This little book might possibly be of some value to someone but I found it to be very superficial treatment of an important topic. One of the few investment books I would gladly loan without expectation of a return.

Value investing, in my opinion, is the most logical way of investing. This investment style is very simple to understand yet so few investors and professional money managers follow it. Value investing boils down to these principles:

* Buy stocks when they are on sale
* Know the value to determine if the stock is on sale
* Invest long-term because it's a marathon, not a sprint

The authors did an excellent job of describing this style of investing to readers. Some of the most successful investors, such as Warren Buffett, practiced value investing for decades. If it worked for them, it should at least be considered by other investors.

- Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

This book opens by implying that when people shop for meat, electrical goods, and other products, they are always on the lookout for good 'value' items that are 'on sale': buy beef when it's cheap, switch to pork when it's cheap etc. In contrast; when buying stocks, people tend to buy "fashionable" stocks at high prices. While the latter is true, I'm not sure that the former is true at all.

I think people are just as likely to buy top-of-the-range food items because everyone else is, and are inclined to buy the "sizzle" rather than the "sausage". The other problem with this analogy is that people are not generally buying consumer items as an investment -- to sell on at a higher price in the future, or to derive an income from.

Nevertheless, the point of the analogy is to encourage you to buy umbrellas when it's sunny (and no-one relasises their true value) and sell them when it's rainy (and everyone wants one). This theory is totally sound, as long as:

1) You don't buy a faulty batch of umbrellas, which will never realise their true value.
2) It rains in the not-too-distant future, ideally in line with when you (or the weather presenter) forecast it to rain.

I have found two problems with value investing in it's simplest form, which I tested using real historic data in Stock Fundamentals On Trial: Do Dividend Yield, P/E and PEG Really Work?. First: that fundamental ratios such as Dividend Yield, P/E, and PEG are not necessarily good indicators of future prospects (i.e. they don't guarantee fault-free umbrellas). Second: Analysts' forecasts can be spectacularly wrong, as 2007-2008 has demonstrated.

Despite my reluctance to embrace value investing (and to wait a long time for the returns that may or may not materialize), I do believe that this book may be very timely. If ever there was a time when stocks were selling at "on sale" prices in certain sectors, maybe that time is now.

If you think now is the right time to go value-hunting, you will find this book to be an engaging introduction which is accessible to all levels of readership.

Tony Loton, author --
Stock Fundamentals On Trial: Do Dividend Yield, P/E and PEG Really Work?

This book was an easy read that introduced the concepts of value investing very well. It will open up a lot of possibilities for those who take notes. If the reader does not know a single thing about stocks this book will have some concepts that will take some time and practice before fully understanding them. That is why I would recommend getting another book that defines stock market terms and concepts in a beginner's format in conjunction with this one. There are some websites online, such as ABOUT.COM that offers a helpful "class" on stocks that will be most beneficial.

I thought this was an outstanding book for the beginner investor to help them establish good trading habits early on, but will leave them wanting more. To become truly successful at trading, more care and education will be necessary. In no way was this a magic book of knowledge that will leave the reader capable of making millions overnight, which, by the way, isn't what this book is about.

This book is HIGHLY recommended for the beginner investor, and recommended for the intermediate investor.

This a very clear and concise book--another one, all of which seem lately to contain the same wisdom: buy low (and buy smart). I'm trying. You can still pay too much, or buy too soon, or catch the wrong end of a falling knife, etc. But it's certainly a far better idea than taking hot tips from e-mails, or from brokers.

I learned from a broad range of investing books, and I got this one primarily because it was a short book. I'm only about half way through it, but I think it is very well written. It has some important information on how to approach researching a company. One of the glaring failures is how rapidly the trading environment can change. The book specifically tells investors to avoid China, and I've been making a lot of money investing in my first Chinese company. Read and learn, but ultimately decide for yourself on what you want to buy.

Great book as an introduction to the principles of value investing as laid out by Benjamin Graham. Very easy to read. With about 140 pages, you can get through this book in a couple of hours.

I'd use this as a warm up book to Intelligent Investor.

