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Summary: Excellent step by step guide to stock market investing.
Review: The Motley Fool Investment Guide is one of the best books on investing in the stock market I have read. Besides being written in plain English, it provides a framework for deciding what types of investments are appropriate for the reader, and then develops each investment approach in a logical and entertaining way. The MF Guide starts by pointing out that 75% of mutual funds fail to surpass the performance of the S&P 500. Thus, for the conservative investor, it should be simply a matter of choosing and sticking with an "index fund", and you will beat 3 of 4 professional money managers(!) For those who want to do better, Tom and Dave Gardner (the chief MFs) propose using the proven "Dogs of the Dow" approach which with their own twist provides returns that should average 20% per year. Finally, to spice up your portfolio, they explain their approach to picking small cap growth stocks which have potential for explosive profits, as well as how to pick stocks to sell short. At each step of the way, the MF Guide explains the approach under discussion, why it is attractive, and what types of compromises one makes by adopting that approach. For the average individual investor, this should allow "fine-tuning" of their investment approach so that they can achieve their desired returns without undue risk. Unlike most investment guides (Winning on Wall Street, One Up on Wall Street, Random Walk down Wall Street, etc.) the MF Guide covers a variety of approaches to stock market investing. Further, it does not require much prior knowledge, since it explains the salient concepts as it moves along. This includes such simple things as using a discount broker or calling a company for information as well as how to use fundamentals to screen stocks to decide what their likely prospects for growth are. (A particularly helpful section is the one on reading and interpreting financial statements. While not fully comprehensive in all details, it gives the typical individual investor an excellent start on extracting useful information from the financial reports of the companies in which they are interested.) Despite all the great stuff in this book, you are probably still skeptical because of the title. Basically, the authors adopt the title of "Fool" to contrast themselves with the typical "wise men" of Wall Street. They feel that by ignoring much of the conventional wisdom which the analysts, commentators, observers, and brokers offer, we as individual investors can outperform them all, and, have fun doing it. You can find out more by buying the book, stopping by the Motley Fool section on America OnLine, or going to their home page on the Web. (sorry--don't have the URL handy.
Rating: 
Summary: They should have gotten professional voice actors.
Review: I am the author. No, seriously, I am. My name is David Gardner, and I help run The Motley Fool investment area: http://fool.web.aol.com. And I'm telling you, they should have gotten professional voice actors to do the book. As it is, Tom and I did it, dirt-cheap. I'm thinking James Earl Jones and Patrick Stewart, but Simon & Schuster wanted to do it economically. :) Anyway, hope you enjoy the cassette, but after you do, buy the book! The book costs something like $10 more, but it's well worth it. Fool on! --D
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Summary: For the courage to invest well - read this book.
Review: The Motley Fool Investment Guide was written for me. It told me that I was not alone, that the "wise men" of the financial world were not always so wise, and that my ideas were not necessarily foolish. It gave me the courage and the information to make investmnent decisions.The term "fool" is used because many "experts" would have us believe that novices would be foolish to adventure alone into the investment world. The "Guide" shows the inadequacies of much current expert advice. After learning some very simple, but very successful, strategies, the term "fool" becomes a badge of honour. I am now quite proud to be called a fool. I am also richer for following the advice offered in the book. The Motley Fool Investment Guide recommends a range of strategies. At the basic level it suggests a simple formula approach to stocks listed on the Dow (adapted from O'Higgins' Beating the Dow). It cites data showing it's superiority over the indexes for the past 30 years. The guide maintains that this approach takes about 20 minutes a year but I think it's more likely to take 2 or 3 hours - still time effective! Some investors will be content with this. For the more adventurous, the guide explains how to evaluate and select stocks which are likely to grow in the medium term. Their advice is clear and simple; anyone who can read and do simple arithmetic can follow it. Much of it is similar to the approaches of Peter Lynch and Warren Buffet, but more easily understood and useable. Best of all, these authors are accountable. Their web site (http://fool.web.aol.com) lists all of their investments and the public can decide how effective the method is though monitoring it in real time. This takes courage and demonstrates how sure these authors are. Since beginning their portfolio on 4 Aug. 1994, it has gained 168.39%. The S & P 500 has made 72.18% over the same period (to 4 Feb. 1997). This book is a classic and worth every cent. Dennis Rose
Rating: 
Summary: Decent Investing Primer, but not much more
Review: Dave and Tom have created an immensely readable and informative book for the average Joe who wants to learn how to invest in the stock market. Their liberal use of humorous examples makes the book hard to put down. They explain why mutual funds are usually a bad choice, how to do your own research, how to avoid sky-high commissions, how to do your own research on companies, the difference between fundamental analysis and technical analysis (and which one is basically worthless), and even how to make money in a bear market (yes, it can be done, and it's a lot easier than you might think). Overall, if you are looking for a simple and fun explanation of how to get started in investing, you can't possibly go wrong with this one.
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Summary: The Best of the Bunch
Review: Out of the three audio books on CD I have listened to, this one is by far the best! It pulls a bit of info from each of the other 2 books and then adds "investment guide" touches. If you are on the fence about purchasing a book from these guys I reccommend you purchase this one only and save yourself the extra $$$. (I purchased the set of all 3 audio books in a 3-pack)
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