Bernard Mandeville
The Fable of the Bees: or, Private Vices, Public Benefits by Bernard Mandeville (1714) is a book on our Classics shelf. Mandeville's scandalous poem and essays arguing that a thriving economy runs on vanity, greed and luxury, not virtue. It suits readers interested in classics, and it is legally free from Project Gutenberg. Licence: Public domain in the USA (check your country).
Download free from Project GutenbergMandeville's scandalous poem and essays arguing that a thriving economy runs on vanity, greed and luxury, not virtue. It shaped debates on self-interest that fed into Adam Smith and modern economics, and is still quoted whenever people argue about consumption and growth.
The licence listed for this title is: Public domain in the USA (check your country). It is published free of charge by Project Gutenberg, and TopFreeBooks links only to that official source; we do not host the file.
One legally free book on money, investing or business, sent to your inbox.
Charles Mackay's 1841 study of mass manias, including the Dutch tulip craze, the Mississippi Scheme and the South Sea Bubble. A classic warning about how crowds lose their heads over money.
Download free
Banker Henry Clews looks back on half a century on Wall Street: the panics, the speculators and famous figures like Jay Gould and Commodore Vanderbilt.
Download free
Harper's short follow-up to The Psychology of Speculation, written after the October–November 1929 crash. It reflects on what the collapse taught investors.
Download free
Walter Bagehot's 1873 explanation of how the London money market and the Bank of England work. It gave central banks the rule to lend freely during a panic.
Download free
Charles Duguid explains in plain terms how the London Stock Exchange works: its members, dealings, settlement and the language of the market.
Download free
A New York Stock Exchange member describes how the exchange works from the inside and defends its role in the economy.
Download free