The author states that over a long period of time value companies have outperformed the growth companies. You buy a value company when you pay less its intrinsic value (Buy Stocks On Sale). The key aspect of value investing is an ability to analyze financial statements of the company. The author explains, in the very friendly manner, such indicators of an intrinsic value like Operating Income, Current Assets vs Total Assets (and liabilities), Operating Margin, EBITD Margin, "Margin of Safety" and so on.

The author declares that you can reduce the risk of loss in case of one stock's failure by building a diversified portfolio. However, when it comes to emerging markets, the authors suggest bewaring of them because of the frequent political disasters in particular countries. I do not agree with the author's advice of totally avoiding emerging markets. As an ETF of U.S. stocks like SPDR Trust (SPY) saves from one company's failure, an ETF that includes most of emerging countries, like iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEF) can save from a failure in one of the countries. Alternatively, you can build a portfolio of stocks in different emerging countries (as if you do this for U.S. stocks) by yourself without using an ETF or an index mutual fund.

The author also proclaims that cognitive psychology explains why some investors make huge losses because of fear, panic, or following the crowd when it comes to hot sexy stocks. If you like the topic of how cognitive psychology affects investors, I can recommend "The Only Three Questions That Count: Investing by Knowing What Others Don't" by Kenneth L. Fisher.

Don't let the small size of this book fool you! For anyone who is looking to build, over time, a valueable (read: multi-million dollar) portfolio of stock investments; this book might be all you would need. This book started a path for me that lead me to works by value-investing notable as Benjamin Graham, David Dodd, Mary Buffett, and more. After reading very famous texts by the above authors and more, I decided to revisit this work. I am floored by what Chris Browne presents here now I have a much more through understanding of the details.

My advice is to BUY BOTH THE BOOK AND AUDIO-CD. Play the audio cd in your car or I-POD a few times to get the general idea. From there, take the text and follow the CD; highlight any ideas that grab you attention as well as any tips/techniques that he gives (particularly at the end of the book). You may not want to delve into the chapters on reading foreign financial statements--a little advanced for the beginner, I assure you!

One you have a good understanding--get started. As I write this (02/2008), there are an abundance of good values in the market. I'm currently investigating a couple of wonder-investments as we speak. I argue this: anyone thinking of buying this book should buy it ASAP! As Chis Browne would say, there are too many stocks on sale....."...and you want to buy stocks when they are on sale".

the book is good as far as you need them only to review the basic principle of value investing. the author explain it well with examples. but you will be hard pressed trying to put these principles into practice

Very clear and concise explanation about how to determine the value of a stock. Details the qualities to look for in finding cheap, undervbalued stocks that are likely to rise in value. A very good introduction to value investing.

A glossary and index would be helpful

Decent book, well done and executed, but I have to say, if the subject of Value Investing is interesting to you, stick with Ben Graham's Intelligent Investor. Why go anywhere else?

The "Little Book" Collection is a nice effort to bring sound investment advice to the average Joe like me in an understandable language, no bloviating here!

Terms like EBITDA, P/E Ratio, Cash Flow or Return on Capital sound frightening but Browne succeeds at presenting them in an accessible way, these concepts are important for those looking to give a fair treatment to their hard earned bucks. Value Investing, as Browne suggests based on tons of studies presented in the book, has outperformed the markets in the long run, so there is no reason for not assuming responsibility of your money and give a long term try to Value, especially if you are among those like me that believe that you can make money by buying $1 dollar bills for 60 cents.

For newbies in Value Investing and Contrarian strategies Joel Greenblatt's "Little Book that Beats the Market" is a perfect complement. For those who want to keep building knowledge I suggest to look for David Dreman's "Contrarian Investments Strategies" and "The Education of a Speculator" from Victor Niederhoffer, which is the best book on the Contrarian approach to investing.

I am an Investment Advisor and after 12 years of experience I have confirmed what has been in my mind for years. The Value approach does work. "Patience is a virtue" and a well paid one if you develope it.

