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Summary: Solid start to understanding behavioral finance
Review: Belsky does a very good job introducing many of the crazy things people do with their money, a good beginning to explain why markets are not efficient and an important fact to understand.
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Summary: Absolute mainstream garbage
Review: Forget the fact that these authors are extremely arrogant and examine their main thesis, which holds that the investing public is too ignorant to make their own investment choices, so they should rely on the "expert" mutual fund managers to make the choices for them. The authors in offering this advise contradict themselves, as they openly admit that most fund managers can't outperform an index fund, yet they assume that these "professionals" are still better at stock picking than the individual investor, when in fact these "professionals" can't even beat a random "dart board" portfolio (see the Wall Street Journal's yearly contest of "darts" vs. "professionals")Most important is that the authors blindly assume that the buy and hold strategy is the "cookie cutter" solution for ALL investors. This strategy is, and has proven in the past to be irreponsible. A more detailed analysis of this statement that stocks have had and average annual return of of about 3% greater than bonds, must be looked at in more detail. When you consider that about half of the historical returns from stocks have been via dividends rather than stock appeciation, and compare that to the average S&P 500 dividend today of around 1.25%, along with the lofty P/E ratio of around 35-42(depending on who cooked the books!!) you must come to the conclusion that even now after 2 years of a stock bear market, this is still the MOST EXPENSIVE stock market in history. What the authors fail to point out is that in the long cycle it does in fact matter WHEN you invest in the stock market, and you must recognize the PRIMARY trend of the market. Example: If you bought a random basket of stocks in 1927 and HELD them through the 1929 crash, it would have taken you until 1954 to get even (1980 on a inflation adusted basis). We are now at the threshold of a primary bear market that will dwarf the 1929 crash, since regression to the mean would yield a Dow of about 1000 and a Nasdaq of around 500.( according to Robert Prechter) It will take a lifetime to get your money back (if you have any money left after the panic) These "academic" authors like most Economists are dead wrong, and have failed to do their research adequately. It is a shame that people might read this book,...and use this advise to lose their life savings. If you want to read a book that tells the real story get Robert Prechter's "Surviving the Crash" or look at Martin Weiss "Safe Money report" or Richard Russell's Dow Theory Letters The name of game in the next few years will be preservation of capital, and to quote Richard Russell (one of the wisest sages in the business) "In a bear market, he who looses the least WINS"
Rating: 
Summary: Intro to Behavioral Finance
Review: I found this to be an excellent introduction to behavioral finance and an easy read. Readers should find topics that are both new and familiar. This book is more for the individual investor and those looking for a beginning read in this area of Finance/Economics. Highly recommend!
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Summary: Behavioral Economics Explained Quite Well
Review: I have a Ph.D. in economics and a bachelor's degree in psychology. I've always found the fields of behavioral economics and experimental economics rather fascinating and wished to know more about the results of their research. So when I was shopping for a retirement investment guide recently I saw this book in the personal finance section and purchased it as well. As a primer on the basic findings of behavioral economics, this book is great -- interesting, well-explained, and much more fun to read than pouring through academic journals. It's quite interesting to see that how we make money decisions is based as much on psychological principles (namely loss aversion, sunk costs and framing of the gain or loss) as on a rational calculation of cost and benefits. Also explained somewhat here are money mistakes that people make not because of emotional tainting of financial decisions but simply because they draw incorrect conclusions from incomplete calculations, such as not correcting for inflation in the housing market, not calculating total interest payments over the terms of different loans, not realizing the power of compound interest. While it's a great book to explain certain irrational behaviors of your own and to explain a few financial chestnuts such as ignoring the financial pages, this book is not really an investment guide and is thin on suggestions for changing irrational behavior (other than realizing what you are doing will make you less likely to repeat the same mistakes). I would disagree with some reviewers who suggested that the book is insulting to their financial acumen. While it's true that there are people who have been able to 'beat the market', the authors merely report studies suggesting that most people who choose their own investments under-perform the market, and why this happens (framing of investment decisions, emotional investing, loss aversion, sunk costs, etc.). I think that's important information to have as an investor. If you choose your own investments, you will make smarter decisions by understanding understanding this research.
