Books

A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition

Average customer rating:

Well-written, has the right caveats
Excellent!
Stop messing with it !!!!
Pearls among the swines
A very good start

A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
Burton G. Malkiel
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Book Big Profits)
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The Random Walk Guide to Investing: Ten Rules for Financial Success
The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need
Stocks for the Long Run : The Definitive Guide to Financial Market Returns and Long-Term Investment Strategies

ASIN: 0393062457

Book Description

The million-copy bestseller, revised and updated with new investment strategies for retirement and the most current research into behavioral finance.

Updated with a new chapter that draws on behavioral finance, the field that studies the psychology of investment decisions, here is the best-selling, authoritative, and gimmick-free guide to investing. Burton Malkiel evaluates the full range of investment opportunities, from stocks, bonds, and money markets to real estate investment trusts and insurance, home ownership, and tangible assets such as gold and collectibles. This edition includes new strategies for rearranging your portfolio for retirement, along with the book's classic life-cycle guide to investing, which matches the needs of investors in any age bracket. A Random Walk Down Wall Street long ago established itself as a must-read, the first book to purchase before starting a portfolio. So whether you want to brief yourself on the ways of the market before talking to a broker or follow Malkiel's easy steps to managing your own portfolio, this book remains the best investing guide money can buy.

Customer Reviews:

Well-written, has the right caveats.......2007-06-26

This classic has been updated. Malkiel writes in a clear manner. The life-cycle chapter is particularly well done. This book is worth the purchase price, to say the least.

Excellent!.......2007-06-09

Perhaps, one of the best available classic books for investors which cuts through whole of financial Jargon and would ensure the reader understands the subtleties of the subject.

Stop messing with it !!!!.......2007-05-24

A diversified portfolio of solid stocks kept for the long run. I wish that had been my strategy last year when I moved my entire portfolio into more volatile investments approximately two days before the market took a huge dump. A Random Walk will finally allow you to relax with your investments knowing that you have a strategy that always wins in the long run.

Pearls among the swines.......2007-05-14

The book is a classic and it's main point about the investment value of index funds is superb. And a must know. However the 5 'rules' for 'a rational investor' are very mediocre and mostly plain wrong. For instance rule #2 'a rational investor should be willing to pay a higher price for a share, other things being equal, the larger the proportion of a company's earnings that is paid out in cash dividends' is a common mistake. First paying out dividend historically carried (and in some countries still carries) a tax disadvantage. Second if a company is able to reinvest its free cash-flow in business opportunities providing high returns on investment (at least somewhat above the cost of capital) it is better if the company does not pay a dividend. For the reasoning behind this read Warren Buffett and to see teh truth of it look at the share performance of Berkshire Hathaway (a company that does not pay out a dividend since Warren still thinks he can invest cash at higher returns then the cost of capital).

Then later we get a lot of cicular reasoning. To prove that professionals are no better then the market in general it is argued that as a group they do not outperform the market. Now the problem with that reasoning is that although the professinals do not own all the shares they do 90% of the trading (p.52). So they are the market (or 90% of it). They are the average! So of course the average cannot beat the average. We don't need any reasoning nor any random walk or any other theory to see that. The average will simply never do better then average and including fees for the professionals must necessarily do worse then low-cost index funds. Wether the market is efficient or not, this is always true.
Malkiel misses that point completely and just loves hanging the professionals out to dry. At the same time he also forgets to mention most of the time (except om p.161) that professional portfolio managers/analysts are not hired to outperform the market but to provide the backing behind marketing claims that they will try very hard to do so. Most are hired to sell mutual funds or keep clients, not to help them outperform.

All in all he makes some excellent points but for the uninformed reader it is very hard to distinguish between truth and nonsense in this book.

A very good start.......2007-04-19

I read this in Business School, in the early nineties. Although it does not have the depth or rigor of the real hardcore finance texts I was studying at the time, it was my favorite finance book - maybe because it is so well written or because it make the right blend of theory and practical advice. When it became time to start investing a few years later, I went back to it and was not disappointed.

In time, I found things I disagreed with Malkiel - I did find managers who beat the market consistently and one cannot completely dismiss technical analysis when so many in the market follow it. However, you'd have to mature a lot in the investment world to start to take issue with his ideas. For beginners, just eat it up with your vegetables!

Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street

Average customer rating:

Interesting but not exceptional
A good recount of some heady times...
Awesme!!
Memory lane stroll through Wall Street
fun, quick read on the roaring 80s, but not too deep (and it wasn't)

Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
Michael Lewis
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140143459

Customer Reviews:

Interesting but not exceptional.......2007-06-27

It provides a good picture of the Wall Street during the 80's but it is sometimes tiring when describing the personality of some characters.

A good recount of some heady times..........2007-06-19

This was a story which had to be told. And it had to be told from the inside. It couldn't have been done any other way, and Michael Lewis does a fairly god job of it.

