Rating: 
Summary: Great Distillation and Updating of Graham and Buffett
Review: Although the definitive popular book on Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett remains to be written, this excellent work is certainly the state-of-the-art in this area. For those who do not have the time or inclination to read the writings and speeches of these important investment thinkers, you get the key kernels of wisdom in action-oriented doses here. This is the first book I have read that gives the stock investor who wants to outperform the market averages a sense of what is involved in order to have a chance. The examples of how to apply these methods to companies like General Electric, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and internet retailers are very helpful. I thought this book was much more valuable in every way than Buffettology. Both Graham and Buffett see buying stock as being the same as buying a whole company. The analytical methods involved are similar to those used by companies thinking about making an acquisition, except there is no need to consider what the joint operating benefits of the companies will be. The strength of this approach to stock investing is that if stock values for a company fall too low another company or group of cash-flow-oriented investors will acquire the whole company. In the long run, stocks should not fall too far below their intrinsic value (a Graham concept) as cash flow generators. The book is organized into three sections. The first looks at whether the stock market is efficient or not. If it is, you cannot beat it. If it is not, you can beat it by investing where it is not efficient. The evidence here summarized estimates that the stock market is at least 20 percent inefficient and becoming more so. I am aware of a number of studies showing other kinds of inefficiency that Professor Cunningham does not cite. My own personal view is that the stock market is not very efficient at all, but is relatively predictable within a band of probability. A particular strength of this section is in creating a summary of many of the arguments for stock market efficiency and inefficiency. Trust me. Unless you really love reading this kind of research (which I happen to), you will be better off reading the summaries here rather than the originals. The second section discusses how to outperform the stock market. The best part of this section is an extremely well done parable about a man who wants to sell his apple tree. He is approached by many different types of potential purchasers, and they offer wildly varying prices. You get the interior logic of how each price is arrived at in a way that allows you to see the fundamental weaknesses and strengths of each approach. Nicely done! The heart of this section emphasizes the familiar Graham and/or Buffett (their philosophies do not coincide, but rather partially overlap) concepts of sticking to what you know well, having a margin of safety, and doing your homework. I particularly liked the detailed description of how to determine where you have a knowledge edge that allows you to potentially have an advantage as a stock investor. The cautions against overestimating what you know are very well done. The third section looks at the role of company management and boards of directors. It debunks a lot of the popular thinking about the importance of good governance. As Warren Buffett often emphasizes in his annual letters to shareholders, you should invest only with people you "like, trust, and admire." A CEO with a weakness (particularly a lack of integrity) can quickly tank your investment before you can do anything about it. Certainly, I have been sorry a number of times when I have not followed that rule. I certainly subscribe to it now. Every management will make mistakes. Only highly focused and capable ones will notice that they have and work on rectifying the errors rather than trying to explain why there really is no problem. If you read this book carefully, it will convince you that outperforming the stock market is a pretty hard thing to do unless you have a great deal of knowledge about public companies and unusually good access to company managements. I think describing what needs to be done is the most eloquent argument that I have seen for why the average investor should be in indexed mutual funds for the stock portion of her or his portfolio. I suggest you already read John Bogle's Common Sense on Mutual Funds. I was pleased to see that this book raises an important question of valuation for when to commit to new purchases of indexed funds. People differ on this subject; but while the S&P 500's multiple is as high as sit is now and cash flow growth is so weak, many people may benefit from holding off or buying other indexes instead. Consider the small cap value indexes instead now, for instance. I suspect that you can learn a lot by comparing your past stock investing with the patterns described here. Are you a great investor? Great investors have "independence of thought, . . . [and] utter and profound common sense . . . ." The challenge here is that "common sense is . . . it is so uncommon." On the other hand, "those who buy stocks outside their circle of competence are gamblers, speculators, or fools." Please wear the shoe that fits you. The most accurate prediction of future stock market conditions is that they will fluctuate. Currently, the average stock varies by 50 percent in price each year. What method of stock investing will allow you to either ignore or best take advantage of that volatility? Be sure to consider your emotions at least as much as your intellect and available time in making this determination. Get a great return on your time and on your investments!
Rating:
Summary: Best in Class
Review: Berkshire Hathaway's and Buffett's materials sent to shareholders for this year's meeting mention this book along with Cunningham's "Essays of Warren Buffett" (as well as Andy Kilpatrick's "biography of Berkshire" and Janet Lowe's book on Charlie Munger). Suggestion important if you want to read the stuff Buffett thinks matters: Cunningham. Nuff said. Well, maybe a few things more in case people looking at this aren't masters of all things related to intelligent investing. Fortune magazine comes out with a report card this month on a few new books on "Buffett", giving Cunningham a B--but wait, they give Hagstrom an A?--please. Hagstrom's new book is soooo manipulative (it is supposed to be about Buffett investing in the "New Economy". But come on. First, the "new economy" doeesn't even exist. And second the very idea of "investing" that way defies everything Buffett has ever done and stands for. How can such a book be for real (as opposed to for the sales alone?) Fortune magazine should be ashamed of itself, especially with (or maybe becuase of?) having Buffett friend Carol Loomis on its staff. Come on. Cunningham is the guy who publised The Essays of Warren Buffett, the other book this year's Berkshire Hathaway materials endorse. Forbes has actually featured Cunningham in a serious story. That says something too. But, anyway, "How To Think," is quite excellent; maybe not perfect, but what book is? (Well, maybe, The Essays). But Cunningham is really at the top of this class. And too few of the "Buffett authors" (actually none) notice the role Ben Graham plays in smart investing. And finally, this book is really about what is going on now. How did Cunningham know the market was going to go the way it has? Eerie foresight Mr. Cunningham. Write another, please?
