5 comments about Currency Trading For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance)).

1. This is the book that every Forex trader new and experienced should have in their library. I have been trading on an off for a couple of years and learned more by reading this book in a couple of weeks than I learned reviewing info from dozens of sources. The authors are outstanding and experts in their field and I now am better armed to do battle in the forex market.



2. The book is awesome. Even dumb like me eager to move forward from pages to pages. Really good start for dummies :)



3. It is great for Forex traders. A lot of field experience, detailed howtos, tips and what to remember are really useful, advices are earnest. It is a must for all new Forex traders before starting the real trade.



4. Let's face it, we're losing trillions off Wall Street. But if you time it right, you can buy some cheap currencies now that's going to lead to some solid gains in the future. People are flocking to the dollar which will have the opposite effect down the road with euro and other strong currencies. This book guides you to all of that (the other FOREX books are absolutely weak). See my other reviews for recommendations on how to beat Wall Street.



5. I am a newbie to currency trading and this book has already given me enough information to start trading. It discusses all aspects in an easy to understand format. This is a must read for the newbie as well as a great reference for those with some trading history. Use it and profit!

5 comments about Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Service.

1. This book has a rather flimsy message. Simply stated it is that you can smash your competition and achieve exceptional success in sales by adhering to a deceptively simple formula: Know what you want; know what the customer wants, deliver beyond the client's expectation, and never stop enhancing your service. The message is delivered in a writing style known as "mystical realism" in the fiction world, and which doesn't work quite as well in the non-fiction world. There is some real magic here, though, and it's on the cover of the book, "More than One Million copies sold." This probably relates to the fact that the target audience is, in fact, probably not all that literate, that it reduces an MBA in Marketing to a 75 minute read, that the print is large, and of course the whimsical and all too frequent references to the game of golf. The fact is that salesfolk periodically need to have their batteries recharged, and this book is a quick-charge. It gives the reader the feeling that he has learned something new, and that the business world is really much less complex than appearances would suggest. I read it as mandatory preparation for a Xinnix seminar, and if they thought this book had exceptional value, I'm worried about how simplistic their seminar might be.



2. I bought this in lieu of buying th book and am glad I did. We slipped it in and played it while on a day trip on the road. We are Amazon booksellers and found the information very helpful in our applying it to our bookselling business. The narration is story form which helps keep it interesting as well.



3. By definition, a "raving fan" is a customer that is so happy with your company that they praise your actions to anyone who might possibly listen. They are the best form of advertisement and the hardest to acquire. Changing your customer service strategy so that you have raving fans rather than customers is the point of this book and the story is told in parable form.
   The two main characters are Area Manager and Charlie, his male fairy "godmother." Using the magic that all fairy godmothers possess, Charlie takes Area Manager to several companies that generate their own raving fans. The strategy is common and ubiquitous across industries; treat your customer as a coveted and valued asset rather than a source of revenue to be squeezed.
   Another very important point is that to be successful in the area of customer service, you must first decide what you want to do. A fundamental component of this is to realize that not all potential customers are desirable ones. The fact is that some people are simply unsuitable as customers. Decide up front that they are not what you want to do and don't do it. Focus on what you can and want to do well.
   Ken Blanchard has once again been an author of a book that points the way to success in business. The path to success is by providing quality service that appears costly, but that is a mirage. Good customer service is one of the best ways possible to make money and save time by spending money and using time to provide it. This is one of the best management books ever written, made even better by the simplicity of the presentation.



4. Good quality, really almost new. Highly satisfied, only wish it had arrived a little quicker. Ordered another used book at the same time from another Amazon source and it arrived 3-4 days sooner.



5. From the Author of How to Sell Your Home in Any Market: 6 Reasons Why Your Home Isn't Selling... and What You Can Do to Fix Them and The Fundamentals of Listing and Selling Commercial Real Estate:
   
   I have re-read this book more than a dozen times. Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles have captured the essence of growing a business through exceptional service like no other book on the market. I can't recommend this book enough!

5 comments about The Intelligent Investor: The Classic Text on Value Investing.

1. This book is hailed, and with strong reason, as one of the cornerstone pieces of investment literature. The ideas surrounding valuation and the like are as valid now as they were when the pen first touched this masterpiece.
   
   It is not one of those over-hyped, over-produced get rich quick in the stock market type pieces, but rather a solidified educational fundamental foundation to theory of value investing.
   
