Security Books

Very easy to understand. IMO, it is the only book that is at par with, if not better than, John C. Hull's "Options, Futures And Other Derivatives."

Strongly recommended for everyone with even an oblique interest in the study of derivatives.

If Shreve and Karatzas is/are too dense, read this instead.

With all due respect, this book should inspire the Broadies and Dermans of the world to write such textbooks themselves, and the Sundaresans and Glassermans of the world to (also) cater to less scholarly minds (such as the undersigned).

-Kunal Kunde

I got this book few months back, though little pricy but someone recommended it. I found it to be a wonderful blend of the economics and mathematics of derivatives pricing. After reading the book, i was comfortable with :
understanding of derivatives pricing models &
derivatives markets

I strongly recommend people giving their FRM, CFA and / or SOA certifications to get their hands on this book.

You would like it. A good reference book. Only issue is it is little too heavy, hence you cannot lie down and read it for a long time ;-)

As an MBA student at Kellogg School, I find this book is concise and easy to read. It also teaches me the intuition in derivatives and asset pricing. As it has both basic and advanced material, it can be used as a reference book as well.

As financial instruments become ever more complex, McDonald's book gives a systematic treatment of the most common forms of derivatives. Providing a unified etymology that can help you understand how they work.

He groups options (puts and calls) with forward contracts like zero coupon bonds. Through numerous simple payoff graphs, as well as explanatory accompanying text, the ideas are easily grasped. The book starts with these ideas in its early chapters. Then it builds on them, to illustrate associated and often more elaborate constructs, as in insurance strategies for hedging.

Nor is the discussion confined to minimising one's risk. There is an alternative method, of deliberately speculating on volatility, for example.

The modelling of futures and options pricing is dealt with in detail. Including the seminal Black-Scholes formula and related analysis. The assumptions behind Black-Scholes are examined in detail, given the crucial influence of this on many types of pricing. The treatment gets rather advanced, invoking ideas like Monte Carlo simulations of stock prices.

The text is well suited for a graduate program in finance.

I was recommended this text book by the study material I was using to prepare the acturial exam FM. Then I came to check this book here and I found out that the price here is way too much higher. With this price, you can buy both the text book and its solution mannual in Actex Mad River with free UPS shipping. Hope this will help.

Another great discours from Aimee Cesaire reagrding the Europeans bumbling excuse for justifying the illegal acquistion of others peoples land and resources, and slavery. No wonder I personally have BLACK RAGE.

the quality of the product was the very best. it also arrived when i expected it too. i needed it in a crunch time and it came through beautifully.

This is a fascinating book for folks interested in the international decolonization movement of the 50s and 60s, and its relation to the Black Power movement in the States. The Discourse is beautifully written and passionately argued. The interview helps clarify Cesaire and Senghor's concept of "Negritude" as an early form of Black pride, rather than racial essentialism. The essay introduction is worthwhile since it puts the book in relation to Cesaire's poetic work and the Surrealist movement in France, America, and the Antilles. It's unduly dismissive of Cesaire's Marxist politics, especially since it goes against the spirit of the interview appended at the end.

In Aimé Césaire's "Discourse on Colonialism," She very blatantly voices her opinion that a (European) civilization that is:

...incapable of solving the problems it creates is a decadent civilization. A civilization that chooses to close its eyes to the most crucial problems is a stricken civilization. [and finally] A civilization that uses its principles for trickery and deceit is a dying civilization. (31)

As well as applying for both Britain's presence in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, and France's colonial presence in Africa and the Caribbean, this powerful statement could become an equation for the line drawn between one country's involvements with another.

For example, here is an unmistakable connection here to the US' involvement in Iraq. Are we as a nation decadent? Stricken? Dying? The over $155B spent in Iraq (...) instead of other national priorities. Cesaire's points are very relevant to the times as she brings further knowledge and past histories into the damage of Colonialism: "...at the present time the barbarism of Western Europe...being only surpassed...by the barbarism of the United States" (47).
She talks about the `gangrene' of impartiality, in regards to the French hearing stories that are disturbing and pornographic. "Colonization, I repeat, dehumanizes even the most civilized man" (Césaire 41). A theme prevalent in films such as Black Girl, Chocolat, and Xala. It is easy to be impartial when one is ignorant.

