Profit The Books

There is very little in this book about investing, that is, stock or fund selection. It is basically a book about economics. Suffice to say that Mr Muhlkamp is a big fan of the flat tax, trickle down economics, Reaganomics, small government, etc. I'm not sure why he chose this title for the book, it's very misleading.

I bought this book based on the reviews I read here. I was extremely dissapointed with this book. He shouldn't have the word "investing" in the subtitle. A good portion of this book revolved around his political philosophy and point of view. Most of the chapters he started with a premise and then did a very poor job of backing them up. Read the whole book and didn't really feel like I learned much of anything about value investing or investing at all. Well I guess just trying to even out the glowing reviews here. Not a horrible book, but did very little to advance my investing knowledge.

Awesome book. Short articles. Some seem to require a business degree to comprehend, but most are easily understood. I bought 2 more copies for family members. Very simple (but not simplistic) approach to complex subject matter. Muhlenkamp does a great job of explaining why capitalism works!

Many books have been written about investing, but this one is among the few books that have been helpful to me as a novice investor. Muhlenkamp has a way of writing about complex topics in a way that is easy to understand. His essays about evaluating the impact of taxes and inflation on investment returns and recognizing economic climates changes were especially helpful to me.

Ron's book helps to understand the investing principles such as the real returns, inflation and interest rate. The essays in the books explain the triggering factors and the consequences behind these variables. Thus one could make a better judgement whether the current situation is good for borrower(Companies,home owners) or for the lender(Investor).

This is an extremely well written book. Lots of Tips. Great insight into how buyers try to get you to reduce prices. I have purchased 5 copies of this book and given them to all of the people with direct influence on pricing, negotiation and financial decisions in the company. Once you understand and begin applying the principles, the margins just go up. The book will change your whole outlook such that you don't feel guilty turning down business that is only price based. This is probably the most significant business improvement book I have read in the last 5 years,

I can think of 5 business books everyone should read, this is number 1

Urges companies to sell based on margin n ot price. Makes sales people understand why it is important to stay strong on price and how to do it.

Doesn't answer the question of how you compete when all your competition is price cutting!

There are two types of people who want to absorb this book: salespeople and business owners or executives.

If as a salesperson, you've found yourself getting "beat up" by prospects and customers, this book teaches you in simple and easy to understand language how to not only put an end to getting beat up but how to also make the sale.

If as a salesperson, you find yourself spending inordinate amounts of time with customers who are difficult to work with, this book reveals how to work with only the best customers - and make more money while you do it.

If as a salesperson your commissions are slim because your selling price is too low and you haven't been able to sell at a higher price, this book will expose exactly how to raise your selling price and your commissions.

If you are a business owner or executive, you will want to read this book for two critical reasons.

One, you will learn how to put an end to your salespeople's whining and complaining about losing the sale to low-price competitors. You'll FINALLY KNOW HOW TO CALL THEIR BLUFF! No longer will your salespeople be able to "snow" you with their inability to sell. Now, you will be able to "call the shots" they way they really are so that your salespeople produce results instead of excuses.

Two, you will learn exactly how to keep your business out of bankruptcy and move your business away from break-even mode to high margin, high profitability mode.

On my end, I wish someone would have pointed me to this book when I first got started in sales so that I could have saved myself years of hardship. On your end, you'll be glad I recommended that you get this book for yourself so that you too are able to save years of hardship.

I rate the book a 5 on content and timeliness but a 1 on presentation.

All you need to do is look at most advertisements today to realize that price competition has become the major way to conduct business. I have recognized and for years advised clients that "If you compete on price you are competing to go broke." Price pressure is even more intense considering that finding the lowest price for most products is just a few clicks away. Merchants have all conditioned consumers to be price conscious buyers. And our mind set as consumers carries over to our businesses.

The authors do a very good job of showing that most pricing problems are in the mind of the salesman or CEO and not in the mind of the buyer. They further show that it is simply impossible to cut prices and make up the difference in increased volume. One of the better concepts they present is if you lower your prices to increase your volume, all you do is work harder and go broke in the process. If the CEO can grasp that concept - and unfortunately all you need to do is to look at the history of companies that have gone bankrupt, especially in the airline industry - then the book is well worth reading.

