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.

This is a very strong tool for those looking to improve their public speaking skills. The author is evidently very experienced in this area, and she offers very valuable insights into the tools, tricks and methods of success in her profession.

One thing I did not like about this book, is that the author continually tries to connect a speaker's anxiety or poor performance to some traumatic episode that occurred in their childhood. For example, a business executive who, as a child had his parents continually remind him that kids "are to be seen and not heard" had trouble being confident and articulate in front of an audience. This is great for those who have such experiences, but leaves many of us out in the cold.

I have had no such traumatic experiences, but still get anxious before and during a presentation. Although this "natural anxiety" is not covered in much detail, the author does do a good job explaining how to channel the anxiety into a productive energy, and she does well explaining the importance of rehearsing before presenting.

Granted a lot of the lessons in this book fall under the category of "common sense," but the genius of this book is how it simplifies these lessons, provides real-life examples and then teaches us the reasons for their true effectiveness.

Although this book is several decades old, the take-aways are timeless. There can be no dismissing the fact that this book can enable you to become a better leader and a better communicator - even a better person.

It is well worth buying a copy of this book, and reading it every few years.

Granted a lot of the lessons in this book fall under the category of "common sense," but the genius of this book is how it simplifies these lessons, provides real-life examples and then teaches us the reasons for their true effectiveness.

Although this book is several decades old, the take-aways are timeless. There can be no dismissing the fact that this book can enable you to become a better leader and a better communicator - even a better person.

It is well worth buying a copy of this book, and reading it every few years.

This is a fascinating look at the other side of Wall Street. Chop houses have been around forever, but despite their omnipresence, you don't hear to much about them these days. The author is a good storyteller and the main character "Louis" is an entertaining fellow who takes us through the intricacies of chop house life. The stories of drug use, gambling (...) and lavish spending juxtapose nicely with the sad conclusion to the story.

Also sad is the fact that thousands of American families lost many millions of dollars to Louis alone. He stole from them and left them with nothing. These poor people lost everything. I still can't get over the fact that anyone could write a check after receiving a cold call from some fast talking NY broker. Hopefully, the public has learned a lesson to understand what they invest in, before they send the check.

Overall, this is an entertaining, and interesting look at a side of Wall Street that most of us don't get to see. And hopefully, we never will. As a side note, the movie "Boiler room" is a good corollary to understanding how chop houses function - the movie does not include any references to the Mafia.

This is a pretty typical Michael Lewis read: exceptionally descriptive, hilarious and insightful. He does great work seeing the various campaigns for what they are; and is able to stay objective throughout the experience, though obviously he forms a special connection to Morry Taylor.

This is an entertaining book from a skilled writer.

Lynch's success comes not from his complex algorithms and estoric financial modeling, but from opening his eyes to the world and noticing good businesses.

His success at Magellan is attributed to his ability to find good companies, at reasonable valuations, and be patient enough to watch them climb.

This book is much more specific than his other release. Here, he provides detailed accounts of stock picking strategy, including how to choose from different stocks, when to buy, when to buy more and when to sell.

This is a quick read, but there is a huge amount of information that the average investor can use to their benefit.

Stream of Consciousness

This story isn't about losing money investing (speculating?) in the stock market. It isn't about getting caught up in a bubble, despite the writer's constant recognition of that very fact. It is more about a guy struggling to cope with becoming a middle-aged divorcee. As the Epilogue tells us, his financial destruction was his way of throwing a temper tantrum. He was being careless and bold for the first time in his life, and he chose the financial markets as his medium.

Although this is an interesting story, I think the marketing of this book - thanks in large part to the many reviews - paint the wrong story. This is not an interesting book about investing, it more human than that. Perhaps that is one of its greatest strengths.

Do you think Mr. Denby is splitting his royalties with his wife? He wasted away hundreds of thousands of dollars of her wealth. What a grounded person she must be to only respond with "the market will come back." I wish my wife was that understanding.

The first few chapters were compelling, humorous and downright thoughtful. After that, the format became a bit tired. The characters portrayed here are homogenized to the point that you find the same story repeating itself, over and over. It just became boring after a while. Read the first two or three chapters and enjoy. From there, proceed with caution.

This is a very interesting and informative look into the minds of today's religious militants.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this work, is the fact that a fortyish Jewish/American woman gathers her data by roaming around the streets of Gaza, Islamadad, and Kashmir (amoung many others). For the most part, these militants treated the author with respect - and often went out of their way to make her feel comfortable. It reminds us that these are people, despite their radical beliefs and actions.

I found the right-wing Chrisitan and radical Jewish content a little less interesting.

Nevertheless, this book was very well-written, thorough and enlightening to say the least.