<p>@MrTrojanMan</p>
<p>Random Walk, while a classic, has some… less than realistic views on the market. Malkiel is a great mind, but a market manipulated by humans with human goals, theoretically, can never really be entirely random. As far as beginning investment books go for laymen, The Four Pillars of Investing by Bernstein is the only book I feel comfortable recommending to absolutely everyone. It’s a bit of a dry read, but if there’s only one book someone could own on the topic of finance that would probably be the one.</p>
<p>For the OP, who’s more interested in advanced topics as well as the ‘industry’, my recommendations are:
My Life as a Quant by Emanuel Derman
Security Analysis by Benjamin Graam (the “bible”, while I don’t think it’s a must-read for the average investor anymore if you intend to work in the industry you must read this- try to get the second and third editions)
The Intelligent Asset Allocator by William Bernstein (today’s bible on asset management as far as I’m concerned)
Financial Shenanigans by Howard Schilit (you’d be fine with the Numbers Game by Mulford recommended above- if you want to become an analyst it’s important that you really take the time to understand accounting)
Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets by John Murphy (even if you do not believe in it you must understand it)
Super Crunchers by Ian Ayres (you may not think it’s relevant, but it is)
Devil Take the Hindmost by Edward Chancellor (ignore history at your own peril)
The Only Three Questions That Count by Ken Fisher (I expected this book to be horrible- it wasn’t. better than anything Cramer’s ever written, though I think Fisher is a little too positive on using debt as leverage)</p>
<p>I didn’t recommend any books that specifically focus on economics because I’m assuming that’s what you’re getting into in college. The Economist is the Wall Street Journal of Europe (and people aren’t exaggerating when they say everyone reads the Journal), so I’d recommend you at least pick up a few copies of both to familiarize yourself with them and read them as often as time permits. I think my recommendations will give you a solid foundation in the basics of a multitude of topics, but any advanced study should really wait until you specifically know what you want to do.</p>