Rating: 
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time and Money
Review: In my opinion, the author offers nothing in terms of original thinking or analysis. He quotes many other people and just seems to ramble on and on.Too many investors are looking for other people to tell them what to do with their money. There are plenty of internet resources that investors can tap for free. I wouldn't waste my time and money on this book. It is garbage in my opinion. My advice is to do your own research and make your own conclusions.
Rating: 
Summary: Empowerment of the Individual
Review: John Mauldin has done the average citizen a great service by putting the economic environment and investment choices into an understandable and logical format. He guides our decsions by use of historical statistics that demonstrate the best probabilities of success in making and keeping money from investments. He is neither bull nor bear but realist, and in the process debunks the myth of "buy and hold." Because this book refers to so many sources of information, it must be studied, not glanced at. It is not a panacea; rather it helps the individual get a compass in a very complex world. However, it is rewarding beyond words if one reads and ponders the wisdom that lies within. We all have choices; this permits us to make wise ones.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Insights - Poor Practical Advice
Review: John Mauldin provides brilliant analyses of US and global economic dynamics to make a strong case for a flat to down market over the next ten years. The book also includes an excellent tutorial on hedge funds. If these subjects are your main interest, then the book a really worthwhile read (5 stars).
However, while his writing is often masterful, the book fails to provide a workable investment strategy (which is sort of promised by the book's title). His advice on how to find stock market winners is disappointing because it's wholly impractical for the average investor. Essentially, his advice is to read everything there is to read about a company (SEC filings, reports, industry journals, creditable websites, etc.), go to trade shows, meet the company's management, meet the employees, etc.. He does allow for the fact that this process is somewhat arduous, so he advises working in groups to analyze a sufficient number of companies to find the winners. This is just what a lot of professionals do in the investment industry... but these are full-time jobs!
Overall: a great case for making hedge funds generally available to the public; a strong case for a flat to down market over the next decade or so; but, ultimately, doesn't deliver the golden arrow... so regrettably 3 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Mauldin On Target
Review: John Mauldin sounds a clear, strong note. Bull's Eye Investing is sturdy stuff. It slices with precision though an investing world that is flabby with turgid, overblown and dangerously uninformed opinions.
-- Andrew C. Carpenter
Executive Editor
Journal of American Finance
Rating: 
Summary: A Taste of Things to Come
Review: John Mauldin writes as a cool "just the facts" analyst. If this book doesn't convince you that you need to tread carefully in the next decade, then nothing will.
"Bull's Eye Investing" is a full frontal assault on the perennial bullishness of Wall Street. Mr. Mauldin comes armed with a wide array of studies from other authors. No, Mr. Mauldin does not bring his own guns made by his own hands. What he has done is assembled a vast array of weapons and assembled them in a way that makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts. (Many of the chapters are co-written with other authors.)
The entire book can be boiled down to one conclusion: the next decade will see a predominately declining market. Most of the book is spent detailing why this must be. Nothing written is new or ground breaking. Many of the cited studies use old premises, updated with the newest data. Trailing price-to-earnings ratios, for example, have long been cited as an inverse predictor of future returns. If you are familiar with such studies and already accept their conclusions, then you do not need to read this book as you will find the book rather repetitive. But for those who are not familiar with such evidence, the depth of arguments that he piles on will be impossible to deny.
The title of the book suggests a discussion of methods to invest in uncertain markets. It is worth noting that Mr. Mauldin is neither a professor nor a money manager - he is an advisor who helps his clients select hedge funds and other investing vehicles. Thus, as before, his investing recommendations are an assemblage of various studies and newsletters by other authors as well as his own experience with the world of hedge funds. The practicability of these recommendations is debatable. On the one hand, some of the cited studies provide strong statistical evidence that a particular investing strategy will work and he argues convincingly why these strategies make sense. On the other hand, Mr. Mauldin does not address how well such strategies might work with the strong headwind that he takes such great pains to establish.
