Li Lu’s Recommended Book List

Curator: Li Lu, founder of Himalaya Capital and the investor Charlie Munger entrusted with part of his family’s money. 137 entries across six numbered sections — a statement of intellectual lineage rather than a casual list.

Source: the Himalaya Capital bibliography (PDF), also shared on X by @F_Compounders and @themattharbaugh, whose posts photograph only Section IV.

29 of the 137 are Chinese-language editions with no English publication — 商务印书馆 and 九州出版社 printings of 钱穆, 司马迁 and 朱熹 — and Sections II and III are largely or wholly Chinese. They are transcribed below and marked.

Science, Philosophy, Evolution, History of Human Civilization, Human History

• Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies — Jared M. Diamond (1999) · New York, NY, US: W.W. Norton & Co.
• Why the West Rulesfor Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future — Ian Morris (2011) · London, UK: Picador.
• The Measure of Civilization: How Social Development Decides the Fate of Nations — Ian Morris (2013) · Princeton, NJ, US: Princeton University Press.
• The Social Conquest of Earth — E. O. Wilson (2012) · New York, NY, US: W. W. Norton & Co.
• The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform the World — David Deutsch (2011) · London, UK: Allen Lane.
• The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes -And Its Implications — David Deutsch (1997) · New York, NY, US: Allen Lane.
• The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves — Matt Ridley (2010) · Harper
• The Logic of Scientific Discovery — Karl Popper (2002) · Routledge
• The Open Society and its Enemies — Karl Popper (2013) · Princeton University Press
• The Selfish Gene — Richard Dawkins (1990) · Oxford University Press
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — Yuval N. Harari (2015) · New York, NY, US: Harper.
• Civilization: The West and the Rest — Niall Ferguson (2012) · Penguin Books.
• Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress — Steven Pinker (2018) · Viking
• How the Mind Works — Steven Pinker (1997) · W. W. Norton & Co Inc
• A History of Knowledge: Past, Present, and Future — Charles Van Doren (1992) · Ballantine Books
• A History of God: The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam — Karen Armstrong (1994) · Ballantine Books
• Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment — Robert Wright (2017) · Simon & Schuster
• Thinking, Fast and Slow — Daniel Kahneman (2011) · Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Creating the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations of 1867-1914 and Their Lasting Impact — Vaclav Smil (2005) · Oxford University Press
• Transforming the Twentieth Century: Technical Innovations and Their Consequences — Vaclav Smil (2006) · Oxford University Press

Chinese Civilization, History, and Culture (15 of 20 are Chinese-language)

• 钱穆，《先秦诸子系年》，商务印书馆，2001. (Chinese-language)
• 钱穆，《中华文化十二讲》，九州出版社，2013. (Chinese-language)
• [汉] 司马迁，《史记（白话本）》，商务印书馆，2016. (Chinese-language)
• 李解民等，《白话二十五史精选》，新世界出版社，2009. (Chinese-language)
• [宋] 朱熹（编），《四书章句集注》，上海古籍出版社，2006. (Chinese-language)
• Waiting for the Dawn — Huang Zongxi, translated and edited by Wm. Theodore de Bary (1993) · Columbia University Press (the list credits de Bary, who is the translator)
• The Liberal Tradition in China (Neo-Confucian Studies) — William Theodore de Bary (1983) · The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press
• Approaches to the Asian Classics — William Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom, editors (1990) · Columbia University Press
• A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy — Wing-Tsit Chan (1969) · Princeton University Press
• 许倬云，《万古江河——中国历史文化的转折与开展》，湖南人民出版社，2017. (Chinese-language)
• 《黄宗羲全集》，浙江古籍出版社，2012. (Chinese-language)
• 《余英时文集》，广西师范大学出版社，2014. (Chinese-language)
• 林毓生，《思想与人物》，联经出版事业公司，1983. (Chinese-language)
• 《曾国藩全集》，岳麓书社，1994. (Chinese-language)
• 黄仁宇，《万历十五年》，三联书店，1997. (Chinese-language)
• 史景迁 ，《天安门：知识分子与中国革命》，中央编译出版社，1998. (Chinese-language)
• The Search for Modern China — Jonathan D. Spence (1991) · W. W. Norton & Co.
• 王亚南，《中国官僚政治研究》，中国社会科学出版社，1981. (Chinese-language)
• 辜鸿铭，《中国人的精神》，外语教学与研究出版社，1998. (Chinese-language)
• 孙皓晖，《中国原生文明启示录》，中信出版社，2016. (Chinese-language)