The book essentially tells the story of the rise and fall from wealth (and grace) of Salomon Brothers, and in particular, their mortgage trading group. Those times were clearly heady ones, with the creation and destruction of ridiculous amounts of wealth - from thin air. (It's a more common phenomenon now given the increasing sizes and reaches of the global financial markets, but this probably represented the earliest of the really big cycles.) Lewis takes us deep into that world, giving us a view from a prime seat in the middle of the best action of those times - at Salomon Brothers. In doing so, he is able to create a fairly strong feel for that world, with all its extravagances and idiosyncrasies, while simultaneously providing a fair amount of objective narrative on the internal and external events. His fleshing out of the characters in the book is well done too, which allows the reader a fair level of involvement and empathy with the events. Another strength of the book is that Lewis never gets too technical, and is able to explain fairly complicated markets in terms simple enough for most people to understand.

On the flip side, I have to caution you that at the end of the day, Lewis might have been a good banker, but he's not a great writer. The book could have been taken to a different level altogether in the hands of a better writer, and much of the strength of this book is eventually derived from the story. That said, overall, I still think Lewis has done a very credible job, and the book is a very worthwhile read for everybody, not just bankers.

Awesme!!.......2007-06-19

Great book!! Gives great inside into what trading, and sales really was like at the peak of the 80s. Really great book if you find Wall Street or any-related interesting. Highly Recommended!!

Memory lane stroll through Wall Street.......2007-06-18

I spent years in the hallowed and occasionally corrupt halls of Wall Street. This is a fascinating tale by Michael Lewis covering investment banking in the 1980's. It's with great irony that many are looking back to this pages and seeing the accurate predictions of the looming S&L disaster. Michael Lewis came of age successfully trading bonds for Solomon Brothers, and he gives you a nice insider's view from the trenches. If you've ever wondered what it's like to experience the excitement, pressure, greed and fear emotions from the pits, the big boy pits that is, this is a good book to read.

fun, quick read on the roaring 80s, but not too deep (and it wasn't).......2007-06-13

If you even wondered what people do and what knd of people there are in those big buildings on Wall Street, this is your book. You see, from an insider's ironic detachment, how clueless these people were, how little they understood what they were doing with the incredible amounts of money seeking to make more money. Not only do they care little about what they are doing for their shareholders, but they make bad mistakes that ruins lives. The excesses - like huge buckets of guacamole for snacks or unbelievable arrogance - are sickening after a while.

Lewis writes extremely well, truly a unique voice. While I felt a bit disappointed pnce I finished the book as I gained little understanding of the protagonists' motivation and reflcetions (assuming they had any), the descriptions of what it was like are very interesting.

Recommended.

Practical Business Math Procedures w/ DVD, Business Math Handbook, and Wall Street Journal insert

Average customer rating:

Interactive & More
lost in translation
Useful in the real world
An elementary approach to a college class
Excellent book, easy to follow DVD!

Practical Business Math Procedures w/ DVD, Business Math Handbook, and Wall Street Journal insert
Jeffrey Slater
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:

Schaum's Outline of Mathematical Methods for Business and Economics

ASIN: 0073133086

Book Description

Practical Business Math Procedures is a comprehensive introduction to the concepts and applications of mathematics to personal and commercial business problems. The text uses basic arithmetic and problem solving techniques and illustrates their use in retailing, interest and loans, banking, payroll, taxes, investments, insurance, and a variety of other business situations. The text is well known for the motivating integration of interesting real world examples and photos from the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s, and many other business journals. PBMP’s is the most popular and widely used book for this course and is carefully written and developed to support students with little math experience with practice quizzes, thousands of exercises, color coded procedures and diagrams, supporting tutorial videos on DVD, and the highest standards of reliability and cleanliness.

Customer Reviews:

Interactive & More.......2007-02-23

This book is more of what I think a "text" book should be for learning. It has nice colorful graphics [drawn, photocopied, and photographed] to arouse one's interest and learning. There are "real" companies given as factual examples and links to explore. The Teachers editon would be the best [it not only gives all the answers to the problems, but shows the step by step formulas to use]. I also found that by going to the book companies online resorces, you can download and print PowerPoint slides to help guide you through some of the more complex areas.

lost in translation.......2007-01-13

I used this book in a business math class and I found it to be confusing and hard to follow. I have a good grasp on business concepts and this book left me feeling more confused after my class than when I began. The approach to this class certainly is not one I would reccomend for college level (for any level for that matter).

Useful in the real world.......2006-05-23

I used the 7th edition in the business math class I took. The class was listed under the BUS designation, and was not intended for those above the 096 level in math. I took it at a community college as part of a certificate program. The first 4 chapters were review and the balance was the class. The chapters were well written and the practice problems useful. There are many problems for each chapter.
I use the formulas and concepts in my work. I am co manager of a grocery store. I use the things I learned each and every day.
Many people do not have a good grounding in math. Business math classes are designed to build a foundation and give skills that can be used right away.