As far as presentation, I have a lot of problems.

The authors could not really decide who their reader was. At times they were writing to the CEO and at times they were giving tips to the salesman in the field. It would have been much better if they had written two separate books - one for the CEO who determines policy and one for the salesman in the field.

They have a bad habit of repeating the same lessons throughout the book. It is okay and sometimes necessary to refer back to an idea or concept. But anyone reading this type book does not need the entire example repeated. Too much of that obscures the lesson to be learned.

The use of bold "bullet points" at the beginning of paragraphs was overdone. One place, opened at random, I found four bold paragraph headings on each page. To me these were a distraction.

It was annoying for them to keep repeating "one of your authors" experienced ... What is wrong with saying Lawrence or William?

They overdid some clichés - "the south bound end of a north bound donkey" was one. Once is enough. And they ended lots of examples of conversations with "blah ... blah ... blah"

The authors make some valid and important points. If you are going to conduct business in today's price conscious environment, you must learn to sell your product on something other than price. So the book is well worth reading. In my opinion, the presentation could be improved greatly.

I don't know what the other reviewers are smoking, but this is one of the worst Blackjack books I have read. Might as well take your 10 or 15 dollars and just throw it away. This book is almost 100% just random babbling, all words and no numbers. A HUNDRED AND NINETY PAGES INTO THE BOOK, BASIC STRATEGY IS THE ONE AND ONLY THING HE HAS ACTUALLY COVERED. I was disgusted when I looked at the page number and saw 190, realizing all this idiot had done was talk about what he was going to teach for over half of the entire book. He stretches five word sentences into page and a half long explanations to fill up space, and he does it quite well. This book is ridiculously stupid, I STRONGLY suggest reading almost any other book.

Gambling is an iffy proposition without some real knowledge. To learn one must play 100 times (+) and hope that LUCK is in the house or things can get depressin real fast or one can go to the source of knowledge. This book teaches the unitiated some fundamentals and strategies with wich to approach the table with a fair amount of confidence and with the right bankroll, for they say that without the proper amount of cash you are bracing yourself for defeat. Mr. Royer strikes as one of the good guides, he certainly knows his subject and his overall writing is quite enjoyable. After reading Mr. Royer's book I went to Las Vegas (my favorite!) and put into practice what I had learned from this book. I had my bearings about me and it lasted the better of 2 solid hours, in which in a 5 dollar table with the right conditions (Favoring the Player as much as possible, but of course!!)I won 185 dollars, after having lost and won my fair share of both. The point I am making is that without the book I definitely would have lost much more and not won anything. I gave him 5 stars for 4 did not quite do the job.
I walked out a winner and realized that this is something I am actually enjoying. I always favored dices but Blackjack is a lot of fun!

This book by Victor H. Royer is one of a great books about Blackjack. If you are serious about knowing the real truth of what Blackjack is all about, then you must have this book.

Here you will find not only a terrific history of this great game, but you will find invaluable information about how the game is actually played in the casinos of the 21st Century. What you may have heard about Blackjack in the past, or perhaps read as recently as the last century, is no longer the case. What you see on TV about the various Blackjack card counting systems is also no longer possible under the majority of situations and circumstances, such as are the real truth of the modern casino.

What you should know is Royer's tiered wagering method, and his new Modified Basic Strategy - MBS. If you want to give yourself the right chance to win money, then this is the book for you. It will pay for itself many times over in just your first trip to a casino.

My comment is not only about this great Blackjack book, but also about the reviewer identified as "munkmunk." All readers of that person's review of this book, or any other, should take note of what he says in the opening line to his review of "Playing Blackjack as a Business," by L. Revere, also posted here at Amazon. In that review, titled by "munkmunk" as "Sexist, thief, egomaniac?", the first line of his review says:

"Not being "of age," and therefore not playing in a casino, I cannot say how much money one could make with these strategies."

