Financial Reckoning Day

Motley Fool UK Investment Guide

A really super book. A fascinating read for the more financially innocent, and a wry laugh a minute for the more experienced investor. You really feel that the authors have your best interest at heart, and that if you follow at least some of their advice, you will be the better for it. Tellingly, it has as many words of warning about which particular types of investment (managed funds, endowments etc) to avoid and why, as it has praise for its undoubted favourites. If you weren't previously aware quite how cynical the banking and finance community were, and whose interest they really have at heart, this book will make everything clear! Once I started reading, I just couldn't stop, and I certainly can't say that's been the case for any other financial book I've read.

My Rating

DOT.CON

If, like me, you were working in the information technology sector during the 1990's, this book will waft you back to those halcyon days of yore when no expense check was too much, travel was strictly business class and you could palm-off any old garbage to the clamouring corporate throng as 'the next big software sensation'.  Bristling with names, dates and mind-boggling financial details, John Cassidy certainly hasn't skimped on research here. Unfortunately it is the very weight and breadth of factual information that takes what could very well have been a wry, enthralling story of egomania-induced hysteria and bogs it down to the extent that the reader is never really drawn in and swept along.  Those who are not familiar with the technology companies involved in this unwinding drama will most likely tire before reaching the fourth chapter. For those of us who are, it is well worth plodding on to the conclusion.  Whatever else may be gained, there are certainly valuable lessons that can be learnt from this book and its focus on bubble markets. One may well draw parallels between the equity market of the late '90s and the property market of the early noughties. One may. Of course, I couldn't possibly comment.

My Rating

Chopper

They say that a film is never as good as the book. In this case, I beg to differ. Whilst it's possible to draw some parallels between this book and the resulting movie, they are very different in substance. The book is effectively a brief life history of Mark Brandon Read, a self-proclaimed 'toe-cutter' - someone who tortures other criminals before liberating their ill-gotten gains. You might call him the real Kaiser Soze. Details of his exploits are portrayed in the very darkest of dark humour. The direct, un-polished nature of the commentary seems to suggest that no professional ghost writer was involved here. These are the words of the man himself. Unfortunately, some of the more interesting details have been omitted for legal reasons. This is a shame, but inevitable, for obvious reasons. If you want a who's who of the criminal fraternity down-under from a decade ago, this is the book for you. If however, you'd prefer an enthralling and humourous portrayal of a very dangerous man lurking at the dark fringes of Melbourne criminal society, I would suggest that you instead opt for the DVD of the same name.

My Rating