An elementary approach to a college class.......2006-04-14

I am teaching a business math class and was issued this text book by the college. While reviewing the book I found it to be more confusing than helpful. I found the majority of the ideas presented in the book to be of common knowledge. Rather than presenting the concepts in the book in an analytical manner, the author uses a personal narrative to convey the ideas. The author introduces new concepts with successive chapters, but does not explain how these concepts are derived. The author explains concepts at face value, rather than explaining how the concepts come about and how to apply them to other situations outside of the ideal situation. The first 6 chapters or so, out of a total of 22, are a review of basic math skills starting with addition and subtraction of whole numbers and continue to basic uses of percents. In addition to those 6 chapters, more of the successive chapters become redundant and are not presented in a logical order. Integrated into the text are numerous amounts of extraneous articles that are meant to reinforce the underlying point, but instead simply add bulk and distraction to the text.

I found that the concepts of the book are poorly presented and are not explained thoroughly. I would STRONGLY recommend not using this book, especially for a college level business class. A person with little to no everyday business experience would find this book to be very simple. In my opinion this book is primarily geared to a 9th grade level education in a public school system and not a college level class.

Excellent book, easy to follow DVD!.......2006-01-26

What can I saw but this is an awesome book. I never did get past chapter one though because I found out that my previous grade was enough to meet a requirement so I figured why take it again? (Got a D+ originally, with a different book).

The Complete Trading for a Living: The Legendary Approach to Trading with the Companion Study Guide

Average customer rating:

first stop
The Complete Trading for a Living
Timeless classic reference
Great book
Bookreader

The Complete Trading for a Living: The Legendary Approach to Trading with the Companion Study Guide
Alexander Elder
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound

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High Probability trading

ASIN: 0470040947

Book Description

Trading for a Living with Companion Study Guide (Specially Priced Leather Bound Edition)

The bestselling trading book of all time, Dr. Alexander Elder's Trading for a Living is now bound with the companion Study Guide in a handsome leather edition no trader should be without.

Focusing on the three critical areas of Mind, Method, and Money, Dr. Elder helps professionals master new approaches to trading stocks, currencies, futures, and options. A clear understanding of the three M's will help you discipline your Mind, master the best Methods for trading the markets, and manage Money in your trading accounts so that no string of losses can kick you out of the game.

Dr. Elder's revolutionary Trading for a Living has won international acclaim and helped hundreds of thousands of traders bring their skills to new levels. The accompanying Study Guide for Trading for a Living adds more than 200 questions, charts, and assessments that pinpoint the reader's strengths and weaknesses as a trader, and helps measure improvement and growth.

Now these two books are available together in one beautifully bound volume, worthy of a place of honor in every trader's library.

Sold separately, Trading for a Living and the Study Guide retail for $120. Add them both to your business library at this special low price in this deluxe edition, available only to Amazon.com customers for a limited time.

Customer Reviews:

first stop.......2007-05-19

if you are entering the financial market. this is the first book you need!!! learning and understanding this books knowledge, i am sure will be fundimental too your success. having the study guide with it only enhances its worth.a must have starting point.

The Complete Trading for a Living.......2007-05-15

Fast moving. Investigates the critical concepts of trading. Explains clearly the more difficult transactions in a "easy-to-follow" concise manner. Would recommend it for any serious trader.

Timeless classic reference.......2007-05-12

Don't think I need to add anything to the consensus. If your intent is to trade for a living, then you must have this tome as a reference.

Great book.......2007-02-21

I found "Trading for a Living" very interesting. Good trading lessons. All people who start trading must read Mr. Elder.

Bookreader.......2007-02-21

Great book. Well organized. Great buy. Dr. Elder's work is excellent and a great asset to traders.

Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle

Average customer rating:

Awesome, funny, and useful
Absolutely hilarious
Worth reading before and after entering the trade
Worth your time reading if you want to get an idea about I-banking
Great book!

Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle
John Rolfe , and Peter Troob
Manufacturer: Business Plus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0446676950

Book Description

Meet John and Peter, two young business school graduates about to become frustrated foot soldiers for the world of high finance. 20 hour days, inflated salaries, senseless prospects, outlandish characters and strip club lap dances make escaping with their sanity sound like the best deal of all.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome, funny, and useful.......2007-06-19

I finished this book the second time I picked it up because it is absolutely hilarious. A great book, with very funny moments. Also this book gives a great insight into the kind of activities bankers do at the associate level. Great book!!

Absolutely hilarious.......2007-04-15

I work at an investment bank but I'm not a banker. I just bought this book on a friends recommendation and I must say this read is hilarious. I read it during my commute to work and the other day I just could not stop laughing in the bus. I had tears in my eyes. I had to put the book down before someone noticed and thought I was crazy.