I read Cesaire's 'discours sur le colonialisme' in one afternoon at a coffe place and it was captivating in how intellectually he wrote, with tinges of attitude in the words. A lot of the things he wrote about I already knew from studying a lot about Africa before and what ethnocentricism vs. ethno relativism means when applying yourself and perceptions of other cultures. This book is as applicable in the 1950's as today, I found that America seems to be the new France and Britain, as far as imperialism goes.

This book has so many good points about how one must look at the non Occidental world. Whenever I hear people talking about Africa in a degrading way in that the continent needs the Western world to give it medicine, schools, etc . . .it infuriates me with the lack of research these people have done. Although one can't expect everyone to know, but they would at least get a glimpse if they read this. They would see that it is the fault of the Occidentaux which is why Africa is in the state it is now. Before Europeans went there, the people of this rich, great continent had their own cultures, laws, languages, writing, religions that worked very well for them. Because they were different than Europes ways, they were viewed as primitive and uncivilized, but you can't measure a civilization by the same standards of another, far different one. Just because they didn't write their history down, doesn't mean they didn't have it. They used oral tradition for this, which is just one example of the European's prejudice. If Europe never went there, these African civilizations very well could have flourished and become great as the passage of time went along.

Colonization has done it's damage, Cesaire talks about decolonizing our minds, I wonder how long that will take to accomplish? I would recommend this short read to anyone who wants to try to get out of their own cultural shell and think about the way the world is viewed from the viewpoint of others, even though this book is seriously outdated and seems like the author has never even been to Africa.

Frantz Fanon is a more compelling read though (even though he's a bit of a misogynist), try "black skin, white masks" or "l'an V de la revolution algerienne/a dying colonialism".

I am new to the investments world and really enjoyed being able to learn and understand the different investment terminology that may be common to the experienced investor. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in entering the investment world as well as the veteran investor who may wish to explain his or her knowledge in a more practical way to others who are less knowledgeable of the different perils that may exist in the investment jungle.

This book is an excellent resource for those who are new and old to the world of investments. It explains Financial Management & Investments in layman's terms for any person to comprehend. I recommended the book to some friends because everyone should have some type of financial knowledge, and they really enjoyed the easy read. Please read Exploring the Investments Jungle, you won't find another book like it!

Exploring the Investments Jungle is by far the most concise, easy to understand book about investing I have read. It covers all the basics in understandable language with good definitions, simple mathematics, and good examples. Any novice investor would feel comfortable using this book as a guide for investing. Five stars!

Exploring the Investment Jungle is an easy to understand, well written book that makes the complex world of investment options seem easy to understand. Dr. Anderson has used his vast knowledge of the financial industry as a basis for this guide for novices to negotiate the pitfalls and steer clear of the so called money managers who are simply pushing their company's products. Not only is it a good read for novices, but it is a good "return to basics" reminder for those who consider themselves experienced in the ever changing investment business. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in sharpening their investment skills.

Exploring the Investment Jungle is a great book of thought for the rookies,the pros and even the veteran investors. It can answers variety of questions from the simple to the most difficult ones when you think about investing. Extradionary book, 5 STAR.

This is a must have for starting a new business. While the theory is great, the practicality of the text allow it to be a "use as you go" guide for writing an effective business plan. Full of effective links and examples of how to, it provides an approach that business start-up leaders of all experience levels can find useful. The relevance of the text is timeless.

This is a must-have guide if you are serious about starting your own company. The book will decrease the amount of time you need to research, and increase the amount of time you have to start making money. The book is easy to understand as it's written from the entrepreneur's perspective. Even after reading the book I find myself going back to it to use as a resource. This book is worth every penny.

This is a comprehensive book that is a must for learning the ropes of entrepreneurship. As a graduate of the MBA program at Columbia, I had a special entrepreneurial interest and focus. I am excited to see that Jack Kaplan has added another outstanding book to complement his other books on the subject. Jack is a true entrepreneur who knows what it really takes to succeed.