By his own admission, "munkmunk" is not of legal age to gamble. Therefore he is unable to understand the real world of the casino, and how and why strategies in this book, and the other by L. Revere, are applicable to those environments. Being so obviously out of touch with the reality of the world of Blackjack play in the casino, since by his own admission he cannot so legally play there being too young, this makes it plainly obvious that this young person merely has some anger of his own to grind, and seems to enjoy lambasting good books and the hard work by their authors. Amazon should perhaps be more careful, and not allow underage persons to so shamefully misunderstand books of these adult subjects.

Additionally, we should all remember that the real world of the in-casino blackjack play is nothing like the "theoretical" world of the statistician, or mathematician. Furthermore, we should also understand that the minds of the very young often cannot grasp realities in either the "theoretical" or the "real world," and thus have significantly skewed opinions on something whose intended purposes obviously escape them, and whose principles are far too advanced for their undeveloped minds to as yet conceive.

It should be obvious to everyone reading these reviews by the young "munkmunk" that they are a form of teenage angst, sadly directed at the authors of these good books on Blackjack.

This book is a serious work about a serious subject, and extraordinarily well written -- but it is written for adults who will play in real casinos -- and not for angry children with a computer and nothing better to do than to express their ignorance in a public forum like these postings at Amazon.

Read this book for yourself, and you will know why the other reviewers, including myself, have found this to be such a terrific, fresh, new look at a great old game.

I have all the blackjack books. While the mathematics are usually sound, and the theory is always accurate..these books never did what was most important....TURN ME INTO A WINNER!

I requested my yearly statement back from the Grand for 2003 and they show me at a net loss of $105. Thats for the ENTIRE year! Now consider that I always hide Green Chips and Black chips whenever possible before cashing in at the table to conceal my true winnings, and consider the 33 night of free hotel stays, the endless free meals, the free shows, the free trips on the casino plesure boat etc. and I was a BIG winner in 2003! My first winning year ever.

I owe all of that to Victor's Blackjack book. He offers a method of play that will actually allow you to win without counting cards, without risking getting barred from the casino, and without all of the mathematics involved in the card counting strategy.

The wagering differential is the most amazing concept I have ever seen. I logged most of my play from 2003...I shoudl have logged it all, but I didn't. But from my records I only had 3 losing sessions in 2003 at the Grand.

What more can I say. This book pays for itself.

As an Ethics Board member for local government I recommend Profit Without Honor: White Collar Crime and the Looting of America, Fourth Edition. Most of the book relates to the private sector, but it provides case studies on fraud, political corruption, illegal union busting and many other cases of fallen honor and how profit lured its victims in their betrayal of governmental responsibilities.

It points to the many high profile cases of fraud and the ability of people that had been entrusted with public confidence to decieve and how they came to risk it all. Many stepped up to the plate with strong statements in court or to the media professing their innocence, stating that "they never" one example is congressional testimony from sports stars that "I have never used steroids."

The reading of these cases will sensitize the reader to schemes and thought processes of those that perpetrate white collar crime. Profit Without Honor is perfect for those of us interested in the study of Applied Ethics and the complexities of making the right choice, the honorable choice and the choice that is best for the community and not for personal profit. Fast, interesting and informative read.

this was advertised as a new book when in fact it is used.

This bok overall has captured my eye out of every book I have ever had to read for any course. It has many interestcing topics and stories I highly recommend this book. Received in good condition and good timing.

I utilize Profit Without Honor as one of the required textbooks in an college course I teach at Herkimer County Community College entitled CJ 122: Intoduction to Economic Crime Investigation.

I find the book is quite comprehensive, extensively researched and very well written. There is just enough theoretical foundations along with a true plethora of historical and recent examples to educate and inform. My students have received the book very well, commenting that while it is far reaching it is also a fairly easy "read" that isn't to confusing or overwhelming. It's my opinion that Profit Without Honor is an excellent introductory text to aquaint the casual reader or the student with the far reaching, comprehensive nature of economic crime, white collar crime and fraud present today.

I look forward to a third edition when recent incidents such as Enron, Arthur Anderson, WorldCom etc. would hopefully be addressed.

