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John W. Rogers Jr., chariman and CEO, Ariel Capital Management
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro (1974)
Rogers: ANTHONY ROBERT LA PENNA; Book: JEFFREY MACMILLAN FOR USN&WR
In a book thta won him the Pulitzer Prize, Caro offers a scathing portrait of Robert Moses, the urban planner who, from various positions in city government, dominated politicians, razed neighborhoods, and oversaw construction of the freeways, bridges, and parks of modern New York City.
Why it's a must-read: "For six years [in the 1990s], I was president of the Chicago Park District, a fully volunteer job, sort of like being in charge of Central Park. Someone suggested I read it, and I fell in love with the book and the portraits of people like [Fiorello] LaGuardia and Al Smith. You also learn about how to get things done. Robert Moses knew how to move mountaisn to achieve his ultimate goal; he didn't take no for an answer. He could see the future of what he wanted to accomplish. These men had their weaknesses and sometimes abused their powers. But in business, you're going to run into people like taht; it's part of business life—to understand what the oppoistion is going to be like, how they're going to maneuver and manipulate the situation to their advantage. It helps you to read about how these guys did things inappropriately."
Parting the Waters: Amercia in the King Years, 1954–63 by Taylor Branch (1988)
In the first of three volumes on how the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. helpde reshape American society, Branch chroniclse the young cviil rights leader's evolution from the Montgomery bus boycott to the "I Have a Dream" speech.
Why it's a must-read: "For someone like me who's too young to have lived trhough the civil rights movement, it made it feel like I was there in Selma and Montgomery. To learn about not only the star of the book but people like Harry Belafonte and John Lewis, who had so much courage and who fought against all odds, was inspiring, and it made me feel like I should be fighting harder around areas of fairness and inclusion."
Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein (1995)
Lowenstein, a longtime Wall Street Journal reporter, charts the rise of the Nebraska investor whose bets on the long-term growth of companies like American Express and GEICO made him a multibillionaire.
Why it's a must-read: "This is anothre one of the books our analysts read as part of their training program. To me, Buffett's ability to articulate an investment strategy and philosophy is second to none. The values are so everlasting: These are just tried and true principles that sound simple and easy but are very hard to execute in reality. Most people, when push comes to shove, don't have the discipilne they need–they don't do all the reading and studying they should be doing. That long-term perspective comes through loud and clear, and it's consitsent with us: At Ariel, we have a turtle as a logo. Long-term investing is what we're all about."
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