The best and certainly most enjoyable way to learn about business is through stories. Harvard Business School realizes this, which is why it relies on its famous case studies for its MBA classes. But for the rest of us, there are memoirs offering a glimpse into the worlds of writers who played roles, however small, in American finance.

Money has its list of the top six financial memoirs, all of which are quite good. I would strongly urge you to pick up all of those at your local library (with the possible exception of Ben Franklin's which, alas, is rather unreadable). Here are two more you may want to check out:

Jim Cramer's Confessions of a Street Addict. This is Cramer's memoir of his days as a hedge fund manager -- screaming orders, throwing phones, and generally acting even more insane than he does on his TV show. It's an incredibly engaging book, and you may be surprised at what a terrifically talented journalist Jim Cramer is. Had he chosen journalism as a career over the financial markets, he probably would have become equally famous in that field. Regardless of what you think of his stock picks, Jim Cramer is a brilliant man and this is a brilliant book.

Andrew Tobias' The Funny Money Game. Before he was famous for his book The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need, Tobias was a vice president at a high-flying momentum stock called National Student Marketing, debating what island to retire to when his rich options package vested. Unfortunately, NSM collapsed in scandal, leaving Tobias' options worthless, but he still leaves us with this hilarious memoir about the life of a young executive at a chaotic young company embarking on almost-weekly acquisitions.