As a side note, the fraud realted quotes from motion pictures that serve as chapter headings are hilarious! (i.e. Teacher: What is the capital of Nebraska? First Student: Lincoln. Teacher: Right. Who freeded the slaves? Second Student: Lincoln Teacher: Right. Charles Keating cooked the books at what S&L? Third Student: Lincoln?)

PROFIT WITHOUT HONOR combines immaculate scholarship, penetrating insight, and a witty and engaging style of writing. Readers will find material that will trigger righteous indignation, and insights that will make them nod in agreement and wonder why they hadn't thought of that. The authors provide a vast array of information on white-collar offenses that challenges current concentration on street law-breaking as the most serious crime problem in the United States.

For those who are interested in MidEast affairs (as myself) this covers a fascinating topic and is written in a fluid style, which adds up to a truly gripping read.

The only reason for which I am not awarding this book 5 stars (and were it possible 6 or 7 stars) is the fact that many of the claims are indeed extreme...

Too much of the book simply adds up to bill this as complete fiction. Several other books (amongst which "The Samson Option", written by a renown journalist) have been based on Ben-Menashe's knowledge. Investigations have sprung up in the US and in Australia. Of course, these haven't lead far, but this is a serious case of the poeple in power charged with investigating the people in power - so what would you really expect?

Whilst I was reading this book I kept my copy of "Israels Secret Wars" at hand to verify events, facts and dates, and together with a bit of searching around the net, the essence of it all seems to add up.

Right from the start the author makes his embitterment with the "system" clear, so accusing him of having an axe to grind is pretty lame - add to that the fact that amongst his sworn enemies (at the end) was the media mogul R. Maxwell (who unleashed the full weight of his media empire to destroy his credibility) and you end up without much of a case...
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TO SUM IT UP: You have to be deeply cynical, but alas perhaps realistic, to accept all that is stated in this book. In the end, however, I am one who believes that where there's smoke, there's got to be some fire as well, and this book discloses a hell of a lot of smoke!

I have been investigating this book for about ten years now and my conclusion is that A B-M was telling what he knew.
Any errors are due to his not being aware of certain things, like the details relating to certain Arab regimes etc.
But in general A B-M had no reason to make up this stuff, which even a seasoned fiction writer could not have delineated with so much sharp detail.
The various establishments that have tried to discredit him have in fact discredited themselves, amongst them are Newsweek magazine, the White House reporter Steven Emerson and various Wikipedia aministrators that are employed by AIPAC.

Amazing book on the inner workings of Mossad, Israeli govt, CIA, the Republicans, Democrats, etc. What a bunch of gangsters. Even the cynical will be surprised.

After reading this book I didn't know how to react to much of it. Many of the claims are plausible, many are wildly implausible, and some of the information is just plain factually wrong. Sharon left the IDF in 1973, not 1970 as Menashe says. Shamir retired or "was retired from" the Mossad in 1965 not the "early 1970s." Ben-Menashe is the first person who claims that the IAF has B-52s--two squadrons no less--but he doesn't say where Israel hides these massive eight-engine bombers. He also claimed that the murder of an old American Jewish cripple by Abul Abbas' organization on the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro was an Israeli plot to discredit the PLO. Ben-Menashe doesn't really document any of his claims but asks us just to trust him. His first whopper is to claim that Shimon Peres had been paid millions by Lockheed while defense minister. Since all of Israel's American fighters were built by McDonnel Douglas or General Dynamics this seems highly unlikely. Israel does use the Lockheed C-130, but the Lockheed scandal in Europe at the same time was to get the Belgians, Dutch, and Italians to purchase F-104 Starfighter interceptors. This is typical of Ben-Menashe--he seems to take bits of news and spin it into a plot like a Hollywood screenwriter.

An excellent well documented book by a high level Israeli agent. I have to give Sheridan Square Press's publishers Ellen Ray & Bill the Credit for the content as the author did the same. Most of us out of the publishing, or, media business are not skilled writers. Sheridian Square Press out of N.Y., N.Y. did the same service for the deceased Jim Garrison in his book "On the Trails of Assassins" documenting events leading up to the events of the Kennedy asassination that Oliver Stone made a movie of.

