I haven't been too good about blogging the books I read, as I was planning to do this fall. I've been reading a ton, but just haven't had time to write about the books. Anyway, here are a couple that may be of interest to AoPSers who like to mix history with their other interests.

For those interested in finance and trading: Fortune's Formula by William Poundstone. Succinctly put, the book is a history of mathy folks in gambling and trading in the last 40 or 50 years. Those of you interested in joining the heroes of this book might want to check it out. The book is a little overwritten, and the author is excessive to the point of being irrational at times in his hero-worship, but otherwise, the book was really enjoyable. (Though he could easily have extended his history much further back - mathy folks have been dominating the business world for a long time. Ask Ben Franklin or John Rockefeller. The latter I learned about in reading The Prize, about the history of the oil industry. Crazy long book, but worth it.)

For the chess players, check out Bobby Fischer Goes to War. Admittedly, they don't focus too much on chess, but rather the personalities at the top of chess in the 60's and early 70's. Mainly, the book chronicles the giant Fischer-Spassky match. Very enjoyable read, but the story of Bobby Fischer (and, to some extent, that of many of the main people in The Prize) can't help but raise the question of what is an acceptable price to pay for 'greatness'?