5 comments about The Armchair Millionaire.

1. I agree with the previous comments of there being nothing new introduced in this book. However, if this is going to be your first book ever on investing, it does offer good advice for the novice investor. Just DO NOT use the strategy they propose to making a million through index funds. Last i checked on their website, since it's inception in 1998, their portfolio has gone down 25.36% for a total loss of abut 31,000$.
   Man, if i were them, i'd take down the site. It must pretty embarrassing to write a whole book about it being so easy to make a million through their "proven methods", and lose all that money trying to really prove it.



2. First, I'll say that this was one of the first 10 investing books I've read as I'm starting the venture to becoming a wise investor.

   The point of this review is to say that the book is pointless when the same exact info is given free and more concisely on the website with the same name. This book seems to try and fill up pages by adding fluff to a simple concept: invest 1/3 of your long term funds in each of US large cap stock index fund, US small cap stock index fund, and the large cap asian index fund. The rest of the book is really fluff around this.

   I'd suggest simply visiting the armchair millionaire website to read the same info in a few pages.

   Also, for the people in other reviews who say the strategy isn't performing well, they are forgetting that this is a LONG TERM strategy, and the reason the funds are currently at -2% return is because the crashes in 2000-2001 are being included. Over the long term, this strategy is considered sound. Thinking short term is entirely opposite to the strategy this book and others suggest.

   In short, don't buy the book, just read the site.




3. The Armchair Millionaire gives everyone the advice and support they need to succed in investing. The book shows you the simple things that everyone can do no matter how small their paycheck is to eventually become a millionaire and retire early. There is great advice on what to invest in safely and how to get the most out of your money by avoiding some taxes. Everyone who wants to become a millionaire needs to read this book.



4. Chances are, if you follow the advise given in this book, you will accumlate significant wealth in the long-term. I like how the book tells investors to ignore the "talking heads" on CNBC and other financial outlets. Let the herds follow the headlines and as Buffett would say "be greedy when others are fearful."

   If you can spend less, save more, max your tax-deferred investment options and invest for the long-term, you will have plenty of money to bask in come retirement day.




5. I was pretty impressed with this book. I would give it an A+ except for two reasons. Their strategy suggests a 100:0 asset allocation ratio of stocks to bonds regardless of the investor's age. The other reason is no mention of withdrawal strategies once you get your million dollars. Most computer simulations suggest a maximum withdrawal rate of 4% of assets with an annual inflation adjustment. For these 2 reasons I give the book an A.
   
   As hard and complicated as Wall Street tries to make investing..... to make you think you need a broker, the steps for successful investing are very basic. This book does hit all the basic steps correctly.
   
   #1 is to live below your means so you can save at least 10% of your gross each year and invest it. This sounds easy, but it apparently is not since the average U.S. household credit card debt is now around $8,000 saving rates are below 1%, and average household net worth is below $100K. The book should have mentioned the classic book The Richest Man in Babylon with regards to the merits of living below your means so you have money to invest.
   
   #2 is to use automatic investment so you pay yourself first. If you set up an automatic way of investing, then you can't spend money you don't see. After all, the U.S. government adopted automatic payroll deduction to pay income taxes right after WWII because it was concerned people would not save to pay their tax bill. The government using automatic payroll deduction to assure they always get their share of your money, so why not use this method to keep some of your money for yourself? If you use automatic investment, you get the advantages of dollar cost averaging as well.
   
   #3 is to invest your savings in stocks and use low cost index funds for your investments. The book got it right in saying that stock brokers are not your friends. Often their objective is to move your money into their hands per the classic book Where are the Customer's Yachts?
   
   As I stated above, I think the book should have suggested phasing into some percentage of bond investments as you age. Bond index funds should be used for the bond investments.
   
   As a yardstick measurement of how well one saves and invests, the book should have referenced The Millionaire Next Door's expected net worth formula of 1/10 of your age times your income. This gives you a frame of reference to how well you have saved and invested.
   