This is one of the few books from my MBA program that has truly become a reference guide for me as I am contemplating starting a venture. I would highly recommend the book because it offers the optimal balance of case studies, core business information and extensive additional resources that are all critical to understanding what is necessary for starting a new company. Lastly, I think it is clear that the authors are highly involved in the entrepreneurial world and this comes through in all of the tips and case studies.

What sets Jack's book apart from other entrepreneurship manuals is the depth of practical advice firmly grounded in experience. It is rare to get such access to a serial entrepreneur's accumulated wisdom. Jack's advice has been equally valuable in the classroom -- he knows what he is talking about. I would recommend this book highly to anyone with an idea that wants to become a business.

As far as I'm concerned, this book does an excellent job detailing China's foreign policy. From relations with the West to African affairs, Nathan and Ross are able to concisely explain the importance of each relationship and the dangers confronting China. Furthermore, they also touch on the internal security concerns that the Chinese government must confront. This is a great book to read for people interested in China's foreign policy and what impacts it has on the world.

This book should be mandatory reading for anybody interested in China, or in world politics. Nathan and Ross explain China's place in the international political arena, both froom Chinese perspective and from western point of view.

Excellent!

Nathan and Ross have constructed an excellent book discussing the vulnerability of China. The book goes into great depth discussing issues such as: Taiwanese independence, nuclear proliferation, the strength of the chinese military, the necessity of U.S. intervention in Asia, the relationships existing between China and Japan or the two Koreas, Tibetan freedom, technological exchange with Pakistan. Ultimately, Nathan and Ross conclude that China is a weak and vulnerable country that is more concerned with maintaining its borders and internal stability than initiated a policy of imperialism. This book is a great edition for any student of Asian Politics. Easy to read.

Andrew J. Nathan and Robert S. Ross's THE GREAT WALL AND THE EMPTY FORTRESS is a clearly and tightly written presentation of Chinese foreign policy and defense issues. It is as reliable in its treatment of aspects of the pre-modern Chinese state and society that impinged on the course of modern Chinese affairs as it is authoritative (and well documented) in its analysis of the contemporary Chinese situation. With books on contemporary Chinese affairs, one must be concerned with material becoming dated, but though this book is some four years old in content, nearly its entirety is nevertheless very relevant. Its treatment of Chinese-Taiwan relations, for instance, is still on the mark. Since the book was written before the restoration of Hong Kong to China, the reader will not be able to glean anything new about that situation here. However that may be, this book remains as "must reading" for any student of contemporary China. The reader will happily discover that the style is eminently readable.

National security is a term we're used to hearing in the United States, but with rare exception "security threats" are in fact threats to America's vast informal empire abroad (military bases, troop deployments, the security of client regimes and business interests). As Ross and Nathan ably show, this is emphatically not the case for China. Even though "China is stronger today and its borders more secure than at any other time in the last 150 years", it continues to face a bewildering array of vulnerabilities -- from internal unrest to border insecurity to economic instability.

This book is a good corrective to the growing right-wing trend of playing up the "China threat". Ross and Nathan make clear that China's goals are not particularly ambitious and their capabilities so limited that even if the sinister cabal of Communists plotting against America's beneficent reign were real, it would be hard pressed to act out its evil intentions. Chapter 8, in particular, demolishes the idea that China's military will any time soon provide a real challenge to Japan, much less the USA.

Despite the great service Ross and Nathan provide in refuting the containment school's arguments, this book also has basic problems. Because it is a survey, the authors can only superficially treat each of the many issues raised. They do a good job of integrating history and current events, and the book should be quite useful for those mostly unfamiliar with its topics, but for those with more detailed knowledge it will often by unsatisfying.

Second, the authors use the national security paradigm to orient their analysis, but seem unaware of the drawbacks to such an approach. "National" security indulges the false idea that all groups and individuals within a nation can share the same interests and that national leaders act, fundamentally, on behalf of the whole population. In reality security policies generally hurt the interests of some groups while advancing those of others, and China's leaders act to perpetuate their own power and the power of the Communist Party, and to protect the interests of the increasingly influential business elite. The authors' inability to consider such matters leads them to seriously downplay the ruling class's increasing economic exploitation of workers and its violent domination of ethnically non-Han peoples in East Turkestan/Xinjiang, Tibet/Xizang, and Inner Mongolia.