   A warning to the novice: This book is written in a very technical language that will be hard to grasp without an understanding of the market in general. This should not be a first investment book, but rather a compliment to your growing collection.



2. Since reading Graham, I keep running into his name everywhere -- and for good reason. Graham (and his disciple Warren Buffet) does not talk about -- or believe in -- get-rich-quick schemes (those are speculation), but in sound principles of looking for solid, well-run companies, and buying their stock when the price dips. (The market gets hysterical and goes up or down in ways that have nothing to do with the intrinsic value of the company.) If other people are foolish enough to sell off a good company at a bargain price, there's nothing wrong with being smart enough to go against the market and buy a bargain. If you want to invest but don't know how to do it intelligently, read Ben Graham for starters.



3. This is a great book for a beginner. covers a lot of the basics, some of the stuff may be outdated but the fundamentals do not seem to have changed.



4. Typically, when Nobel laureates and/or Pulitzer Prize winners are asked how they came to such remarkable achievements in the understanding of their chosen fields, their response is, "because I stood on the shoulders of giants." In essence, they studied and improved upon the contributions of the giants who came before them and that's telling; because, if you want to gain a clearer understanding of the modern day great minds, simply dig up the classics that they studied. For instance, for a better understanding of classic capitalism you have to read An Inquiry into the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. But if you want to gain a clearer understanding of Adam Smith's true message concerning capitalism you have to read The Wealth of Nations in conjunction with his other famous work, The Theory of Moral Sentiment. For a better understanding of politicians and what we commonly refer to as their unscrupulous behavior, you have to read, The Prince, by Niccolò Machiavelli. If you're looking for a clearer understanding of man's quest for validation here on earth, one has to read Viktor Frankl's, Man's Search for Meaning. All of these people and their works are universally recognized and accepted as the pinnacle starting point of greatness in their fields. If you were to add to that list, The Intelligent Investor, by Ben Graham, you may very well have found a blue print for the successful manipulation of life. If the world were to recruit one of its greatest investors to instruct the rest of us in balanced, diversified portfolio management, we'd start with Ben Graham. For those of you interested in exploring the possibility of wealth creation and personal portfolio management, there is absolutely no better financial and/or philosophical starting point than The Intelligent Investor. According to Warren Buffet, "The Intelligent Investor is by far the best book on investing ever written." Even if you don't plan on managing your own portfolio, wouldn't it be nice to know what questions to ask? Probably so! Do yourself a favor and buy this book. Read it, learn it and love it! Because once you've learned the text of this book, you'll never be the same.



5. If you understand Benjamin graham in "The intelligent investor" you would only think that he sold a million dollar idea for $20 .This wouldn't just make you rich but will give you a robust character . My title says Sweatless fortune , you got to understand graham to believe that .

5 comments about The Subprime Solution: How Today's Global Financial Crisis Happened, and What to Do about It.

1. For Prof. R.J. Shiller, the root of the subprime mortgage crisis in the US is a myth, the belief that real estate prices must strongly trend upward for demographic reasons.
   He proves that the price of real estate, to the contrary, is trending lower. What went up are the quality and the dimension of the average individual houses. But what about `land'? Didn't Mark Twain recommend strongly: `Go for land. They've stopped producing it.'? R.J. Shiller remarks cleverly that only 2,6 % of US land is used for urbanization.
   Another factor of the bubble was psychological: the human herd instinct. There was a social contagion of boom thinking.
   A third, more specific, factor was the deliberate governmental policy to promote home-ownership as much as possible. This should be good for the Party.
   
   When the real estate bubble burst, it disrupted immediately the credit markets. Aggressive mortgage lenders never worried about repayment risks. They repackaged the mortgages, got top ratings from the rating agencies and sold their packages to third parties all over the world.
   But even more importantly, the crisis damaged the `social fabric', the way of life of millions of families and also human relationships (through aggressive creditors). It created an atmosphere of distrust, of hoarding, with runs on banks; in one word, it gave rise to a psychological environment that could lead to a severe and long depression, which would hurt all citizens. Therefore, the subprime crisis must be solved.
   
   Prof. R.J. Shiller makes a distinction between the short term and the long term solution.
   In the short term, there should be a massive bail-out in order to prevent an escalation of the crisis and of the economic downturn.
   In the long term, the US government should create a basic social contract and protect every citizen against major misfortune. It should impose financial democracy through standardized full disclosure documents so that everybody should get better information about all the risks involved. Without affecting individual privacy, indicators should be created about the real value of real estate. Those should lead to a more efficient pricing of houses and to a stabilization of the market. Prof. R.J. Shiller did not only recommend these policies, but created an indicator himself.
   