China’s Contemporary Economic Reform and Development (14 of 14 are Chinese-language)

• 黄仁宇，《资本主义与二十一世纪》，三联书店，2006. (Chinese-language)
• 钱穆，《中国经济史》，北京联合出版公司，2013. (Chinese-language)
• [美]傅高义，《邓小平时代》，三联书店，2013. (Chinese-language)
• 吴敬琏，《中国经济改革进程》，中国大百科全书出版社，2018. (Chinese-language)
• 林毅夫，《解读中国经济（增订版）》，北京大学出版社，2014. (Chinese-language)
• 《杨小凯学术文库》，社会科学文献出版社，2018. (Chinese-language)
• 史正富，《超常增长：1979 – 2049 年的中国经济》，上海人民出版社，2013. (Chinese-language)
• 文一，《伟大的中国工业革命》，清华大学出版社，2016. (Chinese-language)
• [新加坡] 李光耀，《李光耀回忆录：我一生的挑战——新加坡双语之路》，译林出版社， 2013. (Chinese-language)
• [新加坡] 韩福光等，《李光耀：新加坡赖以生存的硬道理》，外文出版社，2015. (Chinese-language)
• [新加坡] 李光耀，《李光耀回忆录 1923-1965》，世界书局，1998. (Chinese-language)
• [新加坡] 李光耀，《李光耀回忆录 1965-2000》，世界书局，2000. (Chinese-language)
• 吴晓波，《浩荡两千年：中国企业公元前 7 世纪—1869 年》，中信出版社，2012. (Chinese-language)
• 王小波，《沉默的大多数》，北京十月文艺出版社，2017. (Chinese-language)

Value Investing, Finance, and Capitalism

• The Intelligent Investor — Benjamin Graham (1994) · Collins Business
• Security Analysis — Benjamin Graham and David Dodd (1996) · McGraw-Hill Education
• Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist — Roger Lowenstein (1995) · Random House
• Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger — Peter D. Kaufman, editor (2005) · Walworth Publishing Company
• Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger — Peter Bevelin (2007) · PCA Publications
• Damn Right! Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger — Janet Lowe (2000) · Wiley
• Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Investors and Managers — Lawrence A. Cunningham (2009) · John Wiley & Sons Ltd
• The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America — Warren E. Buffett (2001) · The Cunningham Group (the list carries this work twice, as entries 7 and 8)
• Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett — Andrew Kilpatrick (1998) · Andy Kilpatrick Pub Empire
• The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life — Alice Schroeder (2008) · Bantam Books
• The Warren Buffett Portfolio: Mastering the Power of the Focus Investment Strategy — Robert G. Hagstrom (1999) · John Wiley & Sons
• Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings — Philip A. Fisher (1996) · Wiley
• Benjamin Graham: The Memoirs of the Dean of Wall Street — Benjamin Graham (1996) · McGraw-Hill
• Money Masters of Our Time — John Train · HarperBusiness
• Classics: The Most Interesting Ideas and Concepts from the Literature of Investing — James R. Vertin and Charles D. Ellis, editors (list gives no year)
• Classics II: Another Investor’s Anthology — James R. Vertin and Charles D. Ellis, editors (1991)
• You Can Be a Stock Market Genius: Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market Profits — Joel Greenblatt (1999) · Touchstone
• Memo to Oaktree Clients — Howard Marks · WAVE
• The Alchemy of Finance — George Soros (2015) · Wiley
• Soros on Soros — George Soros (1995) · Wiley
• The Mind of Wall Street: A Legendary Financier on the Perils of Greed and the Mysteries of the Market — Leon Levy and Eugene Linden (2002) · PublicAffairs
• Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment — David F. Swensen (2005) · Free Press
• Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds — Charles Mackay (1994) · Barnes & Noble Inc
• Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises — Charles P. Kindleberger (2005) · Wiley
• Wealth, War and Wisdom — Barton Biggs (2008) · Wiley
• Principles: Life and Work — Ray Dalio (2017) · Simon & Schuster
• The Davis Dynasty: 50 Years of Successful Investing on Wall Street — John Rothchild (2001) · Wiley
• Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution — Walter Isaacson (2014) · Simon & Schuster
• Reminiscences of a Stock Operator — Edwin Lefèvre (2004) · Wiley
• Where Are the Customers’ Yachts? Or, A Good Hard Look at Wall Street — Fred Schwed Jr (1995) · Wiley
• Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor — Seth Klarman (1991) · HarperCollins
• Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy — Bruce Greenwald and Judd Kahn (2007) · Portfolio
• Profits and The Future of American Society — S. Jay Levy and David A. Levy (1983) · Harper & Row (the list prints “Happer & Row”)
• Value Investing: A Balanced Approach — Martin J. Whitman (1999) · Wiley
• The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor — David S. Landes (1999) · W. W. Norton & Company
• The Road to Serfdom — F. A. Hayek (1944) · University of Chicago Press (list cites the 1994 edition)
• Economics as Ideology: Keynes, Laski, Hayek, and the Creation of Contemporary Politics — Kenneth R. Hoover (2003) · Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Capitalism in America: A History — Alan Greenspan and Adrian Wooldridge
• Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy — Joseph A. Schumpeter (1994) · Routledge (first published 1942)
• Wall Street: A History — Charles R. Geisst (2018) · Oxford University Press
• Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance — Michael E. Porter (1998) · Free Press (first published 1985)
• Stocks for the Long Run: The Definitive Guide to Financial Market Returns and Long-Term Investment Strategies — Jeremy J. Siegel (2002) · McGraw-Hill
• The Other Half of Macroeconomics and the Fate of Globalization — Richard Koo (2018) · Wiley