And finally, the authors approach the subject from the perspective of the engagement school, which has both strengths (discussed above) and very serious weaknesses. Proponents of engagement are ideologically incapable of seeing that the current global economic system is based on inequality, exploitation, and the denial of people's basic needs (food, health care, shelter) and that it is upheld by American military domination of other people. Ross and Nathan's ultimate recommendation, then, is that China be safely integrated into this system -- not because doing so will help the Chinese people, but because doing so removes a threat to the safe operation of a fundamentally unjust world order.

I couldn't put this book down. Every page, every line tells the truth behind the Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian conflict. All wars are complex and difficult to comprehend but Mr. Cohen helps us understand what happened just a few years ago. An accurate and eye-opening account. Some of the atrocities committed are so heinous, so vile as to bring us right back to images of the Third Reich. This is a very important work by a man who knows what he is talking about.

this is the book to read. Its absolutely fantastic. Roger Cohen has a very sharp pen. For me its not just enough to read the book myself, I want to buy other copies and give to friends.

After a few hundred pages, when your ability to read about another Balkans family and their plight begins to wane, Cohen presents some new detail in an individual life that forces you to refocus on how the war crushed people so much like Americans and so very European that the "ancient hatreds" argument becomes sickening. To read about a 16-year-old girl's Tom Cruise poster and her death by shelling is to realize how much the West failed. Compelling, brutal, depressing, and vital reading.

The destruction of Yugoslavia is not the easiest of subjects to fully comprehend. Cohen's informative and excellently written narrative is the best place to start. Cohen does more than just describe the events, he attempts to get beneath the surface to understand the psychology behind the unspeakable atrocities committed during the various wars. The trajedy of Yugoslavia cannot be understood without a recounting of the atrocities committed there during World War II, atrocities that largely went unpunished. All of this and more are recounted by Cohen in his very readable account. It is must reading for anyone interested in recent European history.

A big, passionate book by the New York Times correspondent, who has tried to pack everything into it: the Bosnian experience of the war (told through several family histories), the Western response and UN policy, and the historical background. Cohen argues well against the `ethnic hatreds' doctrine, but tends to substitute World War II hatreds instead. However, his analysis of UN failure, including evidence drawn from minutes of a high-level meeting held before the fall of Srebrenica, will be of lasting importance

My "ah" moment about the CIA came in the aftermath of the Cold War, when many Soviet files became open. A professional intelligence operation would have poured over those files in great detail, seeking to discover what they did right and what they did wrong, so they could do better in the future. The CIA displayed no such interest, preferring illusions to the truth. Careerism reigned supreme.

Although ths book focuses almost exclusively and often humorously on the author's struggle with the dysfunctional CIA bureaucracy over a 15+ year career, it does occasionally touch on larger issues. The one the struck me most forcefully came in the aftermath of 9/11 when the CIA faced the distinct possibility that reform would be forced on them after such a monumental intelligence failure. What did they do? They bought themselves near-immunity from press criticism by leaking heavily biased information to a rabidly anti-Bush press, particularly the NY Times. As the 2008 election demonstrates, much of the press, (FOX-News excepted) has become so highly partisan that nothing trumps putting Democrats in office, not even reforming the CIA, so it has the skills to prevent the next 9/11.

This is not the first time this has happened. We should never forget that Britain's BBC displayed a similar bias during the 1930s. The BBC was so rabidly pro-appeasement that it refused to let Churchill on the air. And appeasement was simply the 1930s term for our present day fetish for getting to the alleged "root causes" of violent behavior. Chamberlain's visit to Munich, without preconditions, is precisely what the historically ignorant Obama talks about doing in the Middle East. A horrible war resulted from a failure to recognize that Nazism was evil in the same sense that today many refuse to believe that radical Islam is evil.

Both Churchill and G. K. Chesterton recognized that a radicalized Islam would pose the same threat to peace that 1930s Germany posed. The only distinction was that in their day Islam lacked the military means to go to war, a situation that has changed with the development of terrorism, asymmetrical warfare, Muslim immigration to Europe, and the enormous amounts of oil money pouring into the Middle East.

