5 comments about Venture Capital Due Diligence: A Guide to Making Smart Investment Choices and Increasing Your Portfolio Returns.

1. The book provides a great overview of the process, and is a tool I used in my decision making.



2. This book gives a good survey on the due diligence process and attempts to teach the reader other important aspects of venture capital by connecting it to the due diligence process. However, the author comes up short in addressing some of the more important subject areas.
   
   Overall it is a pretty good book but you will need to by a few more if you want a really good understanding of the entire process. "The Startup Company Bible for Entrepreneurs" is the best book I've come across on the topic of venture capital and it is almost three times the size of this one and contains a lot more material and topics. This book would definately fill in the gaps in "Venture Capital Due Diligence." You might want to get both since there aren't too many good books on the topic.



3. I was tremendously disappointed in this book. The cost of $35-50 is definitely a complete rip-off for what you get from the author. All you need to do is refer to pages 227-246. Those are the pages that represent the bibliography. I actually was so pissed off after reading this book that I counted them. In total the author referenced the words and work of 488 author people. There are only 223 pages of text and 6 chapters in the book. I am certain you can do the math but I'll do it for you.
   There are on average more than 2 references per page and over 80 per chapter. It's as though the author has never had an original thought of his own. If I wanted to hire somebody to go out and look up the work of other people I would have done that. I was expecting the author to use his own first-hand knowledge and experience in order to help educate and inform others such as myself about the process. Instead, what I got was something a high school student would do while trying to complete a report for homework. My only question is who is less ethical: the author or the publishing company that let this slide through the screening process. For all of those that gave this book 5 stars I can only guess that you don't enjoy actually reading.



4. This is a great book on venture capital due diligence.



5. 
   I enjoyed this book very much. Books on strategic planning, business planning, and due diligence interest me a lot. When I spotted this book at a B&N in Manhattan a month ago I swiped it up off the shelf in a heart beat. It didn't take me long to read it. But I was very disappointed that a new chapter inserted in front of Chapter 1 was not included.
   
   It would have been a great book if that new chapter had included an outline of the topics and the questions presented and discussed. Without such an outline, the reader has to wade through the entire book to understand what it is really about. Not good! To make the book more valuable to me I have taken the time to make such an outline for my personal use. It came to 8 pages in MS Word outline mode.
   
   This book is a great resource. But I think it is overpriced. It retails for $60 at a bricks-and-mortar store, and $38 at Amazon. But maybe it is worth it? It certainly should be interesting to a wide variety of audiences.
   
   Are you an entrepreneur with a start up company that you think might quality for venture capital funding? If so, you will want to study chapters 1 (screening) and 2 (management). The issues covered in these two chapters are the ones a venture capitalist will initially consider when considering whether your company is one they want to invest money in. Will your company pass the test?
   
   Are you an entrepreneur planning a start up company and in the midst of putting together a written business plan? If so, then you will want to study chapters 2 (management), 3 (business opportunity), 5 (legal), and 6 (financial). These four chapters should help you tremendously troubleshoot your business plan as you create draft after draft. It's your job to create a great company; venture capitalists like to find them.
   
   Are you a CEO or a CFO who runs a large company that grows sales through mergers and acquisitions? If so, you will enjoy the entire book. As will your subordinates who run your M&A department. Also, anyone who runs a venture capital enterprise will probably enjoy this book. But if they know what they are doing, then they probably won't learn anything new. 4 stars!

5 comments about Beyond Candlesticks: New Japanese Charting Techniques Revealed (Wiley Finance).

1. Candlesticks are the strongest picture of the internal mass psychology driving the market. Once you have learned how to identify basic candlestick patterns from Steve Nison's first book(Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques)you must learn how to place them in the context of everyday charts. "Beyond Candlesticks" teaches you how to identify the nuances that can make the difference between a profit and a loss. If you have wondered how to get an edge on the market, this is it. The information on how to combine candlesticks with traditional western technical anlayis, gives you the ability to create a complete trading system.



2. The underlying principles on the formation of the patterns were well discussed. Simple to understand due to actual samples.