Worth reading before and after entering the trade.......2007-04-14

A fun and easy read, not quite to the expectations i had when ordering. I'm an investment banker myself and although on another continent, I read many familiar things.

While all it is written probably is (was) true, the perspective is of course very negative, there's little in the book of the things that make investment banking rewarding, and I'm not only talking about money. I'm talking of the satisfaction of getting a deal done and fitting all the pieces of the puzzle .

I believe it is still possible to get a nice investment banking career without being a monkey 15h/day, but of course, you might make less money out of it.

I liked a paragraph very much "we realized that the compensation levels and the perks weren't in place because being an associate in investment banking was a great job. They were in place because the job sucked."

I wonder what I have thought if I read this book before working as an analyst and associate in Investment Banking. Probably I wouldn't believe half the things here (including first year's associate paycheck of $200k) and I'd still yearn for a place in the industry.

But it casts a shaddow on the value and use of an MBA, a collateral victim in the book. Is the main purpose of an MBA to give you a open door to Investment Banking and management consulting? If so, is very dissapointing, there are cheaper and less time consuming ways of doing that.

Worth your time reading if you want to get an idea about I-banking.......2007-03-10

Most of the other reviews hit all the bases when describing this book - somewhat exaggerated, but I'd say about 70% true. Of course experience varies across companies and office locations, but for someone outside looking in, Monkey Business is definitely worth a read. The volatility in debauchery/work, coupled with the casual language in which this book is written, makes it an easy & entertaining read.

Great book!.......2007-02-25

Hilarious take on the lives of investment banking associates. However, as someone in the industry, do not let this book turn you off of an investment banking career. Though hours are still killer, it is my experience that the environment has gotten a lot better

One Up On Wall Street : How To Use What You Already Know To Make Money In The Market

Average customer rating:

Very disappointed, very
Excellent book for the beginning amateur investor
A must-have in your investment library
Exellent
Tiny Tiny

One Up On Wall Street : How To Use What You Already Know To Make Money In The Market
Peter Lynch , and John Rothchild
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Essays of Warren Buffett : Lessons for Corporate America

ASIN: 0743200403

Book Description

THE NATIONAL BESTSELLING BOOK THAT EVERY INVESTOR SHOULD OWN

Peter Lynch is America's number-one money manager. His mantra: Average investors can become experts in their own field and can pick winning stocks as effectively as Wall Street professionals by doing just a little research.

Now, in a new introduction written specifically for this edition of One Up on Wall Street, Lynch gives his take on the incredible rise of Internet stocks, as well as a list of twenty winning companies of high-tech '90s. That many of these winners are low-tech supports his thesis that amateur investors can continue to reap exceptional rewards from mundane, easy-to-understand companies they encounter in their daily lives.

Investment opportunities abound for the layperson, Lynch says. By simply observing business developments and taking notice of your immediate world -- from the mall to the workplace -- you can discover potentially successful companies before professional analysts do. This jump on the experts is what produces "tenbaggers," the stocks that appreciate tenfold or more and turn an average stock portfolio into a star performer.

The former star manager of Fidelity's multibillion-dollar Magellan Fund, Lynch reveals how he achieved his spectacular record. Writing with John Rothchild, Lynch offers easy-to-follow directions for sorting out the long shots from the no shots by reviewing a company's financial statements and by identifying which numbers really count. He explains how to stalk tenbaggers and lays out the guidelines for investing in cyclical, turnaround, and fast-growing companies.

Lynch promises that if you ignore the ups and downs of the market and the endless speculation about interest rates, in the long term (anywhere from five to fifteen years) your portfolio will reward you. This advice has proved to be timeless and has made One Up on Wall Street a number-one bestseller. And now this classic is as valuable in the new millennium as ever.

Customer Reviews:

Very disappointed, very.......2007-06-09

the description was misleading, it's not a book, it's an excerpt in tiny, tiny pages. Very disappointed.

Excellent book for the beginning amateur investor.......2007-05-23

Lynch does a great job introducing the world of stock investing. He writes in a very easy-to-read manner using lots of examples, and he always uses an encouraging and comforting tone, reassuring the reader that the reader as an amateur also has a spot in the investing world.

The book is split into 3 basic sections - preparing to invest, picking winners, and the long-term view. The first part goes over why you should invest, why amateurs can have an edge over professionals, and some other basic concepts. The second portion covers how to actually find good companies and how to analyze them to make sure they're worth investing into. The last section wraps things up by talking about basic stock portfolio management and the importance of a long-term mindset.

The book uses a lot of historical examples. Sometimes it feels like Lynch is showing off his experience and success, but the man has a fantastic Wall Street record - definitely something to brag about. He is also unafraid to talk about his mistakes, which is admirable and enlightening.