History of Western Civilization

• Great Dialogues of Plato — Plato
• Republic — Plato
• Odyssey — Homer
• Iliad — Homer
• Nicomachean Ethics — Aristotle
• Politics — Aristotle
• History of the Peloponnesian War — Thucydides
• Confessions — St. Augustine
• The Bible (a scripture edition)
• Faust — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• Leviathan — Thomas Hobbes
• The Social Contract — Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• The Prince and The Discourses (Machiavelli) — Niccolo Machiavelli
• Two Treatise of Government — John Locke (the list prints “Treatise”)
• On Liberty — John Stuart Mill
• Principles of Philosophy — René Descartes
• Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy — Isaac Newton
• On the Origin of Species — Charles Darwin
• The Wealth of Nations — Adam Smith
• Democracy in America — Alexis de Tocqueville
• The Federalist Papers — Alexander Hamilton, James Madison
• The Constitution of the United States, United States Declaration of Independence, United States Bill of Rights — the three founding documents, given as a single entry; the Constitution carries the card
• The Interpretation of Dreams — Sigmund Freud
• Introduction to Contemporary Civilization in the West — Contemporary Civilization Staff of Columbia College · Columbia University Press
• A Global History: From Prehistory to the Present — L. S. Stavrianos (list gives no publisher or year)
• The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 — Paul Kennedy (1987) · Random House

Biography and Others

• Poor Richard’s Almanack — Benjamin Franklin (1980) · Peter Pauper Press
• The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin — Gordon S. Wood (2005) · Penguin Books
• Benjamin Franklin: An American Life — Walter Isaacson (2003) · Simon & Schuster
• Einstein: His Life and Universe — Walter Isaacson (2008) · Simon & Schuster
• Mellon: An American Life — David Cannadine (2006) · Knopf
• The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family — Ron Chernow (1993) · Random House
• The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance — Ron Chernow (1990) · Atlantic Monthly Press
• Titan: The Life of John D. Rockfeller Sr — Ron Chernow (2004) · Vintage
• Andrew Carnegie — Joseph Frazier Wall (1989) · University of Pittsburgh Press
• The Fountainhead — Ayn Rand (1994) · Plume
• 1984 — George Orwell (2017 edition) · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (first published 1949)
• The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad — Fareed Zakaria (2003) · W. W. Norton & Company
• The Post-American World — Fareed Zakaria (2008) · W. W. Norton & Company
• Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? — Graham Allison (2017) · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Connections

• Li Lu — the curator.
• Himalaya Capital — his firm, which published the list.