Ramón A. Rivera-Ramos(Monchi)

The Little Book of Value Investing is billed as an introduction to value investing--as a quick way to learn the tenets of this particular investment style and to lay a groundwork for either choosing a fund to manage your money or for further research. Instead it is a superficial look at value investing, quickly glossing over some very important aspects of choosing a company, failing to warn of the potential pitfalls that may arise, and presenting value investing as the only `safe' way to invest, which it is not. A value investing approach can fail in the market as well, and this book more or less refuses to acknowledge that.

This is one of those investing books I put in the "avoid" category for the simple reason that it provides just enough information to go out and get yourself hurt in the stock market. It skims the surface of many basic value investing tenets without going into enough detail to really help someone choose a company adequately. Worse yet it seems to set someone up perfectly for a "value trap"--a company that appears cheap when you examine it but which ends up performing very poorly for years after you buy it. An example: Browne explains price to earnings and argues that lower is better, advising that one of the primary criteria for value stocks is a low P/E relative to the market. He gives the example of some banks to show a low P/E stock. That's all well and good, but it's important to recognize that financials traditionally have lower P/Es than many other industries. If you really want to find value you need to evaluate a company's P/E relative to its historic price to earnings ratio, as well as compare it to the P/E of it's peers. Buying an integrated oil company at 15 times earnings will seem cheap if you've been looking at stocks with P/Es of 20, but if the company's peers are trading at 10 times earnings it does you little good.

Browne's example seems dangerous to me, as do many others he gives. When advising screening for a low P/E he never mentions a potential pitfall--that low P/E stocks can quickly turn into high P/E stocks if earnings estimates are slashed. A good example of this was homebuilding stocks in late 2006. Some of them were selling at 4 times earnings, but only until the earnings estimates were cut to the point that the P/E ratio suddenly became high and then in some cases ceased to exist as these companies began losing money. Browne's argument that stocks trading close to book value have a margin of safety is also flawed-what if the book value includes a bunch of real estate (again, homebuilders being a prime example) that was purchased high and is now declining in value?

It's not that Browne's advice is bad--it's just that it's limited and very incomplete. I feel it is important when teaching about investing to treat both the benefits AND the risks of a particular style of investing, and Browne fails to do that. Instead he acts as if following the simple methods he sets forth will give you a margin of safety (a la Ben Graham) that is foolproof. It is not.

My biggest problem with the book, however, stems from the fact that only about half of it has anything to do with investing at all. Browne rambles from time to time throughout the first half of the book, touching upon various principles here and there in a more or less disorganized manner. About 2/3 of the way through the book, however, he abandons any actual teaching, and spends most of the last 50 or so pages grinding his personal axes against clients, growth investing, bubbles, and a whole slew of other topics. That part of the book is useless in my opinion, especially since most of it is a rehash of things he ranted on earlier in the book.

When it's all said and done I cannot conceive why anyone would benefit from reading this book. If you're interested and are new to value investing this book, which can be read easily in one sitting, will not provide you the groundwork you need. If you're already a student, or at least a casual observer, of value investing you won't need someone to explain what a P/E ratio is to you and why lower is often better. Skip this one-if you want to learn about value investing there are many books out there that will provide you with the actual groundwork you need without glossing over and dismissing the limitations.

After reading the first book in the "Little Book" series (The Little Book that Beats the Market), this book is a welcome change. It actually has information that one might find useful should he or she want to try value investing on their own. It lays out everything one should look for in a good company -- low debt, high returns on assets, competent management. It outlines how might one do their homework, and avoid some pitfalls.

It's a great beginner's guide to investing. And Browne explains things in a patient way that clearly shows he's been in the business for years and years. It's hard to think he's wrong.

What I found frustrating is that he tells us about how all of the REALLY good value stocks are overseas, but that information and accounting standards are spotty at best, so you're going to have learn German and Japanese and teach yourself international financial accounting standards to get the best deals and returns. Not exactly the domain of the small personal investor.

His tips are useful in screening stocks, and I plan on using them. And his point that finding the real gems in the stock market takes a lot of work rings true. I guess I wish, along with everyone else here, that it wasn't so hard to find the bargain names. So, Mr. Browne loses a star for dousing too much cold water reality on my stock-picking dreams.

