Book Reviews

[JEast]

Just when I thought there could not possible be another good investment book out there, along came a few books that are have merit.  These recommendations come from the theme of once you think you can't learn anything else, then maybe your investing career is over.  So I keep reading.

 

`The Most Important Thing’  by Howard Marks

http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/The-Most-Important-Thing-Hardcover/5603526/product.html?keywords=9780231153683&searchtype=Header

‘There's Always Something to Do’  by Peter Cundill

http://www.amazon.com/Theres-Always-Something-Do-Investment/dp/0773538631/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

‘Entrepreneurial Investor’ by Paul Orfalea

http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/The-Entrepreneurial-Investor-Hardcover/2588621/product.html?keywords=9780470227145&searchtype=Header

 

 

Cheers

JEast

[zarley]

Just when I thought there could not possible be another good investment book out there, along came a few books that are have merit.  These recommendations come from the theme of once you think you can't learn anything else, then maybe your investing career is over.  So I keep reading.

 

`The Most Important Thing’  by Howard Marks

http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/The-Most-Important-Thing-Hardcover/5603526/product.html?keywords=9780231153683&searchtype=Header

‘There's Always Something to Do’  by Peter Cundill

http://www.amazon.com/Theres-Always-Something-Do-Investment/dp/0773538631/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

‘Entrepreneurial Investor’ by Paul Orfalea

http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/The-Entrepreneurial-Investor-Hardcover/2588621/product.html?keywords=9780470227145&searchtype=Header

 

 

Cheers

JEast

 

I'm nearly done with The Most Important Thing and it is very good.  The concepts will be very familiar to any student of value investing -- lots of Graham, Buffett, Munger, etc.  But, I think Marks has put the concepts together in a way that is really approachable and complete as a framework for thinking of investing.  At the risk of hyperbole, I think it's fair to consider it a modern day Intelligent Investor.

 

 

[gaf63]

Thanks for the recommendation, just put in my order

[ericd1]

I'm almost finished with "There's Always Something to Do" -- Good read with interesting examples. My take-a-way so far is that Cundill was very well connected. Almost akin to being connected to this board! 

[Valuebo]

I'm almost finished with "There's Always Something to Do" -- Good read with interesting examples. My take-a-way so far is that Cundill was very well connected. Almost akin to being connected to this board! 

 

Haha, I must agree.

 

I bought this one last week and I'm at chapter 14. It reads fluently and has some good stories and value principle reminders. It gives great insight in Cundill's mind, which I can appreciate as a young investor with lots of questions, doubts and fears.  :)

 

Oh, and there is also a short chapter (19) about Prem and Fairfax!

[Valuebo]

I'm almost finished with "There's Always Something to Do" -- Good read with interesting examples. My take-a-way so far is that Cundill was very well connected. Almost akin to being connected to this board! 

 

Haha, I must agree.

 

I bought this one last week and I'm at chapter 14. It reads fluently and has some good stories and value principle reminders. It gives great insight in Cundill's mind, which I can appreciate as a young investor with lots of questions, doubts and fears.  :)

 

Oh, and there is also a short chapter (19) about Prem and Fairfax!

 

Finished it a couple of days ago, good book but not a classic. The chapter on FFH wasn't really worth mentioning btw, very small and nothing interesting to note for us shareholders.

[dcollon]

I'm attaching my comment to this thread since I don't want to start another. 

 

I can't remember, but someone on the board recommended reading The Great Depression: A Diary and I wanted to thank them.  It was a great book and it was staggering to see how many similarities there were between 1930-1938 and today.  Obviously, many differences as well.

 

I recommend anyone that hasn't read the book to pick it up. 

 

 

[Grenville]

I'm attaching my comment to this thread since I don't want to start another. 

 

I can't remember, but someone on the board recommended reading The Great Depression: A Diary and I wanted to thank them.  It was a great book and it was staggering to see how many similarities there were between 1930-1938 and today.  Obviously, many differences as well.

 

I recommend anyone that hasn't read the book to pick it up. 

 

Dcollon,

 

I don't know who posted on the board, but I do know that Prem recommended the book at his recent talk at the Ivey School of Business. I haven't read it, but I will push it up toward the top of the stack.

 

[SmallCap]

has anyone here read any of the books by Marty Whitman? which ones are the best and how highly would you rate them?

[Kraven]

has anyone here read any of the books by Marty Whitman? which ones are the best and how highly would you rate them?

 

His books are classics.  Whitman is a very smart man.  All that being said, I have found his books to be impenetrable.  I rarely don't finish a book, yet found his to be very difficult to get through and didn't finish the Aggressive Conservative Investor.  He spends the first 50-100 pages telling the reader what he is going to be telling them, but never provides too much detail.  The rest of those pages is in rants about others in the market and how his approach is much better.  Personally, I would stick with his shareholder letters which are fantastic and have his views distilled into something that is actually readable.  Just my 2 cents.

[Myth465]

Thanks for the feedback, now I can skip the Whitman books without feeling too bad.

[Guest Hester]

I agree with Kraven, Whitman is a knowledgable investor, but he is the Ambien of the value investing writers. That being said, his book on Distressed debt investing is pretty good, as long as you drink about 4 energy drinks before hand.

[vinod1]

has anyone here read any of the books by Marty Whitman? which ones are the best and how highly would you rate them?

