Another year almost in the books, which means it’s time to look back at the titles that actually made us pause, rethink, and occasionally question the entire financial system. Here are five books from 2025 that stood out for all the right reasons.
1. How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle by Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio’s latest book is a blunt warning about debt, deficits, and what happens when governments push the limits of borrowing for too long. Drawing on historical cycles, Dalio argues the US is inching toward a debt spiral where rising interest costs and political gridlock reinforce each other. With national debt approaching $37 trillion, his message is simple: this problem is no longer theoretical.
2. The Great Heist: China’s Epic Campaign to Steal America’s Secrets by David R. Shedd and Andrew Badger
This book reads like an intelligence dossier more than a business title. Shedd and Badger detail how China systematically acquired Western technology across defense, aerospace, telecom, and software, saving trillions in research costs along the way. Their core argument is that industrial espionage was not accidental or isolated, but strategic, coordinated, and largely tolerated for decades.
3. 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History by Andrew Ross Sorkin
After nearly a decade of research, Andrew Ross Sorkin revisits the most famous market crash in history and finds parallels that feel uncomfortably familiar. Speculation, concentration, and narrative-driven investing all played a role in 1929, just as they do today. Sorkin does not predict the timing of the next crash, but he is confident that cycles always repeat.
4. The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel
Morgan Housel flips traditional personal finance advice on its head by arguing that spending is not a math problem, but a psychological one. What makes one person happy financially may not work for another, and no spreadsheet can capture that difference. The book is less about optimization and more about aligning money with values, freedom, and long-term satisfaction.
5. The Mismeasurement of America by Gene Ludwig
Gene Ludwig tackles a question many people have been asking for years: why does the economy feel worse than the data suggests. By breaking down how unemployment, wages, and inflation are calculated, Ludwig argues official statistics often understate financial stress for everyday Americans. His conclusion is that the economy is not just misunderstood, but measured in ways that miss lived reality.