Review of You Don't Have to Be Rich: Comfort, Happiness, and Financial Security on Your Own Terms (Hardcover)

There are dozens of books which address many of the same topics and issues and this is one of the best because it was written primarily for non-experts such as I who seek "comfort, happiness, and financial security on [our] terms," of course, and need guidance to make appropriate decisions. Answers to questions such as these are more difficult to formulate now than at any prior time that I recall:

*What are the significant differences between standard of living and quality of life?
*Are they mutually exclusive?
*How can -- and should -- "wealth" be measured?
*To what extent (if any) is there a correlation between personal happiness and net worth?
*What do the happiest people seem to share in common?
*What are the most damaging misconceptions many people have when formulating a financial plan?
*Which strategies and tactics are most effective to achieve financial security? Why?
*What are "The Ten Commandments of Financial Happiness"?

Chatzky address these and countless other questions which many of us may have but feel embarrassed to ask. Of course, we can retain highly reputable financial planners whose services are worth every dollar they cost. However, my own experience suggests that a financial planner's best client is a well-informed client. More specifically, financial planners are most valuable once a client has carefully completed exercises such as those which Chatzky includes in her book. Invoking direct address, what do you REALLY want in life? Being rich and being happy are NOT mutually-exclusive. Many people are unhappy because they are essentially insolvent, if not destitute. No savings, credit unworthy, deeply in debt, in danger of foreclosure or eviction, etc. Many others are just as unhappy because of their affluence. They yearn to possess what money can't buy: physical health, peace of mind, friendship worthy of the name, etc.

Caveat: Do NOT purchase this book or any other such book unless and until you are wholeheartedly committed to doing the "homework" required and then to following through on whatever decisions you make. I think that Chapter 6 (all by itself) is worth far more than the cost of the book. However, do you REALLY understand the requirements as well as the benefits of living within your means? Tough decisions may need to be made. (I mean TOUGH.) Do you have what it takes to make them? More importantly, do you have what it takes to stick with those decisions no matter what? Years ago, the actor Rod Steiger was asked if young people ever requested career advice. "Oh yeah, sure, all the time. I look them right in the eye and ask `Do you want to be an actor or do you HAVE to be an actor?' The longer it takes themto answer, the less likely they'll ever make it." If you HAVE to have financial security, Jean Chatzky can help you to achieve it.Otherwise....



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Review of You Don't Have to Be Rich: Comfort, Happiness, and Financial Security on Your Own Terms (Hardcover)

There are dozens of books which address many of the same topics and issues and this is one of the best because it was written primarily for non-experts such as I who seek "comfort, happiness, and financial security on [our] terms," of course, and need guidance to make appropriate decisions. Answers to questions such as these are more difficult to formulate now than at any prior time that I recall:

*What are the significant differences between standard of living and quality of life?
*Are they mutually exclusive?
*How can -- and should -- "wealth" be measured?
*To what extent (if any) is there a correlation between personal happiness and net worth?
*What do the happiest people seem to share in common?
*What are the most damaging misconceptions many people have when formulating a financial plan?
*Which strategies and tactics are most effective to achieve financial security? Why?
*What are "The Ten Commandments of Financial Happiness"?

Chatzky address these and countless other questions which many of us may have but feel embarrassed to ask. Of course, we can retain highly reputable financial planners whose services are worth every dollar they cost. However, my own experience suggests that a financial planner's best client is a well-informed client. More specifically, financial planners are most valuable once a client has carefully completed exercises such as those which Chatzky includes in her book. Invoking direct address, what do you REALLY want in life? Being rich and being happy are NOT mutually-exclusive. Many people are unhappy because they are essentially insolvent, if not destitute. No savings, credit unworthy, deeply in debt, in danger of foreclosure or eviction, etc. Many others are just as unhappy because of their affluence. They yearn to possess what money can't buy: physical health, peace of mind, friendship worthy of the name, etc.