--Michael W. Perry, Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements that Led to Nazism and World War II

This book would make most readers afraid, angry and sad. All I can say is, "Wake up America".

This is an amazing book. It's truly scary that our intelligence community is this dysfunctional.

The author writes under an alias, which immediately tells you that the most important thing this expose on the CIA must do is address the credibility problem. How do we know "Ishmael Jones" was really a CIA officer, and that he is telling us the truth? "Jones" writes as if he is unaware this is even a problem, which I suppose is better than protesting too much, but I am still leaning towards the idea that this book is moderately entertaining fiction.

It's not that I'm a fan of CIA. I have seen no credible evidence that CIA has ever given useful warning of a major strategic surprise. I have seen ample credible evidence that they have missed some major surprises. (I'm not sure I can go into detail, since I may have heard the details at my classified workplace at LANL.) The major intelligence coups of WWII were achieved largely in spite of Donovan's OSS, and I'm inclined to believe open intelligence belongs at State and clandestine at Defense, where those who screw up are more likely to face the consequences for it. I would not shed a tear if CIA were summarily disbanded.

I did find "Jones'" description of the bureaucracy at CIA believable, having seen some of the same things at DoE and heard similar stories from friends who are government workers. "Jones" describes layers of risk-averse managers who are more interested in creating the illusion of activity than doing actual useful activity, which after all is going to be risky. His description of bureaucratic inertia is entirely believable. So is his description of memos that talk about salary and vacation policies rather than tradecraft. However, this isn't enough to establish his credibility. Any attentive reader of Dilbert (and "Jones" is one, judging from his use of a Dilbert quote in a chapter header) could probably paint as convincing a picture.

There are "false notes", as another reviewer pointed out. "Jones" found it remarkably easy to simply ignore or deceive bureaucrats in order to do what he perceived to be his job, thereby building up his unblemished career of intelligence success. For example, he claims to have routinely asked permission to make a contact *after* having already met the contact several times. I can't imagine getting away with this kind of thing in my own bureaucracy, which, bad as it is, isn't nearly as bad as what "Jones" claims CIA has become. He shrugs off CIA being a year behind on forwarding his pay as if it was nothing (though I can't rule out an alternate explanation, which I'll come to in a minute.)

"Jones" also irritated me with his description of Mormon temple garments as "wife-beater tee shirt and boxer shorts." I'm guessing he *does* know how offensive this is. (And I acknowledge that that may be enough to have seriously biased my review.) In fact, "Jones" has left us an awful lot of clues about himself, which in a way makes me suspect a carefully designed synthetic persona: His family visited a lot of far corners of the world when he was a child, suggesting his father was either military, State, or fashionably rich. He was a Marine Corps officer. His claims about money are either an outright fabrication (which would completely undercut his credibility; they're essential to his story) or he is independently wealthy. (Not impossible; OSS was basically an alternative to the conventional military for very rich overeducated young men, and the evidence is that CIA inherited this predisposition.) He loathes Mormons and people who are not in top physical condition, and displays a curious mixture of loathing and respect for rednecks. He loathes Russians. He prides himself on being a family man. He is skeptical of conventional religion but has a mystic streak. He comes across as a man who has learned the art of winning by intimidation. This bullying personality is easy to read between the lines, but not so easy that it's obviously part of a synthetic persona. I'm guessing the author of this book, whoever he is, either really is a bully or has been the victim of bullies and is engaging in some wish fulfillment. Most telling, perhaps, is that he doesn't describe a single serious failure or mistake on his own part; the failures are all the fault of others at the Agency. This last part emits a strong odor of decomposing rodent.

Then again, there's no reason why there couldn't be a CIA agent raised in an elite Northeastern family who served with the Marine Corps, is a fitness nut, is a bully, loathes Mormons and rednecks, and is completely blind to his own failings, who resigned from CIA in a huff and decided to write a tell-all.

"Jones" claims the reason he uses an alias is because it's a felony to blow an agent's cover. Well, he says he resigned; he's not an agent any more. Since his alias makes it virtually impossible to check his story, while other disgruntled CIA have put their real names, and reputations, before the world in their exposes, this is another big red flag.