This is the only item I have ever oredered and pay for from Amazon that I did not recieve.

I am an Internet Marketing and SEO Professional and have a lot of Real Estate Brokers/Agents as clients here in the Charlotte this book has been very useful in coming up with better ways to describe selling points of property.

Very easy to use and helpful in prompting creative wording for each individual listings.

This books give excellent recommendations which adhere to legal guidelines setforth by most states. Adding the right words to print advertising is very important to catch the eye of potential buyers.

I purchased this book a couple of months ago and have been using in constantly ever since. The advice is great, even for a person who's been in real estate for a few years. I've received a lot of positive feedback about my ads, particularly the holiday themed ones!

Very clean new condition book. Thank you for fast shipping. AAA+++

I was thoroughly impressed with this book. It went into great detail concerning all of the basic aspects of prospecting. It is also a great book for an intermediate level prospector that just wants to have a good resource book. This book was one of the first that I had purchased and is still one of the better books (information wise) out there for this level. It is very well written, in that it is a fun book to read, while at the same time educating yourself about the great hobby!

Being new to this hobby , this book was very informative and covered many questions that I had. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to cover all the aspects of prospecting for gold.

Gail Butler has written a great book for anyone that likes prospecting or want to give it a try. She goes into good detail on all aspects of the hobby. But can ramble a bit in a couple of chapters. Other than that its a must have, for your collection.

The book is well written, easy to read, contains very useful information, good references and is conveyed pleasantly. I found reading it informative and enjoyable. It encouraged me to consider Gail Butler's other works.

Except for Throughput Accounting: A Guide to Constraint Management, this is the first TOC related book that I've read and that's not in the form of a novel. It's very well structured and easy to follow and offers a birds eye view of the necessary of what needs to be done to bring your business to the next level.

The book starts by introducing the T (Throughput), I (Investment) and OE (Operating Expense) framework for decision making. It doesn't go into any detail but gives references to appropriate works. I liked the way
this topic was presented in "Throughput Accounting". Then a system plainly called the "Five Focusing Steps" is used to leverage TOC in all aspects of a manufacturing business. Finally, the most interesting chapters (to me) are at the end and discuss resistance to change and show how the TOC Thinking Process should be used to obtain buy-in from upper management.

I'm a bit critical of the authors position when it comes to project management as it could apply to IT. I do agree that IT projects that support the global constraint should have a higher priority than all other projects but where I don't agree is in the use of the critical chain for the project management activities. It might work well in some areas but in software projects the requirements are never sufficiently well expressed or change too quickly for this type of approach to work successfully. A much better way to manage projects would be to use Scrum, which is better suited to the software world and is also concerned with project velocity.

Though its sold as a "executive overview" book, I still think that it's a bit too light. It lacks depth on all topics. I also find it somewhat too self-promotional.

I have studied a lot of TOC bibliography but this book connects all in a very simple and easy way to learn

It is a must read for anyone into management. It is short and concise but very much straight to the point. How much you can really take away depends how it inspire you to change your current methodology. It is common sense really but walking the path is no easy task.

I have just completed translating this book into Japanese. Actually I translated several TOC books into Japanese in the past, because many Japanese readers want them to read in Japanese. However, in order for those who want to understand what TOC is all about, they had to read several books in the past before they understand whole of TOC and its implications to their business.
One of the unique points of this book, in my opinion, is that this is the first TOC book ever written specifically aiming at smart but busy executives as the target audience. In the Acknowledgments, Gerry wrote "...my original idea - a short, to the point Theory of Constraints (TOC) book for executives." Exactly this is why I decided to translate this book into Japanese so that the Japanese executives can read it quickly in Japanese without language barrier. Therefore, by investing little time, say, while traveling, executives can grasp all of the guts of TOC and its implications to their business.
The second uniqueness of this book is that, although it is concise, it is still comprehensive to cover every aspect of TOC - in other words it is full of messages that can make your business achieve high growth, and therefore, these messages should not certainly be overlooked by the Japanese executives who are keen to regain their success in world markets by applying the holistic approach explained plainly in this book to marketing and logistics.