Caveat: Do NOT purchase this book or any other such book unless and until you are wholeheartedly committed to doing the "homework" required and then to following through on whatever decisions you make. I think that Chapter 6 (all by itself) is worth far more than the cost of the book. However, do you REALLY understand the requirements as well as the benefits of living within your means? Tough decisions may need to be made. (I mean TOUGH.) Do you have what it takes to make them? More importantly, do you have what it takes to stick with those decisions no matter what? Years ago, the actor Rod Steiger was asked if young people ever requested career advice. "Oh yeah, sure, all the time. I look them right in the eye and ask `Do you want to be an actor or do you HAVE to be an actor?' The longer it takes themto answer, the less likely they'll ever make it." If you HAVE to have financial security, Jean Chatzky can help you to achieve it.Otherwise....



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Review of Flawless Execution: Use the Techniques and Systems of America's Fighter Pilots to Perform at Your Peak and Win the Battles of the Business World (Hardcover)

Frank, practical advice with a no nonsense approach...just like you'd expect from guys that operate in a space where coming in second isn't an option.

This is a no BS look at how to improve any organization's ability to kick the competition's butt. You won't find "theoretical" discussions from a group of "academics." No charts and graphs. No fancy formulas. Just dozens of ideas that anyone with a desire to improve can implement. The "debrief" section and advice Murph provides has literally changed the way we operate in our company.

Read it...and you'll understand why the USAF is the best in the world. More importantly, you'll see how their training methods can make you better.I couldn't recommend it more highly.



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Review of MarketBusters: 40 Strategic Moves That Drive Exceptional Business Growth (Hardcover)

Ignore the glitzy title and concentrate on the solid material which is provided. As the subtitle of this volume correctly indicates, McGrath and MacMillan identify and then explain "40 strategic moves that drive exceptional business growth." Decision-makers in many organizations still do not understand that strategies resemble hammers in that they "drive" tactics which are comparable with nails. Of course, both strategies and tactics must be selected with meticulous care, then implemented effectively. The core of this book involves five strategies to create "marketbusters": Transform the customers' experience, transform your offerings, redefine profit drivers, exploit industry shifts, and consider entering (for you) new markets. No news there. The value of this book is derived from McGrath and MacMillan's explanations of (a) HOW to select the strategies which are most appropriate to your organization's current and imminent needs and (b) WHAT to do when coordinating those strategies with tactics (or "moves") during the implementation process.

To assist that process, they provide "Preparing Yourself: Audit Your Strategy and Clarify Your Process," a self-dianostic which poses most (if not all) of the key questions to be answered and most (if not all) of the key issues to be addressed. Of special interest to me is the provision, also, of a set of "Action Steps" at the conclusion of each chapter. With regard to the "40 Moves," they are organized as follows, accompanied by specific examples: Numbers 1-5 which involve changing the consumption chain (pages 25-39), Numbers 6-12 which various companies have used to shift the attribute maps for their offerings and create marketbusters (pages 54-76, Numbers 13-20 which suggest potential alternatives to a current unit of business (pages 92-113), Numbers 21-32 which can help to structure (or restructure) consideration of possible industrywide shifts (pages 119-148), and Numbers 33-40 which can assist the formulation of a typology of potential opportunity types and an understanding of what achieving success with each may require (pages 156-179).

McGrath and MacMillan then provide a "MarketBuster Case Study" of Royal Insurance Italy in which they demonstrate at least some of the potentialities of the cohesive and comprehensive process previously discussed, followed by an Appendix in which all 40 "Moves" are briefly but thoughtfully reiterated. I strongly recommend to those who read this book that they re-read the Appendix at least monthly so as to be prepared to recognize whichever new growth options and opportunities may emerge since first reading this book.