Another suspicious claim is that Ames was revealed by a Russian defector rather than careful detective work. Having heard a classified brief by the woman who led the investigation, I have to say that I found the woman a lot more credible than "Jones."

Still, the book is a mildly entertaining read, even as a humorous fictional account of a made-up government bureaucracy. There are some nice touches: "Jones" claims to have briefly met Valerie Plame, who he claims was removed from foreign assignments out of fear that Ames had compromised her. He thinks she could have been a good agent and is sympathetic to her, but he is also clearly sympathetic to the Novak version of how she was outed. He is not sympathetic to the accuracy of Joe Wilson's yellow cake report. "Jones" describes Plame as a political pawn, which is hard to disagree with, though Plame seems to have taken to the role of liberal martyr with relish. A few pages later, "Jones" describes his theory that a retired CIA agent, active in Democratic politics, was responsible for several damaging leaks during the Bush/Kerry campaigns, but he couldn't get anyone to take his theory seriously. There is very little else in the way of partisan politics in the book, but I think I'd have to add "Republican" to the list of characteristics of "Jones'" persona.

Do I recommend the book? It's not a long read; many readers could manage it in an afternoon. If "Jones" is for real, then, yeah, it's probably worth a read. The problem is that I suspect "Jones" is at least partially a fabrication (maybe even an unconscious one) and I'm not sure the book is good enough fiction to be worth the time. I am, however, curious to see what others' reactions to it are.

Mr. Jones has done a great service in providing this clear, passionate and compelling picture of life in the CIA's clandestine service. People better informed than I can quibble with details, but the Appendix, "Solutions for reform of the clandestine service", should be the checklist against which any future reforms of the DO are judged.

When I started reading this book I was disappointed. The background chapters that attempt to teach Technical Analysis for example are covered somewhat better in other books (see John Murphy).

But the treasure of this awesome book is in the examples and stories in the later chapters. I wish I had read this book a couple of years ago. From a number of books that I have read, it talks quite a bit about short selling and risk. In my opinion .. it is a five star book ..

That's the big question. Sell too soon to lock in a small profit and you watch the market go on in your direction without you. That hurts because if you only waited you could have that bigger profit. Or maybe the market turns and you look like a genius?

Sell too soon and you end up with a small loss that prevents you from a much bigger loss. Or does the market turn and your small loss would have turned into a big winner?

This book goes into detail about when you should sell and when you should sell short. I have read many books on trading and this one covers those points in more detail, with more clarity, than all of the others combined. The large majority of books only talk about buying, usually in a bull market. They almost never tell you specifically when to get out of those positions, or if they do, they give a generic profit target like "2 or 3 times your initial risk". How is that good advice? They have no idea of the market that day or of your entry point. I consider myself to be pretty good at entries, almost surgical in precision, so I can use a smaller stop loss to know if the position is going to work. I would go broke if I stuck to "2 or 3 times my initial risk", my winning trades usually go much further and my initial risk is usually very small.

Justin Mamis goes into the psychology of holding positions. He talks about how one professional trader told him "The public is most comfortable when they are sitting with losses". I read that and instantly knew he was correct. I have seen it in the past in my trading. I would be sitting there with a huge profit and I was nervous as hell. Then the next day I was sitting there with a big loss, and I was not nearly as nervous. How is that even possible? To me the loss was easier to accept because I rationalized it as a loss without giving thought to the size of the loss. Holding the winner is tougher because I was focusing on the size of the winner and did not want to close the position at a profit and leave money on the table. Leaving money on the table would turn that huge winner into a loser for me because I was not getting all of it. This is a tough business. Taking profits should not be so draining on your emotions.

Justin explains his thoughts about how the stock market is an ideal arena for ones emotions. You have all the elements of reward and punishment, and many people carry lots of guilt on their shoulders, so losing money in the markets is therapeutic for them. It's sad, but it's probably closer to being true than to being false.

The author goes into detail on market analysis and technical indicators and how to use them. He focuses on price action, but shows you how to use indicators if you need them. Justin talks about news items at tops and bottoms and tells you how to recognize when you are near tops or bottoms. That information alone is easily understandable and more than covers the low price of this important book.

