Rating: 
Summary: A Must- Read for Long-Term Investors
Review: This is not a book for traders, but for long-term investors. With wit and wisdom, Stein and Demuth prove their point: long-term investors must pay attention to market cycles. If you buy when the market is high, you are all but guaranteed to wind up under water. You could be buying the best company in the world--it does not matter. Pay too much, and you'll be burned.
The investors of the 90s forgot about market-timing.Wall Street told them it didn't matter, and they followed that advice-- to their eternal regret. As another reviewer has pointed out, Wall Street's salesmen want to sell stocks now. Caveat emptor if you pay too much.
Maggie Mahar's "Bull! A History of the Boom, 1982-1999: What Drove the Breackneck Market and What Every Investor Needs to Know About Financial Cycles" fleshes out the story and gives investors some sound advice on what to do next. Read both books.
Rating: 
Summary: Real Investing Advice. (No Really, They're Not Kidding)
Review: When I saw the cover of this book, with Ben Stein and his co-author lounging by the pool, bags of gold coins and gold ingots at their side, I thought it would be a send-up of investing books. Oops.
In spite of the kicky title and irreverent writing style, this is a genuine attempt to educate investors. It's full of rather conservative, long-term advice. Look for undervalued stocks. Don't jump in and out of the market. Diversify. When Stein and DeMuth talk about Market Timing, it is not a reference to day trading, rather to buying stocks when they are cheap. Buy low, in other words.
Their thinking on dollar cost averaging is refreshingly sensible. Instead of the Bob Brinker style of investing a fixed amount every month (or year or whatever) regardless of cost per unit, you should wait until the stock is cheap, then buy as much as you can. This assumes the investor has a brain, and enough discipline not to mess it up, which seems to be Brinker's fear.
Anyway, there isn't much new here. It's solid investing advice, breezily presented, so if you need a refresher, or are new to investing, this isn't a bad book to start with.
Rating:
Summary: Real Investing Advice. No Kidding. Really!
Review: When I saw the cover of this book, with Ben Stein and his co-author lounging by the pool, bags of gold coins and gold ingots at their side, I thought it would be a send-up of investing books. Oops.In spite of the kicky title and irreverent writing style, this is a genuine attempt to educate investors. It's full of rather conservative, long-term advice. Look for undervalued stocks. Don't jump in and out of the market. Diversify. When Stein and DeMuth talk about Market Timing, it is not a reference to day trading, rather to buying stocks when they are cheap. Buy low, in other words. Their thinking on dollar cost averaging is refreshingly sensible. Instead of the Bob Brinker style of investing a fixed amount every month (or year or whatever) regardless of cost per unit, you should wait until the stock is cheap, then buy as much as you can. This assumes the investor has a brain, and enough discipline not to mess it up, which seems to be Brinker's fear. Anyway, there isn't much new here. It's solid investing advice, breezily presented, so if you need a refresher, or are new to investing, this isn't a bad book to start with.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: Wonderful! The authors have used historical data to show that market timing really works. Beware, though, this book is not for the short term, it's for the long term investor. This book explains the factors used to time the market and how to use them and best of all, shows you where to see the signals (p.163). Complete, easy to read and use and understand. I had a lot of market books that I threw out, without reading, but I saved this one, because of the few passages that I read that sounded very intelligent. Now I have just finished reading the whole book and I am glad I saved it. This is a must read if you intend to invest in the market.
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