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I am including this list for two reasons.  One is that personally I wanted to see what was available and began investigating what text books were out there.  Once I found out, I figured I might as well share the findings.  The second reason is so that you can save some money.  I know in one of my classes the price through my link was more than $20 cheaper than the  bookstore price. 

1. Introductory Finance
2. Money and Banking
3. Corporate Finance
4. Institutions and Markets
5. Investments
6. Derivatives
7. Mergers
8. Collections of Readings

 

The Fundamentals of Corporate Finance by Brealy, Myers, and Marcus.  Nick-named "Baby Brealey" by many, it is a good intro text.  Probably too much overlap if using the author's Principles text for second class. 

The Fundamentals of Corporate Finance (fourth edition) by Ross, Westerfield, and Jordan.  Probably my second favorite introductory text.  Thorough coverage and very readable.  You can not go wrong with this text.  Widely used and tested. 

The Fundamentals of Financial Management by Van Horne and Wachowicz.  Solid introductory text.  I liked the breadth and the axioms.  I have used it in class and the students seemed to like it.  Straight forward and goes quickly. 

Fundamentals of Financial Management by Eugene Brigham and Joel Houston. 

Introduction to Finance by Gitman and Madura.  A new text.  I have not yet seen it but have heard it to be pretty good.  Both authors are well-respected and well-published.
 

Finance by Bodie and Merton.  Can you go wrong with a text by two Nobel Prize winners with a preface by a third?  Readable introduction to finance.  Excellent for the "core" finance class!  You'll like it!

The Economics of Money, Banking, and Financial Markets by Frederic Mishkin.   I have not used it but those who have seem to like it.  Might use it the next time I teach money and banking.  Should know some math. 

The Financial System and the Economy: Principles of Money and Banking by Burton and Lombra.  I have used this and it is pretty good.  Probably a bit too easy, but for an introduction not bad.  It covers much of the Financial System and less of the rigorous math that many students dislike.  Easy to follow. 

The Principles of Corporate Finance by Brealey and Myers.  My favorite by far!  Rigorous but with a very dry sense of humor.  A fun, albeit long, read with very thorough coverage.  A keeper!  You can also buy the Study Guide and even a Solutions Manual

Corporate Finance: Theory and Practice by Aswath Damodaran.  Well done!  I almost picked this text.  Easy to follow with many examples. 

Corporate Finance  by Ross, Westerfeld, and Jaffe.  Designed for an MBA course but I used at some schools for undergraduate.  I used it once at PSU for an undergaduate course and liked it alot. Easy to teach from.  Much ancillary material for the Finance Professor. 

Intermediate Financial Management by Brigham and Gapenski.  Solid but unspectacular.  It has much in it and is quite well written, but unfortunately it did not excite me.  Others swear by it.  It is very well respected and used at many good schools. 

The Principles of Corporate Finance by Levi and Alderson.  I liked it.  Not sure if students would but seems good. 

The New Corporate Finance: Where Theory Meets Practice by Donald Chew  This is a collection of academic journal articles and roundtables that focus on Corporate Finance.  Interesting for the serious student, a bit much for some.  I think the Revolution in Corporate Finance may have been better.

The Essentials of Investments by Bodie, Kane, and Marcus.  This is the introductory investment version of the classic Investment text below.  Still very good without some of the rigor (example no utility functions) 

Investments by Bodie, Kane, and Marcus.  Arguably the standard by which others are measured.  I have used it in class both as a student and teacher and liked it in each circumstance.  I highly recommend it for any second level undergraduate investments class or MBA investment class. 

Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management by Reilly and Brown.  Excellent.  In my mind as good as Bodi, Kane, and Marcus.  I am using it for the first time in the Spring of 2001.  Very thorough.  Has a bit less theory and a bit more "Institutional detail" than others.  Good for CFA exam. 

Investments: an Introduction by Herbert Mayo.  One of my favorites.  More direct and to the point than some. Students seem to like it, it has CFA based questions, and good coverage of instittional details as well.  Probably better for graduate classes or second level undergrad class. 

Introduction to Investment by Haim Levi.  A rigorous book.  When in college I learned from it.  Probably a bit beyond most introductory texts.

International Finance Texts

International Financial Management by Jeff Madura.  Easy to read, a good choice that is well-liked by students. 

Global Corporate Finance by Suk Kim, Seung Kim, and Kenneth Kim. 

Multinational Finance by  Kirt Butler.  A new version of this text.  I have yet to see it. 

International Financial Management by Cheol Eun and Bruce Resnick. 

Institutions and Markets Texts
 

Global Financial Institutions and Markets by Hazel Johnson.  Probably the closest to what I think this class should be like.  No pictures in the book is the main drawback! 

Money, the Financial System, and the Economy by R. Glenn Hubbard.  A very good book.  I wish I had picked this the last time I taught Institutions (the above text was not available yet).

Derivative Texts

An Introduction to Futures and Options by John Hull.  Simply the best.  I would use Hull or Hull and White every time. Easy to read, good coverage, the standard. 

Mergers and Acquisitions
 

Takeovers, Restructuring, and Corporate Governance by Weston, Chung, and Siu. I actually helped review this one for the publisher.  A great coverage of the financial literature and history of many takeovers.  Very good for a graduate class or Ph.D. seminar background reading. 
 

 
Shareholder's Rebellion: How Investors are Changing the Way America's Countries are Run  by George P. Schwartz. This book is about the growing role of shareholders as monitors and activists. A growing number of shareholders have decided they want to have a say in what companies do and how they are managed. Schwartz, an investment manager who runs his own company,documents what heretofore have been skirmishes but what he predicts will become full-scale rebellion. He reports how shareholders have ousted top executives at major companies, and he offers tactics on the use of proxy contests.

High Finance in the Euro-Zone: Competeing in the New European Capital Market  by Ingo Walter, Roy C. Smith. Provides the reader both an up-to-date description of investment banking in Europe and a well-argued discussion of the way that it is likely to develop

Paul Wilmott Introduces Quantitative Finance by Paul Wilmott. In this updated student edition, Paul Wilmott updates and extends his earlier classic, Derivatives: The Theory and Practice of Financial Engineering.

Fooled By Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in the Markets and in Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.In this look at financial luck, hedge fund manager Taleb (Dynamic Hedging) addresses the apparently irrational movement of money markets around the world.

Dean Lebaron's Book of Investment Quotations by Dean Lebaron (Compiler), Romesh Vaitilingam (Compiler), Marilyn Pitchford (Compiler).  http://www.deanlebaron.com/
 

Do you have another text that should be mentioned?  Let me know!  email: jimmahar@FinanceProfessor.com 
 

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