While some of the specifics Lynch discusses (what's a "good" P/E of certain companies compared to the growth rate, for example) may be somewhat out of date, the general concepts in this book hold very true today. I recommend this book highly to anyone looking to invest in stocks - there are some great lessons to take away. The two that really stuck in my mind are:

1. Amateur investors are not at a loss compared to professionals. In fact, amateurs are not constrained by many things that professionals may be bound to, such as fund restrictions, job security, etc. Amateurs can also spot potential future winners way before Wall Street can.

2. Take your time to do the homework on a company before you buy its stock AND before you sell it. Make sure you can give a good 2-minute summary of why you want to buy a certain stock. Keep in mind - if there's any doubt, check in later. For example, you never want to buy a fast grower before it proves it can expand.

Note that this book is only about stocks and how to find the "right" stocks. It covers bonds briefly (to convince the reader that stocks are a much better long-term investment), and it also has a very short chapter on futures, options, and shorting stock. However, Lynch quickly dismisses these three as overly risky speculative investment vehicles that don't contribute to the business world (i.e. money in the futures/options markets is not used by companies to expand operations - it just changes hands depending on who won the "bet"). Don't expect to learn much about these types of investment, as Lynch clearly dislikes them.

In conclusion, if you are thinking about stock market investing or even if you already own stock, read this book. It's a quick and easy read, and you will, without doubt, get something useful out of it.

Pros:
+ easy and relatively quick read
+ encourages the amateur investor to not be intimidated by professionals
+ Lynch presents his time-proven strategies in a very coherent manner, with lots of examples of things he did right AND things he did wrong
+ lots of useful advice that still holds true today

Cons:
- quick dismissal of stock shorting, options, and futures

A must-have in your investment library.......2007-05-14

I always recommend this book whenever someone ask me how to start investing in the stock market. Peter Lynch is obviously a very smart man but what impressed me the most was his writing style and sense of humor. This book was easy to read while being knowledgable at the same time.

Exellent.......2007-04-21

Best book I have ever read about the market.

Great starting point if someone wants to buy stocks...the problem is that...he is " Peter Lynch " no way you will ever have the kind of results he got, see, you, I and HIM can look at the very same thing, but HE got the skills to analyze it and make the best judgment, we do not.

My point is that without fooling yourself and thinking you can make a fortune in the market you can still do better than most if you understand and apply his investment strategy

- g

Tiny Tiny.......2007-04-04

This book is tiny and gets you on the course of investing but in terms of material its pretty bad. It's like a summary of the real book. Be careful before you buy it if you're looking for the non-miniature edition.

The Intelligent Asset Allocator: How to Build Your Portfolio to Maximize Returns and Minimize Risk

Average customer rating:

Jewel for long term contrarian investing from a US perspective
Fianance.
Clearly explains the theory, its background, and use.
Efficient Frontier - Now I understand
LEARN from this book

The Intelligent Asset Allocator: How to Build Your Portfolio to Maximize Returns and Minimize Risk
William Bernstein
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0071362363

Book Description

“Bernstein has become a guru to a peculiarly ’90s group: well-educated, Internet-powered people intent on investing well—and with minimal ‘help’ from professional Wall Street.”--Robert Barker, BusinessWeek

William Bernstein is one of today’s most unlikely financial heroes. A practicing neurologist, he used his self-taught investment knowledge and research to build a popular investor’s website. Now, in the plain-spoken The Intelligent Asset Allocator, he shows independent investors how to build a diversified portfolio—without the help of a financial advisor. A breath of fresh air for investors tired of overly technical investment tomes, this book will help investors:
• Learn the risk/reward characteristics of various investment types
• Understand and apply portfolio theory for an improved risk/reward ratio
• Sharpen their focus, and take control of their investment programs William Bernstein (North Bend, OR) runs a website—www.efficientfrontier.com—known for its quarterly journal of asset allocation and portfolio theory, Efficient Frontier.

Customer Reviews:

Jewel for long term contrarian investing from a US perspective.......2007-04-19

This book is for investors with a time scale of decades. So think about saving for a comfortable retirement. It argues from a point of view of an US American investor (types of asset classes and their behavior in time, all in US dollars, US tax laws, US investing instruments) but the described principles are general and also well suited for residents of other countries.
Bernstein has the ability of a very clear and down to the earth way of thinking. Even more important his prose is as clear as his thoughts. He takes you by the hand and leads you through quite difficult terrain. But as long as you hold his hand everything is clear and makes a simple impression.
His advice is solid and can be employed easily in practical investing. He even has advice for somebody with only thirty minutes of time for investments a year (Put it into the four asset types: domestic small caps, domestic large caps, foreign stocks and bonds of up to five years of duration. Split your assets in equal proportion to those types. Try to aggressively save fees maybe with Vanguard funds. Adjust the portions of those four asset types once a year to their original proportions.) Clearly this is good advice. If you read this book you also learn a lot of why this is effective. But if you do not know more than this advice: Will you follow it through thick and thin? Just imagine one asset type gets out of favor and loses a lot of value for a few years in a row. Then you have to pour yearly a lot of fresh and good money in exactly that asset type (Bernstein is a moderate contrarian). It is hard to believe that anyone has that strength without a well developed own opinion on that matter. Yes it is exactly the opposite of a stop loss. It is buy more of the losing types and sell the winning ones. The hope is to buy low and sell high.
So enjoy the ease of reading and Bernstein's brilliant simplicity, but don't be fooled by it. You will have to work hard to gain your own standpoint. And you have to invest actual money for a few years to get to know yourself.
For further reading this book has an excellent bibliography and the author runs a great website. I highly do recommend this book.

