Tag: economics

Book: Allison Schrager “An Economist Walks Into A Brothel”

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Tell me—how can you possibly pass up a book with the title An Economist Walks Into A Brothel? And on top of that, it promised to talk about risk management. So I couldn’t resist. True, from the title you expect to learn about risks of a very different kind, but still…

In reality, the book is meant to explain the risks in our lives through examples of how people in completely different professions deal with them. And yes, the book starts with a description of how one of the largest brothels in Nevada operates: what risks sex workers face, and how a legal brothel helps address them compared to freelance sex workers.

I have to admit, it’s a genuinely unconventional approach, and Allison Schrager—who specializes in working with risk—managed to attract a lot of readers that way.

And besides sex workers, her examples include paparazzi, a professional poker player, surfers, horse breeders, and even the military. Using those examples, Allison tries to show both what risk is in itself and different sides of dealing with it, including insurance and hedging.

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Books Worth Reading (2017–2022)

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I am sometimes asked which books I would recommend reading. For the blog, this is generally not difficult — it’s enough to open all posts with the tag “I-recommend.” But since it’s been almost five years now since I revived my blog and began writing about the books I’ve read, I decided to put together a selection of non-fiction books I’ve read during this time that fall into the category of “you must read them.”

I have already written detailed reviews of all these books, so this time I’ve selected only the very best, grouped them by topic. For each book I give only brief recommendations on why they are worth reading, but you can always open the link to the full review. I hope this will be useful to someone. So, let’s begin.

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Book: Alexander Bogachev “Charts That Persuade Everyone”

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Working with numbers, analytics—all of it always ends the same way: with graphical representation to clearly present data to ordinary people, management, shareholders, or even to understand it yourself. Many authors focus on the skill of presenting information in this form, although it’s often just a single chapter in books on broader topics. Even from those mentioned in my blog, you can refer to “The Numbers Game“ by Vasiliy Sabirov or “How to Lie with Statistics“ by Darrell Huff.

Following a recommendation from Vasiliy Sabirov, I read a book entirely dedicated to the correct way to convey any information through charts—“Charts That Persuade Everyone” by Alexander Bogachev. As a manager, I encounter charts frequently, but even I hadn’t considered some of the finer details that can drastically change how information is perceived.

This is a very short book—240 pages, nearly half of which are examples of various charts. But this is precisely its value: there’s almost no filler here; everything is strictly focused on the topic.

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Book: Ben Orlin “Math with Bad Drawings”

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I fell in love with mathematics in the early years of school. I was very fortunate to have a math teacher who not only showed us how fascinating this subject could be but also greatly influenced me and many of my classmates in shaping who we became as individuals. He was truly a Teacher with a capital “T.”

In the fourth grade, I completed both the fourth and fifth-grade math courses (even though the official education system didn’t really support such an approach at the time), and I carried my love for mathematics all the way to university, eventually earning a degree as an officially certified “mathematician-systems programmer.” (Though I must admit that by the time I was in university, I realized I didn’t enjoy all areas of mathematics equally—but that’s a story for another time.)

It was probably this childhood passion that made me pay attention to a book titled “Math with Bad Drawings” when it randomly appeared in my feed. Or perhaps it was the description, which mentioned that not every student is lucky enough to have a teacher like Ben Orlin, who knows how to reveal the beauty of this subject in an accessible and engaging way. I was eager to compare the methods of this unfamiliar American author with the approaches that had such an impact on me.

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Book: Alexey Markov, Alexey Antonov “Crypt-Your-Mathics 3.0”

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Bitcoin, blockchain… Over the past couple of years, everyone has heard these words, along with the phrase “should have invested in bitcoin in time.” However, very few people truly understand what this technology is and the principles behind these new digital currencies. I’ll admit, for a while, I also had only a vague idea of the details. But there are people out there who are willing to explain everything in plain language.

I first learned about Alexey Markov by chance when I stumbled upon a link to his book with the rather politically incorrect title “Hulinomics”. In this book, he explained economics in simple terms, peppered with some profanity, and why understanding its principles is essential for everyone. I rather liked the book (4 out of 5), as I mentioned in my review at the time.

Since then, I’ve kept an eye on what else Markov has published, though I wasn’t in a rush to read more. He wrote a book about “why some people have it all, while others have nothing,” essentially exploring why not everyone earns a lot of money (“Zhlobology”). He also authored a collection of clever advice on various topics (“Hoolifacts”) and, together with Alexey Antonov, a book about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology titled Crypt-Your-Mathics. It was the latter that I decided to read.

I’ve already written about Markov in my previous review, so let me briefly introduce the second author of the book—Alexey Antonov. Since 2016, he has been interested in blockchain technology, actively involved in business in this field, and engaged in educational activities, giving lectures. In short, he jumped on the train early, so he knows both its advantages and drawbacks.

Together, Markov and Antonov wrote a book that, in style, closely resembles Markov’s eccentric manner, seen in his articles and his famous “Hoolinomics”. The authors set out to explain not only clearly but also as openly as possible about this new market, which is full of pitfalls. At least, that’s what they promise, albeit in their own distinctive manner:

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Josh Kaufman “The Personal MBA”

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A friend of mine recently decided to enroll in an MBA program. I was curious as to why. From my experience, I’ve noticed that while MBA holders often have solid foundational knowledge, they frequently lose out to those who have acquired these skills independently, especially through hands-on experience.

So, I checked out the course content and its requirements. It states that a certificate of English proficiency is absolutely essential. The thing is, in all my life, I’ve never bothered to get any such certificate. Yes, my English is far from perfect, I know. I work on it continuously, but I never got around to obtaining a certificate. Nonetheless, I work at a large international company and communicate with colleagues and partners in English daily, both verbally and in writing.

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Ha-Joon Chang “Economics: The User’s Guide”

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Lately, I’ve become increasingly interested in economics. It’s not that I want to become an economist, but market principles are useful in many areas. What’s especially interesting is that back when I was a student, I had no interest in economics at all. In fact, I failed my second-year exam miserably and had to retake it in August. But by the time of the retake, I knew the material inside out. Perhaps that’s when my gradual interest in reading about economics started.

The book Economics: The User’s Guide by Ha-Joon Chang came highly recommended to me by various platforms (“you might like this”) and colleagues alike. Supposedly, it covers everything. The book certainly has a strong marketing presence. The author is originally from South Korea but currently lives and teaches in Cambridge. He’s consulted for many well-known banks, and the president of Ecuador almost worships him.

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Alexey Markov “Hoolinomics. Rogue Economics. Financial Markets for Those Who Couldn’t Care Less”

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Honestly, I came across this book completely by chance, and it was the title that grabbed my attention. So, kudos to the marketers (or maybe the author himself) for that.

The topic of economics and finance has always interested me, but somehow it always eluded me. In my work, I often approach projects from a business and budget perspective, but as a science, economics never really clicked for me. It all started at university, where I managed to score a failing grade on my economics exam. Over the summer, I read Economics, really got into it, and almost got a perfect score on the retake, but I declined an additional question because I just didn’t expect to go from failing to excellent.

Since then, the subject has popped up now and then—after all, work is always about business, and business is always about finance and economics.

But let’s get back to the book.

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