Forbes Greatest Investing Stories Hardcover – September 14, 2001

Reading this reminded me that bad ecomonic news can create terrific opportunities in the market-- the moral of the story of the very first story, which talks about Benjamin Graham and his protoge Warren Buffett! It was eerie how similar the "Investors Beware" chapter about the CUC/HFS International debacle is to what's currently going on with Enron: "If the 'story' behind the stock seems too good to be true, it probably is." A great read -- the author truly seems to love and relish what he's talking about and I learned a ton that heartened my sagging investing confidence (and hopefully my sagging portfolio as well).

Richard Phalon offers a somewhat eclectic array of biographies ranging from Benjamin Graham and Tom Bailey as marquee value investors, to Anthony "Tino" De Angelis who tried to corner the market for soybean oil (in a huge scam), and finishing the book with a discussion of George Doriot's philosophy (founder of the Venture Capital industry, as we know it). Clearly, not every individual qualifies for the 'Greatest Investor' title, but all of them had one thing in common: large amounts of money circulated through their hands.Perhaps one of the more surprising takeaways from the book is the focus on value investing. The basics of earnings and cash flows, as well as knowing when to take the cash off the table are repeating patterns no matter the industry, time, or place. An insightful read given the current turbulence in the markets - it is somewhat surprising how timeless many of the principles Richard Phalon identified really are.

This book tracks the stories of some of the most successful investors in the history of Wall Street. It contains fundamental lessons and the anecdotes it contains are being repeated throughout the world today. Scandals, overly aggressive accounting, generous executive options, corporate greed, folly all have been well documented in this book and all are manifesting themselves today in the form of Anderson, Enron, Worldcom and so forth.I like this book because it focuses on fundamentals. The most successful investors invariably focus on value stocks and long term growth. They look for basics such as earnings and cash flows. They look behind the accounting numbers and are not bamboozled by glossy brochures or big name executives. A wise investor would not have been sucked up by the dot com hype. They would have seen the companies for what they were, overpriced flash-in-the-pans.Whilst this book contains many valuable lessons, the style was dry and at times difficult to get through. So, whilst the book is not an entertaining read, anyone interested in purchasing quality stocks should definitely have a look at this book.