Fianance........2007-04-01

This is a great book. Don't make it your 1st finance book, but a great follow up to a "Random walk down Wall Street"

Clearly explains the theory, its background, and use........2007-03-26

This is one of 3 books that I have on the subject .... and it complements those books each of which has its own particular bias.

The book is well worth buying, reading (with a few different color highlighters), and keeping it on the shelf for reference (.. in other words to keep one going back onto "track").

There is a bias towards using index funds; and this bias does use all the conventional wisdom -- wisdom that everyone else will be trying to employ. Therefore, there is a lack of ways to "jump-start" a portfolio -- ways that must be obtained from other books and newsletters.

Efficient Frontier - Now I understand.......2007-01-31

This book can "turn on the lightbulb" for all types about what the Efficient Frontier really means! This is the best investment book I have read that attempts to focus the individual on risk - the most important facet of investing.

LEARN from this book.......2006-11-13

Concise guide on asset allocation. Other similar complementary books - Investing Without Losing (ISBN: 0978834607 NOT on amazn, on other stores)

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook

Average customer rating:

FANTASTIC BOOK FOR ANYBODY INTERESTED IN REAL ESTATE
Real Estate 101
Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook
Real estate as an investment
"Hard Work, Not Sorcery"

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook
David Crook
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads: The Fastest and Safest Way to Real Estate Wealth
The Real Estate Investor's Handbook: The Complete Guide for the Individual Investor
The Wall Street Journal. Complete Personal Finance Guidebook (The Wall Street Journal Guidebooks)
The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook (The Wall Street Journal Guidebooks)
Investing in Real Estate, 5th Edition

ASIN: 0307345629
Release Date: 2006-12-26

Book Description

The conservative, thoughtful, thrifty investor’s guide to building a real-estate empire.

Profitable real-estate investing opportunities exist everywhere as long as you know what to look for and understand how to make prudent deals that transform property into profits. David Crook, of The Wall Street Journal, shows how to make safe and sane investments that ensure a good night’s sleep as your real-estate portfolio grows, your properties appreciate and your income increases. The Wall Street Journal Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook offers the most authoritative information on:

• Why real-estate investing is a great wealth-building alternative to stocks and bonds and why it’s crucial that you avoid get-rich schemes
• How to get the financing and make the contacts to get started
• How to start small and local, be hands-on and go step-by-step with a vacation home to rent out, a pure rental property or a small apartment building
• How to find and value great properties, do the numbers and ensure you have that beautiful thing called cash flow
• How the government blesses real-estate investors with tax breaks and loopholes, and how you can be one of the anointed
• How to deal with the nuts-and-bolts of being a landlord and have a strife-free relationship with your tenants

Customer Reviews:

FANTASTIC BOOK FOR ANYBODY INTERESTED IN REAL ESTATE.......2007-05-18

Whether you're buying your first home, or adding another multi-unit apartment complex to your vast real estate portfolio, David Crook's book is a fantastic overview of the "nuts and bolts" of buying, owning and selling real estate in the USA. Highly reccomended.

Real Estate 101 .......2007-04-01

Easy quick read on what to expect if you put a few dollars into real estate. A to Z overview of investment fundamentals. I knew little if anything about real estate and found the book to be very informative.

Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook.......2007-03-22

The most valuable part of this book is the first chapter regarding home ownership not to be confused as an investment. This came as a surprise to me but upon reflection of the authors facts it has brought about a pardigm shift in my thinking. The balance of the book was just o.k.

Real estate as an investment.......2007-02-15

Good source of info and ideas. Particularly helpful re single residences as investments.