   One inconsistent argument the book uses is that institutional investors have roughly 40% of their investments indexed while individuals only have about 5% indexed. This fact is true. However, institutional investors most commonly use a 60:40 stock to bond asset allocation and the book recommends 100:0 stocks to bonds. Most studies show that bonds lower portfolio risk significantly but returns do not suffer dramatically.
   
   Other reviewers suggest reading the web site versus the book. Call me old-fashioned, but I hate reading more than about 1 or 2 screens worth of any web site......I much prefer to print out long web sites to read them. I also like the portability of a book versus worrying about my laptop's batteries running out.
   
   All-in-all, a great primer on successful investing strategies. I would suggest companion books to supplement this book including The Richest Man in Babylon, Bogle on Mutual Funds, The Millionaire Next Door, The 4 Pillars of Investing, A Random Walk Down Wall Street, Wealth of Experience: Real Investors on what Works and What Doesn't, and Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Life and Beat the Pros.

No comments about All About Bonds, Bond Mutual Funds, and Bond ETFs, 3rd Edition.

5 comments about The Silk Road to Riches: How You Can Profit by Investing in Asia's Newfound Prosperity (Financial Times (Prentice Hall)).

1. Centuries ago the old silk road and then the spice routes helped enrich Europe for centuries and helped spark the rise of the merchant classes in Italy and other countries. This book makes that case that the Western nations have matured and are actually stagnating while Asia (including India) are benefiting from explosive growth. Since over half the world's populations live in this region, the growth of these economies will make them world economic powers in the decades to come. The authors even make the case for them becoming dominant economic powers.
   
   If you buy into their story, and they are persuasive, you will want to read this book and think about ways to benefit from investing in this growth. After all, it is easier to grow when you start near zero than when you are near one-hundred percent. The book uses all kinds of trends, charts, and stories to make their case.
   
   I will only add two words of caution. First, beware of using the past to predict the future. To quote the economist Herb Stein, "If a trend can't continue, it won't." And as for investing in Asia being different this time, remember the sage advice that whenever someone says to you, "This time it is different" you need to lock you wallet in your safe and change the combination.
   
   The second caution is that there are real risks to property and returns in these countries. You cannot assume that they will treat your invested principle and your gains with the same respect for property (such as it is) as exists in the West. If it suits their interest to change the rules mid-stream, they might well do so. So, be careful.
   
   There is no doubt that there is huge opportunity in Asia and many will find superior returns there. You may be one of them. But many will also acquire losses and make capital gains possible for others. You might be one of them.



2. An amazing book on everything to changes in different types of food people eat as they have more disposable income to how petroleum is refined into gasoline and different grades of crude. The book is mostly about changes in India and China and the promise and peril of possible investments in these countries with an emerging middle class.
   Numerous other important topics that are too numerous to mention. Books about the future and investment themes are not easy to construct if well thought out and with specific, practical, and meaningful suggestions, in this case investment advice. One also has to be open minded and humble, and at the same time confident which the authors seem to be. I think this book accomplishes the above and is a triumph of connecting numerous (moving) dots with expertise and what appears to be a significant amount of research.
   This is a well written book. I am a tough grader, but I give it five stars.



3. Not only on Asia, but some excellent historical perspective on the U.S. markets as well. If you've been wondering about all this talk regarding globalization and how it may affect your investing in the future, this book is a solid read. I would not recommend this for the novice investor but a more intermediate to somewhat seasoned investor.



4. China and India, among other economies in Asia, are a tremendous opportunity to profit from their continuous growth. In his book, Mr. Mostrous show us the road to make it happen.



5. From my perspective this is a quite average book. You find some interesting charts and amazing facts. But in fact the book is riding the commodity investment theme. Apart from this there is little discussion which companies will profit from a rising Asia...

1 comments about Stocks, Options & Spreads.