   With an open and clear-sighted mind, Prof. Shiller wrote a small, but essential, book about a dramatic worldwide crisis, without losing the `human touch'. It is an essential read for all those interested in the future of mankind.



2. Trusting any Santa Claus of high finance in the midst of such massive failures of a bubble-prone financial system seems suicidal.
   
   Shiller ends on a characteristic utopian-ideologue note: "Imagine our society equipped with a well-established information infrastructure that reached out to all its members, derivative markets for both owner-occupied and commercial real estate, well developed retail products, like continuous-workout mortgages, home equity insurance, and livelihood insurance, that facilitate management for individuals; and default options that naturally lead people to use risk-management devices intelligently.
   
   "Our society could look forward to nothing less than more stable markets and, in turn, a more rational economy. We would eventually find ourselves forgetting that the kind of massive financial instability infecting our everyday lives is even a potential problem. Modern finance, applied democratically, can relegate these problems to history just as modern medicine, applied widely, has left us forgetting that epidemics of yellow fever and diphtheria ever raged among us."
   
   I say, just stick with reading the ever-more shocking revelations of a good newspaper. Common sense answers applied with determination is the crying need. But such an approach doesn't follow the play book of new economy thinking and ideology that has got us into so much trouble for over a decade. Shiller still swims with that current, follows that herd. In the face of the real facts unraveling day over day, Shiller comes across as snake oil, no matter how good-hearted and liberal-minded.
   
   Shiller's ideas appear innovative and gutsy, but he seems to have drank the cool-aide of high finance down to its dregs. His answers for our problems go deeper into that jungle with greater and greater trust demanded. Dr. Shiller, clean out the messy stables of your herd first--as Hercules had to do to prove himself--then your ideas may have relevance. As it is, you clearly are not facing up to the major challenges of your field--real-world failings that need to be addressed, hence your book functions more as a distracting red herring.



3. This book is light on new data(a couple of graphs) and heavy on theoretical solutions,many only peripherally related to the present crisis. There is no discussion of resource depletion. The idea of insuring home equity and life income underestimate the cost of administration and fraud. It is a quick easy read,a few interesting ideas such as teaching kids to think in inflation units.



4. Shiller blames the subprime crisis on the irrational exuberance that drove the 1990s stock bubble and the 2000-2007 housing bubble. Restoring confidence will require bailouts targeted at low-income victims of subprime deals. Longer-term solutions will require inhibiting the formation of bubbles and limit risk - better financial information, simplified legal contracts and regulations, home-equity insurance, income-linked home loans, and new measures to protect consumers against hidden inflationary effects.
   
   Mortgage originators, planning to sell off the mortgages to securitizers, stopped worrying about repayment risk, and sometimes enticed the naive, with poor credit histories, to borrow in the subprime market. High home prices generated a glut on the market and prices declined at an accelerating rate. Meanwhile, mortgage rates began to reset after initial "teaser" periods ended, and defaults surged.
   
   The lowest price homes have shown the greatest price increases (and subsequent falls), probably due to their linkage to subprime loans. Ratings agencies were not about to cut ratings on securitized mortgage products based on theories that the increases could not continue, that prices might fall.
   
   There's some good material in the "The Subprime Solution" - however, most of the pages are taken up in an obvious "explanation" of why everyone jumped on the bubble bandwagon.



5. This book has a depressing view of our current economic crisis. A good read for anyone that is too cheerful.
   
   The parallel he makes between the trust lost by promising everyone could own a home to the repartiation payments after WW I is a bit of a stretch.
   
   Good book though.

5 comments about Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements: The Search for the Company with a Durable Competitive Advantage.

1. Excellent explanation and investor significance of line items for
   the 3 basic financial statements for valuing a business. These 3
   statements are of course used in accrual accounting and are:
   . Balance sheet, Income statement & Cash Flow statement
   Benjamin Graham's Financial Statements book which is an investment classic was used as a model.



2. Warren Buffet's performance over the course of his career has been simply incredible. At this late stage in the game, much is made of his unique prowess in extracting deals the ordinary investor could not possibly get.
   
   But what is frequently overlooked is that the man, with partner Charlie, spent decades doing a tough slog through fundamentals to research companies, industries and markets thoroughly to discover value. Finding value, they committed capital and waited, sometimes for years and years, for the payoff. The payoff nearly always came.
   
