Finance (Barron's Business Review Series)

Rating:
Summary: Im Only 14!!!
Review: Great book! I could actually stay focused, very interesting but has a whole lotta information. I decided to read this book because Im buying another on mergers and acquistition, and it recommended some prior knowledge of finance and accounting, I thought it would be a hassle, but it was a valuable experience and I learned alot. Id recommend this book to ANYONE...

Rating:
Summary: Im Only 14!!!
Review: Great book! I could actually stay focused, very interesting but has a whole lotta information. I decided to read this book because Im buying another on mergers and acquistition, and it recommended some prior knowledge of finance and accounting, I thought it would be a hassle, but it was a valuable experience and I learned alot. Id recommend this book to ANYONE...

Rating:
Summary: Great Study Guide/ Reference
Review: I am using this book to study for the DANTES Finance subject exam. This book is clear and concise; it excludes worthless commentary that makes up half of today's textbooks. A great aspect of this book is that it breaks up the information so that you learn finance more efficiently. In addition, the authors of this book provide the student with valuable concept and practical application questions at the end of each chapter. The surprising thing is that the answers immediately follow the questions so you don't waste time with unecessary page flipping and inefficient answer searching. It's apparent that this book also makes a good reference and, therefore, it is definitely a keeper. Hope this helps.

Rating:
Summary: A great basic, intermediate and a bit more!
Review: I loved this book! Usually the fact that it's a text book would bore you already, however this book is both entertaining and educational! I'm an accountant but recently I've started exploring the investment banking world, and this book was definately my candel through the dark times! It's easy to read, yet rich in content! Actually, I loved this book so much that I bought all the Barron's business series books! If you want to study finance, or need a great comprehensive reference, then I recommend this book!

Rating:
Summary: Pretty awful
Review: Reading the other reviews on this book, I can't help but wonder whether we are talking about the same book.

I've read a few books on finance in my time and this one arguably is the worst one of all.

The structure of the book is bad. Concepts are put into practice many chapters before they are introduced. Example: the balance sheet is defined from page 425 (!) onward although, of course, sentences like "this shows up on the right-hand side of the balance sheet" appear much earlier in the book. The line of reasoning at times is so muddied that I wonder whether the authors understood things themselves. This is underlined by a large number of downright errors.

To be fair, there are some positive sides to the book (hence 2 stars): individual chapters contain boxes named "you should remember" which contain helpful summaries. There are sections intended for practice (including answers) that I would like to see in many other textbooks. Also, some of the sections are actually well-written, interesting and important. It's just that consistency is totally lacking.

My conclusion is that, although there are sections in the book that are excellent, a beginner in the subject will not be able to distinguish them from the less succesful material it is interspersed with. Certainly not recommended for the audience it is intended for.

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: This book explains method of finance very clearly. For me, finance is out of my experties, but once I read this book, I was facinated! The authors intend for college students, but I dare to recomend it not only who are studying financial theory but also experts of the industry.

Rating:
Summary: High Praise for High Finance
Review: This book is superb. At first, I was a bit hesitant, because at first glance it appears technical and dense. But as I began to study it, I realized that fear and excessive eagerness to understand everything right away in an obstacle when approaching a book like this, and it was my fear and eagerness that caused my initial misgivings. In fact this book is great. It has no excessive verbiage that characterizes many textbooks today. It makes it clear that a theoretical model is just that--a very simplified view of a possible reality, and not a reflection of the real world. It also gives relevant problems and provides the answers immediately. I like the fact that the author introduce key terms for each chapter in the beginning. This sets your mind in the direction of the subject, and you know what to pay attention to when reading through the chapter.

In short, a beginner can use this book effectively to learn about finance, while someone more experienced can use this book as a valuable reference tool. I have invested in stocks for many years and studied international political economy at the graduate leve, but there is nothing like a direct, no-nonsense explanation of the basics and intermediate concepts. This book will give you just that.

Rating:
Summary: Great MBA program, or CLEP prep
Review: Your Business Review series is excellent. While this series was not designed for CLEPs or any of the other standardized examinations universities use to test accomplished areas of knowledge, I have found the entire series crucial for just that. Particularly as I am entering an MBA program. These volumes were precisely what I needed, and I have been telling everyone with even slight interest in these topics about them. Specifically, I am referring to the following books of the series (by title): Accounting, Business Statistics, Economics, Finance, Management, and Marketing.

Rating:
Summary: Great MBA program, or CLEP prep
Review: Your Business Review series is excellent. While this series was not designed for CLEPs or any of the other standardized examinations universities use to test accomplished areas of knowledge, I have found the entire series crucial for just that. Particularly as I am entering an MBA program. These volumes were precisely what I needed, and I have been telling everyone with even slight interest in these topics about them. Specifically, I am referring to the following books of the series (by title): Accounting, Business Statistics, Economics, Finance, Management, and Marketing.