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but stick with the original masters
Review: Cunningham is a great thinker whose compilation of Warren Buffett's essays was a major contribution to this field, but this book falls short of the true classics. Cunningham is at his best setting up a thoughtful framework for the ideas of Buffett and Graham, and adds useful case studies to illustrate the major principles. His discussions of chaos and probability theory are invaluable in thinking about individual stocks within the broader market environment. However, I find he adds little original thought to the actual seeking out and analysis of great investments, and this books lacks the analytical rigor needed to make great decisions - which is ultimately what the title promises. I also found the section on corporate governance, while useful and on target, excessive relative to how little space is given to the objective analysis of specific companies. I recommend sticking to the original masters - Graham (The Intelligent Investor), Buffett (Essays/Lessons for Corporate America, which Cunningham compiled) and Fisher (Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits) - for the best thinking in any market environment.
Rating:
Summary: An introduction to Graham & Buffet's Value Investing
Review: For any reader or beginner who likes to have a very brief idea of what Graham and Buffet preach on value investing, this book is okay. In order to make the book readable and interesting, the author had chosen not to go into details of how but focus mostly on principles. About 35% of the book is spent, in text and no data/graph, on validating value over price as the primary consideration of any investment. I think that's far too much. That makes the part on the assessment of the true value of a stock too simple and short. Anyway, this is just an introduction of value investing (like the first chapter in a 12 chapter book) and far from complete. Stronly suggest any aspired value investor or even trader to read the originals from Graham and Buffet for a full picture before they take up one of the most competitive and demanding job in the world.
Rating:
Summary: How To Think Like Benjamin Graham And Think Like Warren Buff
Review: I am an 18 year old high school student who read this book for my economics class. I have recently opened an online investing account and have been working hard to learn all I can about the market and how to excel in it. I really feel that this was a great book for me since it covered everything about investing. If you are just getting into the market like me, I definitely suggest that you read this wonderful book since it really does give you that extra knowledge about the stock market that others dream to have. If you already know a ton about the market and investing, all I can tell you is that there must be something in this book that you will learn. Basically, here's my overall view. Read the book if you want to be different from all the other investors who think they know everything there is to know about the market. I also believe that this is a great investment of your money and time, since it is sure to help you in your future investments.
Rating:
Summary: How To Think Like Benjamin Graham And Think Like Warren Buff
Review: I am an 18 year old high school student who read this book for my economics class. I have recently opened an online investing account and have been working hard to learn all I can about the market and how to excel in it. I really feel that this was a great book for me since it covered everything about investing. If you are just getting into the market like me, I definitely suggest that you read this wonderful book since it really does give you that extra knowledge about the stock market that others dream to have. If you already know a ton about the market and investing, all I can tell you is that there must be something in this book that you will learn. Basically, here's my overall view. Read the book if you want to be different from all the other investors who think they know everything there is to know about the market. I also believe that this is a great investment of your money and time, since it is sure to help you in your future investments.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good But...
Review: I thought "The Warren Buffett Way" was far better. Not a very dense book except for a few sections on actual valuation.
Rating: 
Summary: Stick to the Basics
Review: I was extremely disappointed in this book. Having read Cunningham's/Buffetts "Essays on Corporate America", Grahams "Securities Analysis" and "The Intelligient Investor," I had hoped that this book would be a strong synthesis, with some modern additions, and filling in some gaps. Instead, Cunningham takes an author, Buffett, whose ideas are fundamentally simple, and whose writing is inherently clear, and make them sound incredibly complicated while writing in a massively unclear way. I bought this book because Cunningham did a SUPERB job synthesizing Buffetts "essays on corporate america". What I forgot when I bought this book was that Cunningham didnt write that book, Buffett did, cunningham just edited it. A man who is a great editor turns out, (in this case) to be a miserable author. As an example of the bizarre writing style Cunningham uses, take this paragraph (quoted exactly): "In the stock market forest, the ticks of price quotes infect the unprepared fools in the same way and with simiar results. Trader obsession with price quotations spreasd the Q [quote] fever epidemic, addking gas the the fire of Mr. Market's manic depression". Wow- talk about mixed metaphors. manic depression. Ticks. Q Fever. Gas the to the fire. And the entire book is like this, paragraph after paragraph! Buffett's ideas are inherently simple. Managers should think like owners, modern beta thinking has major flaws, etc. These are beautifully described by Buffett in "essays on corporate america", and have no need for an interpreter to stand between the priest and public. They have even less need for an interpreter as unclear as this one.
Rating:
Summary: The New Classic
Review: It's the best investment book I've read in a long while. I think it should sit on every investor's book shelf. A true classic. I have positioned it on my desk next to my copy of Security Analysis (Graham & Dodd) and The Intelligent Investor (Graham) - exactly where it deserves to be. I especially liked how Prof. Cunningham touched on Chaos Theory as well as the chapter on the Circle of Competence and the Fireside CEO chapter. Of course, Part 3 of the book was so well done it is really hard to elevate one chapter over the other. Really well done. Prof. Cunningham has done the public a great favour with this book. Lastly, the satirical look at balance sheet and earnings manipulation via the fictional dotcom company was a beautiful touch! Graham would've approved and I am sure Mr. Buffett does...
Rating:
Summary: The title does not keep what it promise
Review: This book is really disappointing, because it has very little to do with the title of the book. It is a total waste of money. After reading this book, you will hardly thing like Graham and invest like Buffett. No chance! Read the first two books from Hagstrom and Buffett's letters to the shareholders. Don't by this one. Terrible!
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