   As Mr. Buffett himself will tell you, however, this tough slog is nothing that any other ordinary investor cannot do. It takes discipline and patience. Buffett will direct you to Security Analysis and The Intelligent Investor by Graham. But this book will help too. Being able to read and interpret financial statements is your starting point in analyzing a firm, in the way that a doctor starts by taking your height, weight, temperature and blood pressure. It's fundamental - you cannot do solid fundamental analysis without the ability to sit down with financial statements and build a model in your mind of the company and its financial situation.
   
   For anyone hoping to emulate some measure of Buffett's success, this book should sit alongside the ones by Graham.



3. This book is more for the beginning "investor" who wishes to learn more about investing/finances than he/she already knows, and learn some ideas from the master investor himself. However, the book falls short of any real informative ideas to really further your quest to become the next great investor. There isn't any fresh ideas in here that is worth reading if you are already familiar with finances. However, if you never read a book ever about this sort of stuff, it's a simple straight forward enough book that can help you get started.
   
   Buffett is a legend in the investing world, but anyone who has any money in the market today will tell you all this is bs now with the advance of electronic trading, spreading of false rumors so rapidly, and the immense fear that is gripping our economy and the world.
   
   If you want a refresher course on investing, this is an ok book. It's small enough to fit into your briefcase, but big enough to read everything clearly.
   
   The bible of investing books will always be Benjamin Grahams. If you can only afford one book, get Grahams.



4. I found this book to be very interesting and an informative investing book. Some investing books can be overwhelming; using terms and formulas that don't make sense and you can't understand where they came up with the numbers they are discussing. You won't find that with this book. This is a small book compared to some with only 173 pages however the layout is wonderful. Within the 173 pages are 57 chapters-that is a little over 3 pages a chapter and it includes a glossary of terms in the back of the book. With these easy to follow and to the point discussions, I could read a chapter and then go straight to [...] Money; pull up the financial statements and look at exactly what I just read. The formulas in the book makes sense and are easy to do myself. I can figure out what the Gross Profit Margin or Net Worth of a company I'm interested in and if it's worth purchasing.
   Can we all invest like Warren Buffet? Not exactly, however we can understand the concepts and information to look for so we can make a smarter decision in purchasing our investments. I recommend this book and wish you all the best with your investing future.



5. This book is valuable! Think if you were Warren Buffett and looking for a company to invest. How does Buffett choose a company? How about yourself? This book tell you how. By studying this book, you should be able to identify a good company and a crap one. This is how Buffett invests.
   
   Look! On the other side of reading this book, instead of looking at outside, it can teach how to look inside your own. What about your own company? As an entrepreneur, I also use the book as a financial health check list to improve my company. Some said information in this book is too simple and too common. (Everyone should know.) You are right! But you know what! Simple is understandable and usable. Complicated is only interesting. I believe Warren Buffett is a simple guy and that is why he's RICH. Hello Complicated! How much you got? Talking is cheap. (Doing is different!)
   
   Thanks for reading. Get a book. It's worthy and valuable. Trust me!

5 comments about The Origin of Financial Crises: Central Banks, Credit Bubbles, and the Efficient Market Fallacy (Vintage).

1. If I could make it a zero star rating I would. After 30 pages I am throwing it in the recycling bin. This book is a joke; recycled ideas, jacked up only by emotional statements and thoroughly uninsightful. A total waste. I am tempted to end my subscription to the Economist for its apparent endorsement of this waste.



2. This is an emminently readable review of the 'dismal science'.
   
   The prose is clear frank and honest.
   
   If the new administration really wants to try and repair our financial system, they should consult George Cooper.



3. I am not an economics major. Cooper explains the core concept of finance , central banking in such a way that even a layman can understand. His arguments are very convincing . A must read for everybody wondering what is going on with our economy



4. The recent financial crisis has produced a rash of books that all claim to provide some insight to our current dilemma. Cooper's book The Origin of Financial Crises first appeared in April 2008 and reprinted in October as the extent of our current crisis became more apparent and more widely publicized.
   
   The book provides a brief outline of the history of money and the banking system. This introduction shows readers how the various pieces of our modern economic system came into being, and the reasons that precipitated their creation. One conclusion is that moving away from the gold standard and having a central bank are essential for our economic system to function. Next, the book simply and easily dismantles the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). The arguments expose the theoretical flaws of EMH and the empirical evidence that suggests that financial markets do not behave as EMH would predict them to behave.
   
