Customer Reviews

Investment Biker: Around the World with Jim Rogers

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is a travel book, not a financial book, period. It's 90% travel to 10% international finance/investment 101. And it's interesting because Jim gives us a glimpse of the current, recent and distant-pasts of these exotic and intriguing places he visits on his motorcycle journey which spanned 22 months. He didn't look up influential people in the places he visited. He writes about his conversations and experiences from people he "bumped into" during his trip. That's where one learns what a place is really like. He also "put his bike down" a couple of times, and spent a lot of time wrenching on it. He's no schlep.

A success on Wall Street, he has a lot of knowledge about many different parts of the world in a historical, and "future possiblility" sense in the political, economic, and cultural context. Because his experiences on this journey, which comprise this book were penned in the early 1990s, the reader can: see if Jim was right about his take on the future of these nations. Overall he's on track.

For example, the rise of Islamic extremism in poor Islamic countries that have been left behind in the technological advances and globalization of the planet. Religious resurgences in the former Soviet republics, the lack of common sense and wastefulness of the communistic system, and the then-and-now shrinking of our world via telecommunications, freer international trade, regulations, technology, and business/trade agreements.

For the ten-percent of the book that discusses general international investment, for the layman he discusses U.S. Gold and monetary policy, that are short and easy to read, as well as basic Monetary policy and Macro-economic functions. How does someone buy and sell currency? What do folks look for when the invest in a nation? Why do some countries have currency and foreign exchange controls? And, what are the positives and negatives of these monetary policies?

One historical insight Jim noted on his long trek across Russia and the former Soviet republics on his bike is that communism and Stalin in the Soviet Union were greatly helped by the invasion of Germany in WWII. Hypothetical of course, but what if Germany hadn't attacked the USSR which led to the deaths of 1/6th of the Soviet population? The invasion, loss of life, hardship and subsequent "heroic" victory helped the USSR substantially. In addition to defeating the Germans, the Soviet's victory meant the subjugation of Eastern Europe, which enabled it to extract its resources and industries which the USSR didn't immenselyviously this helped Stalin tyrannical. How long would Stalin's tyannical murder spree, with his own people starving in the 1920s, have lasted with out it? His forever-lasting economic policies were not sound, as we found out in 1991. With the subsequent victory in '45, he was a "hero." The glue that held this multi-ethnic and geographically gargantuan empire together until is collapse in 1991.

Many of his insights about where the U.S. economy and culture are headed are worthy of being considerate of. In the last several decades the U.S. currency has lost a full 1/3 of its value. Why? What is the result, both good and bad? Find out here. Jim also notes, from a rational investor standpoint that the American economy is past its glory days, and like every other nation or culture in history it will diminish in the same likes of the British and Roman Empires as examples. According to Jim, it has already begun. The world changes. Demographics change. Cultures and populations change over time. Our world and its history culturalism and not static.

Multi-cultralism: good, right? Wrong. We simply don't know. It hasn't worked anywhere else in the world. It may very well (or may not) cause a lot of problems in the United States in the future after we're dead. Multi-culturalism is a natural demographic historical process that has affected, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, Italy, Rwanda, Switzerland, Nigeria, China, Canada, and Latin America (among many more). Americans are too myopic to realize what ethnic, linguistic, and geographical "nationalism" can become over decades and centuries. He points out correctly the deep similarities of the folks in Alaska, the Yukon Territories, and Pacific Northwest in the U.S. What does the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia have in common with DC and Ottawa? Not much. But they do have much in common with each other.

He explained some international investment and financial models, so the layman can understand what he's saying. It's a presursor to an International finance/investment Intro class. This is why it's not a financial book. Many of his friends at "Worth" and "Money" magazine, and Wall Street (even Peter Lynch), gave a sound-bite for this book. But it won't attract the type of folks who'd read it, because it's a Travel Book and travelers read travel books, not investment books (generally speaking). So, why is Lynch's "Beating the Street" put in the same category as "Investment Biker?" Because the person in charge apparantley hasn't studied much Marketing....

He's gotta a biker-like name, Jim Rogers. He's wearing a leather jacket and chaps and has a smile on his face in the company of a good looking girlfriend. After he returned home from this trip, he drove his motorbike to Alaska. He's a biker at heart and schrewd investor in mind. Jim and Pirsig out to get together. Boy, wouldn't that be a book?

What made this book appealing to me is Roger's historical, political, social, and financial take on every country he went through. Like it or not, assets, such as a cow, translate into money and the money then translates into another cow. If readers don't understand the significance of money, credit, banking and the 20th century debate between Schumpeter and Keynes, they aren't going to get as much from this book.

