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What are WorldQuant University instructors reading? Here are some titles from their bookshelves, which they recommend for quantitative finance, artificial intelligence, and data science learners.

Market Sense and Nonsense: How the Markets Really Work (and How They Don't)

• Author: Jack D. Schwager
• Publisher: Wiley (2012)
• Recommended by: WorldQuant University instructor Rito Bhattacharyya with commentary: “Let’s be honest: Your textbooks think markets run on neat math conducted by perfectly rational humans, which is adorable but about as realistic as unicorns. Jack Schwager spends this entire book gleefully shooting down those fairytales, so you can walk into your first job already knowing which ‘sacred’ theories are just expensive nonsense. Think of it as a vaccine against sounding like a clueless MBA who just lost his shirt.”

Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World

• Author: Adam Tooze
• Publisher: Viking (2018)
• Recommended by: WorldQuant University instructor Ken Abbott with commentary: "This is the most comprehensive and readable account of what happened during the Financial Crisis of 2008.  It effectively describes the firms, the people and the conditions that brought about the financial crisis."

1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History--and How It Shattered a Nation

• Author: Andrew Ross Sorkin
• Publisher: Viking (2025)
• Recommended by: WorldQuant University instructor Michael Olafusi with commentary: "We might be very very close to another of its magnitude. The level of leverage employed in today's markets and new ways of drawing the general public in (prediction markets) is setting us up for a similar crash in the US (at least) and a big global markets reset."

Diary of a Very Bad Year: Confessions of an Anonymous Hedge Fund Manager

• Authors: Anonymous hedge fund manager, n+1, and Keith Gessen
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (2010)
• Recommended by: WorldQuant University instructor Saad Zaman.

Solana Rising: Investing in the Fast Lane of Crypto

• Author: Anthony Scaramucci
• Publisher: Wiley (2025)
• Recommended by: WorldQuant University instructor Saad Zaman.

The Proverbs of Solomon

• Author: King Solomon
• Publisher: Sanage Publishing House (2024)
• Recommended by: WorldQuant University instructor Yawo Kobara, PhD, with commentary: "Proverbs offers a comprehensive ethical manual for personal and corporate finance and economics."

Just Keep Buying: Proven Ways to Save Money and Build Your Wealth

• Author: Nick Maggiulli
• Publisher: Harriman House (2022)
• Recommended by: WorldQuant University instructor Cindy Lin with commentary: "'Just Keep Buying' is an excellent example of applying data analysis to real-world financial decisions, turning personal finance advice into evidence-based conclusions."

Atlas Shrugged

• Author: Ayn Rand
• Publisher: Signet (1996; first published 1957)
• Recommended by: WorldQuant University instructor Titi Aiyanyo, PhD.

Why Nations Fail

• Authors: Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson
• Publisher: Crown Currency (2013)
• Recommended by: WorldQuant University instructor Marek Folprecht with commentary: This book is about the reasons why some countries are constantly underdeveloped.

Bonus Title: The AI-Driven Leader

• Author: Geoff Woods
• Publisher: AI Thought Leadership (2024)
• Recommended by: WorldQuant University Alumni Speaker Series special guest Michelle Gansle, Global Head of Advisory at AI Leadership and former Chief Data, Analytics & AI Officer at McDonald’s. She says: "About 80 percent of people today are still using AI as a fancy Google or personal assistant, writing better emails or doing basic administrative tasks. This book teaches leadership teams how to use AI to elevate their thinking and create more value."