   The book introduces the theories of Keynes and Minsky as alternatives to EMH and shows how these theories better fit the empirical evidence. The authors claim that nfortunately most contemporary institutions charged with stabilizing the economy adhere to EMH. This means that they hold conflicting views, and hence advocate inconsistent economic policies.
   
   If the book's goal is to promote refined versions of Keynes' theories, then it does an excellent job. If its goal is to provide an alternative explanation to neoclassical economics, then other "heterodox" theorist need to be considered as well (such as those proposed by Mises or Hayek). To the book's credit, it does cite Ron Paul, and gives credit to Mandelbrot and Fischer. Despite these shortcomings, this book offers the most coherent and down-to-earth skewering of both academic orthodoxy and central bank policy of the books discussing the current financial crisis.
   
   The writing style is crisp, the arguments are cogent and well-reasoned, and the examples are clearly and thoughtfully presented for readers with no formal economic background. Despite my criticisms, it is superior to most books about the current financial crisis on the market today.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: Important read for people in business or who just want to better understand the economy.



5. There's a lot to like in this book. George Cooper (GC) provides one of the most lucid and concise descriptions of the role of central banking you're ever likely to encounter. He carefully distinguishes among the philosophies of different central bankers, such as between the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. His critique of the Efficient Market Hypothesis (or "fallacy", as he prefers to call it) is trenchant and clear, as is his analysis of why the "fundamentals" of a stock aren't fundamental. He highlights the heterodox theories of Mandelbrot and Minsky, which are closer to the truth than the orthodox ones Ben Bernanke used to teach at Princeton. And he writes with a wry sense of humor, including a nice one-liner about boom-bust cycles that I'm surprised other reviewers haven't mentioned: "The invisible hand is playing racquetball" (@105).
   
   That said, this book won't give you the whole story in understanding the current financial crisis. For one thing, GC never mentions credit default swaps or other derivatives, which in the aggregate dwarf the "real" economy. Even when GC describes why balance sheets are misleading, he doesn't mention any off-balance sheet instruments, of which derivatives are one category.
   
   For another, GC tends to be overly accepting of microeconomics, and even of the diligence of lenders. For example, he says, in a kind of defense of bond ratings analysts, "When ratings analysts are assessing the quality of a loan, ... or the mortgage broker is assessing the safety of a mortgage, they evaluate each loan against the prevailing market prices for the loan's corresponding assets. In this procedure the tacit assumption is that the asset in question can be sold to repay the loan. At the micro level this is always a reasonable assumption" (@115). GC's point is that there is a "fallacy of composition" in reasoning from the micro scale to the macro -- the macro-level reality is not simply the sum all the micro transactions. OK. But why is the assumption he mentions *always* reasonable at the micro level? And why doesn't GC mention that in the current financial crisis, ratings agencies, mortgage brokers et al. did NOT follow the careful procedures he describes? (to say nothing of explaining *why* they didn't). The recent books by George Soros, Charles Morris and especially the fantastic "Structured Finance and Collateralized Debt Obligations" (2nd. ed. 2008) by Janet Tavakoli will tell you much more about this aspect of the story.
   
   GC rightly points out that many economists' arguments operate on the principle of "proof by assertion" (@6), but he doesn't entirely avoid this trap himself. For example, GC's simplified descriptions of the history of finance are mostly based on "toy model" analogies, such as bakers and farmers selling their wares in a town square (Chapter 3). This picture isn't entirely historically accurate; e.g., when he asserts that central banking was necessary for the development of venture capital "in the truest sense of the word," whatever that means (@55), he overlooks the venture investments of the Medici during the medieval period, as well as many forms of Islamic financial transactions. None of those investment structures relied on central banks. This gave me the feeling that other aspects of his explanation might be a bit too pat, as well, especially when he says that some particular institution or practice led to or enabled another.
   
   As he shifts his argument to a more constructive point of view, GC invokes an ingenious analogy (Chapter 6) to 19th-Century physicist James Clerk Maxwell's mathematical theory of mechanical "governors" (gizmos that kept machines from spinning out of control; Maxwell's original paper is reproduced as an appendix). Ingenious, but problematic. Most of standard neoclassical economic theory is based on ingenious analogies to physics, too (see especially P. Mirowski's 1989 book, "More Heat Than Light"). Some of those analogies, such as to "equilibrium" in supply and demand for consumer goods, sound at first blush as plausible as GC's analogy to Maxwell: ask any mainstream economist. But that plausibility doesn't mean that any of the theories are right -- and indeed, in the neoclassical case, the theory is wrong. GC doesn't use any empirical data stronger than anecdotal evidence to show that his Maxwell analogy is apt to the real world. Nor does he provide evidence that the policy recommendations he deduces from that analogy are feasible.
   