Another thing about Rogers is that he's a trader who in the short term can sound like an alarmist. He has a marvelously comprehensive world view, known as a top down model in the business of investing, and he isn't afraid to risk his capital and then turn on a dime. He'll reverse his investment from short to long in a heartbeat and usually win. A microscopic number of people are able to do this successfully. I repeat, he is not a buy and hold long term investor.

He's highly energetic and capable of putting in a prodigious amount of time researching questions in order to improve his model of assumptions which dictate his investment expectations. While he waxes eloquently on the romantic aura of spending the night in the Sahara and on the colors of the light show in Siberia in contrast with the technicolor collage of the homes and gardens there, he was clearly more interested in buying low and selling high. Notice how he went for the beer and banking stocks; also the local power company provided if there wasn't excessive government regulation.

As for Tabitha and the surrounding scenery Jimmy was doin' the best with what he's got. Like many men he lacks a full understanding of women, he just isn't programmed that way. The same can be said about women re men, but that's another subject. Sending her to mechanic's scholl was original thinking. The boy is on the cutting edge.

The border crossing problems he describes are identical to those recounted by Keith Richburg, a black liberal American who worked on the Nairobi desk for the Washington Post, and wrote "Out of America", a tale about his stint in the heart of darkness.

A great book. My German girlfriend, who travels on the cheap to out of the way places, loved this book. My hats off to Rogers for having the courage to do it, and to include his girlfriend.

Jim Rogers is well-known to viewers of CNN and for having been, with Geroge Soros, the manager of the Quantum Fund for many years, the top performing mutual fund of its time, turning out a 34% annualized return for many years. I've read Soros's books also, and he has high praise for Rogers, saying he was a great idea man.

I have found certain aspects of Rogers' investing style interesting. He has a knack for detecting social trends in advance of the influence this would have on the stock. He did this by subscribing to and reading something like 90 mass-market magazines and trade publications and looking for trends. For example, years ago, when the "natural look" was sweeping the country and women were shunning make-up, he saw this and shorted Avon Cosmetics. The stock was trading around 80 or 90 at the time and was still considered a solid company. He covered his short two years later when the stock was below 10 bucks. Not too bad.

Rogers' travelogue isn't a typical traver-writer's story, since he is so focused on the economics of the different countries, but I didn't mind that at all as I am an international investor myself, and wanted to hear his observations on these countries.

For example, he finds Botswana, north of South Africa, a good bet for investors since it is equally as resource and mineral rich as South Africa, but without all the racial and tribal problems it and other African countries has. The country is mostly one tribe but the other two main minority tribes get along well so the country lacks the tribal tensions that have led to all out civil wars in other regions of the continent. Furthermore, he notes that both political parties are solidly capitalistic and want a prosperous stock market.

This is just one example of the interesting observations Rogers makes as he travels around the world on his motorcycle. There are many more of these in the book, so I would recommend this book to anybody with an interest in international investing. The compelling reason for this approach is that the US market is acting so toppy and PE's are at historical highs. However, if you are knowledgeable about other markets in the world, it is possible to find investment opportunities elsewhere in countries whose markets are not so over-valued.

be advised that "...on the road with JR" and "...around the world with JR" are in fact the SAME book. (hardcover / paperback)

Jim Rogers, the multi-talented Wall Street investor, and his girlfriend take a twenty-two month trip over six continents to experience both the scenery and the economies in countries around the world...on motorcycles. It seems that Jim is as good of a writer as he is an investor as he paints colorful pictures of the scenery on his adventure and explains some of his craziest encounters in humorous dialogue. While he focuses on the happenings of his trip, he also explores the interworkings of the economies of the places he visits. While this information is quite informative, it's not nearly as entertaining as his journey. Jim and his girlfriend Tabitha run into several obstacles during their adventure, from sinking in the Sahara desert to being chased by one of their money-hungry guides with a knife. Kangaroos, flat tires, and lack of gas stations were sometimes a problem, too. Overall, this is a humorous diary of a two-year trip around the world that's well worth the read.

This is easily one of the top 10 best investing/finance books that I've ever read. I would rank it right up there with other classics such as Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, the Market Wizards series by Schwager, etc.

Rogers gives you a historical, social, financial and political perspective on the world that you won't get elsewhere. He lives in the world of how things are, rather than how we hope they should be. He has the ability to step back from the crowd, analyze a situation, compare it to historical tendencies and make logical investment decisions.

For example, when the Japanese market in the early 90's went from 40,000 to 30,000 he was asked if now is the time to buy. He saw on the front page of a newspaper that golf memberships were still selling for a million dollars. It didn't sound like much of a bottom to him (the market now is at 11,000).