 

His books are classics.  Whitman is a very smart man.  All that being said, I have found his books to be impenetrable.  I rarely don't finish a book, yet found his to be very difficult to get through and didn't finish the Aggressive Conservative Investor.  He spends the first 50-100 pages telling the reader what he is going to be telling them, but never provides too much detail.  The rest of those pages is in rants about others in the market and how his approach is much better.  Personally, I would stick with his shareholder letters which are fantastic and have his views distilled into something that is actually readable.  Just my 2 cents.

 

I second that. However good he may be as an investor, the Aggressive Conservative Investor is a series of rants about EMH and other things. He does have a good nugget of wisdom here and there but it is extremely frustrating as it lacks in coherence and I would likely not read any book he authors in the future.

 

Vinod

[JEast]

A small rebuttal:

 

The Aggressive Conservative Investor is a book for the more serious investor as its authors clearly state. For example, "In presenting our position, considerable space is devoted to describing the real world faced by both outsiders and insiders."  As such, many that like spoon feed investment advice are turned off of by the he Financial-Integrity Approach (Safe & Cheap) process.  Much like value investing going on 80 years now since Security Analysis :)

 

I read it again several years ago and thought it better the second time.  IMHO, it is a top 5 investment book.

 

 

Cheers

JEast

[Packer16]

I found "Value Investing - A Balanced Approach" a condensed version of his philosophy with examples.  The Distressed Debt book also provides some good examples of bankruptcy restructuting/investing.

 

Packer

[NormR]

I also liked Whitman's books.  One was a little repetitive / too focused on knocking the EMH.  But overall, worth the price of admission.

[vinod1]

A small rebuttal:

 

The Aggressive Conservative Investor is a book for the more serious investor as its authors clearly state. For example, "In presenting our position, considerable space is devoted to describing the real world faced by both outsiders and insiders."  As such, many that like spoon feed investment advice are turned off of by the he Financial-Integrity Approach (Safe & Cheap) process.  Much like value investing going on 80 years now since Security Analysis :)

 

I read it again several years ago and thought it better the second time.  IMHO, it is a top 5 investment book.

 

 

Cheers

JEast

 

Very interesting that one can like Security Analysis but be turned off by Aggressive Conservative Investor. I spent the better part of 6 months going through the first 4 editions of Security Analysis line by line and summarizing the essence of each chapter. So I am definitely not looking to be spoon fed :) Somehow I quite did not get all that much out of the Aggressive Conservative Investor. Perhaps I had high expectations going in.

 

My detailed notes on the Security Analysis are at http://vinodp.com/documents/investing/security_analysis_index.html

 

Vinod

[augustabound]

My detailed notes on the Security Analysis are at http://vinodp.com/documents/investing/security_analysis_index.html

Vinod

 

Nice, thanks for your link.  :)

[Kraven]

A small rebuttal:

 

The Aggressive Conservative Investor is a book for the more serious investor as its authors clearly state. For example, "In presenting our position, considerable space is devoted to describing the real world faced by both outsiders and insiders."  As such, many that like spoon feed investment advice are turned off of by the he Financial-Integrity Approach (Safe & Cheap) process.  Much like value investing going on 80 years now since Security Analysis :)

 

I read it again several years ago and thought it better the second time.  IMHO, it is a top 5 investment book.

 

 

Cheers

JEast

 

Very interesting that one can like Security Analysis but be turned off by Aggressive Conservative Investor. I spent the better part of 6 months going through the first 4 editions of Security Analysis line by line and summarizing the essence of each chapter. So I am definitely not looking to be spoon fed :) Somehow I quite did not get all that much out of the Aggressive Conservative Investor. Perhaps I had high expectations going in.

 

My detailed notes on the Security Analysis are at http://vinodp.com/documents/investing/security_analysis_index.html

 

Vinod

 

I agree with the points on Security Analysis.  It's a book I love and is always close by.  It wasn't lack of understanding of the Aggressive Conservative Investor or that the concepts were difficult, but just extremely poor writing.  When I said it was impenetrable, I meant that the writing is so poor, so difficult to parse, that it's frustrating to try and dig out the golden nuggets.  I've read his letters and the crux of his methodology is set out there and written much better.  Likely someone else in his shop helped clean it up.  Reminds me of a comment I got early in my career from a senior person:  "Good ideas.  Now make it so someone can actually read it."

[Packer16]

For context, the Agressive Conservative Investor was written before his shareholder letters or Value Investing - A Balanced Approach book so with time he was able to express his ideas more clearly, like most writers.

 

Packer

[Kraven]

For context, the Agressive Conservative Investor was written before his shareholder letters or Value Investing - A Balanced Approach book so with time he was able to express his ideas more clearly, like most writers.

 

Packer

 

True, although at the time it was written he was what, in his mid 50s?  He had already been in the business and communicating with people in business for years at that point.  Everyone deserves a chance to improve of course, but we're not talking about some kid who was just learning the ropes.  Just to reiterate, this is nothing against Whitman.  I think he's brilliant and his ideas are very interesting.  

[prunes]

I just read Accounting for Value by Stephen Penman. This is a fantastic book that addresses the intersection of valuation and accounting, with its foundations in the Graham method of investing. The book gives extended treatment of how to account for growth, leverage, and risk in one's valuation. It also spends a good portion of the book discussing the perils of fair value accounting.