Among the library of investment books promising no-fail strategies for riches, Benjamin Graham s classic, The Intelligent Investor, offers no guarantees or gimmicks but overflows with the wisdom at the core of all good portfolio management. The hallmark of Graham s philosophy is not profit maximization but loss minimization. In this respect, The Intelligent Investor is a book for true investors, not speculators or day traders. He provides, in a form suitable for the laymen, guidance in adoption and execution of an investment policy (1). This policy is inherently for the longer term and requires a commitment of effort. Where the speculator follows market trends, the investor uses discipline, research, and his analytical ability to make unpopular but sound investments in bargains relative to current asset value. Graham coaches the investor to develop a rational plan for buying stocks and bonds, and he argues that this plan must be a bulwark against emotional behavior that will always b...

#Invest In This Book, Invest In Yourself (2008-10-07) With more than one million copies sold and an endorsement on the cover by Warren Buffet, you know there has to be something to this book- and I think I know why. Simply because it is the first book ever to describe the emotional framework and analytical tools necessary for financial success for individual investors. Probably the single best book on investing written for the lay-public and the stock market bible since its first appearance in 1949, it s a great resource, although it s quite a thick book and filled with detail- and pr...

#A Fresh Look at an Investment Classic (2006-06-12) When it comes to the subject of investment, one cannot speak about it without mentioning the household name, Warren Buffett. After all, this is a man who had made himself the second richest man in the world solely by investing money in companies. It is through learning more about Buffett that lead me to Benjamin Graham and his investment classic, The Intelligent Investor. In this 2003 updated edition, supplementary commentaries and footnotes were added throughout the book by Jason Zweig, a senior writer at Money magazine. This upda...

#Note to ",A customer from New York, NY: (2005-11-08) Newsflash:The guy s dead - and has been for years. Not getting that ",big advance", you would begrudge him (unless there is a market in Heaven?)

#Classic book, but annoying commentaries (2004-06-30) I was deciding between getting this edition or the more expensive hardbound edition (which does not contain the Jason Zweig commentaries). I naturally thought, why not go for the cheaper one and get the commentary for free? After all, I could just ignore the commentary if it doesn t help. Bad bad choice. It was like choosing between a Beethoven CD and the same CD but with free shrieking commentary by a Damon Wayans movie character during and in between each symphony. Zweig s writing when inserted between Graham s is like th...

#one of, if not the best, equity investment book (2004-05-02) this is buffets bible for good reason. the book s central concept, the margin of safety, is reinforced time and again w/ supporting ratios and working examples, both from the 60-70s and from zweig s excellent supplements (an extremely valuable supplement to the original text, if for no other reason than to show that graham s teachings are timeless). while occasionally ratios will appear dated and no longer relevant (i. e. book value s importance has declined w/ the transition of the US eq mkt to increasing intellectual ca...

Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don t need to be so mysterious: They could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from innercity Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald s, wher...

#This book gets me thrown out of parties (2008-05-12) Freakonomics gets me thrown out of a lot of parties. Now that I know what really makes the world turn I cannot resist butting in on folk s conversations and putting them right. `Zero tolerance , someone will say, `that s what cut crime in New York . `No it didn t , says I, `it was the 1973 legalisation of abortion that cut crime. Fewer young men means fewer young criminals. A few dirty looks and off I go to another group. `My estate agent is marvellous, she sold my house in no time. A little under my asking price but she got me ...

#Not meant to be an introduction to economic fundamentals (2008-05-05) I think the title says it all. Freakonomics is not intended to be an economics textbook, a peer-reviewed journal article or thesis dissertation for a PhD candidate. It is a book that fuses economics with journalisms to make the work of economists more appealing to the masses. When I initially studied economics, I heard the same things over and over again - moaning and groaning from fellow freshman and sophomore students who had to take introductory micro and macro economics as a requirement of their professiona...

#Laughing Points. (2007-07-31) Freakonomics is a witty, irreverent book for individuals who have never been and will never be Economics theorists. It s at once hilarious and serious about applying principles of Economics to real life scenarios, and it s just so much fun to read! Let s start by saying, don t let the title scare you. I know most people pretty much despise anything to do with Economics, and anyone with a respectable connection to Economics would turn a nose up at this book. But with chapters like: The Ku Klux Klan and Real Estate Agents, Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrest...

#Should have bought the book six months ago (2007-05-31) I heard Levitt on Bloomberg ten months ago and wanted to buy this book immediately. Unfortunately, I was on highway 287 in New Jersey, stuck in traffic during rush hour. Then every time I saw the book on a bookstand in an airport, I avoided it and chose a latest bestseller instead. Then, last week, it just happened that I finally bought the book for my west- coast six-hour flight and was pretty much expecting a Tipping Point kind of read. I ll tell you hands down. This book is amazing. No offence to Gladwell, Steve Levitt ha...

#At grade 9 level (2007-03-26) Hi: I found the book interesting and easy to read. However, it was a bit condescending. It was written at a grade 8 or 9 level. I guess that helps a books popularity. The book had some interesting stories and facts but nothing I could use to help me work more effectively. Cheers!