Learn to Earn: A Beginner's Guide to the Basics of Investing and Business

Peter Lynch, the former manager of the Fidelity Magellan Fund, wrote this book for young people, with John Rothchild. He explains how companies work and how the stock market works, using everyday examples like what makes a business succeed, how to read a company's prospects and why it pays to invest in what you know. Chapters cover earning, saving, stocks, and the idea that owning shares means owning part of a business.

Teenagers and parents looking for a first book on investing will find it accessible and free of jargon. Adults who found other finance books too dense can also use it as a clear introduction.

Practical, outward-looking, growth-minded and clear-cut; an easy read.

Best for readers like The Practical Optimizer. Which reader are you?