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Summary: A unique perspective
Review: As someone who has read the works of Ben Graham and the letters of Warren Buffett, I can honestly say this book offers some new ideas you are unlikely to find anywhere else. Unlike most investing books that only argue against the efficient market, this book also points out many of the flaws of Graham and Dodd and offers a different method of value investing. It is not intended to be an update of Security Analysis, despite what previous reviews on Amazon may say. The author has over 40 years of Wall Street experience and has also taught at Yale and Columbia. If you want to be exposed to new ideas buy the book. If you just want positive reinforcement of your belief in Ben Graham then this book might leave you shell shocked.
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Summary: Odd book - who is it aimed at?
Review: Couple of odd things about this book. First is Whitman's invention of acronyms to refer to simple concepts (such as minority investors) which makes the book more confusing to read than it needs to be. Bigger problem however is it is unclear to me who is supposed to read it. The first 200 pages are a rant against the efficient market hypothesis, investment banker fees and a couple of other topics interspersed with a basic overview of markets. Last 30 pages are an advanced discussion on distressed security investing (one of the author's many talents) and dividend policy.I was bored for 200 pages & interested for 30. Others would be the other way round. Very odd.
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Summary: The Successor to Graham & Dodd? Please.
Review: I eagerly anticipated reading this so-called successor to Graham & Dodd's Security Analysis after Marty Whitman pronounced it as such last December in an interview with Outstanding Investor Digest. To the serious value investor counting on Whitman to deliver on a standard set by Graham & Dodd, this book is as satisfying as a completed sneeze. Hmmm, a latter-day Graham & Dodd, written in less than half the writing space...How does he pull it off?! The reason Whitman's book is so brief is the author devotes most of his effort to delivering platitudes; there are few examples, and fewer satisfying ones. It is disturbing that a value investor-professor touting a 'balanced approach' would skimp on text-balancing details like examples, especially since this book is written by a seasoned analyst presumed to be sensitive to the complexity --and thus the potential for confusion-- in the practice of his craft. This is one field where less is not more. While I would dearly love to find a replacement to my increasingly dated Graham & Dodd, Whitman's book is a displacement. It is a strangely assuming, hugely disappointing work in a field terribly in need of a successor to the less and less approachable standard text, Graham & Dodd's Security Analysis.
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Summary: I laughed, I cried...
Review: I laughed, I cried....I loved it!! Actually I haven't read it yet but I ordered 10 copies and I believe I am going to love it!
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Summary: Sage Advice for a Fraction of the Price
Review: If you're serious about investing like a "control investor" - KKR, Carl Ichan, Warren Buffett - then this book will really open your eyes. There is a completely different world of security investment than the one that we hear about on TV, read in the papers or even learned from Graham and Dodd. I read this book twice before I could appreciate it fully. The first time it changed my paradigm and the second time I received a priceless education. Thank you Marty. "Safe and cheap" is the way to go. Profits are made on the purchase. Learn how it is done!
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Summary: Absolutely Great
Review: If you're serious about investing like a "control investor" - KKR, Carl Ichan, Warren Buffett - then this book will really open your eyes. There is a completely different world of security investment than the one that we hear about on TV, read in the papers or even learned from Graham and Dodd. I read this book twice before I could appreciate it fully. The first time it changed my paradigm and the second time I received a priceless education. Thank you Marty. "Safe and cheap" is the way to go. Profits are made on the purchase. Learn how it is done!
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Summary: If you ever wanted to teach Graham and Dodd a lesson read it
Review: Marty compiles his wisdom, academic knowledge and years of experience working in the financial services sector in his latest book. His approach offerred me an opportunity to truly understand what "value investing" is. If value investors thought Graham and Dodd wrote the key book on this topic, then they should read Marty's book. He has established 'the' way to approach value investing.
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Summary: Ground-Breaking Author. Blah-Blah Writing Style.
Review: Marty Whitman is one of the "deans" of modern value investing. Unfortunately, I believe he's been tainted by his role at Yales' School of Management. The problem with this book is that he works too hard to make his writing style "academic." As a result, his points are rarely easily communicated to the reader. Despite having attended one of the Nation's leading business schools (much more highly-ranked than Yale's SOM), I often felt that gleaning information from this book was like having my teeth pulled -- painful. If Marty would like, I could easily refer him to a number of other books that communicate much more complicated material in a far easier to understand manner. Perhaps he could use one as model for future editions. However, in spite the writing style, the material is quite useful and insightful. Definately worth the price.
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Summary: Safe and cheap
Review: Marty's brand of value investing will appeal to the buy-and-hold investor who wishes to purchase shares in financially sound companies with good quality assets at a discount to their value. This book does not teach "how to do". It teaches "how to think". That is, how to think like a control investor, speculator, management or investment banker, or creditor might. If one can understand the motivations and interests of all of those constituencies who might be involved in a company and the market for its securities, then one may learn to capitalize upon opportunities presented by the market. This book is the successor to Whitman's superb "The Aggressive Conservative Investor", basically updating that book for the new millenium.
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Summary: Sage Advice for a Fraction of the Price
Review: Mr. Whitman packs an entire course worth of information into just 265 pages. Marty Whitman is reknowned for his frank shareholder letters, in which he often explains very complex investments in an easily understandable terms. If you are a fan of his notorious shareholder letters (as I am), and are interested in taking your understanding of value investing to the next level, then this book is for you. Be forewarned that the book is more in-depth and academic than his letters.
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