From The Greats
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Howard Marks
Co-founder and co-chairman, Oaktree Capital Management
Distressed-debt investor, Oaktree co-founder, and author of widely read investment memos and books on risk.
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Books by Howard Marks
Direct work from Howard Marks. This is the highest-signal lane because the ideas come from the operator, investor, researcher, or creator directly.
Books Howard Marks recommends, documented so far
This is the current verified catalog coverage. Every recommendation row links back to source evidence and the canonical book profile.
Wall Street Under Oath
For an interesting look at behavior in the 1920s, I’d recommend Wall Street Under Oath.
Exact quote verified
Strong recommendation
article
The Aviary
Open source
We captured the recommendation language from the source.
Oaktree Capital · 2008-05-16 · accessed 2026-06-22
The PDF memo contains an explicit first-person recommendation for Wall Street Under Oath.
Fooled by Randomness
Fooled by Randomness, which I’ve described as an essential read.
Exact quote verified
Strong recommendation
article
The Aviary
Open source
We captured the recommendation language from the source.
Oaktree Capital · 2008-05-16 · accessed 2026-06-22
The PDF memo says Marks had described Fooled by Randomness as an essential read.
Factfulness
I would recommend Factfulness.
Exact quote verified
Recommended
transcript
The Tim Ferriss Show Transcripts: Howard Marks
Open source
We captured the recommendation language from the source.
Tim Ferriss · 2018-09-27 · accessed 2026-06-23
In the transcript, Marks describes Factfulness as a book he is working through and explicitly says he would recommend it.
Documented mentions and citations
These source-backed rows are useful context, but they are not counted as direct recommendations.
Against the Gods
In his wonderful book, Against the Gods, Peter Bernstein shows how development of the study of probability made possible both informed gambling and informed investing.
Exact quote verified
Mentioned
article
Genius Isn’t Enough
Open source
We captured the mention language from the source; this is not counted as a direct recommendation.
Oaktree Capital · 1998-10-09 · accessed 2026-06-22
The PDF memo calls Against the Gods a wonderful book in a passage applying its ideas to investing.
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Pioneering Portfolio Management
As David Swenson wrote in his excellent book, “Pioneering Portfolio Management”.
Exact quote verified
Mentioned
article
Risk
Open source
We captured the mention language from the source; this is not counted as a direct recommendation.
Oaktree Capital · 2006-01-19 · accessed 2026-06-22
The PDF memo calls Pioneering Portfolio Management an excellent book.
Devil Take the Hindmost
I read Edward Chancellor’s excellent book Devil Take the Hindmost.
Exact quote verified
Mentioned
article
Taking the Temperature
Open source
We captured the mention language from the source; this is not counted as a direct recommendation.
Oaktree Capital · 2023-07-10 · accessed 2026-06-22
The Oaktree memo page calls Devil Take the Hindmost excellent and says its historical bubble account informed Marks's thinking.
The Price of Time
I devoted another autumn to reading another Chancellor book, The Price of Time.
Exact quote verified
Mentioned
article
Easy Money
Open source
We captured the mention language from the source; this is not counted as a direct recommendation.
Oaktree Capital · 2024-01-09 · accessed 2026-06-22
The Oaktree memo says The Price of Time was relevant to the trends Marks was discussing, but it is kept as mentioned rather than upgraded.
Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me)
I read an extremely interesting book: Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me).
Exact quote verified
Mentioned
article
The Illusion of Knowledge
Open source
We captured the mention language from the source; this is not counted as a direct recommendation.
Oaktree Capital · 2022-09-08 · accessed 2026-06-22
The Oaktree memo calls Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me) extremely interesting and summarizes its relevance to the memo.
Running on Empty
After reading (and reviewing for the L.A. Times) Pete Peterson’s excellent book “Running on Empty”.
Exact quote verified
Mentioned
article
Hindsight First, Please, or What Were They Thinking?
Open source
We captured the mention language from the source; this is not counted as a direct recommendation.
Oaktree Capital · 2005-10-17 · accessed 2026-06-22
The PDF memo says Marks read and reviewed Running on Empty and calls it excellent.
The Money Game
One of the great investment books of the 1960s was The Money Game by the pseudonymous Adam Smith.
Exact quote verified
Mentioned
article
Whodunit
Open source
We captured the mention language from the source; this is not counted as a direct recommendation.
Oaktree Capital · 2008-02-20 · accessed 2026-06-22
The PDF memo calls The Money Game one of the great investment books of the 1960s.