"Bull's Eye Investing" is reminiscent of "Irrational Exuberance", written by Professor Robert Shiller at the peak of the technology bubble. Dr. Shiller was ridiculed as someone who "doesn't get it." Those who still believe so can skip "Bull's Eye Investing", as these two books could be kissing cousins. Similarly, those who accepted the premise of "Irrational Exuberance" will simply find more evidence for the same thesis in this book. This book is for the undecided - read this book now before Mr. Mauldin, like Dr. Shiller before him, proclaims to the world "I told you so!"
Rating:
Summary: Mauldin Misses The Bull's Eye!
Review: Mauldin misses the mark with "Bull's Eye Investing". I agree with many of the other people who have reviewed this book who stated that Mauldin's discussion of the investment cycle is very well done and interesting. I was very dissappointed in his strong recommendation of hedge funds. During a secular bear market (and any market for that matter), preservation of capitol is the most important part of any investment strategy. Mauldin agrees! So why does Mauldin spend most of the second part of his book trying to convince the reader to invest in hedge funds? A recent article in 'Forbes' magazine, "The Sleaziest Show On Earth", basically labeled hedge funds as a license to steal. Forbes pointed out that Hedge funds are unregulated and are not required to publish their performance results. Mauldin didn't seem to be concerned that an investor may not be able to track the performance of his hedge fund or that hedge fund expenses can be 20% or more! Mauldin actually recommended using hedge fund indexes to reduce the risk! I believe this type of investment advice is totally irresponsible. Hedge funds may be an option for speculators, but they are not an option for serious investors!
Rating:
Summary: I love this book--I get it!
Review: Mr. Mauldin's writing is clear and concise. I have bought three copies of this book and given it to family members. It's one of those a-ha! books on investing so the normal person who's just trying to invest their money wisely (and can't figure out why their investments never work out)! can find their way through the Impenetrable Forest of the Stock Market. My father is a stockbroker, I grew up in a stockbroker's house, so shouldn't I know something about wise investing? But remember the day when the rules all changed--and we found out the deck was pretty much stacked against the little guy and gal? In this book, Mr. Mauldin gives some insightful knowlege--at least for me--about how to prune the deadwood and arm yourself with a weedwacker in the forest so that you can come out with a different attitude and better, new, more productive growth in your investment portfolio.
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've read in the last five years
Review: Rarely does a book on the topic of investing and the economy qualify as "can't put it down" material, but this one does - I finished it in a short weekend. Immensely readable, the book provides a framework for understanding an investment world that seems no longer to play by the rules. So many books of this kind come across as alarmist or naive, but Bull's Eye Investing is rational, methodical and comprehensive in its' analysis of everything from underfunded pensions to global demographic trends. The book left me with a 'bearishly optimistic' outlook for the next decade. Mauldin makes a compelling case for caution as a small investor, but also identifies strategies and analytical approaches that provide the reader with a path forward even in what he calls the "Muddle Through Economy." In the end, Mauldin's concise recipe for moving forward as an investor is nothing less than gourmet fare.
Rating:
Summary: Good warnings & analysis; little advice for small investor
Review: The book provides warnings about the upcoming bear market and the reasons for it. Mauldin says that money markets will beat stocks over the next 10 years. However, he doesn't provide the small investor with solid advice for where to invest. He ignores mutual funds and ETF's and does very little on asset allocation. If we want to earn more than 1% but can't get into a hedge fund, the other options he advises are nonexistent.
Rating:
Summary: The Bottom Line
Review: The bottom line on Mr. Mauldin is that over the past few years following the advice contained in his weekly emails has made me a lot of money, even more important I have avoided large losses. Reading his weekly essay is a highlight of my week. Naturally the question comes up: why should I buy the book when I can get the data for free. Well, first is simple fairness: he deserves some pay back for dispensing so much wisdom for free every week. But hey, whose going to buy a book because the author deserves the money? Well, there are several good reasons. First the list of other free sources of investment/economic analysis available on the internet is worth the price of the book by itself. Second, there are several important chapters that have not been made available in his emails, and lastly the book organizes the data in a way that arms the individual investor with a broad intellectual base in which to put in context the daily stream of market data. Buy this book, and put in the time to fully understand it, and the reward will be many times the price of the book.
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