3. The book is written in a clear, easy to follow style. The concepts, although not complex, have their nuances and these are dealt with in a way that doesn't confuse or overwhelm the reader. The exercises provided help to consolidate the knowledge gained by the reader. All in all, a very good and useful book.



4. I bought this book because candlesticks are my favorite bars and reviews here and elsewhere suggested 'Beyond Candlesticks' was better than Nison's first book. Since Nison is supposedly the "father of candlesticks", I assumed he would be the best source of information. However that is not the case. I just purchased Stephen Bigalow's candlestick book and find it a whole lot better and easier to read. Nison mentions his young children in Acknowledgements. I think they must have written and edited the book because it is so elememtary and repetitive. The spelling is terrible (Example: within a few pages we have Eastern Kodak showing an uptread on the dailey charts). Also the grammar is bad at times. It's obvious the author jotted notes in his word processor then flushed them out for all he was worth because there is little info here. There is a lot of musing and a good bit of Nison-hype. It is hard to pay attention to. Further, today's publishers don't care enough to put charts on the same page as the text and truly edit these financial books, so it's even harder to follow. Wiley Publishing is the worst. They likely did this one.



5. Absolutely an excellent book. If you want to get a comprehensive knowledge of Candlesticks reading Beyond Candlesticks and Nison's first book about candlesticks, Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques are a must. Nison is an excellent teacher.

5 comments about More Wealth Without Risk.

1. Don't the reader/reviewers of this book realize that Charles Givens settled numerous fraud lawsuits against him and his orginization in the early 1990's? And, oh yeah.....he died in 1998, three years before the book came out. This is just his family/publishers cashing in on outdated advice.



2. More Wealth without risk was published in 1991. I read it for the first time in 1995.
   
   Those who familiar with his books and the cases which were filed against him know that the people who sued him late in his life did not follow the strategies outlined in his books.
   
   My only regret is that I did not pay attention to the Investor's decision line when the stock market crashed in 2000. I lost half of my 401k due to that oversite.



3. I am in the process of researching the correlations between the current real estate market, the fed funds rate and the stock market. I strongly believe that we are going to see some very bullish activity in the stock market over the next 2 years. I see some strong simularities between the year 1997 and 2006. Please let me know what you think of this money movement strategy. I originally read about it in a book by the late Charles Givens. The author may have had some problems with his other ideas, regarding car insurance, but I think this strategy really makes sense and we should pay more attention to it.
   
   I have a website where I am including free infromation about this and other wealth ideas. http://www.nobodytosomebody.com



4. Absolutly a must have book for the person who does not know a lot about anything financial. We written and to the point directions with easily comprehendible information to help you save money and earn in all aspects of life.



5. I was introduced to Mr. Givens back in January 1989 on one of his many
   appearances on "The Today Show." At that time Mr. Givens was promoting his book, Wealth Without Risk.
   
   To say that I was skeptical, would be an understatement. Nonetheless, I went out and bought his book and passively applied some of the strategies.
   
   Several months later, I had moved from Pennsylvania to Orlando, FL and came in contact with Dennis Jumper, a Givens member and Share The Wealth rep.
   
   Dennis convinced me of the increased opportunities available via the
   membership so I joined. Also that day, I met Mr. Givens for the first time.
   
   He was very dynamic and charismatic.
   
   Prior to studying the Financial Library and applying the Givens Power
   Strategies, I was like a gerbel in a cage! Earning money was the easy part. hanging on to what to what I made and keeping ahead of taxes and inflation was the hard part. I found that the more money that I had coming in the front door, the faster it went out the back door!
   
   After reading Wealth Without Risk and pouring into the Financial Library, my wife and I found that it was very easy to stack strategies i.e. use the personal finance and tax reducing strategies and increase our contrbutions to our company 401(k) thereby reducing our AGI and being eligible for deductible IRA'S. Taking the savings from auto insurance and putting the profits into our insurance companies annuity and seeing our insurance premiums go even LOWER!
   
