The Intelligent Investor

Invest In This Book, Invest In Yourself

With more than one million copies sold and an endorsement on the cover by Warren Buffet, you know there has to be something to this book- and I think I know why. Simply because it is the first book ever to describe the emotional framework and analytical tools necessary for financial success for individual investors.

Probably the single best book on investing written for the lay-public and the stock market bible since its first appearance in 1949, it's a great resource, although it's quite a thick book and filled with detail- and probably not for anybody but the serious stock market investor. And if getting motivated to start investing is your problem, suggest The Sixty-Second Motivator. Good luck!

8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Not what I thought

If you want to read Ben Graham's Intelligent Investor, try the original without the Zweig commentary. The commentary often contradicts Graham's philosophy, and at best, confuses everything. The Graham part is loaded with useful advice that has years of practical experience behind it, but the Zweig advice is the typical financial crap found in any current periodical. My advice - don't buy this watered down version of the Intelligent Investor - buy the real thing.

6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Zweig needs NOT to write in this book

I mean come on, Graham wrote this book!! Plus, its probably the most influential book he has written in his career. But lets get the facts straight, he wrote the original version. The updated version that has been revised by Zweig should have never been released. I am currently half way through the book and im not going to stop now, but I do wish I would have started with the original version. Zweig is too critical and conservative to start trying to undermine the concepts behind Graham. In Chapter 11, under security analysis 'should be one of the most influential chapters in the book' Zweig makes a sidenote that explains Warren Buffet's methodology of investment is too risky so all individual investors should go with a market index fund. A market index fund? Come on dude, you act like your talking to a 13 year old who is looking to invest his Bar Mitvah money. Let's get real on the subject and stop trying to go against Graham's methods of valuing an individual stock. Especially in his own book!!!! Jeez. I encourage all investors to read the original version of Intelligent Investor, and I will also suggest that Jason Zweig sticks to writing for Money magazine.

4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

a reviewer

This classic book on investing belongs on the bookshelf of every investor. The principles that Benjamin Graham outlines are the very precepts that guided such great investors as Warren Buffett, and such mutual fund innovators as John Bogle, the noted Vanguard Group founder, who wrote this edition's foreword. First published in 1949, the text shows a few signs of age, most notably in its discussion of interest rates, investment vehicles such as savings bonds and other time-sensitive subjects. However, those are minor issues. When Benjamin Graham writes about categories of investors, approaches to security analysis, the proper disposition investors should have toward market moves, and other fundamental investment subjects, his advice is timeless. We highly recommend this seminal book.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Pure, Unadulterated, Classic Graham

One might wonder, why (s)he should read a book on investing written in 1949. How would such a thing be relevant to today's stock market? How much of it would still apply to 2010? Just about all of it. Graham started his Wall Street career in 1914, and was all but wiped out in the infamous 1929-32 mother of all bear markets, a painful experience from which he learned many important lessons. He says that, just as information relating to securities in 1914 would make strange reading in 1949, so would information in the first edition of his book make strange reading today. However, the information relating to bull and bear markets, the nature of the stock market as a whole and the insane behavior of investors will all remain the same, without end, Amen. Also, he warns, you must have a knowledge of stock market history, and what better way to get one than a book written originally in 1949 with periodic updates ending in 1973? Graham does not talk like he is some sort of a Wall Street prophet (which actually he was). He does not sermonize, he does not admonish, he does not accuse. But he does make a crystal clear definition of the "intelligent" investor: that it is more a trait of character than of the brain. He states that many who have brought great intellect (in the non-Graham definition) and enthusiasm to investing have ended up bust in the end, as they acted just like all the other little lemmings jumping suicidally together off of the cliff that is Wall Street. You can have a stratospheric IQ and a Harvard degree and still be mentally retarded by Graham's definition. Do not expect "The Intelligent Investor" to be some sort of a "how to make a million on Wall Street" book. He talks of the "defensive investor" who must expect adequate and gradual returns out of his or her investments; and of the "enterprising investor" who will make a little bit more than their defensive counterpart, not because his or her IQ is higher, or they bought risky growth stocks, but only because of the extra effort and research brought to the table. Even the enterprising investor must not expect to make gargantuan returns, sadly, and Graham is just being a realist. Try swinging for the fences on every pitch and you'll end up like those lemmings I mentioned. The only confusion I have over the 1949 edition of the Intelligent Investor, is the question of FOR WHOM this book was written. As Bogle says in the forward, the trading volume on the Big Board was 2,000,000 shares per day. That is about how many Americans actually owned stock in the 40's and 50's, most of which were of above average means and wealth. So maybe he was only expecting to print 2 million copies?? For whomever this book was originally intended, it applies to ALL OF US who want to invest in stocks and bonds and other investment vehicles, even if the Big Board traded 2 BILLION shares yesterday and 90 million Americans own stock or mutual funds in 2010. Let's just hope those 90 million Americans have read Graham. Or maybe not: he says you can profit off of their insanity. So much for the better.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

WRITTEN TO LEGITIMIZE STOCK iNVESTING DURING THE DEPRESSION

Mr. Graham was writing to re-legitimize long term stock investing after a period of economic chaos. The book is a classic and will be on any serious investors shelf. This man would be the logical counterpoint to a writer like Joseph Livermore, who was geared more to stock speculators.