Read the authors other books too, The Nature of Risk (Contrary Opinion Library) and How to Buy: An Insider's Guide to Making Money in the Stock Market.

I have been an investment professional for over 20 years. I have read dozens of books--most long before the flood of "you to can be a super trader" trash of the 1990s. This is the best one. Mamis is an original and independent thinker. The book deals with psychology, tactics, technical indicators. His "How to Buy" is not nearly as good.

If you invest, wish you had a mentor on the trading floor, but don't know anyone who works on the exchange, you should read this book. Mamis discusses not only market indicators so you can better time buys and sells, but explains what happens on the trading floor and how the professionals -- the "they" many investors refer to grudgingly -- benefit from herd psychology. After reading this you will better understand why the "average investor" is more likely to lose than win, and why many people, in fact, subconsciously prefer to lose. Mamis has an easy style which reflects his many years of investing experience -- it is not a dry, academic discusson of the market.

Along with "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" and a couple of others, this is one of the best and most informative books I've read about the market.

I was fortunate to come across Justin Mamis' book early in my career on Wall Street. Because of his book, I learned a lot about investor psychology and the art of selling which makes this book unique. It is just not charts and a bunch of "mumble jumbo"- it's learning through Justin's stories how investors behave in a given situation and what happens. I guaranteed it will help you become a better investor because it helped me. I started as a stockbroker but later became a portfolio manager at a major brokerage firm; chief investment officer for a money manager firm; a market strategist; and research director.

Yes, I like this book so 14 years after reading this book I was fortunate to be able hire Justin as my market technician when I became research director for a major regional firm. After working with him on a daily basis for a number of years, I can understand why institutions today are willing to pay a minimum of $20,000/yr. for his services.

One last note: I own a lot of investment books but "When to Sell" is the only book that has even been stolen out of my office. Not once but multiple times. In fact, I got so sick of having to replace it that I quit keeping it at work.

I have been investing using Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) for over 20 years and have read many books on this subject. This book has reemphasized some of those not so obvious concepts that I have learned through the years. For some one with very basic investment knowledge, specially in MPT, this may not be the first book that I would recommend. However, at some point in the investor's life, this book is a must!
In addition to the above comments, it would say that to effectively implement the book's recommendations, Financial Engines (a paid Monte Carlo software) is most likely needed.

These are the unconventional investment ideas that I found this book very unique:

1. Portfolio rebalancing means unintended bet against the market.

2. Presented the portfolio risk not as standard deviation of return, but versus that of market portfolio.

3. Hierarchical approach of investment (asset allocation first then investment selection) is not a good idea. Reason being: 1. Asset allocation likely assuming zero cost index fund as a guide. 2. Assuming each fund can fit into single asset class. 3. Asset allocation is paramount to investment selection regardless of the quality of investment selection. 4. Approach frequently ends up with actively managed and high fee fund.

4. Alternative investment not necessarily a good diversification due to risk and cost.

5. Financial Engines does not put funds into rigid asset class categories but rather use techniques to create a weighted peer group of funds based on how close the investment style (risk relative to market portfolio) is to the fund in question, and then rank funds on various measures (expenses, fund-specific risk, performance, turnover).

Overall, the book is very enlightening to both novice and professional investors without digging into complicated mathematics!

Chris Jones covers all the bases related to investment choices based upon what's best for the personal investor rather than the financial advisor. Great examples, clear concise terminology, a perfect book for anyone interested in well grounded wealth accummulation over glitz!

This book does a number of things well.

1) it offers a great overview of the basics of personal investing (historical and future market performance factors, the roles of risk attitudes and time horizon when determining one's asset allocation, the value of diversification, tax issues, etc.)

2) it shows, mathematically, the perils of individual stock picking, and the negative impact this will likely have on your portfolio

3) most importantly, in my view, is the detailed examination of how and why a passive indexed approach will likely beat an active managed approach, unless the managers get lucky. No wonder John Bogle likes this book!

The book is heavy on concepts and examples, light on tough math. Not a super-light read, but far from a technical manual. Good for most readers, I would think.

In conclusion, if you implement what this author suggests, you can't go wrong.

This book was well written and easy to read.