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Summary: Fun to read
Review: I really enjoyed this book because it challenged my thinking and kept me interested.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction, but be careful of their suggestions
Review: Interesting book if you are a retail investor and would like to better manage your finances. Forces you to face your biases while directing you to the underlying economic theory underpinning your own tendencies and biases. The book is short and enjoyable. It does provide a neat overview of the various strands of research in behavioural finance but does not dwell too long on equity markets and actual investment issues.
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Summary: Great Read
Review: It leaves you begging for more. The problem is that at times they talk down to the reader --a little journalistic, more than warranted by the topic.
Still the more readable work on behavioral economics.
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Summary: Neither Beginner Nor Advanced "Behavorial Economics"
Review: Much has been written by other reviewers on "Why Smart People" so I shall be brief.
If you are seriously keen on getting one of the best books on Behavioral Science/Psychology, look no further and grab Robert B. Cialdini's excellent "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion". The author of this book hit the nail on its head on "Behavioral Psychology" by generously sharing with readers visionary ideas pertaining to the horde of hang-ups plaguing the human mind, not least highlighting the dirty tricks that are being played on us in the squalor of the real world and tactics to overcome them. In fact, this book is a must-read as it will save you from many mistakes and pitfalls in life, monetary or otherwise, that you knew not even existed.
If you're an absolute beginner looking for a first book on Behavioral Economics/Investment, get bestseller "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" instead as it is written in simple layman's terms and a considerably better starting point to learn about "Investment" or "Behavioral Science".
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Summary: Watch Out for Rules of Thumb That Raid Your Wallet!
Review: This book is one of the 10 best investing books of 1999 and 2000. People don't act like computers when making economic decisions. Our minds act much more like broken-down wheels stuck in muddy ruts, instead. This book is full of examples that show why people make miseconomic decisions. The basic point is that we have rules of thumb learned in daily life that we apply to economic decisions, whether these are good rules or not, and the results are costly to us. This book reminds me of Robert Cialdini's excellent book, Influence, that explains the psychological biases that harm us as consumers and how to protect ourselves against unethical sellers. If you read and apply both books, you will have much more prosperity in your life. Here are some examples: We are all more careful about saving money in some areas than in others. For instance, I'll go to great lengths to save money on air travel, but frequently buy expensive wines in restaurants (not a great value). I could drink better wines at home for less money. Now, how dumb is that? Most of us are more concerned about avoiding losses than in making gains. This often translates into holding stocks with losses, rather than selling them, even if there is not much chance of a rebound. I know I'm guilty of this. Another example is assuming that we have knowledge that we really don't have. Someone who is good in math may not take the time to mathematically evaluate the choices. For instance, a 15 year mortage on your home is only a little more costly per month than a 30 year mortgage. The different in the cost of the total interest you pay is enormous, yet almost everyone gets a 30 year mortgage. Almost everyone has the skill to compare the two choices, but few take the time to do so. This kind of stalled thinking can be irresistible, and your wallet will inevitably be lighter as a result. When you discover that you have a weakness in one of these areas, you can then be more cautious in avoiding your biases in the future. This book is very helpful in this regard because each chapter explore one bias and begins with a question to test your instincts. In answering that question, you will probably find (if you are like me) that you make the wrong choice. This book will return its cost in time and money hundreds of times over the rest of your life. Be sure to read and apply it! I also suggest that you examine where you have rules of thumb in noneconomic areas. When you are busy and someone in the family wnats your attention, what do you do? Your choices may be costing you closer relationships and effectiveness. Take the time to make good decisions and at least adopt better rules of thumb!
Rating: 
Summary: Overated Book
Review: While some of the book is interesting it is more geared for the beginner in investing. A lot of the issues brought up are nothing more than common sense. I read it in a couple of days and felt let down by the simplistic approach to investing problems and the suggested solutions.
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