Product Description
Basic information about investing in corporate, government, and municipal bonds.Includes information on buying bonds as part of a new issue or buying bonds in the secondary market.Learn about the different yields that can be quoted on any bond. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Read
This book is especially useful for someone who doesn't understand the basics of bond investments.It explains these investments in clear and easy-to-understand language.A good reference for investors who have limited experience in bonds.

Excellent book for someone thinking about buying bonds
Provides a good overview of bond investments and explains what factors to consider when you are thinking about investing.Answers questions that made me uneasy about buying anything but bond funds. ... Read more

Product Description
To become successful in the bond options market, it is important for professionals to gain a basic, yet thorough understanding of how options are priced, traded, and used in interest-rate risk and fixed-income portfolio management. Provides practical answers to questions that new participants will ask as they become more sophisticated in the bond option market. It describes the U.S. government bond options markets and discusses how options pricing and computer technologies are used in market-making, strategic trading, and value investing. After introducing standard options terminology, itprovides background data on U.S. Treasury bonds, bond options pricing models, advanced pricing models, the fundamentals of bond options dealing, strategies driven by interest rate forecasts, the most widely used structured portfolio strategies involving options, and more. ... Read more

Product Description
A non-technical book for the small investor on understanding bond ratings: Triple A and lower; buying and selling bonds on leverage; understanding bond futures and other options; the risks and reqard of "junk bonds" and much more. ... Read more

Product Description
Written for the individual who has $1,000 or $100,000 to invest in municipal bonds, this book shows how to obtain a higher return from municipal securities either from the initial purchase or from better management of existing investments in municipal bonds. It reviews, in simple, nontechnical language, the different types of municipal bonds available in the marketplace, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages of each, discussing how the Tax Reform Act of 1986 affects investing in municipal bonds. Many practical suggestions are provided which apply to municipal investments, resulting in higher tax-free returns, reduced security risk and a better municipal portfolio. Also included is a detailed study of the birth of a bond, showing why the bond was issued, what underwriters do and how bonds are sold. ... Read more

Product Description
HIGH-YIELD BONDS provides state-of-the-art research, strategies, and toolsNalongside the expert analysis of respected authorities including Edward Altman of New York UniversityOs Salomon Center, Lea Carty of MoodyOs Investor Service, Sam DeRosa-Farag of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Martin Fridson of Merrill Lynch & Company, Stuart Gilson of Harvard University, Robert Kricheff of CS First Boston, and Frank Reilly of the University of Notre DameNto help you truly understand todayOs high-yield market. For added value and ease of reference, this high-level one-volume encyclopedia is divided into seven sections detailing virtually every aspect of high-yield bond investment. They include: Market structureNThe role of investment banks in security innovation and market development, evolution of analytical methodologies, and recent leveraged loan market developments; Security risk analysisNHistorical bond default rates, real interest rate and default rate relationships, and new simulation methodologies for modeling credit quality; Security valuationNImpact of seniority and security on bond pricing and return, important trading factors, and a Monte Carlo simulation methodology for valuing bonds and options in the context of correlated interest rate and credit risk; Market valuation modelsNEconometric studies which detail the importance of monetary influences, risk-free interest rates, default rates, mutual fund flows, and seasonal fluctuations; Portfolio managementNHistorical perspective and comparison to alternative investments, analysis of indices available to investors, and specific portfolio selection and risk management strategies of professional fund managers; Distressed security investingNHistorical risk and return information, plus an academic overview of the market and decision criteria for uncovering and investing in securities with higher-than-average risk-adjusted returns; Corporate finance considerationsNEmerging firmsO strategic choice between external debt and equity financing, as well as the choice of issuing public versus private (Rule-144a) securities. HIGH-YIELD BONDS provides extensive coverage of bond valuation and the construction and management of high-yield portfolios. Advanced Monte Carlo simulation models for the valuation of bonds and options on bonds as well as risk assessments on portfolios of bonds under conditions of correlated interest rate and credit risk are demonstrated. In todayOs explosive environment of multiple new issues and high risk versus return relationships, it is paramount that you get advice from analysts and experts who have been influential in shaping and defining the market. HIGH-YIELD BONDS will provide you with a valuable reference to this fascinating and constantly changing class of securities, helping you assemble a stable, diversified portfolio of fixed income investments that provides the greatest returns and the lowest risks. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

