Benjamin Graham and the Power of Growth Stocks

by Frederick K. Martin

Compared with other books that I have read about Ben Graham, Benjamin Graham and the Power of Growth Stocks is definitely the clearest, most concise, and easily the most useful of all of them. What makes this book particularly interesting is how it revisits the investing philosophy of Mr. Graham with an angle toward using, maybe even zeroing in on, just growth stocks. Once it defines growth stock and clarifies why Mr. Graham’s principles apply, it can then expound on the most tangent of Mr. Graham’s principles and expand them in light of the modern investment environment. What really makes this book a winner is how it reproduces a long lost formula of Mr. Graham’s and then explains a tangible, executable method for actually using that formula to calculate the value of a growth stock and whether or not it is one that should be invested in. Too often we hear some investment advisor tell us, “This formula works, unless of course it doesn’t”. There is none of that here. You set the margin of safety (explained in the book) where you are comfortable. You set the growth rate (here called the “hurdle rate”) you need (or want) to achieve. You look up or calculate the values for the company you want to invest in. Then you apply Graham’s formula. If the numbers match, you’ve found a stock you can safely and confidently invest in. If they don’t, you have to keep looking or change your expectations. The choice is left to you. While I wouldn’t recommend this approach to a beginner, I think this methodology is ideal for a disciplined investor. By constantly referring to Graham’s teachings, the author has really reached an investment methodology that is understandable, achievable, and repeatable. The writing is crisp and friendly, and the style is homey without being corny or preachy. Above all, the author has a solid understanding of the investment principles of Ben Graham, as well as experience using them, and producing positive investment results. Without a doubt, Ben Graham’s growth stock approach is sensible, making this book probably the best investment book I’ve read this year. That’s definitely worth the full load of dollar marks.

What Would Ben Graham Do Now?

 by Jeffrey Towson

The title of this book suggests that the investment strategy of the late Benjamin Graham can be slightly tweaked and the applied to make profitable investment in the risk-laden, wild swinging investment environment of right now 2011. The author is an international investment consultant with considerable and wide-ranging international experience, so I would expect he would know how value investing should work in various political and foreign climates. Unfortunately, instead of channeling Ben Graham in a modern, international  light, all Mr. Towson really does in this book is tell us that we are investing in a politically charged, international environment (which we know already, because that’s what he tells us early in his book). This fact, says Towson, makes some investments marginal bets, and some marginal bets bad ones. What it all boils down to is, you need to invest in the same kind of value and growth companies, but also compensate for political instability, foreign policies, cultural anomalies, and the like. There are plenty of anecdotes to back up the author’s opinions, and that’s all well and good, but I didn’t see much discussion about what Mr. Graham might actually do, much less why he would. In fact, as I got to the middle of the book (where I stopped reading), the author would go on for ten or twenty pages without so much as mentioning Mr. Graham. Personally, I don’t care enough about Russian politics, Chinese cronyism, Middle-Eastern cultural mores and their slanted perceptions of the west to really apply anything in this book to investing. Of course, there really aren’t any strategies, analysis, methodologies, and or other investing advice and tips to apply anyways. So, I still don’t know what Ben Graham would do now, but I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to put this aside and read Benjamin Graham and the Power of Growth Stocks (which really does channel Ben Graham and is a much better read).

The Trading Book

by Anne-Marie Baiynd

For as complex a subject as it covers, The Trading Book delivers a lot of useful information in a clear, concise, useful manner. If you are a trader, or think you want to become one, this book covers everything from basic chart reading to highly advanced trend analysis. If you always wondered how a Fibonacci sequence applies to stock trading, or wanted to know how candlestick charts are used, or what a Bollinger band signifies, Ms. Baiynd has you covered. And when you’ve got all the hard trading knowledge covered, you can tackle the “soft” stuff, like overcoming psychological shortcomings, keeping a trade journal to analyze your performance, and when to trade (or not) based on nothing more than your base emotions. Even though the technical aspects of this book can be daunting at times, Ms. Baiynd softens the blow with plenty of detailed explanatory charts. Her earthy, at time cornball, sense of humor make the reading a lot easier and absorbing the material was at times, even almost enjoyable. For myself, I think this book gets a little too detailed at times, especially when she starts talking about five minute or fifteen minute interval trades (people do that? Really?), but it is easy enough to skim those sections, glean a few pertinent points, then move on to the sections of more use and interest. And unless you are an incredibly experienced trader or some kind of mathematician, I expect you will have to take the tougher sections much slower in order to get maximum benefit and use from the information. (I don’t think any but the most perspicacious readers could digest this book once through – it will require multiple readings and frequent referencing to insure success.) This book is jam-packed with useful information, great lessons and insight, and buoyant enthusiasm and encouragement. I think this is one of the best books on trading there is, so I give it full marks.