   We had our son help us in our family business and pay him a "tax
   deductible" salary instead of a "non deductible" allowance. Used our
   automobile in our business and go from a zero allowance to a 80% tax
   deduction, this includes service and maintenance costs. Take "tax
   deductible" business trips instead of non deductible vacations and more.
   
   We also moved from a local bank checking account to a money market mutual fund to take advantage of the higher interest and flexibility.
   
   We were amazed to see how money we were saving from restructoring auto,
   health and homeowners insurance PLUS modifying our W-4 form at work. All of this "new found money" went into our money market mutual funds for
   emergencies while also funding our IRA's and regular mutual fund accounts.
   
   We actually had investments that were growing for the first time.
   
   With our business, we also set up a SEP IRA for my wife and I and we are contributing the maximum and also have IRA's set up for our son directly from salaries from helping us and of course we take a tax deduction.
   
   We also fired our financial planner. In 1987 he put us in bad loaded stock mutual funds which dropped a lot as did the overall market that year. Then he put us in bonds at the absolute worst time and we missed out on part of the market rebound in 1989. Now, all of our investments are in NO-LOAD MUTUALS only and we are our own Financial Planners! We are using the Givens Money Movement Strategy as our guide and estimate that we are on track to have a retirement income well in excess of six figures just from our investments.
   
   We follow the money movement strategy and that kept us from losing money in 1989, 1995, 2000 and 2007. In 2000, we pulled money out of stock mutual funds and individual stocks, moved into a money market fund and then into a zero coupon bond mutual fund. One of Mr. Given's mantra's was,
   
   "When interest rates are high, stocks will die." So when Greenspan started raising interest rates, we pulled out of stocks and moved into money market mutual funds. As expected, stocks fell and fell hard with the Dow Jones dropping from nearly 12,000 to 8,000 and the Nasdaq from 5300 to under 2,000. Likewise, when interest rates started going up again we once again moved out of stocks and missed the stock market slide we have had in 2008. Mr. Givens money movement strategy works everytime.
   
   Mr. Givens also has another mantra that goes like this:
   
   
   "Everytime interest rates drop 1% all bonds appreciate 10%." We made 45%-50% on our bond fund while others were chasing stocks and buying on the dip or using the old "buy and hold" strategy. And since we used the recommendations by Mr. Givens and the Givens Org. we had investments that were growing and paid no commissions -we used only NO LOAD FUNDS.
   
   I also dropped a whole life insurance policy and moved into a LPT policy.
   More money to invest and/or build on our lifestyle.
   
   If I had to choose the single most important strategy, it would be "The
   Dreams List" Strategy. This is what ! got us to take action and make
   everything possible. The Dreams List also kept us motivated during many
   difficult times and kept us on track.
   
   In 1991, I had one of those unfortunate reversals in my life. Fortunately at that time I was not only a Givens (IAS) member but also associated with Share The Wealth, the direct selling division of the Givens Org. and had qualified for a Managers Conference. Part of that included going to Mr. Givens home. I meekly approached Mr. Givens while he was entertaining
   approximately 80 other guests and asked him if I could have a few minutes of his time, that I had a personal issue and needed some advice.
   
   He was gracious, politely excused himself from his other guests and spent about 30 minutes with me discussing my situation. His advice worked and to this day I can recall his look of concern and sincerity in wanting to help me. Mr. Givens was a one of a kind guy.
   
   This book should be renamed THE SUPERFINANCIAL BIBLE because for us,
   it has helped us reach financial goals that we consider SUPER and wouldn't
   have achieved without the Givens Strategies. Mr. Givens, RIP and thank you!
   
   
   
   Tony DeFrancisco
   
   Winter Park, FL

5 comments about How to Be Rich.

1. Getty was an extraordinary man. Highly intelligent, highly cultured, his life life and work are truly inspirational.
   
   This is a book primarily about mindset and attitude. It is not so much about the physical steps to creating wealth as it is about the outlook and world-view required if one is to successfully achieve it. I was completely absorbed by this book and I HIGHLY recommend that you purchase and read it.
   