Author Brown provides a very readable overview to the topic of value investing. Reading it may not make you the next Warren Buffet, but will give you insights into a more staid but consistently successful method of investing. This is the antithesis of day trading.

Unlike many financial tomes, this one need not come with English subtitles! Each chapter is like a stand-alone essay.

Invest your time wisely by reading, "The Little Book of Value Investing"!!

Here are the basic ABC's of value investing as presented by some grand US master whove been time tested. (Bravo MR. Brown, but you should have stuck to some value investing in Thailand back when, as its worked wonders ever since we met).

Yet here are some of the books shortcomings:
The words Market Capitalization only come up once, as Mr. Brown fails to explain that the market cap. size of a stock more often then value, determines large funds like his to invest in or not. Value funds by definition of their size must ignore some of the best value stocks.!

Mr. Browne no doubt thinks you got to be either a value or a growth stock investor. Value and growth investing, seem mutually exclusive. And while this true in developed markets like the US, as he well explains, this is *not true* in emerging markets -like in Thailand, as just one example. But MR. Brown says he is down on emerging markets; yet to his own peril as many have produced superb returns over the years and no doubt will in the future.

He writes emerging markets are just too dangerous for his taste and outright advocates to stay away from all of them. Buhh...As in the same breath he fails to tell us the reader that developed country's stock markets like the US, have stocks which trade at double the valuation, along with half the earnings growth rate, as compared to most emerging markets. Further Dividend yields are often in the low single digit rate, or 1/3 of emerging markets! Surely cash dividends matter to a value investor. Where is the rational value investor here?

The US dollar has been loosing out as compared to many secondary currencies like Asia's currencies and broad corporate scandals have been coming out of developed markets more then anywhere else this century.

Mr. Browne is a class value investor for the developed world -but has been left behind with the much faster growing areas of the world, where he has little to say. Except stay away. As Mr. Swensen of the Yale Endowment Fund (by far the US's top rated money manager) "Some of the best investments are found in the darkest corners of the world". Tweedy Browne chooses to stay mostly in the polished alleys. Maybe they are just to big and too busy to consider the more rewarding darker alleys? So be it but its not the case of most of us wanting to be true global value investors.


Paul A. Renaud.

This book is well writen and understandable but the proposed method is so complex you need a team of resarchers to make it work.
Don't bother!
M

This is one of those books I like to take out and reread every time I get the urge to buy some high flying stock. Being a value-minded investor like the author this tome is full of basic information about what to look for when buying stocks so that you don't overpay. It also reminds one about the importance of holding onto good investments and letting them grow. (You avoid the tax man and transaction fees as well as enjoy the beauty of compounding.)There is some good basic accounting tidbits one should know before buying individual equities and, in addition, some pointers on what to bear in mind if you choose to hire a professional money manager. All in all it's a nice little book with many time-honored facts.

Even though I am not a value investor (I am a Zwieg growth & value follower), it is still a very interesting book for me to read. The book trivializes value investing and tries very hard to convince the readers that value investing is the way to go, in chapter after chapter on the book in a almost brain washing fashion. I have to give Chris Browne a great deal of credit for explaining the concept of value investing in plain English to the masses. For all the growth investors out there, it is a must read. You can hear the other side of the argument. Maybe, your investment success can then be as enduring as that of the author.

For those just starting out in investing or even long-term investors, "The Little Book of Value Investing" is a worthy addition to your collection. As the title entails, Christopher Browne explains the message and themes of the original value investor of Benjamin Graham. Whether this message is of the concept of a Margin of Safety or walking you thru the balance sheet to understand book value, this book takes some of the gloss off Wall Street and teaches what you need in making a sound investment in the financial markets.

Some of my more favorite chapters are:

Chapter 3 "Belts & Suspenders for Stocks" where the discussion is on the Margin of Safety.

Chapter 11 "Sifting Out the Fool's Gold" where the discussion is on 'when is a bargain not a bargain'.

Chapters 12-15 where the discussion takes one thru the balance sheet.