Your Stronger Financial Future

by Mike Egan

Your Stronger Financial Future is a book that delivers on its promise of giving you a better footing for making and keeping your investment money in these, shall we say, “uneven” economic times. It offers up what I’ll call “lessons” based on common notions about investing and how the economy works. It turns out, according to the author, that many of these notions are actually misperceptions and are usually, entirely wrong. I won’t do any plot spoilers here, but if you read a newspaper and believe everything in there is what you need to know to invest wisely (or correctly), then prepare to have that newspaper rolled up and swatted across your nose. There’s more to investing than meets the eye, and trying to guess what the Fed will do, or whether stocks are better than bonds, or how much of your portfolio should be in gold, is all a fool’s errand. You need balance, sense, time, and confidence, and the authors show that those traits, along with money (obviously), will get you where you need to be financially. So why only four dollar signs? Well, that’s why: this is basic stuff, almost common sense. It should help some folks see through the smoke that’s been thrown up around them by the economy, and certainly it will serve as a good reminder to others who have grasped the principles at play here but have maybe forgotten them. Ultimately, this is simple stuff and the insights, though real, are a bit shallower than they seem at first. Still, I enjoyed reading this book with its “perception is that, reality is this” approach, and it’s hard-driving sensibility. I think this book will have something for every investor, beginning or pro. Even if it does turn out to be just a refresher course, that’s not a bad thing, and this remains a strong, informative, and worthwhile investing book.

All About Investing in Gold

 by John Jagerson and S. Wade Hansen

 Let me start by saying this book did not make me rush out and buy gold bars or commodity laden ETF’s. I see gold more as a piece of the investment puzzle, and I know that there are a lot of other investments that glitter in other ways, and that achieving balance between these many investment options is the key to success. This book, however, is very informative and detailed and, it is strictly about gold. There aren’t any investment plans being flogged here, nor do the authors offer any gold investing tips or advice. The book sticks to its premise, namely, of being an explanation of the ins and outs of trading gold, where to trade, when to trade, what to buy, and even why to trade. It does slant to “gold bull” outlook, being written largely in a tone that seems to imply that buying gold is a good idea, no matter what form or format you pursue. So, if you are thinking about gold as an element of portfolio diversification, but you really don’t know much about gold and you need positive vibes as well as information, this is the book for you. It will answer the questions of raw beginners, teach you some things you didn’t know, and give you some ideas for starting to invest in precious metals. It will also provide emotional support and “printed confidence” for intermediate and advanced traders. Just remember: If you’re looking for a get rich quick gold investment strategy or some kind of trading plan, you’ll have to look elsewhere. All in all, this is a very sensible, sober book, and I certainly learned a lot about gold. I would say that it even gave me some information that made me think about gold in a new way, namely, gold is not strictly a financial instrument in that it does not generate returns like stocks and bonds, therefore, it can’t really be considered an investment that will generate income. (Seems obvious, I know, but I’d never thought about it that way.) I found this book very informative, so if you’re looking to enroll in Gold Investing 101, this is the textbook for you.

Mastering Trade Selection and Management

by Jay Norris and Al Gaskill

A slow starting book, I didn’t think much of this tome as I started wading through the early introductory pages. As I often do when reading something I’m not very familiar with, I tried to think of myself as someone other than myself, namely, a day trader, which I take to be the target audience of this book. Even at that, I was thinking this couldn’t possible more than a three dollar sign book, maybe even only two. It was highly technical even when addressing very general subjects, and the tone seemed a bit condescending. I also didn’t care much for the fact that the authors kept flogging one of their earlier books. As I continued reading, however, I began thinking that not only would I give the authors three dollar signs, I might stretch it to four, because everything they were saying was making sense. Sure, it was still very technical, and it was definitely becoming more and more geared for a specialized, limited type of short-term trader, but the charts (candlesticks) made sense and accurately illustrated the authors’ points, and the strategies continued to be sensible and feasible. As I neared the end of the book, despite reading for the umpteenth time that such-and-such was a topic covered in their other book, I found myself thinking that the information conveyed in this book is valuable, useful, practical, and reasonable, and anyone who is serious about making money in some kind of financial market would probably be able to use some of what this book contains. They close out the book with concrete trading plans (not strategies or analysis) tailored to different markets and traders and built on their earlier chapters of analysis, trend spotting, and trade timing, which was something I’d never seen before from a book like this. So finally, I was convinced I was reading a five dollar sign book. True, had I not received a complimentary copy from the publisher, this is probably not a book that I would have read, but I have to say, even though I’ve no intention of becoming a short-term trader or delving into forex and commodities markets, I learned a lot reading this book and it gave me plenty of ideas which I think will work for long-term stock trading. Who knows? I may even pick up Norris and Gaskill’s first book.