High Yield Bonds - High Quality Book from 1998
High Yield Bonds - High Quality Book from 1998.This great book gives empirical evidence to answer many questions.Quite thoroughly.Subjects covered include:
Who buys high yield bonds?Insurance companies and mutual funds are the biggest buyers....
How big are default rates?Average about 3.5% a year....
How stable are bond ratings?About 5% go up or down in ratings every year.Most stay the same....
Many more subjects covered well....
The main problem that I had with the book is that it is not up to date; it was written in 1998.
Bernard E. Scoville

horrible


Now, im not a quant, but it seems like many of the studies are misleading. There were/are several studies where they run econometric tests using 1-3 variables... ommitted variables anyone? I cant see how anyone can jump to conclusions on such brief analysis. Whats more, there are several parts in the book where text is copy/pasted verbatim from an earlier section! What the hell?

The best HY Omnibus book so far.
This is an excellent book that is now showing its age and needs an update. It also lacks a CDROM with data sets which would make more explicit many of the points authors make. In addition, Drexel Burnham Lambert, like Banquo's ghost, is alluded to on nearly every other page, yet the authors here are hesitant to differentiating between high yield bonds (non-investment grade debt) and junk (anything issued by Michael Milken).

This work also glaringly lacks some crucial work by Paul Asquith on seasoned high yield bond defaults. Don't stop here.

The best HY book.
I can't say enough about this book.The book is suprisingly easy to read, and uncovers insights from some of the most prominent names in HY research.A must for HY analysts, MBAs, and CFOs.

The Best Guide Book to High Yield Bonds Ever
I have had the privilege of reading the galley proofs of this book and find it to be THE definitive word on High Yield Investing. This book develops the blueprint for how to navigate, understand, and analyze High Yield Bonds.A must for MBA students, a requirement for anyone in the field already, and a vital tool for investors.

The book's three authors (The George Washington University Business School, Georgetown Business School, and 20+ years High Yield Experience) have used their knowledge and connections to get the best information available ... Read more

Product Description
After the Crash of 2008, many investors are choosing to lower their portfolio risk. They are lowering their risk by decreasing the amount of stocks and increasing the amount of bonds in their portfolio.Tax free municipal bonds can be an attractive alternative to taxable bonds for several reasons.

Some investors don't have room in their retirement accounts for their entire bond investments.Rather than placing bonds in their taxable account, these investors can increase their after-tax return by using municipal bonds.

Investors who live in high tax states and have relatively high adjusted gross incomes can increase their after-tax returns by using municipal versus taxable bond funds.

This short story explores the use of municipal bonds.It includes four example cases to illustrate how to determine if municipal bonds are better than taxable bond funds.This short story will help investors to better understand how to optimize their retirement portfolio. ... Read more

Product Description
For the geek who's an investor, and the investor who's ageek, we present Online Investing Hacks, 100industrial-strength, bleeding edge tips, tools andtechniques for analyzing and managing online portfolios.

Individual investors have become more computer-literate andtechnology-dependent than ever before.Whether you'relooking for suitable investments, studying alternatives, ormanaging your portfolios, you need data.The Internet canbe a goldmine of financial data and research, but today'sonline investors also use spreadsheets, databases, andfinancial applications to select, study and manageinvestments.If your proficiency has grown to the pointwhere you crave industrial-strength tips and tools toturbo-charge your efforts, this is the book for you.

Online Investing Hacks covers:
Screening Investments
Collecting Data
Fundamental Analysis
Technical Analysis
Executing Trades
Investing in Mutual Funds
Portfolio Management
Updating Stock Data
Financial Planning

Other books for managing online investing are either out ofdate, are for beginners and don't go beyond the most basicadvice, or are so dull and boring they squeeze that last bitof fun out of the topic.Online Investing Hacks is for thecustomer who wants to know the latest techniques, to gobeyond the basics, who gets jazzed by cool online tools andservices, and who actually wants to have a bit of fun whiletrying to strike it rich (or at least not lose their shirt). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

good information sources
This book is clearly written and user friendly. Biafore gives links to information sources, making it easy for the reader to get more information on each of the hacks. These links alone are worth the price of the book.

Good book, useful tools, beginner thru expert
I've been trading for over twenty years, including a period as a floor trader on the Chicago Board of Trade.Even with that experience there are tips and tricks in this book I found useful to the point where I employ them daily. To be complete as a reviewer I will say there is a lot of pretty basic stuff from my point of view, but still well worth reviewing since some of it I had forgotten.

Well written, easy reading, well organized

This book can pay for itself very quickly...
Online Investing Hacks by Bonnie Biafore (O'Reilly) is one of those books that can pay for itself in short order, as well as over and over.

Chapter list:Screening Investments; Hacking Excel for Financial Analysis; Collecting Financial Data; Analyzing Company Fundamentals; Technical Analysis; Executing Trades; Investing in Mutual Funds; Managing Your Portfolio; Financial Planning; Index

I worked at Enron from 1998 through 2001, and spent plenty of time during that dot.com era following my stock portfolio.I watched my Enron stock value go from incredible value to a point where it cost more to sell the stock than it was worth.I won a few bets (face it, that's what they were) on a few dot.coms and lost many more.What could have been an incredible nest egg, isn't.This book would have been a lifesaver if I had read and paid attention to it a few years ago.Biafore shows you how you can analyze and invest wisely using a variety of tools available to everyone.

If you're an Excel user, you'll find it an invaluable tool for analysis.She'll show you how you can use it to create financial charts (#13), calculate compound annual rates of growth (#26), and use rational values to buy and sell wisely (#36).#39 - Spot Hanky Panky with Cash Flow Analysis (using Enron as an example) would have literally saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars had I known about it.Even if you don't care about the investing tips, the hack on downloading data via Excel web queries (#7) was something I didn't know how to do (or that you could even do it!).The book has a little something for everyone.

As with all Hacks titles, you probably won't be interested in every single item.Some may not be applicable to your situation or may be too complex for what you care to handle.But all it would take is one hack to work out and change your investing for this book to pay huge dividends.If you do your own investing, you owe it to yourself to get this book.

Excellent Reference/Resource
Online Investing Hacks is an excellent introduction to the world of investment. Though the title does contain the word 'Online', I would say that the general information the book provides on investing is not limited to the online realm.

Overall, I was very happy with the book, and found it incredibly useful. Though I do have several investments (401K, some stock, mutual funds etc) I would hardly consider myself an authority on the subject. This book provided very detailed explanations and tips on various forms of investment, from CD's to Index funds, and everything in between. While the experienced investor might not glean much from reading this book, anyone just getting started will find it an excellent reference, and resource.

The format of the book is similar to the other books in the 100 * Hacks series published by O'Reilly. There are exactly 100 hacks, or topics, which are spread across 9 chapters. Each one is an individual entity and can be read and understood without reliance on any of the other hacks.

One minor annoyance I had with the book is that it is geared toward those of you who, for some reason or another, run Microsoft's Windows OS, or have access to Microsoft Excel. Luckily, of the Excel examples that I played with, Open Office's Calc program handled them with minimal tweaking.

I can easily recommend this book to anyone who wants to invest, but is unsure of what to invest in, or needs some tips on making the most of preexisting investments. Those of you who enjoy research and building your own stats and graphs will also find parts of this book rather intriguing, as it covers data acquisition and manipulation with Excel in great detail. It will make an excellent addition to my reference shelf, and I have a feeling it will be well thumbed through in a very short time.

Excellent resource for all investors
It seems like everyone is involved in investing in some form or another.While I always felt like I should be investing too, it was never clear to me how to begin this process.After all, it's my money.How can I be sure I'm investing in something that will provide some sort of reasonable return?This book is an excellent resource in answering some of those questions and putting the new investor on the right track.

This book is written in the same format as the other "hacks" series by O'Reilly.This format is very easy to read, and the format makes it very easy to find answers.Rather then having to read the book from cover to cover, the reader can pick out topics they are dealing with, read the answer, and move on.Since many of the people interesting in a book of this nature will likely have little time, the book's format works to its advantage.

The book begins with some basic introduction to the stock market and tips for selecting appropriate stocks or mutual funds.The whole middle section of the book deals with data analysis.The author discusses how to understand a company's balance sheet (e.g. what that P/E ratio means), how to spot companies in financial trouble, how to pick a good stock, and even how to trade.There is also a good discussion on minimizing the effect of taxes on your little return on investment.

The author even goes further and gets into a discussion on financial planning.In addition to discussing debt reduction, the author also talks about IRA plans and different strategies for saving for your child's education expenses.I think my favorite part of this book was the discussion on different education savings plans.The author discusses the ins and outs (as well as tax consequences) of each of the plans, and provides some examples illustrating the fact that it's better to start saving earlier than later.

This is an excellent book, not just for its investing advice, but also for its sound financial planning.This is a great book for anyone who is interested in increasing their wealth, saving for a rainy day, or simply saving for future financial goals.


... Read more

Product Description
Savings Bond Advisor will introduce you to the Cinderella of investments, the U.S. Savings Bond. Financial pundits have neglected the Savings Bond for a generation. Meanwhile, millions of Americans have invested significant portions of their money in Savings Bonds. Savings Bonds have been dressing for the ball since the U.S. Treasury introduced the inflation-protected Series I Bond and online accounts at Treasury Direct. After a weekend reading Savings Bond Advisor, you'll understand how Savings Bonds work, how to open an account at Treasury Direct, the history of inflation, and why the Series I Savings Bond - which protects you from the risk of default, the risk of inflation, the risk of capital loss, and comes with tax advantages - should be the foundation of your savings and investment holdings. Everyone should have a part of their investment portfolio in readily-available emergency funds. I bonds are an easy choice for this low-risk portion of your investment portfolio. If you already have an investment in Savings Bonds, you'll learn investment strategies that will increase the value of your holdings, estate planning strategies that will save your family money, and tax strategies that will help you avoid the Stinker Bond Penalty, the Double-Taxation Trap, the Deferred-Tax Time Bomb, and hidden interest-rate penalties. You'll also find out that some older Savings Bonds are a bad choice for almost every investor and what to do if you own one. The book includes access to a web site, www.savings-bond-advisor.com, that has the latest information about Savings Bond interest rates and program changes, as well as links to the forms you need to settle estates, replace lost bonds, update bond registrations, and receive the Savings Bond college education tax-deduction. Tom Adams, the author of Savings Bond Advisor, also answers questions from the book's readers on the web site. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Savings Bond Advisor
The book arrived on time.
I haven't read the entire book but from what I've read so far the book semms to be very informative.

A must have book for Savings Bond holders
"The savings Bond Advisor" by Tom Adams is thorough, well written and critical for Savings Bond holders.Who would guess that the IRS would penalize you if you did not cash in savings bonds by their maturity date?

The answer is on Page 186 "How to avoid the stinker bond penalty." Keeping track, redemption issues, minimizing taxes, co-owner/beneficiary pros and cons, Inheriting Savings Bonds, Trust issues, etc.

This book has it all and is a must have for large savings bond holders. It's worth it's weight in gold.

An Excellent Resource for Any Savings Bond Owner
My family purchased many bonds through work for 10 years, and Mr. Adams' book was essential in helping us understand the details of bond ownership. The book covers a wide range of topics, including a comparison of I bonds and E bonds, important tax information, strategies for cashing bonds, and many other relevant topics. Additionally, if you buy the book, you can send Mr. Adams questions on his website. This book is a definite must for any owner of US Savings Bonds!

Saving Bond Advisor:
This is a very will written book that I learned a lot from!Mr. Adams is a very good writer that was able to provide knowledge not known to many in a easy to understand way.Up to date information is on his website, which is also very helpful.

Savings Bond Advisor by Tom Adams
I found this book to be outstanding and answers all questions on U.S. Savings Bonds. Before reading it I thought I understood Savings Bonds but I was wrong. You will be amazed at all you can learn by reading this book.I highly recommend it to everyone.
Richard A. Link ... Read more

Product Description
Investing can often be like riding a roller coaster—your portfolio will likely experience euphoric gains and nail-biting loses.  With choices ranging from stocks and bonds to mutual funds and real estate, the need for sound financial advice has never been greater. 

The updated Kiplinger's Guide to Investing Success, from the editors of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, will give you the knowledge and perspective you need to reach your investing goals—from how to define those goals to tips for creating a diversified portfolio with the most effective investment vehicles to help you reach them. 

Kiplinger's Guide to Investing Success includes valuable worksheets, charts and graphs as well as standard financial formulas and a glossary of terms.  People of all income levels will find this book a ""must-read"" for creating the right investment plan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Obsolete information
This book should not be sold any longer.Since it was published back in 1999 - and is now close to 5 years old - it contains a lot of mis-information.The U S Treasury Department has changed many of the rules and regulations concerning savings bonds - most notably over the past 18 months.A person purchasing this book to learn more about U S Savings Bonds will get good information, and bad information. The problem is that he/she will not know what information is good, and what information is bad.Thus, by not buying the book, the savings bond owner is probably better off.I do not challenge the idea that it is important for savings bond owners to learn all about their own collection of savings bonds.They need to know the rules and regulations, so that they can make informed, intelligent decisions about keeping or cashing in bonds - and the proper time to do it.But any printed book is not the place to find it: the information becomes obsolete too quickly.The internet is the place to find accurate, up-to-date information about savings bonds.Because any web site can be updated quickly and easily, the information presented there is more likely to be current. Because it takes the author so long to prepare the book, and then the time it takes to get it printed (published) and then put into the distribution piepline, I suggest that any book about savings bonds is already obsolete the day it becomes available for sale to the public.Furthermore, according to reliable sources who work for the Savings Bond Division of the U S Treasury Department, numerous additional changes will be forthcoming during the next 2 years.For my money, the internet is the ONLY place to find all the information that you could possibly need to know about U S Savings Bonds.Just type in "savings bonds" in any search engine.

Savings Bonds: When to Hold, When to Fold
Surprisingly,this book is enjoyable and easy to read. It contains information, I have not found anywhere else, that is vital to know before investing in savings bonds. If you already own savings bonds, you will benefit from reading this book before you sell them. Savings bonds are not the simple investment most people believe they are. I checked this book out from the library, but found it so valuable I am purchasing a copy for myself.

Excellent tool for understanding & using US Savings Bonds
This book contains more in-depth information than theinformation available from government publications or the website.Use that information and thatwebsite, but also get this book.I use the free downloadable SavingsBond Wizard from the government website, and also set up an Excelspreadsheet to keep up bond statements as outlined in this book--whichis a more effective statement to aid decision-making.Some of theissues covered in this book: don't trust your bank to know whatthey're doing / understanding interest rates / timing issues re:redemption and maturity / organizing your bonds and keeping records /recovering lost bonds / tracking your investment (using the wizardand/or a statement you develop yourself or purchase from a service) /deciding to hold or fold -- evaluating performance of your bonds /comparing savings bonds to other investment options / taxation issuesinluding estate/gift/inheritance tax issues / using savings bonds forretirement / exchanging for HH current-income bonds / purchasing /reissuing / redeeming / tax-free for higher education feature / bondsas gifts / the new I bond / forms of ownership / bonds for minors /resources.Highly recommend.END

Savings Bonds When to HoldWhen to Fold them
This is a completly thorough book on every type of US Savings Bonds with good advice on how to purchase them, when to purchase them, and when to redeem them as well as how to redeem them.It has good structural content,with easy to follow guidelines. It also contains addresses to send to formore information. Like any book in this field, by the time an author has itpublished, it has some obsolete material, but I must say Istill found itvery useful. The reason for my most current purchase is that I havepurchesed two other copies and have given them each away as gifts. ... Read more

Product Description
From arbitrage to zero-coupon bonds, this all-inclusive guide explains the fundamentals of investments and their markets. Covers how broker/dealer firms function, option trading, technical and fundamental futures, exchange and over-the-counter transactions, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Getting registered? Then get this book.
Are you getting NASD series 7 registered? For quick references and review this book will make a wonderful addition to your study materials. It's definitely a keeper.

Average primer but badly needs an update
For the average newcomer to investing this is an OK book, but it does focus alot on subjects you probably do not need to know unless you plan on working for a brokerage firm. It does give good descriptions and examplesof all the security instruments (stocks, bonds, options, futures, etc.) butit accounts for only about 50% of the book.The rest is in my opinionredundant to the lay-person and is in places woefully out of date(especially the taxation section). If updated, I would rate this a 4, butgiven the age of the text, I would recommend looking elsewhere for anintroduction to financial markets.

Superior intro to financial terms, processes, & instruments
If you're new to the financial world and want to understand the lingo, terrain, and equipment of pure capitalism, this book is for you.Don't let the 1991 publication date fool you.Aside from some out-of-date tax information in a later chapter, this book packs an amazing amount of useful financial clues and explanations. One of the strongest features of this text is its use of examples.Whether it's options, futures, or IPOs, the authors provide number-based scenarios to guide the reader towards understanding.This book will not excite you or show how to make $2 million in the stock market.It will help you understand many of the financial instruments which comprise capitalism. ... Read more

Product Description
Casey warns that many people never plan properly for the future, simply because they are afraid they will discover they have built their hopes and dreams on quicksand. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Ehhh...Some of the stuff he predicted is right..sorta...
I read this book to see how "accurate" Casey was with regards to the Crisis of 2008..he was about 25% right....some of the predictions were spot on...like the bailouts....most of the book hinges on a linear growth of inflation..by Casey's "projections", we should be at about 50% inflation!!! This is a decent book to read in hindsight..nothing groundbreaking..I like the way he recommends CUSTOM KNIVES as an investment!! Casey was a visionary in that sense..I guess this is an ok book if you are into all the economic doomsday, hyerinflation, gold standard, credit collapse stuff....

Timeless But Something Is Missing...
Doug Casey offers timeless information in this book...even if some of it is a bit dated today. Still, the general principles offered in the book could be applied to the current economic environment to make just about anyone successful.

A few things seem to be missing though from Casey's book. Precious metals take a front seat and everything tied to the U.S. dollar is shunned (most of the time), but Casey ignores the fact that Gold hasn't always been a superstar. Timing matters...which is a point he makes but doesn't stress hard enough in my opinion.

There is a time to hold cash and a time to diversify out of it. Still...all in all, it is absolutely worth the read, even today.

Solid Knowledge
Mr. Casey writes in a concise, well thought out manner and I recommend this book.To give a perspective on the content versus time, I purchased the 70's edition during the summer of 2007.Gold, as well as housing, stocks, and other commodities, have gone through several cyclical phases during this time.The only thing that has been steady is devaluation of the american dollar due to inflation and Mr. Casey explains why.

Speculation is not a given and thankfully many of Mr. Casey's predictions have not come into fruition to the extent he described.But looking at what did happen between the time of the original printing and now, he has been more right than wrong.More importantly, Mr. Casey provides rational thoughts on why.

Mr. Casey's views should not be one of surprise if one understands the schools of economic thought.Mr. Casey's views indicate he is in the Austrian camp.Anyone who is interested in Austrian thinking, which is NOT anarchy based, should look up the Mises Organization as well as Murray Rothbard.

There are 82 used copies available at $.50, why?
Rarely in the annals of investing has advice so sincerely rendered had such a terrible effect on the financial health of so many of its acolytes.Millions of dollars have been lost by thousands of investors who have had the misfortune to heed this now stale dogma i.e. in real dollars gold is off 95% over the last 20 years.

This book, written by a most public persona from the temple of gold-bug mania, one who has endured as a perma-bear over the last 30 years, should be a required afternoon's reading entertainment for those novice, hopeful, knock-a-homa, Joe-six-pack investors everywhere, who would entertain the acquisition of gold as a portfolio hedge or as a road to riches. Like the failed perfidies of socialism this errant advice is still proffered in the 21st century, and who is to say that the author might not ultimately by given his due?However, the repetitive spins of culture have a way of casting before us the prevailing evidence of continued farce so evident in so many facets of human behavior; why not once again?

To fully follow Doug's logic one would have to go to the nub of his theories and test for validity, something he has never done. In fact, if his blandishments were correct in 1975, when he first began writing on subjects as all-encompassing as "the bankruptcy of the world's financial systems",and on the idea that "gold will continue to be the lynchpin of modern economics",then a back casting of his theories, from 2002 to 1975, should serve as a way to test the confirmation of his continuing advocacy? Or is there no other way save wait out the seasons of financial chicanery of criminal and dictatorial elite's as they plunder national treasuries about the globe?In this sense it would be necessary to examine the author's predictions and advocacy of anarchy as a way to govern the affairs of society, against the backdrop of history.

The fact that his book sells for $.50 as a relic of the seventies gives one an indication of the verdict of history as rendered by thousands of readers and investors.By heeding, and worshipping only at the altar of the school of rational calculation, Doug has failed to fully comprehend human nature and its various cultures. This is why backcasting his theories over history has ended with them being relegated to the far, far fringes of public policy.While Doug is a facile and entertaining writer, gifted with an ability to multi-task in a way that most mortals could only dream of, his historic revelations belong in the same dustbin of history with Marx and Malthus as regards his forecasting with predictive accuracy. The reason? His basic set of premises are fatally flawed.

If one reads the most recent of this trilogy,"Crisis Investing", published roughly circa1980; "Strategic Investing" - 1983, and "Crisis Investing for the rest of the 90's" - 1993, one can only marvel at the missing chapters on the rise of the micro-chip revolution, and its effects on gold as a final currency. Beyond that one can continue to be aghast at the author's reasoning as to the way society might be ordered; Ayn Rand's Galt's Gulch being a fantasy of the first order. Anarchy? Show me a successful historical example?

The prime underpinning of Doug's theory is that government is unnecessary. This makes anarchy a possibility for comprising a heaven on earth community.A cursory reading of "the military 100" would disabuse the average person, but not so with our intrepid visionary. He airily dismisses such objections with a cursory "all those guys just......", and then trails off into the intellectual arena of God knows where.

Doug believes that if we don't bother them they won't bother us. He believes that mercenaries and bounty hunters can be hired to fend off the i.e. al-quaeda.That this analysis is totally at odds with history does not seem to phase Doug, intrepid analyst that he is.Just like our socialist brethren, who have been responsible for so much human misery, Doug treads into intellectual quicksand by averring that "just because it hasn't happened yet does not mean that it cannot happen in the future". By this I mean Libertarianism.If you believe it will work then I have a bridge to sell you.And, you're going to lose your shirt investing in the next run-up in the prices of gold stocks. To repeat myself, rarely have so many lost so much by following the advice of so few.

The theme of this book, and indeed of all three of his books, is that:
1 -mankind cannot devise a government worth having.
2- that any government will eventually debase the currency making gold the only solution for those who wish to conduct commerce, and.....
3 - that the masses of humanity, so ignorant and incapable of learning from historical mistakes, will only be a burden on the "producers", as articulated in Rand's "Atlas Shrugged".

From this societal malady, only one solution can be rendered; that is to nsulate oneself from the onion breathed multitude through isolation in a Switzerland-style redoubt in i.e. the rocky mountains, in a modern day "Galt's Gulch".It is there that our modern day "dogs of war" will protect our producers from those who would steal their possessions.

For contrast on Doug's theories please read "the Twilight of Sovereignty" by Walter Wriston - circa 1992, or "the Vandals' Crown" by Millman, circa 1995.These books will explain how the micro-chip has made gold a 3rd rate currency hedge and no longer the final solution for national monetary systems.Read "the Military 100", about the most influential military leaders in history.In order to augment your understanding of the need for government pay particular attention to Machiavelli, Jomini, Sun Tsu and Clausewitz.Compare and contrast what you learn with Doug's advice.

Read the trilogy, Doug is a very bright and an interesting guy. The exercise will make you think and that, in and of itself, is a good thing. I've learned much while listening to him, you could also.

My first investing book
While time has passed since this book came out, some of the information is valuable to the new investor and the experienced one. The info on gold, real estate are indipensible. Buy It! ... Read more

Product Description
Updated and expanded with over 100 new listings!

Did you know that you are as close as a phone call away from participating in the phenomenal sales growth enjoyed by companies like Nokia, Wal-Mart and Yahoo!, and by major national banks? Are you aware that you can invest in any of the hundreds of North American and foreign blue-chip companies without the aid of brokers, and without paying the hefty commision fees they charge?

Now in its second edition, fully updated and listing numerous new companies, Fee-Free Investing levels the playing field for individual investors. Part helpful investment guide, part blue-chip directory, this book outlines the steps of investing directly in blue-chip stocks and U.S. Treasury. You'll discover how the money you would otherwise pay a broker translates into greater returns on your investment. The directory lists more than 500 North American and foreign companies, all of which trade on major stock exchanges. Amazingly, you can start investing in some of these companies with as little as $100!

Easy to follow and clearly written, Fee-Free Investing instructs both the novice and the more experienced investor how to save hundreds, even thousands of dollars over the life of their investment. ... Read more