1. This is an excellent summary of the approaches the author used in the early to mid 90's, using a straight-forward means of trend analysis. It is simple to grasp, and many examples are given as means of demonstrating the strategy. It is applicable to the markets now, which is a good test of robustness.
   
   The investment tools available now over the internet make it easier than ever before to self-direct many investments, and this guide is very helpful in this regard. It will prove profitable ONCE you have the confidence of "pulling the trigger" (e.g., actually putting on the trade, which no one else can do for you.
   
   Best of luck in all of your investing endeavors.

No comments about Management 7th Ed "International Edition" (Management Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive World, 7th Edition).

No comments about West's Business Law- Text Only.

No comments about Option Spreads Made Easy Course Book with DVD (Trade Secrets Course Books).

2 comments about A Guide to Biotechnology Law and Business.

1. Professor Bohrer's Guide to Biotechnology Law and Business is a great resource for professionals that work in the junction of law and biotechnology. While it is a must read for those new to this area, it is also a great reference tool for seasoned professionals. This book fills an important need and should be in every biotechnology professional's reference library.



2. Some of the most exciting, complex and dynamic issues facing society today are found at the intricate and, at times, uncertain interface marking the rapidly evolving boundaries of law and biotechnology. Within the maelstrom defined by present day societal, ethical and scientific forces, the appropriate application and guidance of a well reasoned legal structure is critical to fostering and maintaining a biotechnology paradigm that is both functional and, on the whole, beneficial to mankind. Yet, while the present legal and regulatory framework has worked reasonably well in addressing the issues of the biotechnology industry to this point, the challenges facing the system are greater than ever before. Simply by picking up today's paper one is confronted by a litany of ethical (cloning, embryonic stem cells), regulatory (biogeneric legislation, genetic therapy) and economic/business (scope of intellectual property protection, reimbursement rates) issues that are often contentious, ill defined and overlapping. To appreciate the ramifications of these and other challenges facing the industry, it is necessary to understand the current structure as well as the source of future pressure points. Fortunately, Bob Bohrer's book, A Guide to Biotechnology Law and Business does an excellent job, both in explaining the many facets of the present legal and regulatory system governing the biotechnology industry and in exploring the open issues and forces that are influencing its evolution.
   
   Lucid, intelligent, balanced and comprehensive, the book is written both for the professional in the industry and for the educated layman in something akin to a Scientific American format. As explained by the author "The book is intended to provide `the big picture' to everyone interested or involved in the biotechnology industry." As one in the industry, I find the Guide to be an admirable first line reference for areas in which I have a need for a detailed understanding but not a need to develop an expertise (e.g. regulatory matters).
   
   Starting out with an interesting overview and using applied examples, the book quickly brings in the role of the legal system (and lawyers) in biotech lifecycle management and implementation of strategy. Following a short technical discussion of the scientific basis for biotech products are relatively detailed explanations of the university tech transfer process and the role of intellectual property in biotechnology. While going through the legal structure, both subjects are enlivened with practical examples that provide a "real world" feel and understanding much deeper (and less dry) than the typical legal treatise. The book then moves into the legal process concerning two of the more interesting "big picture" questions surrounding any business: how to get the money and how to make money. As one in the industry I can't tell you how much time, effort, blood and tears go into these efforts. Here the chapters on business strategy and biotech financing, again with practical illustrations, struck me as comprehensive and provided an excellent overview. This was followed by two very readable and complete descriptions of one of the more critical areas in biotechnology, the regulatory process. In what I found to be one of the most useful sections of the book, the chapters provide a relatively clear description of what has been a confusing legislative history and untangle the present web of overlapping regulations. Finally, the author concludes with a series of chapters on current ethical and regulatory issues that leave the reader contemplating where the industry is heading.
   
   
   All in all a highly exciting and readable book for anyone interested in obtaining a detailed overview of the biotechnology industry. I would highly recommend it.
   
   A disclaimer: I am a former law student of the professor's and a long time acquaintance. At the present I am an intellectual property attorney with a major biopharmaceutical company.