   GC's failure to enagage with the derivatives issue is pertinent in this context too. One of GC's main constructive ideas is that central bankers should "prick" asset price bubbles as soon as they can identify that they've begun. (BTW, GC uses the word "asset" not as you might have learned if you took an accounting class, but in the finance pro's narrow sense of referring to stocks, bonds and other financial instruments.) If this sends the economy into small cycles of good times and tougher times, so be it -- in GC's view, that's better than the long ride up and crashing ride down we've experienced so often under Greenspan and his successor. However, GC says *the* key macroeconomic variable for identifying bubbles is the rate of credit creation (@125). Many derivatives contracts, like the ones that made trouble for A.I.G. in autumn 2008, are a form of credit creation -- just like bets placed with a bookie, any form of gambling creates debts. But derivatives are notoriously non-transparent: it's hard to know how many of these contracts are out there at any time. In that case, the visible data (mainly loans, bonds, etc.) might understate the amount of credit in the economy and also understate the rate of credit creation. So how's a central banker supposed to know the right time to prick? Since GC doesn't show how this approach has worked in the past, it's a matter of faith as to whether it might in the future.
   
   This is a clear, witty book from which you can learn a lot. And some of GC's recommendations aren't so controversial, such as his suggestion for using a different form of statistical analysis (e.g., à la Mandelbrot) for looking at financial markets. But ultimately, the book is stronger when criticizing current practice than when proposing new policy.

5 comments about The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means.

1. Insightful book. Recommend for any who need help connecting the dots on the current global financial condition.



2. Found the book interesting but felt that it's premise and conclusions were obvious, especially given the current situation. I give him the benefit of the doubt that he couldn't have seen what ultimately would happen to our economy in the next few months and he reviewed what had previously happened and made it easy to understand.
   
   Bias or the individuals perception of a situation is involved in everything, especially with him as his political position is obvious in his book. He is an example of his own theory of relfexivity.
   
   Think he is trying to develop a theory of ecomomics to prove he is an intellectual on par with his father. Although I enjoyed the book I don't think he has done it. The blurb by his son explaining that he buys and sells on the basis of his backaches is incredulus and doesn't help in giving his theories validity.



3. I admire Mr. Soros for his philanthropy but I find this book disappointing. I was hoping to gain some insight into the economic crisis but instead got the wordy, unedited version of what amounts to a paper on his theory of reflexivity. The book contained too many extraneous pages about how he always wanted to be a philosopher, how criticisms of his initial theory were right (sort of) but also wrong and why he is now vindicated and is truly a philosopher. There was a chapter documenting trades he made recently that seemed out of place.
   
   Had the editor done her job I think this book would have deflated into a paper which presented little to nothing new.



4. Soros captures the missing link in fundamentalist theory. If you do not understand Soros' theory of reflexivity you are missing a true understanding of the way markets work. Additionally, Soros outlines some of the problems with current policies in U.S and international regulation. If you care about your rights, open society, or the future of the United States, you should read this book. We must understand the problems we face, in order to address them.



5. The first half of the book talks about philosophy. He could have just put in one chapter and the reader would have got the point. The second half of the books talks about the financial market. An average read.

5 comments about The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing. A Book of Practical Counsel (Revised Edition).

1. The Intelligent Investor is a dense, informative, comprehensive, and quite difficult textbook that will reward diligent study with a depth of knowledge that would be hard to find elsewhere.
   
   That Warren Buffet, at the age of nineteen, was able to appreciate the wisdom imparted by Benjamin Graham in this book, is as much a tribute to Buffet's intellect as it is to the clarity of the text.
   
   Originally published in 1950, the book is in its fourth revised edition originally published in 1973, and brought up to date for the twenty-first century by copious footnotes by Jason Zweig.
   
   Highly recommended for the diligent intelligent investor.



2. 1. All I learn from this book till now is 'margin of safety'. Keep your investment safe, then profit. About how to keep it safe, I haven't learned from this book yet. I guess I need to read this book again and again. PS, I am not a native English speaker, and there are some many new words in the book, and how Graham speaks English is quite 60s or even older for me.
   2. I read the other book 'The Interpretation of Financial Statements' of his. I feel I know more about how to analysis.



