Rating: 
Summary: Cramer Bear Market
Review: Read it and was not impressed. I suppose the end of the bull market comes when everyone gets tired of reading about the market, but in this case I grew tired of the storyline. Not too much about trading here. I am surprised Cramer has not caught more flak for some of the tricks he used to make money. If all hedge fund managers operate this way then this country is in one heck of alot of trouble.
Rating: 
Summary: Wealth Business Demystified
Review: there are a lot of folks who have discovered plenty of reasons to hate jim cramer, but if you are a more pedestrian or heaven forbid, emotive person who happens to be interested in high finance, jim cramer could be your hero, and this book shows you why.i should say that i have been a part-time hack investor for about 17 years. i am not employed in the financial industry, i'm a software guy. as a software guy, i appreciate a rowdy sense of irreverence and an ability to get to the nitty-gritty of a problem with a minimum of foo-foo. and after years of putting up with rukeyser's waspy effete mannerisms and cornball puns, guys like cramer are a godsend. when i think of all the years that i listened to lou dobbs and paul kangas before we got to the likes of david faber and joe kernen, i shudder. finally, here's a book about wall street for people not born in the hamptons. jim cramer is the bill clinton of financial commentary. all brains and ego and no tact. so right away you love him or hate him. reading this book (i swallowed it whole in one weekend) is a raucus journey straight to the heart of obsession. cramer has got the money bug in his blood and you can tell he thrives on his business just as some of the extreme folks in the software industry are fiends for their craft. you can taste his desire and you can also feel his anxiety. his is the story of a man who found he had a knack for something he never expected and the nerve not to let wealth change the fundamental kind of crusty individual he was. he's a straight-talker in a world where people paint themselves in muted pastels all the while participating in the most brutal of zero-sum games, hedge fund trading. if puritans are right in their edicts to never a lender or borrower be, cramer's story fleshes out the cautionary tale. nothing makes for villification like theft, but cramer shows how even association with theft or being a victim of theft can quickly destroy a reputation. he also shows how honest mistakes feel like theft when you're the investor. wall street is shown to be close but not clubby. implicit in every transaction is "i'm the one who is making you rich/poor and don't you forget it." given the stochastic nature of the stock market, clearly one needs nerves of steel, a great deal of luck and exhaustive research and great communication to succeed. considering the hate mail cramer obviously gets, it's clear how harshly individuals can suffer at the hands of those who obviously never forget it. do i feel sorry for cramer? no. he's a sympathetic character for the arc of his journey and the boldness with which he pursued it, not because he's a nice guy. he lived and died by the sword over and over and that's fair. his industry has given him all the rewards and punishments he deserved. i find his story admirably honest in a self-serving way, and in this book you are treated to an insider's view with perspective. yet he doesn't speak out of school or punish people in his pages. you get the feeling that there is a great deal more that he knows but didn't say (and shouldn't) there is no question that this book is about cramer by cramer and crammed with cramer, but it also offers insight into what it *feels* like to be on the line every day trying to make things happen with other people's money. it shows the kinds of rules wall streeters must live with and how integrity is deeply part of the business. i've read nothing which illustrates it better than the section dramatizing the run on cramer berkowitz as a collateral effect of the fall of long term capital management. it's a real nail biter. i wrote a review about the inside game on IPOs in 2000 and basically said that you'd be a fool to try and play that game. i've been a month-trader but never a day-trader. i think my review got panned because i said those who thought they were joking by calling themselves 'fools' would find the joke on them and it's funny looking back on that now. i also had the good fortune to meet one of the principals of sanford c. bernstein co and he suggested subtly that 'irrational exuberance' was an understatement. i thank cramer for being out there with a loud, cranky voice that speaks passionately about the investment world with the level of energy that the gaining and losing of career sized chunks of fortune deserve. in these days of enron and worldcom, americans will be thankful that mouths and brains like cramer are out there with the inside scoop on the wallstreet culture. on the other hand, maybe i just think louis rukeyser is a crashing bore.