Chapter 17 "It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint" where the discussion is on the fact that 'It's time in the market, not market timing, that counts'.

And the Afterward "Don't Take My Word for It".

An investment book with not a single table or chart but which in its just over 160 mini book pages distills the lifetime experience of a seasoned US value investor, who applies a global mindset and in his younger days followed in the footsteps of Ben Graham and Warren Buffett in terms of his initial work experience?

Yes, that is exactly what makes this such a pleasurable and valuable read plus an easily learnt education in the basic concepts of value investing and the skillset needed which the writer believes anybody with general investment awareness can apply. Many of the other reviewers take issue with that there is nothing new - the truth is that the book is an excellent exercise in distillation of all his knowledge for people new to the concepts or needing an easy revision course. As the author states several times it is ultimately one of patience and accepting that this is a long term investment approach with "lumpy" performance in realising steady profits rather than graph like upward trends or "star manager" short term approaches and the related volatility they carry, given how the market values shares before recognising their true value by re-rating or being the subject of a bid.

The author has been a value based investor for nearly 40 years and is a partner in a successful US firm Tweedy Browne that only follows this approach. While some of the examples may seem likely to recur easily again (the more conservative accounting followed in certain non-US jurisdictions and the undervalue that produces) there is enough that is still current and valid to make this little tome a very valuable reference work for using by many amateurs like myself. Its mix of matter of fact examples and non-technical jargon make it a real and valuable find.

An investment book with not a single table or chart but which in its just over 160 mini book pages distills the lifetime experience of a seasoned US value investor, who applies a global mindset and in his younger days followed in the footsteps of Ben Graham and Warren Buffett in terms of his initial work experience?

Yes, that is exactly what makes this such a pleasurable and valuable read plus an easily learnt education in the basic concepts of value investing and the skillset needed which the writer believes anybody with general investment awareness can apply. Many of the other reviewers take issue with that there is nothing new - the truth is that the book is an excellent exercise in distillation of all his knowledge for people new to the concepts or needing an easy revision course. As the author states several times it is ultimately one of patience and accepting that this is a long term investment approach with "lumpy" performance in realising steady profits rather than graph like upward trends or "star manager" short term approaches and the related volatility they carry, given how the market values shares before recognising their true value by re-rating or being the subject of a bid.

The author has been a value based investor for nearly 40 years and is a partner in a successful US firm Tweedy Browne that only follows this approach. While some of the examples may seem likely to recur easily again (the more conservative accounting followed in certain non-US jurisdictions and the undervalue that produces) there is enough that is still current and valid to make this little tome a very valuable reference work for using by many amateurs like myself. Its mix of matter of fact examples and non-technical jargon make it a real and valuable find.

If you invest, this book is for you. Easy to read and to the point. You will become a better investor that is for sure.

selecting value stocks. The term has a wonderful sound and has been used by Wall Street to promote trading activity as well as active investors who believe that they can select individual stocks that will outperform the market without taking on extra risk for the expected return.

For 15 years now investors who use index funds and more recently Exchange Traded Funds have been using an index called Value which is a sub set of an asset class. Using this rule based system index investors can and due capture what is termed the value premium. This trait was discovered by Gene Fama and Ken French. Index providers such as Morgan Stanley Capital International have produced indices that capture the value premium that when it occurs produce higher than market returns.

To obtain information on the value premium, I recommend a little book titled How to Make Money in the Stock Market-Buy 2,500 different stocks for $1000 It's a shame to think of how much money investors have lost "investing" in the stock market over the years. In this book a method to capture the value premium is described and model portfolios are given to match your risk preference.

The concepts in the book are all standard value investing fare found anywhere else. I can't really see much that is new here. If it was the first of its kind maybe Id give it 5 stars but its not.

I believe in value investing and it's importance as a componenet of a well rounded asset allocation. The lower betas that usually accompany such stocks can be of added significance for the retired investors who should exercise more caution in the risk/reward area. I found this book worthwhile reading, but probably more than the average investor needs to know about the subject. Recommended for the person who plans on buying individual stocks, everyone else can get a prospectus from Tweedy Brown( Chris Browns company) that will tell them most of what they need to know in a few pages.