3. Take a deep breath. If there was ever a time to sit back and revisit some of Benjamin Graham's sage advice, this is it. Just this weekend the Wall Street Journal reported that in the ten years ended 12/31/07, the Dow never saw a 9% trading range within a single day. This year it has happened six times. What would Graham think of today's volatility? I wouldn't be so presumptuous to put words into his mouth, but if I had to guess, I think he would assert that there are pockets of opportunity for the enterprising investor who adheres to Graham's three elements of investing.
   
   While not as academic as Security Analysis, The Intelligent Investor still does a remarkable job of explaining fundamental investment analysis concepts: risk management, valuation, investment versus speculation, margin of safety, and asset allocation, among others. But most impressive is the fact that the man who taught Warren Buffet about investing manages to discuss highly technical concepts in plain English, while leveraging case studies and unusual market events from the first half of the 20th century to add a sense of realism to theory. All of this makes the book an enjoyable and instructive read, and you can take the history lesson as an added bonus.
   
   Another invaluable benefit of this edition is Jason Zweig's commentary throughout the book. After every chapter, Zweig presents a 21st century point of view, relating concepts and historical examples in the text to situations faced by today's companies. Some of the most outrageous examples from current times involve bankrupt and de-listed internet companies, and comments by management, analysts, and members of the financial press that are astonishing in retrospect. Zweig also does an outstanding job in the footnotes - elaborating on Graham's concepts or explaining dated material in the text that today's reader may not understand - from long forgotten stories of financial scandal to observations about Manhattan architecture.
   
   The Intelligent Investor is a must read for anyone thinking of going into finance or currently employed in the industry. In a market where many asset managers seem to have abandoned basic analysis and sound due diligence in pursuit of a short cut to outsized (and ultimately unsustainable) returns, you might want to ask your advisor if he has read any or Graham's works. And if the answer is no, perhaps you should find someone who has.



4. After being a stockbroker, and starting to deal with the market when I was 18, this book makes the best sense of the thinking process for investing. I first read this when my father gave me a copy when I turned 18. It still makes a great deal of sense and is rewritten in areas with up to date examples that are pertinent for today. Get it and read it! But most of all try and practice this discipline.



5. Bought this book with an eye towards value stock picking. I've read a few others, most notably Peter Lynch, and dabbled with a few thousand while keeping my savings in cash.
   
   Graham and his commentators seem to have no agenda other than what's best for the investor. Before I got to chapter 8 he had convinced me that individual stock picking was a waste of my time. Dollar cost averaging into Index Funds and ETFs while they're cheap, balancing towards bonds when they're not; these are easy "set and forget" strategies and Graham has convinced me that they pay off.
   
   I'll still buy a few individual stocks, just like I still like to shoot craps in Vegas. Take a small amount and be willing to lose it. For the rest of my savings I'll do the hardest thing for a "Defensive" Investor: leave it alone.

5 comments about Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life.

1. 
   This book was a fun read. It is small and not too long. In fact, it was short. If it had been formatted a little differently it probably could have been sold as a pamphlet instead of as a book. But I liked it.
   
   As I examined the Table of Contents, something you can see if you go to the Search Inside that Amazon offers, I got the feeling I was reading a book from some old timer who considered himself mature, knowledgeable, and a fairly smart guy. Oh yeah, maybe full of wisdom, too? :)
   
   As I turned the pages I kept thinking about the old line I heard growing up: Son, as long as you do your best, that is all we can ask for. Well, who is to say - What is my best? As far as I am concerned, I can always throw in a little extra effort and do better.
   
   So who is to say - What is enough? The author tries to explain it. But I thought he fell short. He fell short in the same way my folks fell short when they told me I only had to do my best. When terms are relative they are not easily defined. And a book devoted to defining a term that is basically undefinable is bound to be viewed as a failure or at least come up short. This book is not a failure I will have you know.
   
   The book makes a valid point. When determining what is enough the judge (maybe you?) must perform a balancing test. You'll have to figure out what is too much, and what is not enough. And whatever you determine is "just right" IS enough. The author provides us with 10 chapters split into three parts: Money (chapters 1-3), Business (chapters 4-7), and Life (chapters 8-10). He makes some good points. And after reading the book one will probably sit and reflect over what has been said. But does it do a good job defining the term? I think not. 4 stars!



2. This book is a "Must Read" for every American who has an interest in investing, saving or the financial industry in general.
   
   It's a wake up call for what's happened to our society and country. Please, read this book and learn from it.



3. Great perspective on investing, economics and life. An insight into the mindset that has built one of the most trusted brands in the investment world. Great job Mr. Bogel.



4. John Bogle has encapsulated a lifetime of knowledge in the investment business (founder of Vanguard) into this book. The most fundamental knowledge provided here is the basic economic proofs that broad based long term investment in the market trumps speculative buy/sell approaches to investment, and the case against financial industry costs as reducing returns to the investor.
   
   The book gets into understandable explanations of how the current financial crisis came about and points out the financial industry's interest in complexity for it's own financial gain rather than value to the investing public.
   
   Truly one of the most valuable and easy to grasp books I've ever read on the subject of investment and economics.



5. Mr. Bogle makes some valid points about the industry he helped shape. The insights he shares shed light on just how we got to the mess we are in today. If I had to fault the book it would be for spending to many pages on his personal life and accomplishments. I understand that he wanted to illustrate his credentials but I believe he could have done so briefly and then expanded his discussion of the financial industry.

5 comments about The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life.

1. This book gives insight to debunk any myth that weathly peoples lives are any different. Warren I feel for you, you're just better than everyone at seeing how simple the abstract of making money can be and how complex human relations are, money can never buy the deep richness of a real relationship. When people are real/human, money doesn't matter.



2. hile the book is a good read the Kindle edition does not support your ability toview the many footnotes until you get to the end of the book. Kindle dropped the ball on this one by not enabling the ability to do so. The first letter of my first sentence is a W. Kindle does not make provisions for me to go back and make corrections.



3. I'm devouring this enormous book so fast that I'm getting a "Snowball Headache" LOL
   His approach to investing is well displayed in the book and fun to watch develop over time as he moves from selling newspapers and used golf balls to become an icon in the world of finance. His life, and the colorful group of people who have been part of his story, make for a great read.
   Thank you Alice Schroeder for giving us this glimpse into the man and his methods.



4. Alice Schroeder has written a classic that will be the definitive work in revealing the life and character of a very complex man. Not just for students of investment, this book is motivating and inspirational for students of life.
   
   Most books written about Warren Buffett explain how he amassed such wealth; primarily writing about business relationships. Alice Schroeder has uncovered many personal details previously not known, which answers the "why" in many of Buffett's actions.
   
   Although the book is extensive, it was necessary to encompass such a large scope. Alice Shroeder's writing is relaxed and communicates clearly making this book a pleasure to read.
   
   After reading The Snowball, I am surprised to know why Buffett wants to leave one of the largest legacies in the history of mankind. I am truly inspired by his actions and am in awe of his character. He is an incredible example of a life well lived.



5. After reading this wonderful biography, I want to thank Mr. Buffett for allowing the story of his life to be told, warts and all, and Alice Schroeder for doing such a great job in writing this book. I finished reading The Snowball, Warren Buffett and the Business of Life a few days ago and I truly miss not being able to read another chapter of Mr. Buffett's life.
   
   There is so much to comment upon in this book and much has already been said. However, what I would like to focus my comments on is the wisdom contained on the pages of this book if it is read in a thoughtful manner. This is not a book that contains an algorithm designed to enrich the reader in buying securities. It is a book about the Business of Life. It is about a highly gifted man who developed his business skills and work ethic in order to record a superior score on his inter score card.
   
   There are two quotes that come to mind, which demonstrate Mr. Buffett's character and what he stands for. The first was when he was involved in the work-out at Salomon, Inc. after the management had deceived the Treasury Department in connection with trading rules. He said to the employees, "Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless." (pg. 603)
   
   On another occasion in later life, while commenting on life, he said, "Basically, when you get to my age, you'll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you.
   I know people who have a lot of money, and they get testimonial dinners and they get hospital wings named after them. But the truth is that nobody in the world loves them. If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don't care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster.
   That's the ultimate test of how you have lived your life. The trouble with love is that you can't buy it. You can buy sex. You can buy testimonial dinners. You can buy pamphlets that say how wonderful you are. But the only way to get love is to be lovable. It's very irritating if you have a lot of money. You'd like to think you could write a check. I'll buy a million dollars' worth of love. But it doesn't work that way. The more you give love away, the more you get." (pg. 761)
   
   The Snowball is replete with nuggets of wisdom from not only Warren Buffett, but also Charlie Munger. I highly recommend that you read this book.