stock-market-game Books

The analogies between sports and the Stock Market make the book very interesting. It was very easy to follow and made me feel like I could make smart investments with the knowledge I gained.

Good stuff. Not for the expert investor, but a good gift/buy for the "ESPN guy" who wants to become a more savvy stock guy.

Great concept! Finally somebody in the business world wrote something about the stock market that a sports nut can relate too. Definately recommend.

I found "It's All the Same Game" to be a relaxed, conversational read, with some great analogies that helped me understand the stock market in ways I had never thought about before. Points that really hit home with me include things like "avoiding turnovers, the offensive sweet spot, and the ways that success can come to those who remain focused, but flexible." Loved the interwoven stories about some of my favorite sports heroes, and how similar character traits can help me make decisions about my stock portfolio.

... go to the bar tonight?

Inspired by Brian Arthur's El Farol Bar Game, the minority Game provided the path for the entry of many statistical physicists into econophysics. Game theory, since the 1980's, has become a large part of economic theory, but is largely restricted to studies of Nash equilibria, which (by Nash's own design) is a neo-classical idea. Economic systems are instead complex, not amenable to any imaginable equilibrium analysis. As Per Bak said, equilibrium is a dead system, like a glass of water at rest. Challet, Marsili, and Zhang are three leading researchers in economics, and are the experts on the Minority Game.

This book begins with a very nice introduction to the main ideas and then includes a compilation of the main papers in the field by the Fribourg Group, who are leaders in the new and growing field of econophysics, and other main players. Physicists will enjoy seeing the tools of statistical mechanics in action in an economic setting, and economists will be encouraged to think outside their equilibrium straightjacket by studying the book. But the full range of topics is covered, Nash equilibria as well as cooperation. the compilation also includes some very nice contributions to finance theory and market efficiency.

Some people are able to believe in everything what seems to be logic and supported by some equations and statistics.

It is really funny that even the wildest theory will always find its followers.

Russian science has problem with pseudoscientists. For instance: Lysenko, Michurin in the agrobiology and now Famenko in history.

Maybe in the next volumes of his revised version of history he will try to convince us that:

- Jews are the descendants of merchants who did not pay taxes regullary and were expelled from the Novogrod.
- Ethiopians are the descendants of the miners (that's why they are black) who escaped from the coal mines, which were placed in Ural. But one of them remained in Russia and later he became the gradfather of Alexander Pushkin.
- Asians are the descendants of peepers or spies (that's why they have eyes with an epicanthic fold) who were unmasked and left Russia.

Because everything can be proved with statistics.

This guy claims basically all of recorded history is manufactured as a devious plan to misinform. Sorry bud, I just can't accept your conclusions, there are millions if not billions of historical artifacts which together form a cohesive historical record. There is no science or methodology to his writings, just casual observation of similarities and a great over emphisis on what is really innocent human error.

To buy into his theory you would have to accept that practacly every historical artifact, whether great or minute were fabricated with the intent of confusing mankind as part of a great mind control conspiracy. This guy is absolutly nuts and it escapes me how he can be taken seriously by anyone.

The only point I can agree with him on is that we must be vigilent in our skeptisism, and I am more skeptical of this book than I am all of mankind's recorded history.

WE ALL KNOW THAT STATISTICS IS A METHOD OF INTERPRETATION.
THERE ARE DOZENS OF BOOKS NAMED "LYING WITH STATISTICS"

Looking through this book reminded me of the movie "A Beautiful Mind". A brilliant mathematician constructs a fantasy world complete in every detail. The only problem is that it doesn't exist, and that he's as mad as a hatter.

Just two examples of the many "possibilities" suggested by our schizoid author:

(1) The Biblical flood and the Trojan War were the same event because Noah was Aeneas, who fled Troy to found Rome. (Noah and Aeneas had names that sound alike. Thus it is proven.)

(2) Nine kings fled the fall of the Tower of Babel and seven kings founded Rome. Therefore, Rome was founded by the kings who fled the fall of the Tower of Babel. (In the author's words, the Biblical figure of nine is "close enough" to the Roman figure of seven.)

Need I go on?

this book is absolute garbage. the author has no concept of history and completely disregards the archaeological and historical record. If you you want to know more about ancient history, go to the experts. heck, even Livy is better than this guy!