5 comments about American Sucker.

1. I had been attracted by the very smart design of the book cover which resembled the tickers on Bloomberg, and the very positive comment by Justice Little, one of my most favorite reviewer here on Amazon. So bad that I had read only half of it and given up. Perhaps I had too high an expectation of it as the modern day "Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of the crowds" per description on the back cover, and that it would be filled with plenty of feelings/experience of the author during the whole Internet Bubble catastrophe. In fact, the author had given me much stuff of his personal life that's not investment/trading related at all.
   
   If and only if you will be satisfied with the stylish writing of a renowned film critic irrespective of what he wrote, you may give it a try. For those who wanna read not to fall into the same kind of irrational exuberance trap in his/her investment life, "Devil take the hindmost" and "Origins of the Crash" are much better choices.



2. The premise of this book intrigued me greatly. The effects of the 2000 crash as told through the eyes of an average Joe who was swept up in the hysteria? Fascinating. I looked forward to reading and feeling the effects of that great decline in the stock market as told by an ordinary man who had experienced it first hand. I've read plenty about the bursting of the tech bubble-now, I thought, I could feel the human element behind it.
   
   Unfortunately there is no human element in American Sucker. Denby himself is a hollow character, flat and one-sided, puffing himself up with intellectual and philosophical musings while failing spectacularly at creating himself as a character. It is the sort of narrative one would expect from a medieval morality tale-as the market spirals downward (though there is little actual commentary on this-it's more of an incidental) and the technology bubble collapses, Denby receives just the right revelation and insight at just the right time. Mere days before the March 2000 meltdown he ponders the seven deadly sins and decides that, in fact, greed is the most deadly of them. How convenient that such an epiphany should come at the exact perfect moment And it does not stop there-without fail an impending crisis is prefixed with an ironically well-placed musing on that exact subject just days or hours before the event actually happens.
   
   Yet for all these discussions on moral and philosophical discussions, for all the flashes of light the muse of intellectual snobbery generously gives our "hero," Denby proves his incompetence at seeing that which is right in front of his face and does absolutely nothing, contenting himself with metaphysical revelations of wealth, greed, and envy as his capital vaporizes before his glazed over eyes. To call it missing the forest for the trees would be an understatement.
   
   The NASDAQ crashes, but it goes unnoticed among romantic idealizations of festive holiday celebrations and epiphanies that come, conveniently, at just the right time and as fully developed ideas. Denby is shown the writing on the wall repeatedly but cannot recognize it-for all his attempts at flaunting his intellect he is remarkably slow. When someone tells him something he does not want to hear he conveniently dismisses that person as a fool, regardless of any amount of reverence or respect held for that person before his or her naysaying.
   
   There are redemptive moments. At one point, Christmas, 2000, Denby actually talks about his stocks, and allows the reader the gaze inside his portfolio he has withheld for 200 plus pages. At that point, as in so many others, Denby realizes, with uncanny clarity and amazing insight (hindsight is, however, 20/20) that he's made a mistake. Yet still he does nothing. There are other moments as well-brief respites from the intellectual fluff-where Denby comments on the market, describes how he felt, what the general feeling on the street was, and at times he even elaborates on the hope he and others struggled to keep alive. Unfortunately these moments are few and far between-more often market commentary serves only as a launching point for some snobbish flexing of the intellect.
   
   All in all, it seems that Denby had a contract to write a book about the market, and, with the bursting of the tech bubble, this ended up being the best he could come up with. He even alludes to this several times in the text. And so it's possible that this book was thrown together without much regard for actual content, and may have even had a predetermined length which is achieved only through Denby's incessant ramblings. Having read the book, that certainly seems to be the case. Or maybe Denby is just that poor a tale-teller, whatever his talent as film critic may be. Either way, I couldn't help but wonder, as I finished the book if the American Sucker referred to in the title was actually ME, having taken the time to read the book and having been disappointed more or less throughout.