When concluding this brief commentary, I presume to offer a few caveats. First, beware of what Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton characterize as "The Knowing-Doing Gap" in the book which bears that title. More often than not, decision-makers fail to convert knowledge into action to achieve the desired results. In this context, I am reminded of Coach Darrell Royal's assertion that "potential" means "you ain't done it yet." Also, expect to encounter substantial resistance to change initiatives. For example, what Jim O'Toole characterizes in his book, Leading Change, as"the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." Moreover, once you have selected the most appropriate strategies, you must obtain buy-in and then maintain a steadfast commitment to them but be prepared to change tactics. Hence the importance of having an early-warning system as you rigorously measure organizational and individual performance. Finally,have a contingency plan in place so that you can respond immediately and effectively whenever new or revised tactics are required.



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Review of Wealth Protection : Build and Preserve Your Financial Fortress (Hardcover)

This book will be good if you want to review the components that might make up your wealth protection strategy.However, the book comes up short on the detail needed to understand those components well or to structure a comprehensive plan for yourself.

To get a feel for the lack of detail take a look at the Table of Contents, note that it seems very comprehensive but when you look a little closer you will see that most of the chapters are LESS THAN 5 PAGES!The subtopics in each chapter usually make up a single paragraph with a large font bold heading that takes up a lot of the page.

In short, if you want to get an overview of the components you might ask your advisor to explain to you, this would be a valuable purchase.If you want to understand these things yourself, you will be disappointed.



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Review of Robust Portfolio Optimization and Management (Frank J Fabozzi Series) (Hardcover)

Quick fact:
1) Highly recommand this book to serious Quants.
2) Graduate lever math is required for serious reader.
3) Good reference book and good for self-study
4) Well written, easy read.
5) worth the money.

The field of quantitative techniques have developed so much in the last 10 years, but almost no book cover enough serious topics about these new directions. I had already learn a bit of the robust techniques while working, including robust estimates, robust portfolio construction, error control, bayesian estimates and others. But those are all picked up in pieces, at different times, and with much research efforts. So you can imagine my delight to see a book that covers a lot of the pieces concisely.

This book itself is very well written, occasionally misspelled math labels are easily corrected by more math inclined reader, and will not interfare with casual reading. Like many of Fabozzi books, overall organization is slightly loose, so that you can start any chapter in the book and still get pretty much decent view about that subject. But better written for quants than some of Fabozzi's early books (which are mainly used as reference books)

what is missing in this book?
just one: sometimes, reference papers or books are given even though a little more details would save serious reader a lot more time. Yes, I know, those are advance topics, still would like to see them as a serious reader. Maybe as appendix for relevent chapers.

Over all, worth every penny of it.




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Review of The CRB Commodity Yearbook 2007 with CD-ROM (Hardcover)

This book gives you the necessary information to understand the commodities in the market and why they trade as they do.Without this information you couldn't make informed trading decisions.



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Review of Gold: The Once and Future Money (Hardcover)

Let me start of by saying that it seems the last reviewer didn't even read the book!This book pushes a "type" of psuedo-gold standard, not the original gold standard.That said, the problems laid out by the reviewer don't even make sense under a true gold standard.A true gold standard does not mean that people use gold coins to purchase groceries or even homes.A gold standard, in the classical sense, means that there is no Federal Reserve or Central bank, at least not in its current form, and the dollar is DEFINED as a certain weight in gold.The monetary act of 1792 actually defined the dollar as 1 ounce of silver and then fixed the weights and measures of silver vs gold at 15 to 1.This was their error, so to speak.