In a pithy book, the author recounts some of the famous investors and how they applied the notion of "value investing". Readers with some exposure to the business media would most likely not find any new "value" in this book. It is not a collection of value trading/investing strategies, but more of a clarion call for believing in value investing. But then others have called value investing a potential suckers bet as well. Engaging, partly convincing, but short on new ideas or strategies. An absolute novice will find this book an excellent entry point to the world of value investing (perhaps thats the targeted audience of the book in the first place). Either case, the other "little" book - The Little Book That Beats the Market is a much better "value" for the reader.....

This short book is surely among the most concise, informative investment guides ever written. Christopher H. Browne manages to make stock market investing as simple and straightforward as shopping for groceries. He sketches quickly, but in adequate detail, the main principles of value investing, offers guidance on how to use such basic information as P/E ratios, points the way to free online stock-screening services and, yet, makes no big promises about market success. His message is that value investors who do their homework patiently and thoroughly may expect good returns eventually. Instead of aggressive trading, he emphasizes the virtue of not taking action. We recommend this succinct tutorial to every investor.

This is a great book on value investing. I am a big fan of value investing and adher to the principals in good days and bad days. I am firm believer in buying stocks for less and holding them for a very long time. That said, I would definitely praise any author who gives more insight into principals of value investing.

Chris has done a good job in putting down many basic fundamentals that are the "must to know" for any value investor. Further he has done a great job in telling us that these basic fundamentals are not only "must to know", they are also "enough to know". If you stick to these basics, and follow the principals, you will be succesful. Any more knowledge is waste. Chris has done a really great job in giving us real life examples in plain English. The best one is when he compares the market timers with the car drivers on a conjusted highway. The drivers who keep switching lanes with a hope to beat the traffic are sure to be left behind.

But I would definitely say that Chris has been too emotional while writing this book. While reading, at some places, you will start feeling that this is more of an autobiography. I am certainly impressed by the high profile people who have been part of Chris' career. But then, I do not want to read those facts again and again, in each and every chapter. It is impressive to know that Warren Buffet bought most of his Berkshire shares via author's brokerage firm. But then why should this fact be stated again and again?

Also, this book talks all positive experiences about Chris. I am definitely impressed by him and I have read about him in the past too. But I don't buy the point that 100% of his decisions were correct. I do not believe that he had never failed even in single stock that he purchased. From the book, it seems that whatever steps Chris took, were always good and he never failed in life.

All said, I would recommend this book anytime. This is a "MUST READ" book for any stock investor. When I say "investor", I am not including the "day traders".

Thanks Chris for the wonderful work. I appriciate it

Bhavdeep (Chicago)

I found this book could be summarized with one sheet of paper covering historical ways of looking at value investing. It was more of a trip down memory lane for the author as he reminisced about famous investors he knew of rather than successful value investing strategies that can be applied today. The first half of the book could easily have been condensed into one chapter and I felt the second half should have been expanded upon but instead left the reader wanting more details that maybe the author did not have.

This is an excellent book for the novice or experienced investor. The new investor cannot go wrong by following the advice contained in the book and the experienced investor will benefit from a review of the sound principles of investing.

Wonderfully easy book to read and yet full of good
advice. Plenty of tips on what to look for when implementing
a value trading strategy. Also a very good introduction
to Balance/Income/Asset sheet reading.

In a perfect world markets would offer stocks at prices equaling their value, but they are not and do not. Value investors look for companies that are trading for less than their intrinsic worth. Stocks trading at low p/e ratios, low price-to-book values, or for less than their 'take out' price can be value candidates. Many of these stock prices represent temporary mis-pricings, and that is the point. Patience is a strategy that rewards the value investor as prices eventually adjust upwards to reflect their true worth.

Most investors looking for outsized gains focus on companies whose prospects are grand but also widely recognized. Growth investors and momentum investors are inclined to push prices well beyond a company's underlying value and ignore the importance of consistent, if not explosive, growth, and its appreciating assets. It is instructive that the author begins his review of a company by examining its balance sheet for what it is currently worth. By contrast growth investors will focus on a company's income statement for what it may become in the future.

