Rating: 
Summary: A Reader from San Francisco
Review: As a current MBA student who does not have strong background in finance, I found that the material in this book is often too difficult to understand. This book is more appropriate for financial managers or students whose majors are finance. I highly recommend all finance professors who teach introductory or intermediate finance courses not use this book. Trying to understand materials in this book may discourage your students who does not have strong backgrounds in finance.
Rating: 
Summary: Probably the worst book on Corporate Finance in the market!
Review: As an undergraduate student, I find the book to be a complete waste of money. The authors are often too wishy-washy in their explanations, and often have a pathetic sense of humour. While it tries to take an applied approach, it really fails in that respect. More often than not, you're left dangling without firm knowledge of either the theory of finance or it's practical applications. The serious student of finance, whether undergraduate or MBA, must not take refuge in the fact that he has mastered this book - it doesn't mean a thing. You're DEFINITELY better off referring to books like Copeland and Weston's "Financial Theory and Corporate Policy", or, better yet (and highly recommended), Grinblatt and Titman's "Financial Markets and Corporate Strategy". There isn't a half-star rating option available, but that's what this book (at best) is really worth. I really wonder why it's still so popular after all these years. To think that the authors have the cheek to sell their lousy book at such a high price too!
Rating: 
Summary: Do not choose it as your first finance texkbook.
Review: I was required to use this book in my first year MBA, and found that finance is too tough to study. And I was almost discouraged to select finace as my major ONLY BEFORE I found "Analysis for Financial Management" by Robert C. Higgins. DO NOT read Brealey & Myers if it is your first finance textbook!
Rating:
Summary: Unclear wording makes it more uncomprehensive.
Review: I am an MBA student, formerly a consultant in Big Five with six years of financial experience. This book is awful - wording is ambiguous, explanation sometimes is incomplete, examples are misleading, poor sense of squeezed humour and mixture of pride and prejudice. It was recommended as core textbook but honestly after I read it I could not see why the book is so popular - maybe most B-schools like to make MBA courses more theoritical?
Rating:
Summary: I'd give it one half star but it works as a paper weight.
Review: A tremendously successful textbook---de rigeur for the Ivy League, apparently---whose success can only be explained by kickbacks and graft. The tome is impenetrable, dense with turgid and unhelpful examples, burdened with the authors' pathetic attempts at humor, and manages to make the most basic of financial concepts (such as CAPM, the dividend controversy, and optimal capital structure) incomprehensible to all but the most steely Wall Street veterans. No wonder the street loves it---it makes the discipline seem completely beyond the ken of mere mortals (and first year MBAs). I hate this book with a black passion; it seems to revel in its obscurantism. An infinitely better approach for the curious or the novice is Ross and Jaffe's Corporate Finance, which treats the same material in a logical, user friendly, and infinitely more readable fashion.
Rating: 
Summary: The book is a tough book for a freshman in finance
Review: I am a financial reporter in Hong Kong and this book is useful in my work.In fact ,the book is not for beginner, but for the financial manager, it describe the theory and practice of corporate finance. In Hong Kong, many financial managers only learn from experience, but for a responsible financial manager need a theory of coporate finance, that can help understanding what is going on the world. The book is quite heavy, but is a good tool book on the desk. The main disadvantage is why the selling price is so high in amazon, I buy the book only Hk $150, about 20 dollars!
Rating: 
Summary: A call for a better corp fin text!
Review: Just because it is widely used doesn't it the best!! I used this book in a graduate school class and found it very theoretical, but not very real world. It's all there, but not explained in enough of a real world way. In other words, it does a very poor job explaining its points. This is one of three corp finance text that I have. The other two are by Ross and team (Very simple). I hope someday that a good corp fin text is published. Please, someone produce a text with the proper blend of real world and theory. Students need to be saved from these poor text books currently used! I always found that the best teachers had the perfect blend of real world and teaching experience. Why can't we get a text with the correct mix.
Rating:
Summary: Very complete and comprehensive
Review: This book definetely is one of the best and most complete books on finance and investment available on the market today. Unlike other books on this subject it enables even a beginner to gain an in-depth understanding of finance and investment because there are so many examples. While reading the book I had always the feeling that one of its authors is sitting beside me in order to guide me. Unless other books it does not bore its readers with an overload of mathematics but does explain exactly the origin of the numbers used in the examples. I am from Munich/Germany and work in the M&A departement of a consulting company. I have bought this book when I was a student and I still use it today.
Rating:
Summary: Very overrated text
Review: Brealy and Meyers, generally, do a good job in laying out the fundamential concepts of corporate finance. However, wording is unclear, some examples are incomplete or suffer from clarity, and some problems and examples don't explaing how intermediate values used are actually determined. Overall, the book can be confusing and should be taught in conjunction with course teaching. Independent reading can lead to improper understanding.
Rating:
Summary: The pre-eminent finance text, but you have to wonder
Review: I've used it for the core finance course in B-school. Everybody else seems to use it too. It has everything you need but you have to wonder why it's so popular. It gets way too wordy and unclear. It became a major source of discontent in our class and took away from my understanding of finance.
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