I read this book before I went to my MBA program. This was a fun introduction to history of Wall Street. It helped me put the financial world into perspective--and it helped me appreciate the power and influence Wall Street has had on our country.

Very interesting. Financial schemes have plagued Wall St and the markets since their inception and not much has changed with the recent Refco, Enron, Tyco, World Com, LTCM scandals and the list goes on. The risk of playing the great game reaches beyond the instrument in which one invests but includes brokers, brokerage houses, banks & politicians. The history of Wall St finds itself another contributor to the old adage "The more things change, the more they remain the same."

It provides a good view of the Wall Street which is the beaten heart of the Western countries. As a Chinese who invested some of my money into our developing finance market, I learned many lessons from it and got more confidence of my own country's baby-market. Good Work!

This is a great and interesting book about the rise of Wall Street. Gordon summarizes the great amount of information into an a very readable 250 pages. Gordon also gives some short biographies of some of the very interesting characters of Wall Street such as Alexander Hamilton, Commodore Vanderbilt, J. P. Morgan, Hetty Green, and Dick Whitney. This history tells the rise of stock trading on Wall Street to the present period. It is interesting to see why initially the Dutch and the geographical position of New York assured Wall Street of becoming a world financial power of the first degree. This book details why the initial advantages plus the innovation of the financial leaders gave Wall Street the premier financial position in the world.
This book is well written with short biographies and historical summaries of the rise of Wall Street. This is a good initial read since it will show the reader why the NYSE and Wall Street become the financial leaders they are today.

The Great Game is a wonderful narrative history of Wall Street and New York as a financial center, the supercharged engine of world capitalism. John Steele Gordon is a gifted writer whose byline appears frequently in the pages of American Heritage. In this work he focuses on the men and events that made Wall Street the center of the financial world. Beginning with Dutch Manhattan, the city of the Knickerbockers, Gordon explains how Wall Street got its name, the vital importance of Dutch mercantilism and their invention of the modern banking system, the stock exchange, business insurance and the corporation - all of which were adopted by the British who transformed New Amsterdam into New York. The book introduces the origins of the securities business in the Buttonwood Agreement, the vital role of Alexander Hamilton, the consummate New Yorker, who set the new American nation on firm financial footing, the role of New York's great harbor, then the construction of the Erie Canal, which opened the west to development and transformed New York into the financial capital of America. Gordon introduces the colorful figures that have been players in the "Great Game" of the financial markets, from Jacob Little and other early promoters, the "Commodore" Vanderbilt, the mid-19th century colossus, to Hetty Green, millionaire and the "meanest woman in the world" to J.P. Morgan whose financial savvy saved Wall Street from crisis more than once. He writes of the important 20th century figures like Charles Merrill, the man who democratized stock investing and brought it to Middle America and finally Michael Miliken, developer of the "junk bond" as a financial instrument during the go-go 1990's. John Steele Gordon's "Great Game" is a lively and compelling account of the most important little street in the world by a writer who knows his material well and clearly enjoys sharing it.

I agree with the post that said this book is an excellent primer. It's not for experts but for beginners. From a beginners standpoint it covers covered calls, protective puts and a combination of the two, which is called a collar. These are conservative strategies, as I understand it. Mr. Jardine also tells the reader to trade with the trend, that is, use bearish strategies when the market is trending down and bullish strategies when the market is trending up, and gives examples. The book is a quick read and I recommend it highly for those who have never gone through a bear market and want to know what they can do in one.

I have in my hand a book of the same title by the same author (self-)published in 2001 which I received at an investment sales seminar, but it only has 110 pages. The one sold here may be a better copy-edited version.

While the slim volume does not provide a comprehensive view of stock trading, it does offer some interesting thought provokers among its six chapters:

- Emotions of investing in a bear market
- The trend is your friend
- Stops
- Buying puts
- Shorting stocks
- Collars

As you can see, most of the chapters deal with investing in a bear market, although reading through them reminds one of the perils of stock trading even in a bull market. Frankly, I wish I had received this book earlier, before my own trading account melted down by over 60% from the peak in spring 2000. The chapter on collars (which the author calls "free insurance" on a stock, but it's more complicated than that) was an eye opener. If I had followed the advice offered in the book, I would probably have cut my losses by half. I have started using collars and stops, and they worked well to protect myself from the big market drop in July.

