Speculation

Basically this is typical value investing with a small cap bent, though he will buy value at any price. Chapter two covers this and the rest of the book will put you to sleep. He's long winded, add small type and over 350 pages... it was a struggle to finish.

Much of it could have been left out. 50 pages are a review and comments of past years portfolios. Another chapter is on his pet peeves, one on funds, one defending use margin and one on Tech analysis (he doesn't use it for individual issues, but he looks at a few general market indicators to guage risk and overbought levels in the market). Except for a chapter 9 analysis of Ford, there isn't much about selection besides chapter 2.

His returns were made using full margin. His best contibution it to say don't be too rigid on the numbers, be flexible. Usually stocks will be undervalued on a couple measures but not all of them. I'd recommend any other book on value investing.

THE THESIS OF THIS BOOK IS THAT YOU BUY THE MARKETS WORST STOCKS AND HOLD THEM FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS HOPING THEY WILL COME BACK TO GLORY. hE BUYS STOCKS THAT HAVE LOW P/E'S LOW PRICE TO SALES AND LOW PRICE TO BOOK. USUALLY THESE STOCKS HAVE LOADS OF DEBT, TERRIBLE PRODUCTs OR ARE IN A TERRIBLE INDUSTRY. eXAMPLE STEEL
Most of the stocks he picks are terrible and will never make you any money and are the riskiest in the market.Example of stocks he tells you to buy in his newsletter kmart, wcom, conseco etc.
all bankrupt. Once in while he gets lucky and has a big winner. Don't count on this. If you want to lose big money read his book and follow his insane advice on the use of margin.

Unlike some books, were authors write about great investors or skilled authors with little practical experience present their opinions, Al Frank is a great investor and a skilled author with lots of practical experience. Thus, the book is a pleasure to read, more comprehensive than most and presents conclusions drawn from decades of value investing in common stocks.

With a folksy, down to earth approach, the author goes over what's most important for a long term investor: Patience, Stock Selection, Diversification and Risk Management. Important financial ratios are also explained and the use of margin is reviewed in great detail. In fact, there are very few investment books which deal with margin as well as this one. This is probably because not many investment book authors have as much experience in this area as Al Frank. However, this is not a get rich quick book, but instead the presentation of a logical, long term seasoned strategy.

Don Christie has written a down to earth straight forward book that shows the scientific and mathematical proof that wihtout a doubt God does exist! He has been led by the holy spirit to show to man in these latter days that by using our own calculations we can decifer, by using the truth, that God not only exists but that he wants to show us the way to him so we can have everlasting life! By reading this book you will see how Don, by using patterns and number matching, has written a book of undeniable proof that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Using basic logic, the truth that exists in this book will set you free to see that God is not only real but is here to help you through the chaos and madness by showing you what it means to be one of his children. The reward, after reading this masterpiece, is by finding God you will never have to walk alone again. He is here for you to bring into the kingdom of his glory and righteousness. Do not pass up this opportunity of a lifetime, your eternal life depends upon it!

Simply put, this book has undeniable evidence of the Bible being true and Bible prophecy from the Psalms with todays headlines predicted 3,000 years ago. As the book takes you through the Psalms, there is a key phrase for every critical event from 1900 through 2003 and even some like 2006, 2010 etc. Events like 1941-1945 WWII, Israel becoming a nation in 1948, Y2K problem 1999, WTC attack 2001, all have key phrases in the same Psalm number of the actual year of the event! The book also shows that over 20 key words from the Psalms equal all of our most known science constant numbers occuring in the Psalm of the same number! Psalm 27 is light and 10^27 power is light, Psalm 19 is about sun, heat, circuit, and 10^19th power is electrical power is science. Psalm 38 is gravity with the word heavy and 10^38th power is a constant of gravity in science, there are about 23 of these. You have to see them for yourself, as the odds of about 38 of these happening in the Psalms, all on the correct Psalm numbers is incredible! Other parts of the Bible like the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle of Moses mysteriously have dimensions and numbers matching science. There is a lot more in this book showing positive proof of the scriptures. This is a must read, as all of the evidence for the Bible is easy to see and overpowering, matching our history and science written about 2,900 years before we knew about it.

