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Summary: Bull! : A History of the Boom, 1982-1999: What drove the Bre
Review: Mahar, former academic (English, Yale Univ.) turned financial journalist, has written a readable work on financial cycles that emphasizes the 1990s. However, she does devote some space to the period preceding it, beginning with the 1960s. As important, the Mahar ties readers into John Kenneth Galbraith's A Short History of Financial Euphoria (CH, Nov'93) and Charles Kindleberger's Manias, Panics and Crashes (4th ed., 2001). As a result, this book places the period in historical perspective through the mouths of some of the participants. Henry Blodget, the Merrill Lynch super analyst who had doubts about his pronouncements on AOL and other high tech companies, read Galbraith's book too late. On the other hand, Gail Dudack, chief market strategist of UBS Warburg, after reading Kindleberger's work, saw the classic signs that would lead to a crash. Her timing was off (1997) and it cost her (e.g., she was dropped from the Wall Street Week show), as the bull continued to roar. There is much in this book to recommend to undergraduates, regardless of their major. The descriptive prose reads well and might help the young understand that while the details differ, financial cycles are a recurring phenomenon.
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Summary: Fantastic blend of history and theory
Review: On the surface, this is a history of the stock market over the past 20 years. Like most economic history, one would expect to be bored to tears. The book adds a couple doses of financial theory (also "Ho Hum") and somehow manages to be a delightfully insightful and interesting read. The 400+ pages just flew by.
There's lots of interesting historical annecdotes included:
1) The bears who get killed for mistiming their predictions. (The bull isn't done until the last bear is gored)
2) How the Blodgets of the world were created by a system that encouraged cooking the books and an abdication of responsibility. (Mahar covers the laws that created this environment, and those politicians that pushed for them)
3) The ups and down of particular investors as they deal with the bull and inevitable bear.
In addition, several insights come out:
1) Buy and Hold Equities isn't all that it's cracked up to be.
2) Not everyone belongs in the market. Indeed, many investing professionals make their money on Wall Street, but invest it on Main Street. (Harder to lose money on a house)
3) Decreasing spending or increasing earning potential can go a long way.
4) It is easier to pick trends than timing them.
There are a couple attacks on her thinking:
1) She cites the virtues of market timing, but market timing really isn't that easy. If it were, we'd all be doing it.
2) She cites many folks who called the end of the bull right. In a sea of information overload, it isn't that easy to find these people and understand their arguments. (There's always convincing bears)
3) There are many instances of "If you only followed Xs advice from Day Y..." which is tough to check. Is that a valid trend, or are the dates (especially the end dates) picked just to amplify a point? (It's always possible to find a 5, 10 or 20 year period to prove a point)
That said, the book is an important one, both from a historical point of view, and to improve one's investing.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointed
Review: that it received such acclaim from reviewers is difficult to understand, it's claim to "re-interpret Buffett" is outrageous, she just copied a few paragraphs from "the making of an american capitalist" !!! and more importantly, rather than re-interpreting, she MIS-INTERPRETED Buffett, despite all she said, Buffett is not a market timer, he buys stocks whether in boom or bust time, so long as there are undervalued stocks that suit his taste, it's just that during boom time, it is more difficult to find undervalued stocks, a point she totally missed, its analysis of the formation and process of cycles, if there is any, is so shallow, it's full of anedotes that are either non-representative or already commonly known to those who have been following the financial press, she put such life on the bull and the bear to make it looks almost real that there are two gods controlling the market and the periods of time when either of them is in power are (or can be) clearly demarcated, to the seasoned investors, no wisdom is gained from reading it, to the novices, it is positively dangerous - for it promotes cycles catching - a task proven to be futile and fruitless
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Summary: Demolishes Investment Myths!
Review: The author explains that the 90s bull market was driven by momentum, not value. The main source of liquidity was a stampeding herd of misinformed individual investors whose do-it-yourself investing, much of it via 401(k)s, flooded the mutual fund industry with money, driving up stock valuations to unsustainable levels. The majority of individual investors got most of their financial advice through the media, which had been taken over by investment industry marketers. The market's upward momentum made most fund managers look good even though they were only following the indexes. As a result, mutual funds became asset gatherers, basing their fees on the amount of money under management, not on investment expertise. Lawmakers enacted the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995 which helped build the bubble by enabling corporations to mislead investors about their earnings; the effect was a massive transfer of wealth from shareholders to corporate management. Financial chicanery became prevalent throughout corporate America, and creative accounting was so pervasive that, in 2001, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that there had been no earnings since 1995! During the longer term from 1969-2003, stocks outperformed long-term Treasuries only by a trifling 1% per year, but Wall Street and the media kept investors' attention focused on equities because equity-based commissions, fees, kickbacks and other rake-offs are far more lucrative. After the bull market's momentum had reversed, the media kept telling investors to stay invested and buy on dips, but investors were pouring money into a large sieve. Many investors had become uncritical as they monitored their accounts; the balances looked okay but, in reality, investors' deposits were camouflaging the investment losses. Mahar shows that timing, which depends on expertise and luck, is key to whether an investor wins or loses, and that buy-and-hold would not have worked well during the long term. Unlike momentum and long-term buy-and-hold investors, successful value investors, like Warren Buffett, use market timing to buy low and sell high. The only true golden periods for stocks over bonds were the 1950s and 1960s. Mahar demolishes the myths perpetrated upon investors by the financial services industry and its lackeys in the media. Every investor should read this book!
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Summary: A Truly Enlightning Book
Review: The dualistic title of the book comes to refer to the nature of the roaring stock market of the 80's and 90's as well as what was being shoveled to fuel that market. The book may not break any new ground but does an excellent job pointing out how price increases fuel further speculation; driving up prices still further. As price and speculation feed upon itself there is tremendous pressure not to be left behind. Analysts are pressured not to say anything bad about a stock; the media is pressured to be cheerleaders and not fault-finders; and corporate executives find creative ways to make their companies more profitable than they really are. The result is a price bubble and when it bursts people get hurt.Maggie Mahar, a financial journalist since 1982, writes a coherent study of how the bull market came to be, what fueled it, and what can investors do now. It is up-to-date book and truly enlightening. Much of the material has been covered in financial journals and newspapers but never in such a concise manner; and you'll soon discover many surprises that you probably didn't know about the bull market.
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Summary: Bull! is no bull
Review: This book is terrific and should be read by anyone who plans on saving and/or investing. It's readable, knowledgeable and quite entertaining. My only complaint (and this shouldn't detract from the tremendous value of the book) is that very little attention is given to modern portfolio theory and asset allocation. And my only regret is that the publishers have not marketed this book well--it's not well know in the community. Thanks very much Ms. Mahar for a great read. I'm sending copies to my friends.
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Summary: My Favorites
Review: This is my favorite book on investing. It has a great "voice" that keeps you interested and turning pages. It is right up there with my favorite book on people, "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin", and my favorite dvd "New Sex Now: Life's Ultimate Pleasure." I would advise everyone to check out and enjoy all three, as they can each change your life for the better, but in different ways.
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