The passing of every year brings some new perspectives, and insights. However, in the age of information overload, it becomes difficult to keep track of what is important. As the year comes to an end, here are the business books that encapsulate the best learnings for 2019. (Image: Reuters)

Good Economics for Hard Times, by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo: The authors, who won the Nobel Prize for their work in development economics this year, tackle the most challenging problems that are plaguing the worlds economy head-on. The book relies heavily on the duos empirical research to bust myths and assumptions concerning immigration, inequality, growth, and climate change, among various other topics in a lucid manner. They suggest that the world is not lacking in resources, but consensus on our priorities, and that the right sort of idea will help us to bridge the disagreements and distrust that divide us. (Image: Goodreads)

What It Takes by Stephen A. Schwarzman: The founder and CEO of Blackstone talks about his journey, and his learnings from creating one of the most successful private equity and real estate investors in the world. In this book, Schwazman recounts how his simple motto dont lose money added a strong rigour to the companys investment process and its unique method of deal-making. (Image: Goodreads)

Ultralearning by Scott Young: The author breaks down the process of learning and retention by analysing the lives and techniques of polymaths such as Benjamin Franklin, chess grandmaster Judit Polgr, and Nobel laureate physicist Richard Feynman. He comes up with nine important models that reshape our idea of learning away from the old-model school learning and maximises our ability to grasp new ideas and concepts in a shorter period of time, and in an efficient manner. (Image: Goodreads)

The Third Pillar, by Raghuram Rajan: The third pillar that the former RBI governor refers to is the community. Through this book, Rajan explains how the state, markets, and our communities interact, what goes wrong in these interactions, and the way forward to a more secure footing. He suggests a method of empowering local communities to ensure a way out of the anxiety, unrest and despair that a majority of the civil society faces in this day and age. (Image: Goodreads)

The Man Who Solved the Market by Gregory Zuckerman: The author is a former Wall Street Journal reporter who does a deep dive into the story of Jim Simons a mathematician and code breaker whose flagship Medallion fund has earned 66 percent average annual returns since 1988. These returns beat those of greats like Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and Ray Dalio. Read this book to know about Simons data-driven, algorithmic approach to make money in the market and its possible impact on investing and the world of finance. (Image: Goodreads)

Range by David Epstein: The author argues that in this rapidly changing world that is moving towards automation, it is the generalists that are most likely to taste lasting success in the future. Through his research, Epstein discovered that in most fields, though generalists find their path late, they can make special connections better than their specialistcounterparts, they are more creative, agile and as a result, are likely to thrive in todays fast-paced environment. (Image: Goodreads)

Indistractable by Nir Eyal: The author makes a case that our ability to focusinour highly-distracted smartphone age depends on us being able to find the root, or the psychology, behind our distraction. Eyal, a behavioral design expert, and a formal lecturer from Stanford University, explains the drivers behind human behavior, the importance of remaining focused in our daily lives and how to mediate our behavior with addictive technology in a way that makes our lives more fulfilling. (Image: Goodreads)

First Published on Dec 17, 2019 07:54 am

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Best business books of 2019: From investing to the economy, check out good reads of the year - Moneycontrol.com