Book Review of: The Astute Investor

If you're an investor, you should read The Astute Investor.

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Reviewer: Mark Lamendola, author of over 5,000 articles. Also an engineer and MBA, as is the author.

Dr. Prentis has obviously done his research, and he has compiled an investing guide that addresses investing from a multi-faceted perspective.

Unlike many investment book authors, Prentis starts out by telling you he doesn't have a fool-proof method of flawlessly investing in the stock market. What he does offer is a distillation of the collective wisdom on the subject of investing. He brings this to the reader in twelve chapters, a conclusion, and an extensive glossary. The book contains many graphs, and it provides the addresses of relevant Websites.

Chapter One describes the seven principles of investing and delves into investment strategies. Chapter Two goes into theory and practice. The next two chapters discuss bonds, then stocks (respectively). Chapter Five talks about the psychology of trading. This chapter will help you understand the philosophy of technical traders (people who chart and predict stock prices, with no consideration of the company behind the stock). Prentis makes it clear that such trading is not long-term investing.

Chapters Six and Seven get very mathematical, as Prentis walks us through determining the value of an investment. If you don't know the difference between intrinsic, market, and bargain values, then you're not from the Warren Buffet school of investing. Chapter Eight explains the forces that drive the markets, and how unexpected news and expected news affect stock prices. Chapter Nine explains the viewpoint of the contrarian investor, who can succeed only through extraordinary courage of conviction.

All of the preceding chapters build up to Chapter Ten. It's here that Prentis gives his ten-step method for investing. He actually walks you through an example, so be prepared to do some work if you want to understand this method.

As an electrical engineer, I realize all systems are complex and consist of counterbalancing forces. Prentis, an industrial engineer, understands this also. Which is why he doesn't trot out a simple formula or say he's found the magic bullet. Instead, he lays out a methodology that will work if you work at it.

On the downside, The Astute Investor is badly in need of editing. The many grammar gaffes, spelling errors, syntax errors, and other deviations from Standard Written English (SWE) at times make the book hard to read. And the author's ultra-heavy use of passive voice sometimes makes reading the text feel like you're chewing gum that's still wrapped in aluminum foil. The chapter introductions and summaries are especially annoying in this regard.

Form is important, as it dictates readability. Fortunately, this book scored very well on substance, with one notable exception. The author used the Atkins Diet as an example of something good. That diet induces ketosis, creates nutrient deficiencies, greatly raises the risk of prostate and bowel cancer, destroys healthy tissue (such as bone and muscle), and poses a high risk of permanent damage to the kidneys and liver. What's to like? Further, the vast majority of people who abuse their bodies with this misguided, unsound, dangerous, and damaging diet are fatter a year later than if they'd never done it (see the Diets Exposed articles at www.supplecity.com).

This book contains valuable information (except for the item just noted) in a logical structure. A second printing would be good for all concerned--but not until the author retains a copyeditor to correct the spelling, grammar, and punctuation--the quality of the text simply is not in synch with the quality of the information being conveyed. He also needs an editor to reword those intros and summaries to conform to any of the major style guides now in use. Presently, they detract from the book rather than add to it.

If you are a dedicated investor who wants to do well in the stock market, you should expend the effort to decipher the text. Is it worth the effort, when other investment books don't have the writing defects? That's like asking if delicious, nutritious walnuts are worth taking out of the shell.