This book is written in plain English and is easy to read and understand. While I don't know if the author is a successful investor himself, I'm glad his book has helped me somewhat.

This is a good introductory book for those who are new to stock and options trading. While it does not cover all topics concerned with stocks and options (such as spreads, straddles, LEAPS, and tax strategies, to name a few), it does present a number of important trading strategies in plain English and without all the technical jargon and gobbledegook found elsewhere.

I think that it would be possible to trade in stocks and options with only this book in hand, but for those who are interested in further and more detailed study in options, the publisher has included a decent list (albeit not exhaustive) of related titles at the back of the book.

While the strategies explained in this book are primarily for a bear market, I think that they could be used in a bull market, as well, with just some minor "tweaking."

Of course, one must realize that no strategy, whether presented in this book or in any other, is foolproof. One will not make money every time with every strategy. There are bound to be some losses due to situations and circumstances beyond one's control and no matter how well one can read the charts. However, I would recommend this book as an important addition to any trader's (or investor's) library.

Generally good. Repetitious at times. Good companion book to others. I wouldn't use it as a sole source. I would recommend under these terms.

An advanced look at how to invest in the markets. This is a must-read for all investors looking to get a deeper understanding of making money in stocks.

This book gives a further mesage than "buy an index fund". It gives the reader a pragmatic view of investing. The message should be this "Investor know yourself and the scenario where your playing, then act consecuently". Investing is a serious activity and should be taken seriously. Too many traps are set for those who take it as game and too many avoidable dissapointments take place. This book is a great book and a must read for anybody, particularly for those who want to invest their money. For those who may want further reading I would encourage them to read Wealth: Grow It, Protect It, Spend It, and Share It (Paperback) (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks) and The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Book Big Profits), they're both easy to read and will give you further knowledge of how seriously investing is.

Ellis exposes the money managers who claim they can buy a security for you cheap, let it rise up, and then sell just before it drops. The real truth that Ellis lets us in on is that these people don't know anymore than anyone else, and what REALLY effects the markets are random events that nobody can predict. He also shows that the money managers really only make money buy churning transactions, no matter how high or low a security is. He returns us to finance 101 that tells us MARKETS are efficient, trying to time the market is not.

Ellis manages an active fund, which completely goes against the premise of his book. If he truley believes what he wrote, he would act accordingly. However, that isn't why I gave the book 2 stars. I gave the book 2 stars because it is basically a 2-3 page paper expanded to be a full book by using fillers. There is one simple concept, and it doesn't take an entire book to get across.

Payne offers sound fundimental advice but seems to write in circles trying to cover all the bases that might trip the average investor up. Sometimes doling out guidence that leaves the reader feeling inside condumdrums of between what not to do and what to do. Not too technical and is more than a bit loose on the "how to" readers might be expecting. For a primer on the select of stocks in a fundimental, research oriented approach it delievers. For how to truly make money in rainmaker fashion Payne double pumps and falls short of the target much like the advice people might get from their broker.

There are lots of investing books out there, but this one not only contains useful investment information, it is written by a person who started as a very poor kid in Harlem who knew he wanted to work on Wall Street as early as age 14! Though not a book about Charles as such, the reader gains some insight into a true American success story. Working in numerous ("low-budget" to use his words) jobs from the age of 13, Charles began reading the Wall Street Journal while a high school student, served in the United States Air Force, completed his college degree and returned to make his name on Wall Street. After a time as a stock broker, he started his own company, known as Wall Street Stragegies (wstreet.com), and is now best known for his Saturday morning appearances on Fox News and his daily contributions on "Money for Breakfast" on the Fox Business Network.

In the business part of the book, Charles walks the reader through such topics as the "fundamentals" of analyzing a company's financial statements and the "technicals" which involve getting some useful information from the "charts" and all those pesky ratios, statistical analysis and other obscure measurements and tools. The reader gains a lot of insight into Charles Payne's investment philosophy as well as a wealth of useful and entertaining material.