The Bathrobe Millionaire

by Jason Yelowitz

When the author of this book asked if I would review it on Amazon in exchange for a gratis copy, I jumped at the chance. I’ve read plenty of books that have the word “millionaire” in them, but I still don’t have a million bucks, so maybe, this could be the one. I thought it would at least have elements of motivation, self-help, right-thinking, etc. that would put me on a different track. And in some aspects, it does have that, however, it is not really a “how-to” book. When I was about one-quarter of the way through, I realized it was more of a memoir: here’s how I made millions of dollars. The author starts slow, mostly with personal background and stories of lukewarm success or downright failure. Eventually, though, the story picks up. The stories Mr. Yelowitz tells are his own, so the lessons he learns and shares are real, and they were no doubt helpful in his achieving financial success. Taking those lessons and experiences of the author, a reader should be able to apply them to his or her own endeavors, presumably to some positive financial end. True, many of the things the author did to make his money were taking advantage of Internet arbitrage situations that are largely non-existent or next to impossible to find today, but the experiences are still pertinent and insightful into making money with minimal effort and not having to shave everyday. Just the fact that the book’s title depended on the availability of domain names is itself instructional. All in all, the stories were interesting (mostly) and informative, the book is well written, and the lessons are valuable. Had I known what to expect and had the book found its stride faster, I would have given it five dollar signs, but nonetheless, this is a very good book and a worthwhile read.

Presentations in Action

by Jerry Weissman

First off, let me say that I know a lot of people I would like to give this book to, because, I know a lot of people who cannot (or do not) distinguish between a report and a presentation, or a document and a slide. Those same people also don’t know (or care) anything about my eyesight, my hearing, or my intelligence level. Accordingly, I have experienced “death by Powerpoint” firsthand more times than I care to remember. This book could help alleviate many of those problems, because this book is not just about PowerPoint, but about presentations in general, and it contains a lot of sensible information on presentations. Some of it I knew already, but some of it was new and I’d never thought about before. Without going into details and specifics, it covers things like audience expectations, how to “prime” the audience, where graphics should and shouldn’t be used, where they go on a slide, the difference between right and left (both movement and location), where to stand, when to talk (and when not), and many more things like that. Each concept is presented in its own chapter, usually with some correlation to a real life person, as in the subtitle “80 Memorable Presentation Lessons from the Masters”. These correlations are not really lessons so much as “proof in the pudding” observations. Still, although the anecdotes and correlations did not really help me remember the lessons any more easily than reading through them carefully, they do drive home the point that there is something to be gained by incorporating that lesson in one’s own presentation methodology. I felt that almost every tip and technique the author explains would be useful or at least serve as some kind of reminder to use in preparing a presentation. And as I said, I found the majority of the information to be something new. This book is dense and the “lessons” come one after the other in rapid fire succession, so as much as I would like to share its tenets with some of the folks around me,  I’m going to have to keep this book handy and refer to it often to get the most out of it. The overall content of the book is worth a full five dollar signs, but I have to take one off for the misleading subtitle. Other than that, this is a very good book. 

One Simple Idea

by Stephen Key

Stephen Key is touted as a sort of acolyte of Timothy Ferriss, he of The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: Expanded and Updated, With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content. fame. Key's key (sorry) idea is very similar to the 4HWW: It is possible to break free of a workaday, humdrum life and have everything you want without becoming a corporate drone working for a paycheck by working for "the man". Simple Idea, however, is different in its methodology. Rather than the "do the same things better, become more efficient through outsourcing, spread out, travel, work globally, and become rich" approach in 4HWW, Key's approach is that you become a source of ideas to people who will pay money for them. All you have to do is think of things that nobody else does, then market the idea yourself or license or sell it to somebody else so they make money for you. Key's plan is achievable, concrete, well-formulated, and certainly executable. But again, due to the similar nature of Simple Idea to the 4HWW, the majority of readers will simply not have the skill set, determination, or willingness to make the sacrifices needed to fully implement the strategies in this book. This is not to say that the ideas, strategies, and their approach and methodology. are unrealistic. In fact, Key's made millions (he says) doing just what he spells out in the book. That may be true, but what's for sure is that Key has been teaching his plan in college courses and many of his students have successfully implemented his ideas and plans, so it is difficult to doubt the veracity of his claims and the feasibility of his plans (which again, is like 4HWW in that its author, Timothy Ferriss, as also the living proof of his book’s tenets). One Simple Idea itself is well laid out and efficiently organized. The writing is crisp and clear, like you would expect from an educator, but it may be just a little bit too pushy and repetitive for some readers. (The beginning goes on endlessly with rah-rah-ing: "You can do it. You can do it.") Still, all around, this is an excellent book that I enjoyed reading, and learned a lot from, even though I know I'm not going to be much of an idea-monger in the near future. That is why I do not hesitate to give it five dollar signs and recommend it to anyone who enjoyed 4HWW or is interested in motivational, self-help, or contrarian lifestyle information. Key gives you the information you need. What you do with it is up to you. (Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.)