3. Let's try not to build great expectations here. Denby is not a financial professional, he's not even a financial journalist. He's a self-described "liberal arts guy". Don't read this expecting to get a lot of insight into the market or as a "how to" guide (or even a "how not to" guide).
   Read this because it's an enjoyable read. I read it on the train on my commute and was thoroughly entertained. He offers great insight and philosphical introspection into what was going on in his life and how his obsession with the market intertwined with it and coincided with some major events in his life. He also offers first-hand glimpses into some very high profile stories from the bursting of "the bubble".
   Good stuff.



4. In many ways, the author is the typical loser; first, his wife and children after the divorce, and then trying to find a way to get on with life -- so what else in new? It happens to the majority of us at one time or another, and we live on to regret marrying that person in the first place. A thing is itself and not another thing. He thinks in riddles sometimes.
   
   Instead of accepting the inevitable and moving on to a new place, a better place, David is the typical American male who thinks he's the king of the castle in his own home. Far from it. The woman always rules the roost, or in the new movie I just saw, 'Charlotte's Web,' the rat does). He wants his cake and eat it too; the fancy Upper East Side apartment near Central Park. Holding on to the past, be it an expensive apartment, a woman who loves someone else and not you (perhaps never you), an old clunker (car) for sentimental reasons -- none of that works these days.
   
   The coming year, 2007, is the time for freedom -- at last. Freedom to be yourself in your own way and not molded by another. Freedom from the demands and drudgery of a bad marriage. DAvid, a dreamer with a vision, decided he, a novice at the stock market, can make $1,000,000 to buy his former wife's share of the abode. If he'd loved her, he would have given it to her "for the sake of the children," being a greedy man, he wants to live a movie fantasy life creating the same "home" for the kids to visit. Sucker! Kids like variety these days, they get tired of the same old thing, and they grow up and away from the nest before you know it.
   
   Don't trust a tech guru. One in Milwaukee had the ability to hack into my computer to destroy it via the Internet. Davidted the wrong people, Martha Stewart's financial group (she spent time in prison for tryiing to bilk the public; I won't watch her ever again). On a show made in Heaven, she pretends that nothing ever happened and she can prance right back into one's living room and be a friend again. No siree, I don't forgive easily. Once a felon, always a felon. It sticks with you.
   
   Envy is described as a snake in the garden and, finding nothing vain to attack, would turn back and bite itself in bitterness. No one gets too rich to envy others. I once spent a week in a strange house to dog-sit, and after getting out of that luxury, I said I would never envy those in big houses ever again. Upper New Yorkers ahve the illusion that life's greatest daners can be avoided, that everything will be okay "if only one never makes a mistake." One cannot make a mistake! I have news for him, we all make mistakes all of the time, from the simple silly idiot kind to the sublime. Choosing the wrong people to love and trust is the biggest mistake in anyone's life.
   
   Desire, regret, passions, obsession, mistakes are life and we can only strive to recover in one piece the calamity these things cause. Some part of our psyche gets lost along the way. Money is the root of all evil but it does not buy happiness, contentment, real love. Lose it and you're a bum, but homefree to be yourself and enjoy just being alive. He's a freelance writer, the most desperate of all literary occupations -- who says all writers are literary? Not so many I know can even write proper grammar. False successes like Yahoo and AOL (I'd add Google to that category as those boys never grew up -- their tree will fall.) were the investments which failed for him. He quotes Alexander Pope, Dante, Freud, and Theodore Dreiser to show the reader what a well-rounded intellectual he is. Greed dissolves the foundations of character. Along the way, he lost his balance.
   
   Greed was, is, a soul-destroying force, a canker wearing away one's innards. Religions, political, and economic moralists consider man's "reason" a destructive madness. God is wrathful in the Old Testament of the Bible; so is Achilles in 'Iliad' the first warrior of the West. Indifference to mass suffering is the most destructive form of sloth. Envy is an unambiguously nasty, a low despicable emotion. Envy ruled the Upper West Side of Manhattan and David Denby, film critic for 'The New Yorker.' He and Betsy Pickle would make a good pair.