Sure, this book is now a couple of years old and one could say that it doesn't help in the current market situation--WRONG--this book still gives great insight into basic principles which help in all market situations. Also, Charles Payne's unique, entertaining and personalized writing style definitely makes this book worth the money.

Very informative, and covers every conceiveavble area of interest regarding the stock market and investing. I am seeking to do my own investing, and have gained confidence to go forward because of the knowledge I have gained ferom reading this book. I'm in my second reading, so I can to use it as a reference as I embark on my investing endeavors.

Countless times my friends and I would repeat the phrase "If we only had stock in a particular "hot" product that we would be rich." And sadly, not one of us has ever taken the initiative to find out how to actually get into the stock market because we thought only the wealthy could afford the risk of investing.

The author, Charles V. Payne, clearly wants folks to stop making the "fat cats" richer off our spending trends and learn how the stock market works by understanding the concept, the language, and game strategies to enrich our lives and reap those benefits. He "keeps it simple" and "keeps it real" in his thoroughly written, knowledgeable, and witty book, "Be Smart, Act Fast, Get Rich.". It's a winner.

The only way one can get in the stock market game is to play. And why not learn from one of the truly successful men on Wall Street, who hailed from humble beginnings. Throughout his book, as one turns and reads the pages, you can feel his tenacity as he vividly describes his life when he purchased his first mutual fund at age seventeen and later started his own company.

Mr. Payne's book should be required reading for all high school and college seniors before they set out in the real world of financial dealings.

His book is not to be shelved, but used as a every day reference tool for those who delve into the stock market. It's a great gift for family and friends for the holidays, or any day.

Hindsight is 20/20 --count my friends and I in!

This book is truly an educational tool for novices,pros,and anyone in between.Mr.Payne doesn't overwhelm you with sophisticated jargon instead he gives you precious gems in plain English.The explanations for charts and how they should fit into an investors strategy are priceless.I like the way this book approaches the mental aspects of stock investing and the discipline that needs to be exercised.This book isn't for daytrading or options gambling but what this book shows that many others don't is that you can build wealth in a steady manner by being smart,acting fast using the right knowledge and mentality.The stock market market isn't just for the big boys and insiders, it's for anyone who desires more out of life and is willing to work for it.

I have recently read two other books on day trading and they were much better, so I think the only reason others gave this such a great rating is becaue they have never read anything else. I found this book to be vague, abstract and just a HORRIBLE book. He does go over many definitions of concepts, but then he alway says he will discuss which ones are important later. How am I supposed to know which concepts are important if you don't tell me which ones to keep in mind. He cites numerous books and authors to find more information, but the beginning day trader wants to be told what to do. If you are a day trader who is hears of a concept and want a quick overview of a concept this is the only time I would say I would open this book, although normally I just go online a financial dictionary. If you do read this book, skip the first 80 pages. Other books that are great and simple, and go over concepts over and over so there is no doubt you understand them include "A Beginners Guide to Day Trading Online" by Toni Turner.

Jake has writed no news about trading world, but all that the traders need is into this book. Sometimes we read a bit of trading system, a bit of psicological approach, etc. Jake said that the book is dedicated to day traders and aspiring day traders the world over. Doing day trading is arduous: the challenge immense. The promise of victory and lure of wealth inspire you daily to confront the odds of success. Jake give us this book in the hope that his efforts, research, suggestions, systems, and methods will help us achieve our goals.
Great buy!

Although there is much informative basic material in this book, I cannot stand the fuzzy math this author uses. The percentage gains he reports in some of his examples are blatantly deceptive. An example is Fig. 5-10, where he shows the possible gains achievable using the "gap" method. He quotes a profit potential of $21062, which I dont dispute. However, there is no mention of the actual money necessary to make the trades shown, which is probably somewhere around $30,000 (minimum). This would yield a profit of around 67%. The figure, however, quotes a profit return of almost 700%!! Whether or not these figures are his, or if he borrowed them from another source does not matter. He should know better! This sort of misleading "fluff" does nothing but confuse the amatuer and leads to the expectation of gains much better than realistically possible with a small account balance. Throughout the book, math like this is used to over exagerate possible gains from day trading.

The Compleat Guide to Day Trading Stocks is just that: one of the most complete and very best books ever written on the subject of day trading. Its highly regarded author, Jake Bernstein takes the reader from the very basics such as realistic risk/reward considerations, the essential mechanics of trend-following systems, fundamental vs. technical analysis, timing indicators, stochastics and charts, all the way to clear and precise systems and methods as well as the Psychology of Day Trading. He goes out of his way to make sure that the reader is absolutely aware of all aspects of day trading before making a commitment - including the long and painful learning curve that is inevitable - and clearly states who should not undertake day trading. Having said that, if the reader understands this, and is still firmly committed to making day trading a success, Mr. Bernstein gives his utmost support by going deeply into the nuts and bolts of the art by providing a solid foundation with proven strategies that can be thoroughly back-tested. This is really the most beneficial part of the book for the experienced investor, and is that which sets it apart from the many more general works on the subject. The reader is encouraged to learn and test these methods and systems and to incorporate the ones that are best suited to his/her own investment style. Pitfalls are clearly stated and the writing is extremely fluid and easy to understand. Best of all, the reader subconsciously develops the proper attitude that is so essential to succeed - that day trading should be treated as a serious business which can and will only be successful if done with the proper frame of mind, diligence, hard work, and risk management as well as a dedication to discipline. I highly recommend it!

This is the second Jake book I had read up till now. The first one is "Investment Quotient" which I gave my highest rating. That does not lead to my negative comment on this one because of over expectation. It's just that the content and quality of this so named guide just cannot be described as compleat.

In one single book of only 200 pages, Jake tried to discuss many important elements of day trading, including history, mechanism, player characteristics, market structure and even sophisticated technical tools like Stochastics, MACD, Momentum, various forms of Moving Average and even AI. The problem is: he tried to cover so many things that the whole book becomes very shallow and far from what is needed for this highly risky game.

I dont understand why many reviewers gave this book such high ratings. I am afraid that many amateurs had already been lured to enter the game under the false illusion that they became better, if not well equipped, after reading this book, and had already fallen prey to the market crocs.

Doesn't this book sound like a battle plan for investment success, maybe one filled with value-based accounting lessons? It's not.

In fact, we are spared math, and we are not given practical counsel, either. That was what I looking for, as the title suggests. The title should be How Can The Smart Money Be So Dumb.

Instead, this is an interesting run-through of recent horror stories on Wall Street from the Internet bubble to IPO's to pro forma accounting and Enron. Behavioral finance is discussed here, but Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes by Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich is far superior.

Or read Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein. Or John Neff On Investing instead.

Mr. Cunningham is one of the new wave of Buffett explainers. (Where were you people 15 years ago when there was money to be made buying Berkshire?) And why does someone so incisive, so downhome funny as Mr. Buffett need so much explanation?? (Try Cunningham's The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America or the Berkshire Hathaway annual report.)

Unfortunately, the author lets slip his idea of a five-year holding period for stocks. That may turn out to be good advice, but which stocks would he choose to hold? We have no idea. (Tech stocks, big winners 2 years ago, have crashed back down to their 1997 prices. And non-tech Walt Disney is well below its 1997 prices.)

I think Mr. Cunningham is an extremely brave and patient investor.

Dont know whether the author had been too keen to show how good he wrote or to publish a new book or what, this book just lacked the substance to be useful on investment or trading. I doubt whether any reader of it can "understand how markets really work and win the wealth game" per book title by the very descriptive and insightless essays in unlinked chapters. I wonder why some referrals could praise it as an excellent Trading/Investment Psychology book. As a pro trader/CFA/trading book lover, I cant tell anything positive about it. So far I had rated less than five books of this category a one star as far as I remember, and this book is one of the minority.

Awesome. Cunningham dissects the woes besetting corporate American using lucid, concrete examples, with boundless energy and enthusiasm, endorsed properly on the back cover by those who take behavioralism seriously, including Gary Belsky, who wrote the top-seller "Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes" (which is about general habits, not investment philosophy of which Cunningham writes) and Robert Hagstrom, prolific author (who writes about investment philosophy, and sometimes behavioralism). What an astonishing record Cunningham has developed as a writer and expert in invesetment theory and practice! A better title for this book would be Rational Investing in a Hair Brained Environment; the one chosen is unduly flashy for the seriousness of Cunningham's pursuits (he's a professor of law and business!).