In this book, Gerry attempts primarily to demonstrate two things. First, that contemporaneous complex and fast-changing business environment can best be managed through simplicity. Second, that the successful application of this approach can unleash the potential for organisations to achieve, in less than four years, net profits equal to current sales (Eli Goldratt's Viable Vision Proposition).

After introducing Eli Goldratt's Viable Vision Proposition in chapters 1 and 2, Gerry provides a concise summary about the frameworks of reference, logic, application and expected results when applying the Theory of Constraints (TOC) to the different areas of the organisation (chapters 3 to 10). With this approach he seeks to prove his first claim.

Throughout the book, the reader will find examples and valuable information about the applicability of the TOC to managing businesses operations. Also, about new business propositions that organisations can take advantage of and that arise thanks to this TOC's management approach. Without doubt, Gerry's book makes the reader wiser and does help experience a paradigm shift.

Finally, and in Part IV of the book, Gerry describes a powerful buy-in process (chapter 11) and criteria to construct lasting competitive advantage (chapter 12) with chapter 13 explaining different phases through which managers can aspire to move their organisations towards a period of unparalleled growth.

If the reader is in need of gaining a good overview of TOC and of getting new breakthrough ideas to increase organisation's competitiveness and sales, this book won't disappoint. However, the reader must be warned that this book is not sufficient neither to implement some of the changes necessary to achieve sustainable results nor to develop and implement a Viable Vision that will generate, in less than four years, net profit equal to current sales. To this ends, the reader must seek professional advice!

...more in www.TOCworld.com

Bought this for my husband who is deciding which v. v. he should go on!
thanks

This book was extremely well organized. I was able to quickly sort through for an organization that allowed teens and was for the duration of time we had available. From there, it was easy to go on the specific websites for the pretty pictures. We have just come back from our experience building homes in Costa Rica and can't wait to go again! You will never again feel the need for a beach vacation. It was much more invigorating to give something of yourself.

This book is very informative and easy to navigate. I was able to ready it over a 2 day period on my spare time and breakdown the vacations that would best suit what I am looking to do.

I'm sure you can get most of the information in this book online but there's nothing like being able to curl up with this while dogearing pages and marking it up. It is extremely well organized and indexed in multiple ways so you're sure to find what you're looking for. Once something gets your interest you can contact the organization or look online for more info. One really nice feature is the occasional presence of first person narratives from people who've actually done the vacations.

*****
I bought this book out of curiosity and was amazed at the variety of opportunities available to travel and contribute throughout the world. The book is a compendium of opportunities of every imaginable type, an incredible resource if you're even thinking about a taking a vacation in which you volunteer.

Each opportunity contains all contact information, include web site, the types of projects available, organization mission statements, the year founded, the number of volunteers last year (so that you can see the scope of the program), funding sources, what kind of work the organization does, project locations, time line (when and for how long commitments are made), cost (including arrangements that must be made like medical examinations), how to get started, needed skills, and the specific populations that could qualify.

The book is very friendly to those with limitations (for example, sight limitations, physical agility, etc.). There are also stories throughout the book from volunteers about their actual experiences while volunteering.

There is a section on long-term volunteering opportunities. There are four indexes: by project cost, project length, location, season, and type.

It is a wonderful book to use to explore what types of things you might like to do, as well as to use as a research base to search out specific opportunities. It is a great value, and an organized way to begin your volunteer journey!

Highly recommended.
*****

This book and the yearly Almanac by Hirsch Organization are the very basic staple weapons for Battle for ultimate victory in stock market. I simply would not engage in the market without them.

This is a great reference, where is contains a lot of compiled data of the years and tries to give some reasons for the tends presented. One main thing I took away from the book was that the market is really just a wild and crazy beast, but there might be some signs that can point to "warm fuzzies" for guidance in timing the market (sometimes).