5. Basically, American Sucker is an autobiographical look at the experience of an individual stock investor/trader during the period of roughly 1999 to 2002. That, of course, was very challenging time for participants in the equity markets and it is clearly documented in the text.
   
   Before I get into talking about the story, though, it's worth taking some time to consider the author. Denby is a writer used to addressing a fairly sophisticated audience. His primary vocation was as film critic for the New Yorker and he had previously authored a book discussing the classics thinking of Western civilization. As such, his language is not that of one writing for the masses. I consider myself pretty well read and with a decent vocabulary, but there were several words Denby used in American Sucker I'd never heard before.
   
   That said, I didn't find the book to be pretentious or anything like that. From a writing style perspective it was a pretty smooth read.
   
   Getting to the subject matter, I found it a really interesting perspective on the thought process of the individual investor during a time span which ran from euphoria over the prospects of profits from a market rising rapidly to the depths of despair in the face of not just falling prices, but also destroyed confidence in the whole system. As such, Denby caught the tone of that whole period of time during which the stock market peaked and then fell in the most dramatic of fashions. In fact, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to what's going on in the markets and the economy right now.
   
   I think the first real benefit of reading this book for someone involved in the markets is the psychology of investing which plays out in the author's thinking and actions. He starts off not wanting to miss out, wanting to get his fair share out of the booming stock market of the late 1990s. The euphoria of the time combined with personal developments in his life to lead to toss all his usual caution to the wind and jump into things with both feet. Later, as the markets start to unravel and his portfolio value is dramatically reduced, Denby talks through the waves of hope and fear that are so often found in times of strain.
   
   Basically, anything you have ever read about in trading psychology texts regarding the way most people's mental process works while watching their account values rise and fall are clearly seen through Denby. It's all there. As a reader, you can actually see the thoughts and actions which create the price patterns so prevalent in bear markets.
   
   Along the way, Denby documents his evolving beliefs as events in the markets and the performance of his portfolio combine with events in his life. There's an important lesson to be had there. Your trading and investing cannot be entirely separated from the rest of your life. They are inter-related and that's something you need to realize can impact on what you do and how you perceive things.
   
   What makes the book even more interesting is the author's relationship with some of the major controversial figures of the time period. One of them was Henry Blodget, the disgraced Merrill Lynch technology analyst. Another was Sam Waksal of ImClone. Denby's interaction with both men feature prominently.
   
   Overall, I found American Sucker a very good read. Denby does spend quite a bit of time ruminating on the subject of greed and related topics, as well as some other philosophical ideas - his own and that of others. Some readers might find this stuff uninteresting and I will admit that at certain points I skimmed along when the narrative stopped and the deep thinking started. It's an autobiography by a well read, sophisticated, and mature individual, though. You can't expect it to be without introspection.
   
   In short, I definitely recommend this book for traders and investors and for anyone else with an interest in the markets.

2 comments about California Residential Foreclosures: The Complete Guide to Equity Purchases and the Laws Governing Distress Sales.

1. A very useful book. Good boilerplate forms that you can read/use when preparing for your purchase. This book is for equity investors only. It is NOT for people trying to buy a foreclosure as their primary residence!



2. Real Estate is one of the true ways for one to truly make themselves a millionaire - "California Residential Foreclosures: The Complete Guide to Equity Purchases and the Laws Governing Distress Sales" is a timely and comprehensive guide to any would be landlord who wants to make their fortune in real estate. Stating that now is the time due to thousands of homes in California about to be on the market, the demand is high and the money is there to be made. "California Residential Foreclosures: The Complete Guide to Equity Purchases and the Laws Governing Distress Sales" is a top pick for anyone looking to get into west coast real estate and for community library real estate collections.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch