Bull!: A History of the Boom and Bust, 1982-2004

Fascinating account of the Bull Run

In Bull! Mahar recounts all of the major market events of the last twenty years, offers colorful portraits of many of its biggest stars (Mary Meeker, Abby Joseph Cohen, Ralph Acampora, Warren Buffet...), and provides a careful, intelligent treatment of the reasons for the bubble, and the economics that underpinned it. What surprised me most about this book, however, and what makes me like Bull! so much, is that in addition to describing the many facets of the most recent bull run, Mahar manages (drawing on the work of more than a few emminent economists) to situate the most recent mania historically, and to suggest ways to profit from this knowledge in the future. In Bull! there is practical investing advice as well as a very intelligent, often hilarious, account of the most recent bull market--and the personalities that made it run.

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A Must Read For All Investors

It's hard to go wrong when Warren Buffett himself describes it as a 'book that investors can learn much from', and I was not disappointed. Besides being an enjoyable read and highly entertaining anecdote of the bipolar nature of 'Mr. Market' and dispelling the myth of 'stocks for the long-run', Mahar's suggestion that there are always opportunities for investors to profit from as long as they know where to look (ie looking beyond equities) is particularly poignant, and probably very relevant, at our current juncture. Ironically, the points raised in Bull! will probably not find a very wide audience until after the fact, as epitomized by the Cassandra-like fate of market strategists such as Gail Dudack. But the few who take heed will likely emerge the richer after the current secular bear market has finally run its course.