A great horror story

As I read this book it slowly dawned on me that I was reading a terrific horror story. Frighteningly, it is true. John Lanchester elegantly and with great skill and patience guides you into the murky, scary depths of the financial industry - sorry - business. I knew little about how exactly we arrived at the 'crunch' and now have an insight which has left me reeling. From Quants to regulators, derivatives to sub-prime, the language is dissected and laid out with great and terrifying clarity.<br /><br />I thoroughly commend this book but prepare to be unnerved and horrified in a way that Stephen King has never done!

Bible of Finance

This book is Bible of finance and is a must read.It teaches us basic principal of value investing but the most important lesson from the book is how to control and win over oneself and gives numerous example of failure who did not follow basic principal of"Investing" or value investing.

Pretentious

I could not agree more with the fine points made by my fellow one star reviewers: The Black Swan is dreadful. I bought the book on the basis of its strongly positive reviews but have been forced to re-purpose it as a prop for holding open my sash window.<br /><br />The author makes several good points but he has mysteriously chosen to wrap them in cumbersome anecdotes before allowing them to drown in a sea of meandering waffle. That may sound pretentious but I come fresh from reading the Black Swan and so my head is fit to burst with the pretense that has been used to pad out its 300+ pages.<br /><br />I think a high school-level understanding of statistics and Rumsfeld's"unknown unknowns" would allow any reader to draw these conclusions and save their money.<br /><br />Avoid.

Four Horsemen (not)

Excellent. I covered this period at uni, but the author furnishes a lot of mundane detail that really brings it to life. Also there is a lot of good explanation for non-economists.

An old one but still valid today

There are some new concepts around for wealth creation, as not all have been cloned from Napolean's book. Even though this is from long ago it is quite interesting to see how some of the concepts of wealth creation it offers are still valid today. I think we could go back to the Roman days and find validity in how they were also good at wealth creation and how their techniques also stand the test of time. A great book but with some age-old concepts that cannot solely be credited to Napolean Hill. Ideal book for those starting out on the wealth trail.

Comprehensive insight for a complete beginner

I have always been a little sceptical of the `dummies' range. However, having a limited understanding of the topic and reviewing the other books on the market, it seemed like the best option. I wasn't disappointed. You can never profess to be an expert after reading a book like this but it has given me a foundation to continue my education. One criticism is that some terms and topics are referenced before they are explained. This can make some of the ideas confusing but if you stick with it and they all become clear - eventually.

A must read for any new budding Traders

I believe it is one of the best book written about Bond traders and anybody especially those in college who are aspiring to become a banker should definately read it. It gives a real life account of a trading floor and the harsh realities of being a young trader!!!

Great read for beginners

Anyone thinking of putting money into silly, overtly complicated financial products offered by 'financial experts' should read this book! It will allow you to think more about where your hard earned money should go.<br /><br />Extensive and transparent.<br /><br />Some concepts may need more reading up on since they are not explained as easily as they could be. Although that could be just my lack of intellect!<br /><br />Highly recommended.

Warren Buffett from the inside out

I think this is the book to end all books on Warren Buffett. Seriously, I don't think this author left a single thing out.<br /><br />And I mean everything: on the personal side you'll get his family history back like 4 generations, his relationships with people and why he had them and cultivated them the way he did, his fears and regrets - getting a strong insight into the kind of man he is, decade on decade on decade. On the business side, you'll understand the kind of psychology he is hard wired with (and learned) that has enabled him to get to the point he is today, if you analyse enough you'll understand why he has managed to become so successful and revered, and how through mimicking certain attributes you might catch a snippet of the success he has enjoyed. All very very interesting and useful.<br /><br />To be fair on this Alice Schreoder, I honestly don't think she could written this book in any other way, the author HAD to put in this level of detail to be a cut above the rest, but I'm glad she broke it up in places with anecdotes and family dramas because by god it gets BORING. Endless streams of names and people and companies it just becomes one massive blur. Literally hundreds of people must have been mentioned: where he met them, when, what they did, who they were married to, what their daughters' best friends' aunt was doing in New York when he sat next to them at some obscure function that really contributes nothing to the flow of the book... but it has to be mentioned anyway as it happened. Then they disappear from the book forever. Streams and streams of companies that he invested in, bought, partially acquired, then the companies that those companies invested in in what proportion and when he shifted his interest from this stock to that stock blah blah blah. It never ends! I couldn't tell you anything in particular now about how he operated but, in light of the fact I just waded through like 700 pages, it seemed very impressive!<br /><br />But all in all a good effort, I don't think any other biography on Warren Buffett could ever match this. It is well written and comprehensive, I'd say the author managed to unravel the complex mind and life choices of Warren Buffett in the best way she possibly could and, in spite of some parts being complicated and dragging, it pulls through very as a unique, successful and intimate exploration of the life of Warren Buffett.