   In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I am a speaker, trainer, and author of another unique and highly valuable learning tool that can also be found here on Amazon: The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Personal Wealth Creation (Combo Audio/Data CD): Audio Seminar With Downloadable 40-Page Action Manual and Active Link Library. It is a straight-forward discussion of the art and science of personal wealth creation and should be considered by anyone serious about wanting to learn more about the right way to get started on the road to personal wealth creation and financial freedom!
   
   Other "WealthLoop Series" tools of worth looking into include:
   
   The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses: The Foolproof Roadmap to Real Estate Riches Without the Risks and Hassles of Landlording
   
   and
   
   The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses (Combo Audio/Data CD): Author's Audio Commentary Plus Downloadable 32-page Marketing Manual, Checklists, Spreadsheets, and Forms.



2. A lot of self-praise and ho hum, common sense info that people already know, even before the book was written. Granted, Getty did make it known some mistakes(such as marrying five times before realizing that he wasn't the marrying type!) as well as a few investment blunders. I wish there had been more biographical info about him but he tends to stick with a few of his business moves as well as telling us where and how we should invest(stocks, real estate, and art, all at low prices. Gee, I never thought of any of that!).



3. This book is wonderful. It details many of J. Paul Getty's experiences in running his businesses, and explains how he thinks. Absolutely fascinating.



4. This book goes beyond the matter of making money written by one of the richest people living at his time. Getty writes that 'richness' is at least as much a matter of character, of philosophy, outlook and attitude, as it is of money. And to be truly rich, regardless of fortune or lack of it, a man must live by his own values.
   
   While several chapters are average ... the chapter 'The Art of Individuality' if one of the finest chapters i've ever read. Artists of any profession, but in particular entrepreneurs, will profit from Getty's words on being a non-conformist, dissenter and rebel who is seldom if ever satisfied with the status quo.



5. This book is a must read for anyone interested in creating wealth and prosperity, or anyone interested in building a successful business. Truly enjoyed it. Would like more suggestions for similar books.

5 comments about Free Money to Change Your Life.

1. This book has a tremendous amount of information on how to obtain money and it could possibly change your life. However a lot of the programs or information are state specific or in a special category, meaning not all programs are available to every state or to every individual for that matter. If you can find a program that you fit into and it works then great! Otherwise this book gives you other options about different things you can do to obtain "Free Money to Change Your Life" including possibly moving to another state or changing your profession.



2. This book was absolutely NO HELP at all. It's mainly about getting grants from the government and you have to be within a certain income bracket to do so. If you're middle class, FORGET IT! :(



3. As a successful grant writer I know how hard it is to get into the spirit of writing a good document. I'd highly suggest getting books that are more realistic like "Government Funding and You" or the "Grant Workbook". Both of these books walk you through realistic scenarios to get grants and they simply aren't hype books like this one!
   
   Kelli



4. I work for an organization listed in the book, and we do not distribute "Free Money". We provide small business loans at a rate between a mortgage and a credit card, and I honestly feel bad for the people who contact me because they found me in this book.
   
   If you're looking for resources for a small business, there are plenty of names you can get without spending whatever this book costs. [...]
   
   This book must provide incomplete information, given that 90% of the inqueries I receive do not qualify due to location. As a neighborhood based group in an north-east inner city, we focus on our neighborhood and do not lend outside of city limits, let alone Tennessee.
   
   Save your money. Please do not buy this book. It will only make you look foolish to those you tell about it.



5. Okay, so Matthew Lesko has the selling ability on his infomercials, but there's nothing to this book, if you don't get it immediately after it comes out from the publisher. He's got a disclaimer right in the front of the book that all the information in the book is outdated by the time it's published.
   
   It may not be his fault as I've written about 100 different agencies and organizations looking for money along with information just for information for anything from vehicle seizures to government giveaways.
   
   Out of all of those wasted man-hours, letters, and stamps I got 4 or 5 actual responses,...the rest came back "no such address" or "no such person, business" etc. Granted (pun intended) I was looking mostly for free government money for businesses among other stuff but this shouldn't be impossible to do.
   
