The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook (The Wall Street Journal Guidebooks) [Paperback]

Dave Kansas (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0307236994 | ISBN-13: 978-0307236999 | Publication Date: December 27, 2005

Unravel the Mysteries of the Financial Markets—the Language, the Players, and the Strategies for Success

Understanding money and investing has never been more important than it is today, as many of us are called upon to manage our own retirement planning, college savings funds, and health-care costs. Up-to-date and expertly written, The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook provides investors with a simple—but not simplistic—grounding in the world of finance. It breaks down the basics of how money and investing work, explaining:

• What must-have information you need to invest in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds

• How to see through the inscrutable theories and arcane jargon of financial insiders and advisers

• What market players, investing strategies, and money and investing history you should know

• Why individual investors should pay attention to the economy

Written in a clear, engaging style by Dave Kansas, one of America’s top business journalists and editor of The Wall Street Journal Money & Investing section, this straightforward book is full of helpful charts, graphs, and illustrations and is an essential source for novice and experienced investors alike.

Get your financial life in order with help from The Wall Street Journal.



Look for:

• The Wall Street Journal Complete Personal Finance Guidebook
• The Wall Street Journal Personal Finance Workbook
• The Wall Street Journal Complete Real Estate Investing Guidebook

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Neither a hands-on investment manual nor a basic introduction to investing, Kansas's book straddles the divide between those two extremes, but has trouble finding a comfortable spot. Kansas tries too hard to reach casual readers, as when he compares the New York Stock Exchange to a lemonade stand or a trading specialist to a traffic cop, two simple analogies that give way to a stream of jargon and technical details that may overwhelm readers unfamiliar with big finance. Luckily, Kansas never strays far from the wry humor he uses to enliven the finer points. For example, in a discussion of the high risks of venture capital, Kansas writes, "Venture capital is a lot as its name applies, though one is tempted to place 'ad' before 'venture.'" The book isn't afraid to wade into controversies such as Henry Blodgett's questionable stock recommendations, and at its best it feels as though an experienced financial journalist is gossiping with the reader over drinks. As its title suggests, this book is a primer, providing backgrounds on every major type of investment or financial activity, with a pleasing economy of style that incorporates sidebars for people seeking more in-depth information on how to read stock listings or the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The ideal reader of this book isn't a total financial novice, but readers with an at least cursory understanding of trading, investments and economics will find Kansas' book a rewarding read.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Dave Kansas is editor of The Wall Street Journal’s Money & Investing section and the author of The Street.com Guide to Smart Investing in the Internet Era. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (December 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307236994
• ISBN-13: 978-0307236999
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Complete? Guidebook? Not so much., March 2, 2006

By 

B. Mann (Southwest United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook (The Wall Street Journal Guidebooks) (Paperback)

The "Getting Going" series in the Wall Street Journal is a good one, well worth reading, and has helped the WSJ become more relevant to those of us who have less than a billion dollars net worth. (In my case, $999,999,999 less.) That's why I had high hopes for this book. While it does its job admirably, the question is: What is it's job? The title suggests it is "Complete" and a "Guidebook." In reality, its job is to be "A brief, concise introduction at a high level to financial and economic terms."

THAT job, it does admirably. You'll get a overview of all the terms you're likely to run into: stocks, bonds, options, futures, etc. But a brief overview is about all it does. There are some pearls, a few insightful comments, and (the best part) a nice selection of web sites for future reference.

If you're looking for a quick read, and a concise overview of finances and American economics, this book is very good. But if you think it will actually help you do something practical with your own finances, you may be disappointed by its superficial treatment.

Scoring note: The book would have been a 4 if the title had been "A Brief Overview of American Economics and Investing."

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good general finanacial and investing book, February 20, 2006

By 

Donald Schneider "NGNEER" (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook (The Wall Street Journal Guidebooks) (Paperback)

This is a good general book describing financail terms, invetsting, and monetary tools. Historical background is provided. Very readable. I got this to use as a primer for my teenager. It worked well for that. Very up to date with descriptions of even recent investment instruments.

Does not pretend to give investement advice or guidance.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for novice investors or as an educational tool on the mechanics of finance!, February 24, 2006

By 

Christopher K. Daley "Casey" (East Taunton, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wall Street Journal Complete Money and Investing Guidebook (The Wall Street Journal Guidebooks) (Paperback)

I bought this book as a refresher for my wife. As an avid investor of stocks, bonds, munis, etc, I thought I would bring my wife up to speed with the fundamentals of investment strategy.

I read the entire book on a business trip and discovered that I wasn't as wise as I had once thought! This was the perfect refresher for US monetary basics. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in balancing their investment funds.