Business And Financial Books

Confessions of a Street Addict & Jim Cramer's Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World

I recommend reading both Jim Cramer's books. His first book, Confessions of a Street Addict is about his life as a hedge fund manager. I read this book when it was first published and should reread it once again. While many of us would like to imagine ourselves as a hedge fund managers, Cramer's book gives the reader an inside look at the pressures that the hedge fund managers face. And today with over 8,000 hedge funds, you know that not all hedge funds will provide superior returns. I highly recommend reading this book.

I read and thoroughly enjoyed reading Jim Cramer's Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World. Overall I give the book five stars out of a possible five stars.

I know many people do not like Cramer's style. And that is fine. But I personally like what he has accomplished to help educate people with regard to the stock market. Through his radio and television shows, he has taught people to be diversified and to do homework. In his latest book, he emphasizes homework repeatedly. If you are unable or unwilling to spend one hour per week per stock, then you do not have sufficient time to stay on top of your investments, and you are better off to turn your money over to a mutual fund. But those that are able and want to devote time to studying their stocks, Cramer provides excellent information.

What I appreciated most was reading how imperfect the markets are and how the markets do not behave in a textbook like fashion. I also enjoyed reading his comments about to tell when a stock is bottoming or topping. Moreover, I completely agree with his advice never to short a stock based upon valuation alone. Unlike many, if not all, advisers, Cramer does encourage speculation-to a point. He advises to keep your speculation to less than twenty percent of your portfolio.

Given Cramer's enviable record of success as a hedge fund manager, you know that he has earned his stripes and able to write with authority. That alone separates Cramer from many other authors who purport to help you manage your money.

Should this one book be sufficient to launch you in your investing career? No, not by a long shot. Instead, I view Cramer's book as helping those with limited investment experience begin to learn how to invest as well as helping those with strong investment experience sharpen their game. For example, Cramer discusses options, both puts and calls. This information will be new and helpful to novice investors but his coverage is very elementary to experienced investors. For those with more investment experience, I believe his stock picking rules and methods for spotting tops and bottoms will be helpful.

No one book will ever provide the all the knowledge and wisdom to succeed in the stock markets. Instead, each good investment book will add incrementally to your overall knowledge. And nothing can replace good solid homework coupled with experience.

Overall, I give Cramer's book a five star rating because it does provide useful information to both inexperienced and experienced investors alike. It is easy to read and understand. And while Cramer does discuss investments in an interesting and entertaining way, he does stress the importance of homework. I highly recommend Cramer's book.

Investment Biker, Adventure Capitalist, & Hot Commodities

I recommend reading all three of Jim Rogers' books. His first book, Investment Biker is about his first worldwide trip as he travels by motorbike with his girlfriend Tabitha. Jim sizes up the various countries as they tour through the various countries. What I found interesting reading was comparing his thoughts and observations then to what has happened now. His next book Adventure Capitalist is a summary of a more recent trip at the turn of the millennium. He and his then girlfriend now wife Paige discuss again their views on the various countries they have traveled through. I thoroughly enjoyed reading both books. His third book Hot Commodities discusses his bullish views on commodities. He does not use or discuss technical analysis, but rather he focuses on studying the fundamentals of various commodities. As a backdrop to his view on commodities, Rogers also uses insights gleaned from his world tours. I highly recommend reading all three books.