   I've heard from various sources that these Government office's tend to close up and move every six to nine months, so they don't have to give the citizens "free-money" so like I said I don't blame Matthew Lesko for that bit as it's nigh on impossible to chase a "running papertrail" unless you've already got money and know your way around Washington DC.

3 comments about Fractals and Scaling In Finance.

1. To read this book you need truly to understand math and the markets. There is no questions that Mandelbrot is one of the greatest figures of our time. What he claimed based on his studies on cotton trading in the early 60s might not be close to the reality of today, but the way he approached it makes you think twice about the markets. Cotton trading is so different from stock market trading because it is either spoting trading or futures trading, and it is based on margins. The market usually has poor liquidity and with few players in it. The conclusions the book made could poorly extend to the general markets. The hard-to-follow math notations kept distracting me from following the main subjects. Anyway, this book will teach you something new, but you have to understand math and the markets, deeply.



2. in this book, Mandelbrot is trying to prove that first, the price movement's distribution is scaling invariant, meaning a security's log price-change's distribution is same as with its 5-min's or with its daily's(or even monthly); second, price movement is not purely random/normaldistribution/brownian/random walk on street(they are all same description), meaning if u use normal distribution as one of ur bases for ur model, u will not only be theoretically wrong, but also be punished in real-life trading, such as the case of long-term capital. third, price movement does have cycle, but it length can not be determined in trading time, meaning u will not be able to decide when those cycles are going to start or end; fourth, changes of price movements do concentrate, meaning big moves will happen continouesly, or very closely to each other. the major implication to me is that many current financial theories are wrong, specially, those using normal distribution(such as option model) as basic assumption for security price movement. it also may prove that some of current price-based models(such as some trend following system) have some merit. but manay systems based on channel(such as bollinger bands)will not work in long-run. with those in mind and many available mathematical tools, one should be able to build a good financial model.



3. This book deserves to receive 6 stars.Mandelbrot serves up overwhelming empirical,statistical,and historical evidence that financial decision makers are dead wrong in assuming,contrary to the available evidence, that a normal probability distribution describes the outcomes accurately in financial markets .In fact,the Cauchy distribution is substantially more relevant than the normal distribution.Mandelbrot's work simply means that the standard theoretical models taught in all colleges and universities,the CAPITAL ASSET PRICING MODEL(CAPM) and the BLACK-SCHOLES equation, give correct answers if and only if the relevant probability distributions about the movement of prices in financial markets over time are all normal.However, the evidence shows that they are NOT normal.Mandelbrot confirms ,by massive data analysis, Keynes's original 1921 objections to the misuse in application of (by merely assuming the applicability of such a distribution without examining the actual data)the normal probability distribution made in chapters 29 and 30 of the A Treatise on Probability(1921).Unfortunately,it appears that little,if any ,of Mandelbrot's scientific approach and analysis is being integrated into economics and finance.

5 comments about Mellon: An American Life (Vintage).

1. What I found interesting about this book is that is a history lesson in American business and early regulatory policies that shaped the landscape we see today. At the same time, it is a story of classic love and betrayal. I found the author doing a great job when the story focused on Mellon's marriage and the demise of such, but he tended to become a bit lost in the details when describing all of the political ups and downs. Overall, a fine book and great American story



2. Cannadine exceeded expectations on a number of fronts with this definitive biography of Andrew Mellon. It has everything you'd expect from a grade-A biography, laying out where Mellon's family came from (both physically and philosophically), how Mellon grew up, his rise, peak, eventual fall from grace, death and legacy. Not only that, but Cannadine does all of this exceedingly well, giving his reader a sense of the nuances and subtleties of Mellon's personality and life. If Cannadine had done nothing else, he'd still have written a five-star book.
   
   This book goes beyond most rock-solid biographies that I've read in Cannadine's sensitivity to the larger meaning of the events in Mellon's life, his place in history and his impact even after his death. While this sensitivity is present throughout Cannadine's book, it really comes together in in his three-part epilogue, which you will absolutely not want to miss, it is the highlight of the book.
   