Finding a "margin of safety" gives the value investor the confidence to weather the times when his style of investing is out of favor. That margin of safety is foremost in being able to buy solid companies on sale. Owning a diverse portfolio of easily understood businesses with predictable income and a pattern of insider buying or corporate stock buybacks re-enforces that margin of safety (I would also add-in companies that consistently increase their dividends). Identifying suitable value stocks means avoiding cheap stocks of companies that are over-leveraged, facing increased competition, dealing with unfunded pensions, obsolescence or accounting issues. These are the value traps that add nothing to your portfolio prospects.

Many of these ideas we have heard before. Browne's accomplishment is to present them in an accessible way. His long tenure as a career investor and money manager and his specific anecdotes got a long way in maintaining his credibility as an advocate of this investing style. Academic studies that support the value approach are noted in the final chapter and bibliography. This is a short, easily read, and informative introduction to the topic.

Key point in this book is your ability to look at prior history, industry averages, and how to do your due diligence before you buy. Then you have your normal number crunching and ratios. This is one of the best books on how to make profitable moves by picking the right stocks at the right time.

Other must read investment books suggestion:
Investing, Without Losing (ISBN 0978834607)

Unfortunately, this book has to follow the amusing and rewarding "Little Book" of Joel Greenblatt in Wiley's series. Therefore, unfavorable and perhaps unfair comparison is unavoidable. I do respect the experience and attempt of Christopher H. Browne to write a small book on value investing, but I feel he comes up short. If it was a friendly talk at a club you could find it mildly entertaining, but if you are looking for value, well...

First, value investing is not a strategy where a magic formula or a magic list could break an entirely new ground. Yet alone a "Little Book". You read just one value investing book and "Buy Stocks On Sale", "Margin of Safety", "First, Do Not Lose Money", "Second, Do Not Lose Money" pretty much become recurring and familiar ideas. There is no magic ratio, magic anything in analyzing income statements, earnings predictions, book value etc, it takes hard, thorough work, experience, patience and knowledge. You have to know what to know. You have to know what and where to look at. You have to know why. You have to know what, how and where numbers can be altered with GAAP or else. In this regard a reader could have expected at least a general(novel?)framework, a way of thinking instead of the presented essay-type, list-type ("I also look at...") writing. Or, like in Joel Greenblatt's book, we could have been entertained with a "Jason's Gum Shop"-type metaphore/concept.

Second, a reader of this book is either a convert and firm believer of value investing (Buffett, Munger, Fisher books pack the shelf), looking for additional ideas, NEW concepts or aspects and will find nothing new here. Or, the reader is a beginner or a freshly burned growth (hype)investor entertaining a fresh start and will be turned down by a dry, uninspiring, unexciting, somewhat disorganized book. Quite possibly this reader gives up, will leave this book unfinished and subscribes to yet another advisory service or dumps her/his money into an index or mutual fund. That is, not many readers would be enriched here.

Third, value investing is truly a winning strategy. So do not give up or get discouraged by this book. (Phil Town, David Dreman, Mary Buffett, Philip A. Fisher are good starts.)

If you don't think this book is all you need to invest intelligently, you will NEVER find one.Why?

I have read Ben Graham's book; Warren Buffett's essay; John Neff on investing; David Dreman; Seth Clarman, "margin of safety"; Value Investing Today; Marty Witman's book; Brandes' Value Investing; David Swensen's....etc, and hundreds of annual reports form value guys..trying to find some "magic formula". What I rearned..there is no such formula!!!!!!

What did I realize?
1) there is only a range for intrinsic value, and you want to buy when the price is below or near the lower end of the range. "roughly right, than precisely wrong", "margin of safety".

2). Use various models to figure out the range, DCF (used by Private Cap Mgmt, Longleaf), P/E multiple, P/B mulitple etc, and importantly apraisal multiple (M&A or buyout). Be conservative on variables....safe to use normalized earnings, margin, growth rate...etc....power of reversion to the mean.....optimism is the enemy.