The Four-Hour Work Week

by Timothy Ferriss

This is one of the most amazing and interesting books I’ve read in the last year. A perennial best-seller, this book contains a ton of ideas and suggestions for making more money, working less hours, doing what you want, traveling, and, well, living a “real” life. Everything the book suggests is, to some degree, reasonable and feasible. But I have to say, If you have a mortgage, kids in school, a decent job, and you volunteer at your church or local youth organization, you’re probably going to be highly reluctant to make the sacrifices necessary in order to execute many of the plans, such as taking a "mini-retirement" and moving to Thailand for six months. That is to say, you can’t have a “real” life without giving up your “normal” life. For many, that makes this book a deal breaker. If you are in your mid-twenties, between jobs, and looking for something better, however, this book is probably much more approachable and useful. I think initially, you’ll have to work a lot more than four hours a week, but I think if you use this book and apply yourself, a four hour work week does become possible, and sooner, rather than later in life. That said, I still think that any serious business person or self-help enthusiast will stand to gain a lot from this book. The expanded and updated version in particular is chock full of websites where one can go to get information about and help executing many of the book’s strategies. At the very least, Timothy Ferriss has succeeded in pulling off the strategies that he’s flogging here, proof positive that it can be done. For an average business person like myself, this book makes me think of things that move me closer to the better, outsourced, high producing, less demanding, more rewarding life that this book promises, and I feel that it can’t hurt and will probably help just about anyone’s life in some way or another, which is why I give it five out of five dollar signs.

Trading with Candlesticks

by Michael C. Thomsett

About ten years ago, I was invited by a local newspaper to participate in an eight week stock picking contest with seven other individuals, each with a different approach to stock picking, presumably to find the best money making stock trading strategy. As the author of a gambling book, Winning Pachinko: The Game of Japanese Pinball, I was to make use of a "gambler strategy". My result was less than spectacular (4^th out of 8, so top half, anyway), while the winner more than doubled his fantasy $100K using "Japanese candlesticks". He did so in about ten weeks of trading. So when I saw this book, I was anxious to see if I could become a candlestick convert, as it were. Unfortunately, this book is very good at teaching about candlesticks, but not very good at the “trading with candlesticks” part. In fact, every time I thought the author had given me an useful nugget or insight, the next paragraph would say, “Of course, it could be a false signal.” It’s second guess after second guess. But that’s not the worst part. The worst part is that the authors never draw any sort of correlation between their candlestick charts and what was going on in the real world. There’s nothing that reflects what the economy was doing at the time (was it a bear market? bull market? stagflated? irrationally exuberant?), and nothing about what the company itself was doing (changing CEO’s? releasing a new product? covering up a sex scandal?). Had there been anything at all that allowed a potential trader to put two and two together on his or her own, this book could have been really valuable. As it is, it’s nothing more than a treatise on one of many stock analysis tools, limiting its utility considerably. All in all, the book was informative, well written, and well thought out. It had lots of illustrative charts and graphs (some not all that useful, however), and it was organized well, progressing from easy single stick patterns to multiple stick patterns. There just wasn’t much meat on these relatively solid bones, resulting in my lukewarm three dollar sign rating.

Perfect Phrases for Conflict Resolution

by Lawrence Polsky and Antoine Gerschel

This is one of those books that when I first get it and start reading, I begin to wonder what I was thinking. Do I really need canned phrases to succeed in the workplace? The answer is yes and no. Yes, I sometimes don’t think of the right thing to say in the heat of the moment, and yes, I don’t always say the right thing. But, no, just having a book of pat phrases is not always going to help out in a real life business predicament. Still, PPFCR is likely to be helpful to a lot of managers and business people, myself included. This book has a lot of phrases for a lot of different situations to be said to a lot of different people: superiors, inferiors, customers, vendors, bosses, good managers, bad managers, etc. And if it turns out your personality is suited to the majority of these phrases, there’s a lot of bang for the buck here. But for myself, the value in this book comes from the simple fact of looking up an appropriate phrase is much more likely to make me stop and think of what the right thing to say and do is. In other words, even if the answer isn’t in the book, it still might give me the answer. I often use humor to defuse touchy situations, and while this book avoids out and out humor (“Do you want fries with that?”), I found that just placing the book in a prominent spot on my desk was effective enough. If somebody still approached me with a bone to pick, I could just say, “Hold it!”, pick up my book, crack it to a random page, then say “Okay, go ahead.” (It really worked.) All in all, though, the authors have put a lot of thought into the subject, they’ve organized their ideas and phrases well, and the book is jam-packed with phrases, some of which will no doubt be very useful and effective. For its utility, four out of five dollar signs.