   The first point Cannadine develops is that Mellon's life straddled the line between two different eras in American history. He shows how Mellon, without changing his behaviors, was perceived one way for much of his life, then a totally different way at the end of his life. Through his awareness of this point, Cannadine really demonstrates to the reader how radical the shift in sentiment was in America in the 1930s.
   
   The second point Cannadine is aware of, as any successful biographer of a great historical figure must be, is the idea that Mellon was a human being with some great strengths and some great flaws. In my experience, people who have the strengths to accomplish the most often have corresponding weaknesses to go with them; Cannadine really makes this point clear in his epilogue, doing a "balance sheet" of positives and negatives of Mellon's character and accomplishments. I've never seen an author take even-handed analysis to a similar place, and it really helped bring together the books ideas at the end.
   
   Finally, Cannadine captures a truth about life, society and politics that imbues the book with a sense of sadness. It becomes obvious that many (though certainly not all) of the good things that happen to Mellon happen out of chance. Similarly, when bad things happen to Mellon, most (again, not all... his divorce comes to mind as an obvious exception) of them are undeserved. Mellon dies near the low point of his public popularity, suffering primarily for sins he did not commit.
   
   I highly recommend this book for lovers of biography and history, it is truly a step beyond a really good biography.



3. This beautifully written and fascinating portrait of Andrew Mellon is the single most compelling biography I can ever remember reading, as well as the most interesting history lesson I've ever had. An amazing piece of work.



4. It is a complete history of the Mellon family from their immigration from Ulster in 1815 to the death of Andrew Mellon. It absolutely shows the vindictiveness of Franklin Roosevelt in his attempt to convict Andrew of tax evasion and the generosity of Andrew with his gift of the National Gallery of Art and its original paintings to the people of the United States.



5. It took me a while to read but I was sad when it ended.
   I came upon this book one day and saw the reviews and
   decided I needed to read about this man.
   A very well written biography of one of our Great American
   business men. I enjoy reading biographies and this one
   really kept my interest. The art work Mellon purchased
   is outstanding. I must go to the museum in Washington
   and view this outstanding art work. Mellon lived a very
   intriquing life. I truly enjoyed this biography.

5 comments about The Abundance Book.

1. What a powerful book this is and yet a quick read. Simple yet very in-depth. I am well into the 40 days, and when I missed one day near the beginning, I did start over. There is an energy that is created and maintained throughout the 40 day period, and it is a practice that needs to become a daily habit. I am an avid student and teacher of the Law of Attraction and Prosperity Thinking, and a Prosperity Guide and Life Management Coach. This book is a must read. It should be a staple in the library of every LOA student and teacher. I am part of a small group, and we are doing this program together, and we are having amazing results. I am thrilled with this little powerful book.



2. Great read...puts things in perspective on where money really comes from...
   
   Thanks



3. This is an excellent book to keep you on your way or get you on your way to Abundance and Prosperity. Out with lack. You will have NO concept of that word by the time you are done with and implementing this book. Your consciousness will be vibrating like never before and your experience of operating in Abundance will BE yours!
   
   Thank you to John Randoplh Price and to all those who help and keep this book in ciruclation.



4. This book is extremely helpful... I am working carefully with the principles in this book and look forward to great results.



5. This little gem was recommended to me, and I pass on the good fortune of that recommendation to anyone reading this review...This is a simple plan that draws you close to Spirit while playfully experimenting with concepts of prosperity. A beautiful and fruitful practice. Five shining stars!

5 comments about Technical Analysis for the Trading Professional.

1. I am an experienced trader and an avid reader of trading books. This book has nothing new to offer since the author doesn't reveal any of her secrets unless you are willing to go to her website and pay $800 to get access to some of her indicators. She spends pages and pages to expalin very simple concepts. Total waiste of money and time.



2. This is a hard book to read but I think it's from a stream of consciousness that's "in the zone." It's one of probably only a handful of books ever written that can give you a unique insight into the mind of the market. Most people won't get it and never will. Thanks for sharing Connie.



