Having the Answer

I heard this interview with Gordon Murray when it first played, on December 17th. I was impressed with him, particularly when he talked about his disease (he has a brain tumor that eventually took his life exactly one month after that). But I forgot about his book entirely by the time I got home that day.

But I had it suggested to me again last week, and ended up ordering it. The book is very small; only sixty-six pages. I read the entire thing between the two games earlier today.

As you'd expect, it doesn't get bogged down in details, but it is very good at conveying the important details. If you want more details, the Random Walk book I talked about previously has most of them.

But this one also talks about a few other issues, such as what to look for if you go searching for a financial adviser. That section was very good, and mentioned a couple of things I probably would not have thought about on my own.

It also went over diversification and styles of investing (active vs passive). Those parts weren't as good (to me, at least), but were still interesting. One important point in that section was on rebalancing, and how that helps you maintain your preferred risk profile. Again, useful.

I think this book is a fantastic introduction to investing; it really does hit the important points without a lot of fluff. And, being so short, it can easily be finished in one sitting.

Dunno if I'd recommend it for people with significant experience (almost certainly not, if the parts I mentioned don't sound useful), but I definitely would for anyone starting out.

Update: Forgot to mention... You might notice that that link to Random Walk is for a new edition of the book that came out last month. I haven't looked at it, but I might try to find it. Unfortunately, I doubt the library will have it. *sigh* It'd be cool if it addressed the issues I mentioned.

Update 2: Just checked the library; they have the new edition on order, and I'm first in the hold queue. Dunno how long that'll take, but it looks good.