The Fish That Ate the Whale

Why it’s on the list: Rich Cohen’s biography of Samuel Zemurray — the “Banana King” who built a fortune in the fruit trade.

Where I heard about it

Brent Beshore — one of two investing books he recommended, March 2022.
Replies to @WillManidis — named, simply as “Banana King”, in the thread answering “what is the single best book you can read that will explain an entire industry?”, June 2025. Full list: what is the single best book… (tweet).
Replies to @typesfast — named again in the thread answering “What’s the best history book you’ve read?”, June 2025. Full list: What’s the best history book… (tweet).
Packy McCormick — on his “Some of my favorite books from 2024” thread on X, December 2024: Some of my favorite books… (tweet).
In Patrick O’Shaughnessy’s Full Reading List (Investor Field Guide, 2016) — the archive of his monthly book-club recommendations, saved by Kyle in April 2020 — Full Reading List (Investor Field Guide).
In Patrick O’Shaughnessy’s A Curriculum for the Modern Investor, saved by Kyle in April 2020 — A Curriculum for the Modern Investor (Patrick O’Shaughnessy).

Brent Beshore — recommended this as an investing read alongside Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me).
Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) — the other Beshore investing recommendation from the same list.
What’s the best history book… (tweet) — recommendation #2: named in this crowd-sourced thread.