3. This is an absolute horrible book. Like one reviewer already said, The author promises to take you into the promise land, but then tells you that she will not give you her secret formula. The book does not lead you to figure it out for yourself either, it is filled with traditional technical analysis you can get anywhere else.
   
   What is the point of writing yet another T/A book if you don't have anything new to say? One reason, advertise her website!



4. In this book you will really find invaluable hints and informations. New uses for RSI, when the author teaches how to put indicators on indicators; indicator reversals(wiht RSI) to sum up with the indicator divergences; how to use oscilattors(RSI in particular) to assess Elliot Wave counts; new methods for price projections with reverse engineering RSI and with Fibonacci(sure!).
   Well, I tried to follow the market(real time and past charts) searching for RSI reversals and it really works, most of time. Also, price projection with RSI reverse engineering also works. Just export the prices and RSI from your vendor into an Excel spreadsheet and use the "forecast" formula, with price closes and RSI values. If at that time the correlation between RSI and prices are good(near 1), so the price projection will work(I tried myself many times, with a good rate of success).
   The concept that RSI can also be used to detect a trend, opens a new window in how to use this oscillator.
   Well, beside that, there are many, let's say, exotic points. The chapter about Gann is almost like a chapter of The Lord of Rings or Harry Poter(well, maybe because I didn't understand it!).
   Anyway, even many concepts are not clear offered by the author(composite index and the Gann's methodology, as already commented by a reviewer)the book is worth the money, and you will learn a lot(and earn more) if you read it. But, it is not easy. I suggest you to have a good grasp on the basic indicators and technical analysis before start this journey.
   And, take your time to read it. More, many more than once!
   Ah! Make sure you have your chart in front of you to practice the ideas and concepts.



5. There are books that teach you concepts of technical analysis, but none, except this, that tell you the nuances and how to acquire that razor sharp edge so essential for professional traders. This book touches on several concepts and explains how they can be interpreted / better analysed compared to the lay trader. The description on Elliott waves and how they can be combined with oscillators is perhaps the best analytical discourse on Elliott I have ever read. That single chapter is worth the cost.
   
   However, the book has two negatives. One is the lack of adequate coverage on Gann, purportedly for "reasons of confidentiality", despite Constance claiming it to be her primary method. Second being that of marketing herself. I guess the class of the book itself is sufficient marketing enough and obvious references to her skills only create a jarring effect.
   
   Overall its a book that you start as an apprentice (though a well versed apprentice, since its a book not for the beginners) and finish as a master.

5 comments about Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money and Investing (Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money & Investing).

1. This book is excellent for learning the basic concepts in investing and finance. If you would like to iniciate in this area, i recommend this book as an entry door with the basics.



2. I cant believe that I went through college without taking business or econ classes (except for political economy). This is a way for me to catch up.
   I like this book because it is easy to read and understand. So easy even an elementary school kid could understand....ok maybe junior high.
   Eventually I would hope to read the Intelligent Investor.



3. Just finished reading it. Wow, what a mind trip. Fast shipment too!



4. If a picture is worth, as is said, a thousand words, The Wall Street Journal Guide to Money and Investing is worth many times its purchase price.
   
   The book takes a very basic approach at explaining the components of the investment world. Taken together, the components explained represent a comprehensive view of what is a very complex and broad topic.
   
   One reading doesn't do this book justice, though. Read over and over, however, this book will earn a place on any serious investment student's bookshelf as a resource to return to for a periodic refresher or for clarification.
   
   Bumped to the side by The Wall Street Journal in favor of Dave Kansas' The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investment Guidebook, Kenneth & Virginia Morris' book lives on as The Standard and Poors Guide to Money and Investing. Where Dave Kansas' book is complete and chock full of words, the Morris' still succeed at conveying the basics in a way that will forever add value.



5. Es un libro excelente para entender como funciona el dinero y los mercados de capitales, partiendo desde lo más sencillo hasta lo más complejo. Excelente para principiantes, intermedios y para profesores.