Those two writers are the Polar Opposites of the current advice on the market. It is good advice, I have made money off of both writers and they have more than paid for themselves.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book

I have found the book easy to read.Like how things are simplified and puts in real examples of fiasco of the techbuble.just dont like the tools as much that they provide along with reading on the nook.

Great Book!

This is a classic. I highly recommend it to people who want to get into investing the right way.

The writing is a little dense if you're not used to the lingo but once you get used to the wording, it's a great read.

Graham explains investing through science and logic, not fuzzy thinking and feelings. Buy it if you want to improve your investing knowledge.

Buy the physical book

The book is great and I highly recommend it for novices and the self proclaimed investing gurus.

My actual issue is with the Nook price being more expensive than the paperback. Of course this book is not unique in that sense, but this is the one I decided to purchase.

Ebook priced more than the paperback copy?

The Ebook is priced almost $7.00 more than the paperback edition. I can see premium pricing when a book is first released but I'm paying more and getting less rights than with the paperback. Sorry not going to happen.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Old concepts still are on target

Benjamin Graham was Warren Buffet's mentor and obviously his student made good use of his teachings. It is easy to read and lays out good basic concepts. The updated comments show the relevance to today's situation.

Great read, essential for both the beginner and expert investor

The Intelligent Investor is an essential reference book to have within your investing repertoire. The insights provided are both timeless and highly relevant in this fluctuating market and the added update sections help even the most novice investor understand how to translate Graham's teachings into everyday practicality. I read this book during business school and continue to re-visit it every so often when I am looking for new ways to alter my portfolio. I hope that everyone can enjoy this book as much as I have.

Excellent Investor Advice

I have previously read this book without any comments in it. The addition of Mr. Zweig's comments were useful in bringing the book up to date. Prior to retirement, I was responsible for organizing the participant education effort for our 401k plan. Happily for our participants, we followed many of the lessons contained in this book. For those new to trying to take some control over their investments, Chapters 1,2 and 3 are worth the book.

If you get nothing more out of this book than you become a skeptic of the Wall Street hype, you become determined to invest only after you have done some serious homework, and you become patient enough to wait to invest when you can get real value, you will be very well armed for the investment world.

If you want to take control of your investments, read this book! The Zweig comments were very useful in bridging from 1972 into the 2000's.

The perfect resource in business

Obviously, this investor taught Warren Buffett his legendary methods, so that led me to this book. What Graham says makes perfect sense. Either you want to buy underappreciated stocks for 50 cents on the dollar or you don't. This is a must read.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Timeless Classic

This book set the bar for all books about investing and still sits on top of the heap. Just a timeless classic about the stock market.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Must-read for a would-be investor

Does an excellent job discussing in full detail time-tested principles of stock investing. Graham's actual writing can be difficult to grasp, but the commentaries help a great deal to understand everything discussed to relate to recent market events. This is not some book that you can read in one night and think that you can get rich quick. Great for future reference to prepare for you for your own investment plan.

Invest in this book, invest in yourself.

With more than one million copies sold and an endorsement on the cover by Warren Buffet, you know there has to be something to this book- and I think I know why. Simply because it is the first book ever to describe the emotional framework and analytical tools necessary for financial success for individual investors. Probably the single best book on investing written for the lay-public and the stock market bible since its first appearance in 1949, it's a great resource, although it's quite a thick book and filled with detail- and probably not for anybody but the serious stock market investor.

This will stop you from doing something stupid!

Straight talk couldn't get any straighter or plainer. Graham and Zweig use many familiar events and people to illuminate the difference between gambling (speculating) and investing. No bull in this book. You won't want to invest another dime until you've read the whole book at least once. Then you won't be able to wait to get involved. This book will definitely be worth more than one read, and the reader will enjoy the experience.

Applying shopping philosophy to investing

Ben Graham wrote the book on it... literally! What do you look for when shopping for anything? Something that fits your needs, has the style/color/etc you want, and combines the best of quality and price. This is effectively what Mr. Graham is outlining in his book, but he goes on to explain HOW to look at a company/stock/bond to determine if in fact it is that combination of quality and price. He teaches you how to shop for investments by showing you what to look for, not just in the stock/bond, but in the underlying company that the investment reflects. While his writing style took me about 50 pages to get the feel of, it was more an adjustment of mindset than anything. The commentary by Jason Zweig gives relavent modern examples of a book that spans decades, yet is still relavent today.

A must buy!

This book has a commentary at the end of every chapter that breaks things down into an even more simplified version, and also relates it to the current market. The arguements made in this book are all logical and you do not have to be a millionaire to apply it's techniques.