Rating:
Summary: A book as controversial as its author
Review: Scrolling through the online reviews of Jim Cramer's new book, I was struck by the wide disparity of opinions. It seems that just as in "real life," the "written Cramer" is controversial. I admit to falling on the side of having found this book interesting and worthwhile. It is not (repeat not) a trading manual; those looking to make their next (or first) million should look elsewhere. What it is, though, is a thoroughly readable and enjoyable street (Street) biography of the sometimes endearing, sometimes maddening hysteric you see on TV or read on his web site. Cramer's portrayal of himself is honest enough to leave one (or at least me) thinking at the end of his book, "Wow that was interesting, but gee I am glad I never worked for (or crossed) this guy." He uses his book to settle scores and try to make up to those he has stabbed in the back in the past, but also is wiling to show his own warts. I'm actually amazed he has any close (non-pecuniary) friends and a little puzzled how he ever remained married. Cramer's wife is portrayed in the book, perhaps in an effort (conscious or not) to bolster his union, as a cool, but caring genius. I have no doubt much of what Cramer has written about "The Trading Goddess" is true, but somehow the characterization rings a little hollow. This points up a weakness of the book. It takes us through Cramer's travails at a breakneck pace, but other than the author himself, we learn little that is real or deep about others who pass through the pages of his book. I also would have liked to have learned more of Cramer's childhood and how it helped shape him. Unfortunately, this too is dealt with on a superficial level. Where this book shines, though, is in the descriptions of the business and trading battles Cramer has been through. The review of the initial public offering of TheStreet.com is worth the price of the book itself (especially if you borrow your copy). The 1998 near-collapse of his hedge fund -- the dramatic heart of the book -- is, however, strangely less compelling. Not all of this portion of the book adheres and the crisis is resolved in an almost unbelievable manner reminiscent of a B-movie screen play. Another plus in the book is Cramer's explanation of how he was shut out at the Street.com and lost control of it to gypsys, tramps and thieves. All told, this saga is quite amusing. Even here, though, one wonders how at the "moment of truth," when the company looked to be in dire jeopardy, Cramer was able to essentially snap his fingers and all the legal and other impediments that had kept him on the firm's sidelines melted away allowing him (and his partners) to save it. I began this review noting this was a book worth reading. Despite the warts and superficiality noted above, I want to reiterate that judgment. This is an enjoyable, if somewhat light, volume. It does not teach trading techniques or lay out a philosophy of life (or even business). What it does do is give us a window on Cramer and his view of Wall Street. The window is cracked open only a little, but it is enough to offer us a glimpse into a world seldom seen.
Rating:
Summary: Confessions?
Review: I am part of a book club which selects new books to read for discussion. We selected this book expecting a book on trading and were extremely disappointed. The book rambled on with some kind of autobiographical story, but it was not worth following. I suggest Cramer stick to trading or whatever he does these days as he is no writer. Chalk this up to a mistake.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating, Insightful, rip-roaring pace...
Review: To all of the 'haters' out there, who are disgusted by J Cramer's actions during his life of trading, what do you think led him to be so successful over the 23 years? COMPLETE DEVOTION TO HIS PARTNERS. This was never meant to be a "this is how you trade" book; read the front jacket & you'll know it is about his life as a trader [not the "how to" but the "what & why"].....I have read this book 3 times; pure greatness. If you want the "how to" from Cramer, then read him on RealMoney.com, or listen to his radio show.....
Rating:
Summary: The Game Stops
Review: I purchased this book because I have a keen interest in trading, having managed money for several years now. Although this book has some good points, as a whole it is not reflective of the mind or life of a trader. It seems to be more of an autobiography and not a very attractive one.
I would urge others to stick with Schwager or Neiderhoffer. Or if you are particularly bearish, try James Grant.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling
Review: This is a very fast paced book and I found it facinating. It is not going to teach you how to invest sucessfully. But it will give you a good insight into Jim Cramer and the maniacal life he led while getting rich as a hedge fund manager. He says at the end of the book that he is a better stock picker today than he was while running the hedge fund. But as a subscriber to his newsletter and stock picking service, I have not found that to be the case.
Rating:
Summary: Read it!
Review: "Confessions of a Street Addict" by Jim J.Cramer is must read. It is engaging and fascinating story. Read it. It will make you wiser.
Rating:
Summary: Read it in one day and loved it
Review: James has written a terrific book. He takes you into two facinating worlds: Inside his high pressure hedge fund, and inside the dot com ipo bubble. I was amazed by many of the stories. Facinating and intertaining stuff. Jim tells the good, the bad and the ugly. You don't have to be a "fan" of Cramer to enjoy this book. Congratulations Jim.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Entertainment For Wall Street Junkies
Review: I have been facinated with the markets since leaving college in the early 90s and nothing and no one exemplifies the excitement surrounding the bull market of the late 90s better than James Cramer. This book gave me a great look inside of the world that I was so interested in and satisfied much of my curiosity leaving me thouroghly satisfied. I recommend this book on pure page turning value. If you were looking for a money making method from him in this book, look elsewhere. He is strictly all Cramer, all the time in this book. For actual investment strategies that work, try 401(k) MarketBuster by Kwong. That book gives you a simple, intuitively-correct way to manage your retirement funds. Viva la Cramer!
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