In a perfect investment world the price of a stock embodies its value. And those who believe this 'efficient' market hypothesis will be buying index mutual funds certainly not this book. But those who dismiss this academic construct to profit from the inefficiencies evident in the market still run substantial risks not adequately addressed by most investment books. The minefield of risks that Cunningham guides us through is that the biases of others, the cause of those price vs. value anomalies, are also our own biases and can trigger money-losing investment decisions. Overconfidence and the "pattern seeking" bias to project short term trends into the future are just two examples, but they do so some of the worst damage. They lead to a dangerous reliance on margin borrowing and excessive trading activity. Also, recognize that companies make many of the same behavioral errors. It is the author's "smart" investor who can spot the folly of manic acquisitions by companies acting as if they were on steroids - grasping for growth at a fiscal cost. Cunningham dismisses technical analysis as "hokum" (Here he agrees with the proponents of an efficient market who maintain market movements cannot be predicted accurately). Stay away from IPO's, companies relying on pro-forma accounting, and sector funds. Read analyst reports with caution, but do study closely "management's discussion" of their business in the annual report. Be wary of stock buybacks, stock option programs, stock splits, spin-offs, secondary offerings, and performance-based incentive plans. Any of these programs can be abused and rise out of corporate hubris. Above all: Recognize your biases, your tolerance for risk, be objective, and have criteria to know when to sell your positions. A lot of territory is covered in this book with some of the best material appearing in Chapters 10 and 11. Cunningham builds a persuasive case for adopting a long term, value oriented investment philosophy which is least affected by these biases.

I read Cunningham's book based on the review in Barron's rounding up the best investment books of 2002. They were right. The book is a eye-opening intro to the psychology of investing, important to investors and market observers/regulators. (Cunningham's other books have more of the basics for investors--also very good books.)

Legalized gambling is always slanted towards the house. "The Losing Game: Why You Can't Beat Wall Street" is a look at how Wall Street has cost Americans millions upon millions under the guise of 'wise investment'. A cautionary tale, "The Losing Game" tells readers to look elsewhere to plan their financial future and their retirements. "The Losing Game" is well worth the read for those worried about their money in Wall Street.

This is a conspiracy book about Wall Street. Like one of your father's rants, this book goes on and on about the minus/sum game of Wall Street investing. Scott asserts early that Wall Street is nothing but a massive scam created merely to pull the hard earned money from the pockets of the common man. With constant references to Vegas, Scott wants you to conclude that Wall Street is nothing more than high societies version of casino gambling.
I can honestly say that by eighth grade, I knew that Wall Street was a place where people, with disposable income, went to purchase stock in corporations they hoped increased in value. I assumed, like any investment, those involved knew they were taking a risk and for some time, after their initial capital investment, they would be in arrears.
As an adult, once I began investing, I was certainly under no illusion that I was going to automatically reap huge windfalls simply for my stock purchases. Like when I borrowed money to start my corporation, it was years later before my loan was paid off and I began to profit from my idea and hard work.
What Mr. Scott forgets is that Wall Street is a nebulous institution. There is no Mafia family running the enterprise, as he would lead you to believe. As on any stage where competition takes place, there are those who play the game at the higher level. To deduce that Wall Street was conceived by a group or master race, who like puppeteers, pull the strings that easily rip off on a daily basis the hard earned money of working class people is nonsensical.
On a positive front, for the sake of the "newbie" investor, Mr. Scott explains how hedging works, details facts about derivatives, and gives a rudimentary assessment of the actual tracking methodology of the Dow Jones Index. His chapters on the meat and guts of how Wall Street works are the unhidden strengths of the book.
Had his book been slanted more towards simply helping out the uncertain investor, I believe Mr. Scott would have had a winner. Instead, the Losing Game comes across too much like your typical conspiracy tale, whereby, a lot of scandalous activity or sightings occur right in front of your eyes, yet you, or any one else but the author, ever sees it happening. In my opinion, the constant repitition of the author's theme unnerves the reader and trips your concentration from focusing on the important subject matter at hand. And that's a shame. For it's there that Mr. Scott has a lot of good advice to give the investing public.

