Rating: 
Summary: Ideas for beginners
Review: This is a good book for beginners intersted in finance. Their web site and message boards are more comprehenisve for the 'fool' teachings. Nevertheless, I still reccommend this book for beginners in investments
Rating:
Summary: I'd Buy This Book For My Mother
Review: The Motley Fool Strikes! When I first saw these guys on CNBC back in '96 I couldn't believe my eyes. "I mean, who are these clowns and why should I listen to anything they have to say?" was roughly what I remember thinking to myself as they bubbled-up investment advice from under matching joker hats.Well, after reading their book, I still have my reservations, but I have to admit it does offer a good way of looking at investments for the mutual fund and buy-and-hold types. Good gains can be found in this type of investment methodology, but as a devout technician, I must say that I still find greater gains in short-term trading which makes a book like Jeff Cooper's Hit and Run Trading the best risk-to-reward value out there. Don't get me wrong, this book speaks to folks like my mother who wouldn't know a bar chart from hieroglyphics on the wall. Additionally, their Dow Dividend portfolio strategy is just what my mother ordered - 15 minutes of research a year for an average 25% return over 20 years! Let's face it; in this time, in the world we live in, you have to learn how to read the markets somehow or risk facing financial under performance in the long-run. I think that it is a good start for the absolute novice.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT ADVICE. GREAT BOOK.
Review: An excellent resource. Packed with helpful information for both the beginning and most seasoned investor. Another book to study is MAKING DOLLARS WITH PENNIES: HOW THE SMALL INVESTOR CAN BEAT THE WIZARDS ON WALL STREET by R. Max Bowser. Bowser shares his secrets for sellecting small companies with big futures. Bowser has been beating the STREET with his own money for about 25 years. He shares his gains and loses in the "historical review" section of his book. He recaps every stock he has recommended. Every investor should own a copy.
Rating:
Summary: informative, if somewhat opinionated
Review: This was the first book I read on picking stocks, and I still refer to it occasionally. It contains some very good information on how to evaluate companies. Some of this information has since been updated on the Motley Fool website, and continues to be. That's one thing I like about their outlook: they are willing to change their approach as they continue to learn. On the downside, I find that they completely rule out some very worthwhile aspects of investing as being worthless. For instance, they have a section in the back of the book which practically compares technical analysis (chart reading) to snake oil. Although I personally would not pick a stock only on the basis of its chart, I must allow that charts help us pick good entry and exit points, and provide other pertinent information as well. One of my favorite investment authors, John Murphy, has an entire book on technical analysis. I regard him as a scholar and a very astute thinker who would never dabble in snake oil.....with resources like Murphy's books out there I can't understand TMF's cavalier dismissal of the entire field. They similarly denigrate the entire field of options and futures, which I think perhaps shows a lack of understanding on their part. Aside from these criticisms, however, I recommend this book as a very good primer on how to evaluate a company you are thinking about investing in.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good for Beginners
Review: While this book is good for a beginning investor, some of what is included is dwelled upon too much. And, they try to peddle some of their opinions as hard facts. Ie, they try to say that options trading (or investing) is strictly gambling. This is not the case for everyone. It is good for a basic understanding of terms and principles, just take it with a grain (or box) of salt. I would recommend How to Make Money in Stocks by William O'Neill for anyone with at least a beginning understanding of investing. While O'Neill's approach is used for trading significantly, the fundamental techniques used in identifying good companies are excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Good for beginning investors
Review: -- People who *should* read this book: 1) Beginning Investors. 2) Conservative Investors. 3) People without the time to manage their investments, and who are willing accept smaller returns. -- People who *should not* read this book: 1) Experienced investors. 2) Short term investors. 3) Day traders. In short, this book is a good intro. to investing for beginners and has a long-term, conservative slant. The first part of the book is easy reading, but it gets a little drier toward the end.
Rating:
Summary: A little outdated
Review: This book was very informative and enjoyable. I feel as though I've gotten a start on learning how to pick a good stock. However, the information presented within seems a little outdated and is no longer in concert with the Motley Fool website. In fact, you will be hard pressed to find the exact information anywhere online. The extremely Spartan examples contained within seemed to be geared more towards daily financial newspapers and mailings from companies than actual information that is available instantly on a myriad of financial sites.
Rating:
Summary: The Investment Primer for "Joe Average"
Review: Bought my first copy while on a weekend away in Monteray with some close friends. Never put it down. My traveling companions wondered where I had disappeared to! Finished it the following Monday evening after work. Bought my second copy after the first, loaned out, never came back. Bought a third copy specifically for a friend. This purchase is my fourth, the second copy having disappeared also. This one will remain a part of the foundation of my investment library,sorry, this one will not be loaned out. Thanks guys, this popped all the bubbles, removed all the myths, cleared the fog, straightened the wavy mirrors.
Rating:
Summary: Read pages 71 to 180 or so
Review: The rating of four stars is primarily due to the edifying experience of digesting pages 71-180; though that text was worthy of five stars, it was necessary to penalize the fools for making me read through the rest of the very bland book, albeit in front the television. In "the rest of the book", the fools first take 70 pages to tell us that they have a strategy, which is like telling you to close your eyes and then boring you with self-congratulatory blather. Then, they yarble on and on from page 180 to the end discussing the kind of things they like to ignore. Who cares? The foolish striving to thicken the width of the book spine reminded me of page requirements that we all had to fulfil writing papers in high school. Despite the odds, the book remains worthwhile. The excerpted section is a comprehensible, lively introduction to investing in the market. The fools' best skill is presenting their original and borrowed (Peter Lynch is a key figure) mathematical formulas and then massaging them to allow for human judgments based on interpreting financials and income statements (which they cover in palatable form). It is tempting to see this strategy (precise formula plus the leeway for human reevaluation) as covering one's bacon, the customary allowance for errors, namely the ones that the reader may make. But the pure numbers and their comparisons marking differences and similarities are brought to life, coursing through a company body. By the time you finish the book, you will know more than your fellow puffers.
Rating:
Summary: Great Way To Getting Started
Review: I highly recommend this book for people interested in investing but are not sure where to begin. It gives you the basics of getting started and the motivation to handle your own money. The Gardner's gives a little more attention to the "younger generation" and therefore makes reading comprehensive and entertaining. A Must Buy, for new investors.
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