The Paulson Trade

This well written book recounts how John Paulson and other like-minded contrarian traders & investors were able to pull off their version of the (in-)famous 'Soros Trade' -- except, instead of breaking the British Pound, Paulson et al. made their bones betting against a crumbling financial system using CDSs (credit default swaps) [basically, a derivative instrument that either allows you to insure against credit risk or make a pure bet against the credit-worthiness of companies, mortgages, cash flows, etc.]. In 2007, Paulson's hedge fund made $15 Billion (John Paulson's take home pay was $4 Billion -- the largest one year payout to an individual in financial history). Paulson made Soros' legendary trade look pedestrian! In fact, as the book recounts, George Soros actually invited John Paulson to give him a tutorial on trading with CDSs!<br /><br />In years to come, I can safely predict that financial traders wanting to make a big score with a particularly grand bet will refer to it as a Paulson Trade rather than a Soros Trade. What John Paulson and others did was not easy to execute -- although, as the book makes clear, the concept is fairly straightforward (the credit market bubble was being inflated with toxic sludge) -- and I appreciate the fact that the book makes many of the missteps, hurdles, and shady practices of brokers/banks clear.<br /><br />I'm glad I got this book asap (getting the US version ahead of the UK edition). It was well worth the extra effort. An enjoyable, entertaining, and potentially profitable read. At the very least, the reader can come away with a better understanding of how our easy credit economy fell apart to near depressionary levels.

Beginner's dream

For a beginner this is an ideal starting place to learn the basics of what is fundamentally regarded as a difficult concept. Robbie makes this a very easy read and gives the lay person confidence that they can start trading shares. I highly recommend this especially if you are a beginner.

Should be compulsory reading for all young people - and a lot of older ones, too.

I bought this book for my 11 year old grandson who was expected to read at least one autobiography for a school assignment. I don't think the teachers know just how few autobiographies there are written for children. In addition most autobiographies are far too long for children who have many other interests - not to mention other subjects to study.<br /><br />This Richard Branson book should be compulsory reading for all young people - and a lot of older ones, too! It is written in a very succinct style (by a dyslexic who understands reading problems) and blends autobiographical anecdotes and humour with lessons in life. Each chapter is headed by a list of the topics covered in that chapter which helps to increase clarity. The language used should be accessible to all - a very easy read.<br /><br />Those who like reading and want more detail might prefer the full autobiography (which I have not read so cannot recommend)but I can thoroughly recommend this book if you want to find out something about Richard Branson's life and learn a little about how he has achieved his success.

Really good

Very useful for the newer shareholder. Nothing on shorting / spread betting, but very useful for someone who wants a basic and overall knowledge on the subject.

Great book

Really good book for introduction of these subjects. Does not have the solutions to the problems but it is understandable in the sense that if it had it would become really huge and some people might not want the solutions (the solutions book is not that expensive).

City Boy - The only way this book would provide any ilumination would be to set it on fire.

I bought this at Paddington train station recently"in a rush". The collapse of the banking system is clearly the most significant event of this century this far probably more important than 9/11. As such I was looking for an insightful piece of analysis alia Paul mason or Thomas Woods. Yes I picked up the wrong book so mea culpa. That said there are many great novels on big themes of the perils of excess and aspiration. Tom Wolfe acerbic and hilarious"Bonfire of the Vanities" with its dissection of the masters of the universe and the financial system is one, Bret Easton Ellis"American Psycho" another. So being a gullible fool I decided to extend the milk of human kindness to Mr Anderson's book. <br /><br />I gave up on page 36 with the sentence"the only major learning experience that remained for me in 1996 was Banque Imutile's Christmas Party where to say I made a tit of myself would be an insult to mammary glands across the planet" As far as I can tell this was the books high point. Geraint Anderson is a truly awful writer and Charles Dickens can sleep safe in his bed. This is a book for 14 year olds some of whom appear to have found jobs working in the city of London. At one point Anderson announces with his tiresome bravado that"everyone sells his soul to the devil"; one can only hope that some day Beelzebub reaps his evil revenge.

Loads of information, and very easy to read...

I now know a lot more about the workings of the City, including how banks really work. This book has also helped me to understand a lot of the jargon in the Financial Times. It's a very enjoyable read - the author uses simple analogies to explain some of the concepts, making it a lot quicker to learn them than from a textbook.

A transforming book

I have been running training courses and giving talks for twenty years. Since before PowerPoint. When it came in, I, along with everyone else, started using it and never looked back. Until I bought this fantastic book.<br /><br />Following Nikki Highmore Sims's advice I ditched the laptop and the PowerPoint and did some lo-tech hand-drawn flipcharts. I also switched, consciously, from a lecturing"expert" style to a facilitative style. I created some simple but effective 3-D props and just tried out my new-style workshop last week. The delegates loved it and I loved it. Not being tied to the screen was a huge relief.<br /><br />That's just part of why I loved this book. Sims writes in a down-to-earth style and gives lots and lots of practical examples. A gem.

Blue Ocean Strategy

I bought this book as some of my international colleagues had raved about it. Having now read the book I can see why. I loved the way it flips traditional thinking on its head, and it included some great examples and was a really easy read. It says something when I chose to read it on holiday rather than the latest Dan Brown.

life coaching

I'm just learnig how to coach and reading lots of books about this topic. I found this one really helpful!<br />There are useful tips that I can use in coaching practice.<br />Kristina