The Almanac Investor is a welcome addition to Hirsch's long-standing and indispensable annual Stock Trader's Almanac. Jeff Hirsch has co-authored the almanac with J. Taylor Brown, a VP at the Hirsch Organization. The 500+ page soft cover almanac provides investors and traders with useful insights into the stock market's performance over almost six decades. There are recurring patterns in the stock market and those who study history can put the odds in their favor. The Almanac is divided into three parts:

Part I covers indicators and patterns (e.g., weekly, monthly and annual data, the 4 year presidential cycle, the decennial cycle, bull and bear markets since 1990, and how war and peace impacted the markets).

Part II reviews seasonal sector investing and focuses on the best months to own 19 sector indexes (e.g., semiconductor, real estate, oil, and healthcare products) and their performance statistics. Each sector's performance is tracked on four pages pinpointing the performance during the best seasonal periods compared to buy-and-hold, a price chart typically ten years in duration, the top stocks of the index, the best and worst months performance, and the performance by each month of the best monthly time period. At a glance the reader can easily spot the trends that are persistent over time.

ETFs have grown tremendously in volume and importance over the past few years, and the almanac provides detailed information on most of them in Part II. There is a separate chapter devoted to almost 200 ETFs, including a description of the ETF, its top ten holdings, top sectors, and recent price chart. An index lists all the ETFs alphabetically, as well as by their category (e.g., large cap, Latin America, software, etc.) for those investors who want to compare the ETF composition and performance by category.

Part III is a vast database of monthly price history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard and Poor's 500 from 1950 through June 2005, the NASDAQ Composite since its inception in 1971, and the Russell 1000 and 2000 since 1979.

Investors and traders who are looking to put money into the stock should definitely consider the eye-opening patterns and seasonality that have occurred in the stock market for decades. Realizing that there is no guarantee on Wall Street that patterns will persist into the future, the knowledgeable investor/trader will benefit from this encyclopedic array of information. Individuals purchasing this almanac are offered a free 60 trial of the The Almanac Investor Online Research platform which is updated continually. Overall, the almanac is a "must have" for any serious investor or trader.

If you study the markets, you will come across all kinds of 'cycles' and 'effects' that have correlations to whether the market goes up or down. In many instances, why these correlations and patterns exist is unclear. With that being said, just because we don't know why something happens does not mean we should just ignore it.

This book provides information on many patterns and seasonal effects that seem to correlate to the market. While you may not want to use these patterns as your primary investment decision making tool, to ignore them is to ignore patterns that exhibited high probabilities (70%, 80% even 100%) of repeating, just as they have, in many instances, for 100 years or more. If the market has gone up in every year ending in the number '5' (1995, 2005) for the last 100 years, do you really want to bet it will go down the next time?

This book is mostly a reference guide that contains interesting and useful information about patterns that occur on different time frames --- daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. If you want to 'stack' the odds of a successful trade as much as possible in your favor, you probably will benefit from having this as a reference book.

This book is a must have for its research in patterns. Weekly, daily, monthly, and presidential election patterns are all examined to show you the probabilities in trading in specifies time periods. From the data shown it is essential to stay in the market for November and December this is where 40% of the gains have come in the past 80 years. The stock market tends to decline on Thursday and Friday with traders getting out of their positions for a stress free weekend and then the market generally rises on Monday and Tuesday with the reentries. It is essential to fully invest in the stock market in the year before the presidential election, they have returned over 20% in the S&P over the past 4. Stay out of stocks in August and September, they are historically terrible months.

Also the chapter on the cyclical stocks shows you what sector to buy in what month and when to sell. For example :buy consumer stocks in May and sell in September. I can tell you from watching my company's stock over the past 4 years that this is true and one of the best ways to make money in the market. The graph with all industry sectors and showing the buy and sell months is worth the price of the book.

I have returned an average of 20% in my investments over the past 4 years and I can tell you if I would have had this book I could have increased my returns by at least 10%. I would have also decreased my losses during the bear market years by 10% by staying out of the markets in the worst 3 months.

Buy this book and read it to increase your probability of trading success dramatically. I promise you the book will pay for itself in one trade using its principles.