numbers. Now you can catch it before it's too late.


Detailed, thorough and practical. What more could you ask for?

A modern version to Quality of Earnings.


What's Behind the Numbers is another book based on forensic accounting to detect financial manipulation and to prevent yourself getting caught with your pants down. Recent case studies and examples makes this book very practical and beneficial.

It's Earnings That Count cover

This book introduces the Earnings Power Box which is a technique to identify companies and test the quality of a company with a wide gap between their accrual performance and earnings.


An easy to follow tutorial along with details on specific ratios you should use to improve your returns.

Big thick text book focused on tearing apart creative cash flow reporting that companies use to mislead investors.

If you want to know how to adjust cash flow statements for effective analysis and use adjusted operating cash flows to uncover earnings manipulation, this is it.

Combines accounting principles to value investing principles. Unlike many books, Accounting for value is able to go through the accounting and link back to how it is used with investing.

Learn about accounting quality and what is behind the numbers.

Categorized as difficult because getting a hold of your emotions, investing tendencies and psychology is one of the most difficult battles you will face.


Howard Marks is the authority on behavioral finance. Be honest with yourself as you read and reflect on these words.

Download My Value Investing Checklist Collection

Includes a collection of 10 checklists to help you make better decisions.