The book starts out by showing about 20 Psalms where the "key phrase" of a historical event (1900 - 2003 and beyond) occurs in the Psalm of the same number as the year of the event! There are so many of these that land right on the Psalm it's obvious that it was planned and correctly prophesied in the Bible. World War II events for 1944 also land on the Bible verse of the correct month according to D-day and May, June, July 1944. Psalm 44:5 (May 5th month) "Through thee will we push down our enemies" (a future tense here getting ready for D-day) Psalm 44:6 (June 6th month) "For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me." (Big battle must trust in God June 6, 1944) Psalm 44:7 (July 7th month) "But thou hast saved us from our enemies" (we pushed them back "thou hast saved us"). Psalm 46 says "He makes wars to cease" and 1946 is the year after WWII. More events properly foretold in the Psalms are the Y2K problem, WTC attack, El nino, Saddam Hussein's month long Babylonian party in 1987 with Psalm 87 and a whole lot more. The book also shows how 23 science constant power numbers like 10^27 light, 10^38th power as gravity, all are described on the correct Psalm number like Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light" and 10^-27 power is a power number of light in science. Many of these science keys words like 'heavy' for gravity in Psalm 38 "heavy burden" shows up in 38 scriptures of the Bible and 10^-38 power is gravity in science! The 'speedy' electron is talked about in Psalm 31 and 10^-31 actually is the mass of the electron and the word speed, speedily, speeded, shows up in 31 scriptures of the Bible, incredible! This book has much, much more and is totally awesome, living up to it's title. There is so much "undeniable" evidence and proof of the Bible it's obvious to see it was all planned. This book is probably one of the best books ever written on the proof of God and the Bible. I liked the book because it's simple to understand, because basically all you are doing is matching simple whole numbers together to see how coded the Bible's verse numbers are. The "Ark of the Covenant" and "Tabernacle of Moses" equal all of the basic numbers of our science today. There are hundreds of scriptures in the book where the verse numbers equal the content of the verse. There are some real surprises and 'gems' from the Bible in this book. This book convicts the Bible of being the "inspired Word of God."

This was a good, fun and practical read. It amazes me that so many things that were true in the early 1900s still apply today. The principles in this book will help you be a better investor or trader.

It was originally published in 1903. Since then, it has been reprinted 5 times over the years. Read it yourself and you will see why it is still in demand today.

The original Dow Theory articles by Charles Dow combine an odd mix of topics: cutting losses; letting profits run; averaging down, buying "value" on the dips; and market manipulation.

Dow frankly states that "the markets are always more or less manipulated." But then later he admits... "...people in Wall Street...do not know what the market will do with any regularity..."

He advocates averaging down a few times, which is odd, considering what he wholeheartedly endorses several times...

Dow mentions cutting losses short and letting profits run more than any other single idea. It appears in almost every article.

On bear markets... "There will be a sifting of the better from the worse, visible enough at a distance, but not conspicuous at any particular stage in the process." Sounds like the "narrow advance" of today...the pinnacle market?...

One of the articles involves a description of discretionary accounts (managed accounts) that makes the swindling operators of them sound like the guys who are running LTCM (see WSJ 5-20-99, page C-1). They take your money and tell you it wasn't their fault when the market kills them. The only (possible) difference is that many of the swindlers of earlier this century never actually invested the money they received. They just took it and ran.

An interesting read. Buy a copy of S.A. Nelson's The ABC of Stock Speculation. That's where I read these articles.

I note with interest that one reviewer questions the findings of this book because of the author's use of the Book of Jasher as a source. I agree that we cannot place too much credence in a source of which so many versions exist. (I believe the one Graham Phillips used is a nineteenth-century translation.) However, most of Mr. Phillips' book compares Bible verses - not the Book of Jasher - with archaeological discoveries to show that the plagues of Egypt really occurred, that Mount Sinai was a real mountain and that Moses was an historical figure. In this respect he has done an excellent job. I may not agree with all his conclusions, but I consider this book to be a milestone in biblical research.

This is one of the best books I have read for a long time. The author not only reveals many exciting archaeological discoveries from the period of the Old Testament, he writes in an easy-going and assessable manner. I have been studying the history of the Bible lands for many years and have never before found a book that contains so many new revelations in one volume. Some of the sources Mr Phillips' employs may be somewhat doubtful, but the facts remains that he has done more to show that the Old Testament relates to recorded history than anyone for many years. I suggest that anyone who questions the authenticity of this book to compare the Bible verses concerning Mount Sinai with the topography of Jebel Madhbah (which Mr Phillips proposes as the true Mountain of God). There can be no doubt that they are one and the same.

John Wrekin

Aurora IL

This book is excellent! I have read it several times and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history and ideas surrounding the times of Moses and the 10 plagues of Egypt.

Graham Phillip's writing is flowing and captivating. Once I started reading the book I couldn't stop until I got to the end.

If you haven't yet purchased a copy I would urge you to do so. You will not be disappointed. A great book and a fanastic buy !

If you're looking for a clear voice in the endless chatter about investing, this is the book for you. It makes sense -- something almost unheard of in financial publishing. A great investment.