"Hard Work, Not Sorcery".......2007-01-23

For clarity of style and reasonableness of approach to its subject, David Crook's THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMPLETE REAL-ESTATE INVESTING GUIDEBOOK may not have a peer in the realm of investing advice.
Crook shines an antiseptic light on the shadowy "get rich quick" hucksterism that has plagued the world of real estate investing as a byproduct of a long runup in prices, a phenomenon that has also accompanied strong bull markets in US stocks intermittently for two centuries. And he does much more: he introduces, in a genial and accessible style, the complex details of buying real property for profit, as opposed to simply watching your own home's price rise and thinking of that as "investing."
His discussion of taxes, a particularly convoluted and arcane - yet crucial - area, is logical and well organized.
The author makes no secret of the fact that real estate investing, like all other kinds, is not sorcery and requires careful research, hard work, thorough preparation, and, most important of all, close attention to detail. Given a realistic understanding of the challenge, one can partner with this book as an inexpensive but wise adviser. It won't get you rich quick on no money down, but it will help you to make cautious and fact based decisions that are crucial to successful investing in any realm.
As a hedge fund manager, I am exposed to written financial advice of one sort or another virtually every minute of the day. I haven't seen writing that is more scrupulously researched and thoughtful (yet also personable) than that in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMPLETE REAL-ESTATE INVESTING GUIDEBOOK. I heartily recommend it.

The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade that Transformed Wall Street

Average customer rating:

Excellent insight fro an outsider
Excellent I-banking stories
Good Primer
Entertaining and Informative (with lots of tiny errors)
Eye opening if you have no background in the space

The Accidental Investment Banker: Inside the Decade that Transformed Wall Street
Jonathan A. Knee
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Hedgehogging
The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co.
Inside the House of Money: Top Hedge Fund Traders on Profiting in the Global Markets
Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst: A True Story of Inside Information and Corruption in the Stock Market
Mergers & Acquisitions

ASIN: 0195307925

Book Description

Jonathan A. Knee had a ringside seat during the go-go, boom-and-bust decade and into the 21st century, at the two most prestigious investment banks on Wall Street--Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. In this candid and irreverent insider's account of an industry in free fall, Knee captures an exhilarating era of fabulous deal-making in a free-wheeling Internet economy--and the catastrophe that followed when the bubble burst. Populated with power players, back stabbers, celebrity bankers, and godzillionaires, here is a vivid account of the dramatic upheaval that took place in investment banking. Indeed, Knee entered an industry that was typified by the motto "first-class business in a first-class way" and saw it transformed in a decade to a free-for-all typified by the acronym IBG, YBG ("I'll be gone, you'll be gone"). Increasingly mercenary bankers signed off on weak deals, knowing they would leave them in the rear-view mirror. Once, investment bankers prospered largely on their success in serving the client, preserving the firm, and protecting the public interest. Now, in the "financial supermarket" era, bankers felt not only that each day might be their last, but that their worth was tied exclusively to how much revenue they generated for the firm on that day--regardless of the source. Today, most young executives feel no loyalty to their firms, and among their clients, Knee finds an unprecedented but understandable level of cynicism and distrust of investment banks. Brimming with insight into what investment bankers actually do, and told with biting humor and unflinching honesty, The Accidental Investment Banker offers a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of the most powerful companies on Wall Street.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent insight fro an outsider.......2007-05-14

Being an IB outsider myself but with strong ties to the industry (I make projects for them) I found the candid and diverse anecdotical stories portrayed here very refreshing from what you can usually read in the press or other publications. The high level analysis considering historical facts and the author proviliged access and relationships with modern legends of IB is very well articulated and brilliant.
I would reccomend this book to anybody interested in the industry!

Excellent I-banking stories.......2007-03-13

This book describes the personal journey the author had gone through during his decade in investment banking. He talks about what's involved in investment banking, office politics, the incentives that drive the hehavior of the bankers, dynamics of the competitive landscape the clients. He also quotes or put in a nontrivial amount of material that he did not experience first hand, in order to provide the background or history of stories or issues he's talking about. The author is quite candid, albeit with a trace of hidden bragging of his smarts and achivements.

I have read "Monkey Business", "Liar's Poker" and "Goldman Sachs : The Culture of Success". Each book has its own strength. The strength of this book is description of politics, dynamics of the relationship between investment bankers and their clients.

As writing style, this book is easy to follow, a pleasure to read. In a way, it reads like a story, keeps you wanting to find out what happended next. However, it is relative slow to go through this book, as least for me, because the book is actually quite dense.

Good Primer.......2007-02-05

Reading this book is like reading a primer about investment banking. It's not a bad read though. However, in my humble opinon this book does not match up to Liers Poker or Monkey Business.

Entertaining and Informative (with lots of tiny errors).......2007-02-01

I agree with the majority of prior reviews saying this book is on the whole an interesting and informative work. However, as a former i-banker, I find it hugely ironic that an author hailing from an industry that prides itself on attention to detail would publish a book that is littered with a surprising number or typos and grammatical errors. I would definitely recommend it to anyone with an interest in the investment banking universe, but I can't resist chiding the author (and his editors) for these tiny mistakes - especially given the book's modest length.