The author went through a sad experience. Apparently he was a baggage handler for Eastern Airlines and he lost his pension when Eastern went bankrupt. His anger is justified.

I believe Congress should reregulate investment brokers and banks and many other featurues of Wall Street. I also believe many investment brokers and bankers are ignorant or greedy at best, and often immoral and dishonest.

Nonetheless, this author imparts the reader no more specific information than my general opinions stated above. The book starts by stating "Don't expect a PhD- level academic explanation of how the market works." Now that would be just find with me, but the problem is the author gives no explanation of how it works.

He states no specific facts that help the reader understand the stock market. Instead , he just rants with name calling and opinions and no facts through most of the book .

The author's errors are elementary and sad. When I read the book, my jaw dropped becauase I thought the author was being deceitful. Shame on me for jumping to that conclusion. I read some of the other reviews and saw that others ascribed those glaring errors to ignorance. Perhaps true. In that event, the author knows next to nothing about the stock market (or simple business) and his opinions are not helpful.

The glaring errors are set forth in previous reviews. The author "proves" that every stock market transaction is a "minus sum game" because the purchaser is out of pocket the purchase price (let's say $10)! Please don't laugh, but that is his argument. He then concludes that if each transaction is a "minus sum game", so is the stock market as a whole.

He then goes through other scenarios such as pointing out that if the purchaser then sells to another person, for let's say $20, then the total "out of pocket" (his words)for all parties in the 2 transactions is $20 +$10, and the "total in pocket" is $20 (the second sale), so the "total out of pocket" is $30, total "in pocket" is $20, so the difference is $10 out of pocket for all parties...even though one party made $10 on the first sale and the second party can sell his stock on the market!!

This type of twisted thinking is no more accurate than the twisted words and thinking we get from the ignorant or greedy stock brokers!

This is a fascinating and compelling book that lays out very simply how we have been and are being deceived by Wall Street on a daily basis. Scott and Edds forces the reader to ask themselves why they should continue to place their trust in a system that has continually betrayed that trust over the years, with no plans in place to restore credibility to a permanently flawed and corrupt system?

I know people are tired or reading why we're in the mess we're in, but The Losing Game not only tells us why in a simple-to-understand narrative, but offers solutions that counter the mainstream assertion that the only viable alternative is to "stuff your money in a mattress."

The main point of assertion in the book is that investing in the market is equal to, or worse than, actual gambling. If you have money to gamble with, then a casino offers a better experience than Wall Street. That argument alone should convince millions of Americans to rethink their investment options.

We are in the beginning phases of a so-called "populist uprising" that the media is trying to downplay as the actions of those on the fringe. But if that energy is focused in the right direction, namely forcing Congress to implement real accountability measures (and reporting methods as discussed in the book,) then it would go a long way towards reestablishing the credibility of Wall Street. The Losing Game is a good handbook for this uprising

I don't normally read financial books, but now I'm in the same dilemma as many other Americans, and am trying to figure out why my retirement IRA is circling the drain. According to the author of this book, the belief that my life savings were safe in a Wall Street mutual fund was illusory to begin with. I would have been better off if I'd taken my money to Las Vegas and fed it into the slots or invested it in chips for a poker game. At least I could have redeemed any chips I didn't spend.

T.E. Scott's main contention is that investing money in Wall Street or the commodities market is a minus-sum game. This book is titled "The Losing Game" because the author believes that there is no way to beat the system:

"Wall Street brokers and the stock market and commodities exchanges take a cut out of the investors' pot every time investors buy and sell...The rich and greedy who use this system to accumulate wealth and power without remorse have total control. The rest of us, the victims of their marketing scheme, are merely pawns."

It's impossible for investors as a whole to make money over time, and the author goes on to prove this thesis multiple times. At times I felt like I was being beaten over the head with the same information over and over again. However, as the saying goes: 'just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean you're wrong.' My savings are gone, that's for sure.

You might be asking yourself, "why read this book after I've already lost my money in the Wall Street meltdown?" "The Losing Game" will help you decide whether to sit tight on what investments you have left and hope that the Market goes up again, or take what funds you still have and start a new business (like the author did)--or what the heck, take your life savings to Vegas where the odds are better. At least the gaming houses are honest about how they're trying to separate you from your money.