The author makes the case that we would need about 1500 years of stock market return data to be able to predict stock market returns within +/- 1% with high confidence. Since we only have about 100 years of reliable data, we can predict within +/- 4% of the long term historical average. Over long 25 year time periods, stock market returns can vary by a factor of 6X or 6 times.

The author discusses the current world asset allocation of about 63:37 stocks:bonds. Interestingly enough, this is not far from the age old pension plan asset allocation of 60:40. The ratio of U.S. to foreign stocks is also about 60:40.

This author has a different opinion about periodically rebalancing a portfolio. He says rebalancing is really a market timing bet.........because you are betting against the consensus of market participants when the market asset allocation changes. He recommends rebalancing to changes in the over-all market allocation versus to a fixed stock:bond asset allocation ratio.

While conducting research for Financial Engines, they found that investors preferred having risk expressed in dollars versus percentages or sigma.

The author correctly focuses on using funds with low expenses, and he says most mutual funds have total expenses over 2% per year. He recommends adjusting your asset allocation around low expense funds...........if you are in a 401K with very limited choices. His work suggests that not investing in an asset class only costs you about 0.5% in return. If it costs you more than 1% in additional fees to get into a new asset class, then skip this asset class.

The author suggests having a maximum of 10% invested in REITs. He argues that if you own your home, you probably have no need for REITs as a separate investment.

The author also argues that commodities have a 0% expected return, so skip this asset class.

Over-all, this book is easy to read with very sound advice for investors.


Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Financial Life and Beat the Pro's
The Richest Man in Babylon
Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
The Millionaire Next Door
The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On With Your Life
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

This book has all there is for the novice and experienced
investors ... . It has all the information relevant to the world of investments, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, indices ....
All presented in as simple way as possible to the man in the street. Yet in it's own way I would think even the expert money
managers will hate to give this book a miss!

A must read for anyone wanting to know what investing is all about.

As a financial planner, I am always skeptical of how to books. This book was a huge surprise! There is no fluff or selling. It is straight forward, educational and easy reading. I would recommend that any of my clients read this book to reinforce basic investment principles.

In a dynamic market, with so much noise, investors can get confused and make big mistakes. IA gives clear guidelines that are appropriate to all investors. The author's concise, entertaining writing style is easy to follow and retain. I was surprised at how simple he made some very difficult concepts. This always indicates knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.

Anyone who picks up this book will benefit but only if they apply the principles. An A+ to the author for his wonderful effort. Thank you.

I was surprised how quick paced and understandable this book is to read. Investment strategies can be very dry. But this book is a fast read and I learned a lot from the author.

I have never been able to stay in the market when it got rough. But this book showed me why I need to stay in, even when all the bad news tells me to get out. More important, I learned that if I use a wide allocation of funds, I will actually have less risk. This was a real eye opener for me.

I am very grateful the author took the time to write this book. It will change my entire approach to investing. Now maybe I will actually achieve my objectives. Thanks

A believer in a buy-and-hold approach to mutual funds investing, I am trying to develop an efficient asset allocation plan. I have read useful and informative books such as Bogle on Mutual Funds (by John Bogle) and The Winning Portfolio (by Paul Farrell), and while they provide readers with what they consider model portfolios, I was frustrated by the lack of information on how those asset allocation pie-charts were actually derived. If you are the type of person who prefers to learn how to catch fish than to be given one, then Investment Alchemy provides you with a tangible starting point, and it does so in mere 130 pages.

By perusing this book, you will have a concrete idea of why an efficiently diversified portfolio should minimize the risk (volatility), thus yielding higher returns. Think of Portfolio A and B having $100 each to start with. Portfolio A grows 10% in the first and second year, while Portfolio B grows 19% in the first and 1% in the second. While the average return rates for both portfolios are 10%, the Portfolio A shows higher balance at the end of the second year. The authors' idea of building an efficiently diversified portfolio centers around this concept. You will then learn how to combine different asset classes to develop such an efficient asset allocation plan without having to be too theoretical.

I recommend this book to any mutual fund investors who are trying to establish his/her own investment strategies over a long haul. A basic familiarity with mutual funds and some statistical concepts (such as correlation and standard deviations) will make the reading easier.