3). Read 10 years of annual, and all the companies in an industry...and you will develop industry/company specific knowledge base....and you will know "roughly" when a company is under/over priced....comapre to historical average.....wait for the obvious pitch..

4). Lastly and most importantly...do your work and number crunching...no magic formula!!!!! and you learn while doing your work....read a lot like Buffett and Munger and all other value guys do.

As reviewed and posted on my blog [...] on 9/16/06:

The Little Book of Value Investing does a fine job explaining the way to find stock values and beat the market. Bargain hunters look for attractively low P/E ratios and/or book values. Although the Value Investing book doesn't offer the simplicity of the first book's companion website, it still presents a fairly simple approach to follow.

When I read The Little Book that Beats the Market I was so sold on the strategy that I switched brokers and dumped a lot of tech stocks I had been sitting on for the past 6 years. That was a couple of months ago and I haven't taken the time to reinvest yet...until yesterday. I finally forged ahead and used the first book's website to identify some good candidates. I then did some quick research on their history and products so that I'd get to know them better. Finally, I reviewed some of the ratios and other metrics outlined in the Value Investing book and made my first two new investments. I plan to pick 8-10 additional companies this way over the next few weeks. Here's to hoping my picks bear fruit!

1. 4 stars is slightly above average but not overtly hyped as the best.

2. Book offers valuable concepts that should be taken to heart for any investor.

3. Book really offers no major details or plans on value investing. Just concepts, philosophy, etc. But for the price it's ok.

For more recommended books, see my other reviews.

a very simple quick read that gave the readers great insight and very practical. another great book that i am reading right now.."think like a billionaire, become a billionaire" by Scot Anderson. this author has an amazing ability to capture the readers attention with his humor and character! A must read!!

I love books that are quick reads and this one was a definite good buy. I would suggest anyone that's looking for a quick investment-based, principled book to buy this as well as a book called Investing Without Losing. These two books are a great quick read for those daily train commute or plane ride. (In my case, both.)

Concise enough that it can be read on an airplane journey, the book offers a lifetime of lessons from one of the masters. I found the writing to be insightful and entertaining w/the wittiness of the author as he explains the principles of outperformance. Certainly a book I will return to often for ideas and guidance regarding my investments.

There are a lot of best selling "value investing for dummies" type books out there these days, but most of them recycle the same old cliches while underestimating the reader's ability to comprehend complicated investing approaches. The Little Book of Value investing does neither. It is professionally written by someone who'se been in the game a long time and is willing to share important lessons without dumbing them down too much. I thoroughly enjoyed my first read of this book and find myself regularly flipping through it to generate new investment ideas.

If you are new to value investing this book covers the basics. The research on the outperformance of value investing is well documented and if you follow the advice in this book you will do well in your stock investments.

I was curious how the Tweedy Browne mutual funds peformed though so I went to their web site. In each period - 1, 3, 5, 10 and since inception, the returns after taxes on distributions of the Tweedy Browne American Value have failed to beat the S&P 500 index or the Russell 2000 index. When I started investing 10 years ago I read a lot of books by many authors without checking their record first. And, as a result I made a lot of expensive mistakes. Just something to keep in mind when choosing whose advice to listent to!

I still give this book 4 stars because I believe the author gives sounds advice. However I would recommend "The Essays of Warren Buffett, Lessons for Corporate America", the classic "The Intelligent Investor" by Ben Graham, and "Contrarian Investment Strategies in the Next Generation" by David Dreman.

Outstanding! Finally a book that teaches value investing in language that anyone can understand.
If you invest or trade in the stock market this is a classic that you must read and have on your shelf.
Value investing is a way to reap significant stock market returns and this book will prove to you how you too can understand the essentials of finding companies that are value gold minds.
Enjoy this wonderful read and profit from its lessons!

This is a great book that all investors should read, whether you're an individual who dabbles in the market or a long time pro. The fundamental concepts presented are easy to understand and crucially important. Put this book on your shelf and open it up every few years to recapture the timeless advice.