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Donald

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October 23, 2017 Audiobook By The Wall Street Journal cover art

Bad performance

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
1 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-23-17

The series was done by a new narrator today. The recording appears to have went through a program to remove spaces between words. I checked my device to see if it was set for either 2x or 1/2x. It was on 1x. Some TV commercials use the same technique. But I am not aware of a TV program that does it.

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That was a good one now which book is next

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-13-17

Any additional comments?

The author has done a wonderful job describing successful investors and traders.

If you want to be a trader then I recommend “Reminiscences of a Stock Operator”, a hard copy book on chart reading, a hard copy book on Japanese candlesticks, “One Good Trade”, and “Prop Traders Chronicles.” For those that do not want to compete on an international level, then look for something local like Edward and Jones.

If you want to be a passive investor then the current fad is investing 60% in the SP500 index and 40% in bonds. The advice is decades old and explained in chapters 2 and 6.

If you want to know more about some of the potential personal pitfalls in trading or investing then Great Courses offers “When Psychology and Economics Collide” and “The Little Book of Behavioral Investing.”

If you are interested in the big picture then a story on national economics is in “Age of Turbulence”, “Why Nations Fail”, and “Capital in the 21st Century.”

For the general public books like “How I became a Quant” or the Hedge Fund Market Wizard series will come across as advance topics.

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1 person found this helpful

Screwed Audiobook By Thom Hartmann cover art

Politics

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 05-21-16

Any additional comments?

This is a book with a political message. The author likes the policies of Roosevelt and bashes the policies of Reagan and Bush.
1. I agree that the rich are getting richer. Progressive taxes (taxes go up as income goes up) are one approach. The book Capital in the 21 Century does a better job describing tax strategies to reduce income disparity.
2. “The Bush war is government money that is not spent on schools, roads, etc. that provide a return on investment.” The 1040 instructions from the IRS have the top three outlays as 1) 42% Social Security, Medicare, and other retirements, 2) 22% National Defense, Veterans, and foreign affairs, and 3) 22% on Social programs. Perhaps schools and roads are in the remaining 13%. Or perhaps they are state/county/city expenditures that are not part of the federal budget. The redistribution of money (from one person’s pocket to another) is not the same as earning a return on an investment located in a financial account.
3. A job at an automotive plant at $60/hr for five hours is around the average pay for a Chinese worker making mobile phones will earn in a month. Pay is relative. An autoworker’s pay is less than a CEO and more than a Chinese mobile phone worker.
The book was written around 2007.
Consider reading a biography on Roosevelt and Bush.

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Habits of Highly Successful Forex Traders Audiobook By Carter Coombes cover art

Look elsewhere

Overall
1 out of 5 stars
Performance
2 out of 5 stars
Story
1 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-29-16

Any additional comments?

If new to trading then begin with a classic; Reminiscences of a Stock Operator. For better behavior try Behavioral Economics: When Psychology and Economics Collide. Then buy a hard copy book on technical analysis (chart patterns). A story of modern day traders is in Prop Traders Chronicles or one of the Market Wizard series.

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A haunting tale

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-27-15

Any additional comments?

The narrator is great and the story is of a time long ago. A long time ago there were no food stamps. There was no welfare. There was no social security. There was no post office. Jobs were scarce. Times were hard.
Even in the hard times England had the rich. The rich had the gold. And the rich made the rules. And the rules determined who went to jail.
Chapter 1 contains a poor man who is being offered a hot meal by his daughter. She has good news to share and wants it to be a happy day.
Chapter 2 contains an opportunity to buy some bacon from the income derived from delivering a single letter.
Chapter 3 contains interactions with goblin in a haunted building. Thus the reason the title begins the description of "A haunting tale." I usually associate "haunting" and “goblins” with Halloween rather than either Christmas or New Years.

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Millionaire Traders Audiobook By Kathy Lien, Boris Schlossberg cover art

Scaling in and out.

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-13-15

Any additional comments?

Of the various trading books this one is above average in describing scaling into or out of a trade.

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4 people found this helpful

History rhymes

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-15-15

Any additional comments?

History rhymes is the reason that individuals like older investment books like “Reminisces of a Stock Operator” which covers before the 1929 stock market crash or “The Book of Investing Wisdom” which covers some of the time after 1929 and before 1980, or this book which was written in 1990, or a more recent book such as “Hedge Fund Market Wizards.”

Chapter 6 is an introduction to technical chart patterns. Newer books will have many more patterns.

Chapter 7 is an introduction to value investing. Value investing is an investment style favored by Warren Buffet and there are books about his style.

Chapter 10 is an introduction to currency, interest rates, and commodities. All three can be traded not with a stock broker but with a commodity broker. These come with leverage such as a penny change in the price of a barrel of oil may make your account go up or down by $10.00. Jesse Livermore in Reminisces of a Stock Operator did some commodity trading. Implementing a trading system in the 1980’s using moving averages was described in Turtle Traders.

Chapter 16 mentions deflation (prices falling) or inflation (prices rising). The book Panic of 1907 describes the introduction of the Fed. Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan provides newer insight. A book such as End Game was written after the Great Recession.

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6 people found this helpful

The Morning Read from The Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2014 Audiobook By The Wall Street Journal cover art

Different speaker

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
2 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 06-19-14

Any additional comments?

In the book "Skill with People", Les Giblin says that we retain 20% of what we Hear (page 9). The book doesn't say if this still occurs when spaces have been removed between words. I appreciate the space between the end of one story and the headline of the next. If I had wanted the words to arrive faster, I would select 2X on the Shuttle.

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Life application

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-06-13

What did you love best about The Mind and the Brain?

Experience is a good teacher. This book explains why. OCD patients have a bad habit. This book describes the four step process to break the bad habit. Learn how a stroke patient can regain some lost functionality. Learn how some students with language problems overcame them. Learn what some serious musicians facing career ending decisions done to overcome the struggle.
You could summarize the above in less than 30 minutes. But it would not include the history or the series of scientific experiments that changed the thinking of the scientific community.
Some Christians believe in “free will”. Others believe in predestination. The author makes the case for free will but from a Buddhist perspective.
And while many of the Ten Commandments contain “shall not”, the scriptures also contain some things to do. Philippians 4:8…Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest… think on these things.

What other book might you compare The Mind and the Brain to and why?

Talent is Overrated. Some of the research presented by both books blends together.

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This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage Audiobook By Ann Patchett cover art

Wrong religion

Overall
1 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Story
1 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-27-11

What would have made This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage better?

I remember the story where a plant was compared with a marrigage. Given sun, water, and fertilizer in the right amounts, the plant thrives. But when oven cleaner was sprayed on one of the leaves, the leaf turned brown and died. Ann's background sounds like a number of leaves that were sprayed with oven cleaner.
Also, I was expecting the Christmas story to carry a Christian message. Instead, this one contains a Budda message.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage?

The no ceremony marriage. Religion.

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