Eye opening if you have no background in the space.......2007-01-20

When I was eight or so, we moved from Houston TX to Greenwich CT. My Dad was a scientist, but many of my classmates had names like Greenhill or Biggs -- apparently they did something odd for living called "Investment Banking". I had never heard of Investment Banking (sounded kind of stodgy and boring) but I remember that nonetheless I came home from school in third grade and announced that I wanted to be an Investment Banker (which sounded pretty cool, although not quite as cool as "Headhunters", which I had learned a little about from Gilligan's Island -- spears, grass skirts, and the like.) At any rate, I had no idea at the time what Investment Bankers actually did, but I assumed I would eventually figure it out.

I didn't.

Here's what I knew: They worked long hours. They made lots of money. They did M&A and IPO's, and occasionally financed companies. A lot of them hated it. But I had no idea how they actually spent their day -- and I was curious -- was investment banking something that I would have been good at? (If I had majored in Economics instead of English?)

The Accidental Investment Banker is a great introduction to the profession -- I didn't realize that i-banking is, at the top, a sales job (not unlike law and consulting). But of course like all of those other jobs, you have to slog some really hard and pointless hours to get there: creating "blue books" for clients. Which sounds to me like writing "decks" for consultants, and "briefs" for lawyers. Lots of work that really has fairly few real ideas, but justifies big price tags, and by all means has to look "professional".

I also didn't realize that the bonuses were basically fixed in a range by class. I had always assumed a commission based compensation system.

Anyway, Knee's book is terrific, even if you already know what bankers do, because you get an inside look and comparison between Morgan Stanley and Goldman in the 90's. He thinks banking as a profession has gotten too big and has lost its way/values, but its hard to think of any major business/industry that criticism doesn't apply to ("the kids these days"). This is a great place to start if you are interested in the subject; next I will check out some of these other histories that he has cited extensively, namely House of Morgan by Chernow, and Goldman by Lisa Endlich.

I would add that it becomes clear that like say Michael Wolff (who wrote Burn Rate and has a similar style) that Mr. Knee is probably somewhat of an unreliable narrator and potentially a polarizing figure in person (you get a strong whiff of this from hints like his unapologetically messy office, or the mere fact he is willing to write a tell-all book)...but like Mr. Wolff he wears that more or less on his sleeve, so I don't have a problem with the fact that the narrative is unreliable. It is more fun to read between the lines.

The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook (The Wall Street Journal Guidebooks)

Average customer rating:

Great starter!
Gift
Great starter book
Perfect book for those looking to start investing
Not a guidebook, but great information

The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook (The Wall Street Journal Guidebooks)
Dave Kansas
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Charles Schwab's New Guide to Financial Independence Completely Revised and Updated : Practical Solutions for Busy People

ASIN: 0307236994
Release Date: 2005-12-27

Book Description

Unravel the Mysteries of the Financial Markets—the Language, the Players, and the Strategies for Success

Understanding money and investing has never been more important than it is today, as many of us are called upon to manage our own retirement planning, college savings funds, and health-care costs. Up-to-date and expertly written, The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook provides investors with a simple—but not simplistic—grounding in the world of finance. It breaks down the basics of how money and investing work, explaining:

• What must-have information you need to invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds

• How to see through the inscrutable theories and arcane jargon of financial insiders and advisers

• What market players, investing strategies, and money and investing history you should know

• Why individual investors should pay attention to the economy

Written in a clear, engaging style by Dave Kansas, one of America’s top business journalists and editor of The Wall Street Journal Money & Investing section, this straightforward book is full of helpful charts, graphs, and illustrations and is an essential source for novice and experienced investors alike.

Get your financial life in order with help from The Wall Street Journal.

Look for:

• The Wall Street Journal Complete Personal Finance Guidebook
• The Wall Street Journal Personal Finance Workbook
• The Wall Street Journal Complete Real Estate Investing Guidebook

Customer Reviews:

Great starter!.......2007-06-16

If you want to be able to understand what the market pros are talking about on CNN, make this book your first pick. You'll learn mostly how the market works and how to use the tools of investing -- more so than how to make big bucks.

Gift.......2007-03-18

I purchased this book for someone else who asked for it as a gift ... all I can say is that they were VERY happy with it and seemed quite thankful that I'd decided to get it for them. Wall Street Journal publications have been, in my experience, excellent for their intended audience and this one seems to be consistent with that track record.

Great starter book.......2007-01-30

For those people out there who are absolutely new to investing this is the first book that you must read. It will help you understand exactly how the stock market works and teach you all the technical jargon that would normally confuse the hell out of you.

Perfect book for those looking to start investing.......2006-06-29

I could'nt figure out all those tables in the Wall Street Journal before reading this book. I'm reading it twice because each page is chalk full of info. Buy if you want to start learning how money works. Great book

Not a guidebook, but great information.......2006-06-02

Don't let the title fool you! This is by no means an investment guidebook. It is a great introduction into the world of investing, and demonstrates the "ins and outs" of money in Layman's terms.

Great for someone looking to get started in investing.

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