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Rating: 
Summary: Amazon review system mixing two books?
Review: From what I can tell, the Amazon review system seems to be mixing at least three books:
1) Fundamental Financial Management, 8th Edition (Study Guide) Authors: Brigham and Houston.
ISBN:003024434X
2)Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods and Authors: Stickney and Weil
ISBN:0030259622
3) Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers
Authors: Porter and Norton
ISBN:0030270995
Note that some of the reviews refer to Brigham as the author and some to Stickney and Weil.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Introductory Text
Review: I am a 2nd year law student in the top 10% of my class at a first tier law school (meaning, I'm capable of reading and comprehending dense material). I took an accounting class thinking it would be helpful knowledge in the practice of law. My professor - fantastic. This text book - awful. The only reason I was able to (hopefully) get a good grade (the exam was last week) was that the professor was so good at explaining the concepts he felt were important. The book was confusing and overly verbose (coming from a wordsmith & soon to be lawyer, that statement should be given much weight!!) There were many exercises, but truth be told it was the professor's explanations that allowed me to do the exercises, NOT the book's.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a great book
Review: I am currently enrolled in the CFA program (Level II candidate), and this book was used for my first corporate finance class. I must say that I was a bit turned off at first by the amount of colorful pictures and charts the Brigham book contained under the assumption that the more staid the book was, the less gimmicks it had and the better it was (like the Brealey-Myers book). However, I was repeatedly struck by how conscise Brighams' explanations and examples were. The book not only had exhaustive coverage, but it was very well-written. The vignettes at the beginning of each of the chapter really shows a good application of the chapter's lesson in the real world.When ever I come across a question concerning finance, I almost always reach for the Brigham and Houston book first--it's that good.
Rating:
Summary: This is a great book
Review: I am currently enrolled in the CFA program (Level II candidate), and this book was used for my first corporate finance class. I must say that I was a bit turned off at first by the amount of colorful pictures and charts the Brigham book contained under the assumption that the more staid the book was, the less gimmicks it had and the better it was (like the Brealey-Myers book). However, I was repeatedly struck by how conscise Brighams' explanations and examples were. The book not only had exhaustive coverage, but it was very well-written. The vignettes at the beginning of each of the chapter really shows a good application of the chapter's lesson in the real world. When ever I come across a question concerning finance, I almost always reach for the Brigham and Houston book first--it's that good.
Rating:
Summary: Get the new edition, not the 9th edition
Review: I am the co-author of this book. the 10th edition is now out. If you are a student, you'll want that. If you're trying to learn on your own, you'll find this 9th edition adequate and much cheaper. good luck. roman
Rating: 
Summary: Where's my book?
Review: I literally wound up hating this book at the end of the semester. In some areas it's much too brief in it's explanations and definitions. In others, it uses too many acronyms and confusing lingo that overcomplicate simple concepts.
i.e: "The after-tax cost of debt,Kd(1-T), is used to calculate the weighted average cost of capital, and it is the interest rate on debt,(Kd),less the tax savings that result. This is the same as kd multiplied by (1-T) where T is the firm's marginal tax rate." Ch. 10
That is one of the simpler explanations provided by a book that so obviously should not be targeted to people whom have little or no background in finance. It also provides too few examples of application of it's concepts so you many know what something is but not know how to apply it. Other problems: No glossary, poor index, requires ability to use financial calculator, and terribly overpriced.
I emphatically agree with all the other nagative criticisms given to this book. I'm sorry if you're forced to buy this book for a class as I was. :(
Rating:
Summary: this book rocks!
Review: I recently used this book for an accounting class. I am not really an "accounting head", having come from a computing background, and I had to do the course as a graduate degree requirement. I found the book to be very thorough and well written. The authors took their time to explain every new term throughout. The book also has numerous exercises [maybe too many]. I do not expect to "do accounting" in the future, but if I have to, I'll get a copy of this book again. In reading this book, I found my professor's advice quite handy: 1. start off with the learning objectives for each chapter; 2. read the chapter summary; 3. check all the diagrams in the chapter; 4. read the text; 5. practice as many exercises as you can; 6. finally, review your work. I did this and smashed the course [B+--not bad for a "non-accounting head"]. I found the accompanying study guide [By LeBronne Harris and James Moon] invaluable also. This is probably the best book out there on Financial Accounting.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Introductory Text
Review: I'd never had any accounting courses before. This textbook was required for my financial accounting course in an MBA program. The book does a good job of logically explaining all the important topics. Unfortunately, it takes a Herculean effort to sit down and study the material due to the dry subject matter. The authors did a good job of using examples from real firms, which, I think, makes it more interesting. I've decided to keep this book after the course for a reference.
Rating:
Summary: The best book on Financial Accounting I own! and I own many.
Review: The book is concise, precise. The book explains in one page what other do in many pages. The authors Stickney and Weil do a superb job in explaining the Concepts and Methods. I've followed this book since its third edition, when the great Sidney Davidson was on the team. They have always use a Conceptual approach rather than a procedural. When I need to review a concept, I open this book first, and then maybe I may open others. This book is more suitable for graduate level. It is not for undergraduate.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Foundational Book
Review: This book is taught in an excellent format for understanding the foundational and fundamental concepts of finance. The authors did an outstanding job with how this text is organized. It's also very simple in the explanation of concepts. Some finance books are written as if they were disssertations. This book brings the concepts down to the common man. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to start graduate study in finance.
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