Even under a true gold standard, where no central bank exists, paper dollars do exist, as do checking accounts, savings accounts, et al.The process would work much like it does today with the exception that a paper dollar would be in the form of a receipt on gold.Private banks would hold your gold (some percentage of it) on reserve at the bank while issing you a deposit or savings account with the right to draw on the account in question.But I'm digressing --i don't have time to outline the true classical gold standard.This book espouses no such thing as the classical gold standard ---it pushes a psuedo gold standard which I describe below:

It is a gold peg.Peg the dollar at a certain value of gold --say the current price of $660 per ounce.Currently the FED is responsible for setting interest rates, the discount rate directly and the FED funds rate indirectly through money supply adjustments.The authors of this book want the market to set the rate of interest, and the FED to be replaced with a currency board which has only one directive ---adjust the money supply in order to keep a constant value of dollar/gold ---at our $660 target.Interest rates would then be set by the market and money supply would be set by gold itself ---a much more stable form of money.This would be a pseudo gold standard ----as long as the market is open and free for gold exchange internationally, then there would be an automatical gold convertability for all people.The government would need to hold $0 gold because people could simply go out and convert their dollars into gold on the open market ---if they did on balance, the currency board would then need to decrease the supply of money in circulation in order to keep the peg (assuming all else stayed constant).If the USA went first, then all countries would follow ---this would create a one world currency, gold with dollar/yen/pound/euro simply representing different quantities of the same currency, as pennies, quarters, dimes, dollars, represent different quantities of the same currency now, the US dollar.This would provide automatic adjustment to imbalances of trade ---long discussion here.

I recommend this book because of the history aspect and the understanding of gold/monetary issues.These authors understand the classical economist theories very thoroughly --with one great misunderstanding.This is the only downfall in the book ---they don't quite understand how inflation of the money supply creates bubbles or misallocated resources.Thus, they don't understand the boom/bust process as outlined by the Austrian school very well.They correctly understand taxes but do not have the same understanding with government spending.They understand free trade.

I would give this book a 5 out of 5 even though there is a big mistake of not understanding other causes of the business cycle --namely the boom bust cycle brought on by monetary inflation and misallocations of capital.



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Review of Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment (Hardcover)

I am a graduate of the Yale School of Management (with a focus in finance) and have been a fan of Swensen's for a long time.Unconventional Success is, in my view, a must read for anyone who has to manage their own retirement assets (which is most people today).

Swensen compellingly makes the case that (a) the vast majority of passively managed funds outperform actively managed funds (after fees), (b) the vast majority of the mutual fund industry allows profit motives to trump their fiduciary duty to investors, and (c) an individual investor's financial assets are best managed by non-profit organizations - i.e., Vanguard or TIAA-CREF.

Swensen lays out six "core" asset classes that should form the basis of an individual investor's portfolio, each of which should comprise between 5% and 30% of the portfolio.Below is the "generic" target portfolio outlined in the book:
1. Domestic Equity (30%)
2. Foreign Developed Market Equity (15%)
3. Emerging Market Equity (5%)
4. Real Estate (20%)
5. U.S. Treasury Bonds (15%)
6. U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (15%)

Swensen also discusses "non-core" asset classes and why each should not be a part of an individual investor's portfolio.These "non-core" asset classes include:
1. Domestic Corporate Bonds, 2. High Yield (Junk) Bonds, 3. Tax Exempt (Municipal) Bonds, 4. Asset-backed securities, 5. Foreign Bonds, 6. Hedge Funds, 7. Leveraged Buyouts, and 8. Venture Capital.We spent so much time in business school glorifying these assets that I found the rationale for why they have no place in an individual's portfolio quite useful.

The most valuable lesson in the book for me was the importance of "quarterly, semi-annual, or annual" rebalancing - i.e. selling winners and buying losers to move various asset classes back to long-term targets (taking into account the tax consequences for post-tax accounts).This is a basic lesson, of course, but the reminder was still highly valuable.

The book does have a few shortcomings.The book can be a bit technical and dry at times, especially if the reader has no background in finance.I would have also appreciated more discussion of how non-financial assets (e.g., home equity) and personal liabilities (e.g., student loans, mortgage), should impact portfolio allocation.Overall, however, I think anyone with a 401k or a few thousand dollars to invest will benefit from a thorough reading of this book.




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