(Similar comparisons could be made about the US market now)

I also really enjoyed the travel stories (border crossings, bribing guards, adventures in Africa, romance in the Sahara, the famous bird market in China).

The book has everything. High finance, intrigue, romance, history, remote and distant lands, ancient cultures. Truely, a trip of a lifetime!

I have just returned from several weeks in South America, visiting Buenos Aires, Santiago, Patagonia and the desert region of northern Chile. Relating my trip to someone, prompted them to recommend Jim Rodgers book to me and after reading, "Investment Biker", allow me to recommend it to you. If you travel, want to travel or would be just as happy to simply read about traveling and avoid all that packing...this book is for you.
In 1989, Jim Rodgers and his girl friend, set off to travel on motorcycles around the world. The globe is Mr. Rodgers neighborhood for the next two years. They cross the Sahara, Siberia, float down The Congo River on a barg. Along the way, Jim makes observations about the economic health or lack of it in the areas they visit. He made a fortune in the comodities market so, he knows from whence he speaks. I loved the ride. I plan on reading his follow up, "Adventure Capitilist". Ten years later, he makes the journey in a souped up Mercedes . Beep Beep.

This book is Robert Pirsig meets George Soros. Jim Rogers, gazillionaire of Quantum Fund fame, takes you on a riding and investing adventure around the world. During his travels you'll learn a little about local culture, a little about Jim's investment philosophy (go to where they allow open flows of money - just get there before everyone else) and a little about investment tips. Much of this would be great to have learned 7 or 8 years ago. Indeed, the book sparked my interest in working abroad.

If you enjoyed his later work, Adventure Capitalist, you're sure to like this too. The only knock is that many of his observations are now dated, as his pessimism has grown over time. (Examnple: He's not so bullish on Turkey and parts of Latin America.)

Jim Rogers has done it all and continues marching with a common sense approach. I was in my senior year when a professor required this for reading. Needless to say, Ive read it twice since then. Rogers started the Quantum Fund with George Soros, provides commentary for CNBC and is traveling the world again. In this book he sheds light on the then possible and eventual economic collapse of Asia. This highly reccomended for anyone investing in U.S. or abroad. I place this book next to text by Peter Lynch and Ben Graham. Happy investing.

From March of 1990 to August of 1992, Jim Rogers and his friend Tabitha took a marathon motorcycle trip on two BMW motorcycles. By the end, they had logged over 65,000 miles on each bike, and had traveled through Europe, the Middle East, Nepal, China, Siberia, Russia, Europe (again), western & southern Africa, three-quarters of the edge of Australia, South America, Central America, and North America.

The record of this extraordinary trip, told from the perspective of Jim Rogers, is _Investment Biker: Around the World with Jim Rogers_.

Jim Rogers made a fortune on Wall Street in the 1980s when he & George Soros ran the Quantum Fund. He is interested in international investing, and the story is definitely told from the perspective of someone who is interested in investing and making money. This sometimes makes the book slow and Rogers' focus a bit single-minded.

On the positive side, Rogers gives brief historical backgrounds of most of the places he visits, and he is one of those few authors who describes not just what a place is like right now, but what direction it seems to be going. As he goes through various locales, he often stops by local banks and stock markets to see if he can invest, but he also stays are regular places, eats regular food, and talks to regular people. It is clear that his large cash reserves made the trip much easier than it might have been otherwise, but at the same time many of the risks, adverse conditions, and long days were things that no amount of cash could help, and he & Tabitha still persevered.

One of the things I liked a lot about this book were Rogers' observations about the people and countries along the way. His discussion about health (especially women's health) in Siberia was eye-opening and hair-raising, his observations about the historical economics and current vivacity of different Southern & Central American countries are thought provoking, and his comments about the difference in temperament between those in the capitals of the U.S. and Canada ("joiners and backslappers") versus those in the sparsely settled hinterlands ("loners and mavericks") are very true.

There are parts of the book where it is quite slow, especially the section where they are traveling through sub-Saharan Africa. I really wish there had been more pictures.

Rogers writes that above almost all else, his trip taught him that mankind as a whole will find a way to adapt and persevere in almost any situation. His long-term outlook is very optimistic, but his short-term expectations are both pessimistic and a bit short-sighted. While Rogers does understand just how quickly the world can change, he does not seem to understand how long the countervailing force of inertia can keep things the same.

All in all, a very eye-opening & thought-provoking book. DON'T read it if you are looking for a 100% guaranteed guide to either travel or investing, but DO read it if you are looking for an engaging story about a multi-year trip that most of us would never have the time or inclination for, but that is still fun to read about.