The Successful Investor: What 80 Million People Need To Know To Invest Profitably And Avoid Big Losses

Rating:
Summary: Realistic and powerful advice
Review: 80 m illion Americans lost between 50-80% of their wealth th anks to the Clinton Bear Market that began in March 2000. When considering advice pertaining to the stock ma rket, it is a lot like that old tv show, Who Can You Trust. Certaintly the events that followed March 2000 have shown 80% of Americans who they cannot trust.

Bill O'Neil is more than a author of successful books and publisher of a great newspaper-IBD. He is also a successful, savvy investor. He knows how to win on WALL STREET and now he shows the rest of us how we can win and win big.

I highly recommend this great book by Bill O'Niel. It goes beyond his previous books. It provides a blueprint, a road to follow that works again and again. If you were to do nothingesle but buy this book and IBD, that alone would make you a very successful investor, far ahead of those who listen to brokers, financial planners, advisors and other so called investment experts including other authors.

Read Bill O'Niel, but more importantly, follow his advice to achieve your wealth.

Rating:
Summary: I agree with chrisbest01 from NY RE: Buffett
Review: I find it amusing that some people like to compare people like O'Niel with Warren Buffet. Not only did Buffet start with $7 mil way back then (more like $35-$40MIL) in todays dollars, an amount which only those with rich parents could do, what is Warren Buffet doing to show the average investor how to make money?

O'Niel provides a paper and his newest book that can show anyone how to make money predictable and consistently. Buffet is okay for those who those who already have a wad and can handle missing opportunities (like Buffet missed the technology boom in the 90's and again since Oct 1992) and are into "buy and hold." I don't know about you, but "buy & hold" didn't work for me and it certaintly didn't work for the 80 million who lost over a trillion during the Clinton bear market.

This book is O'Niels best book to date. Use and it profit.

Good luck!

Rating:
Summary: Don't just buy it, use it!
Review: I have read O'Niels previous books and I read IBD everyday. In The Successful Investor, O'Niel goes beyond what he wrote about in his previous books. It's what 80 million people could have used during that last bear market.

Besides this book, I also recommend reading IBD everyday. Yeah, I know that sounds like a commercial, but the paper is great and you'll find it more benefical than reading the local paper. It will certaintly make you more money.

I also recommend Wall Street Money Machine VOL I & II and Red Light Green Light by Wade Cook. The first two saved me a ton of money during that last bear market. The last one has made me a lot of money playing earnings.

Great books and IBD is a great newspaper. Good luck.

Rating:
Summary: explains the basics very well
Review: This is an excellent book for the beginner or as a refresher for a more experienced market participant. Oneil's method, in my opinion, is a compilation of his study of other great speculators/investors ,(i.e jesse livermore, gerald loeb, nicholas darvas, etc. all of whom wrote books), as well as his own personal experiences. The fact that he is not on the forbes 400 richest list (as one skeptical reviewer wrote) is irrelevant to the validity of his advice. One of the most important points made in this and other O'neil books is the idea that all stocks are speculative and risky, thus the importance of cutting losses short. Furthermore, In response to skeptics who say that all institutions and professional investors know his methods and thus one cannot expect to get stellar returns, this is simply not the whole truth. Yes his methods are widely known, but that does not mean people have the discipline to actually follow the methods. Furthermore, institutions cannot manuever as swiflty as an individual, and institutions (i.e. mutual funds) don't usually go to cash or money markets and stay out of bear markets as oneil suggests, and shorting is an issue oneil does not dwell upon very much. The fact that a method is widely known, does not negate its effectiveness, because widely known and widley executed are not synonomous. The problem is usually the individual and not the method. Its like dieting, there are many succesfull methods, but people are still fat after trying a diet plan because they lack the discipline to follow proven systems,(or while they follow the diet plan they sabotage their results by sneaking in the frequent jelly donut, or late night run to taco bell) then look in the mirror and blame the method instead of realizing they themeselves are most likely the problem. As a good diet and exercise plan will make you healthier, Oneils method will help you make money if you will truly understand the method, and then have the patience and discipline to follow it. One last word. Keep in mind that all reviews of books or methods are only peoples opinions, and in the financial markets "opinions are often wrong, markets never are." So find out for yourself whether you will make money or not with oneil's methods and do not mistake an opinion for a fact.