This book offers a philosophy of mind that applies itself to financial auction markets. Chu understands that the business of money markets is forward-looking. The well-known idea that prices reflect values does not always show up in times of great market turbulence. Excellent chapters that expose the role of Wall Street in the American psyche teach you how to use your own mind within the larger mind of the market. In any market world, where rational decision making is often scarce, Chu's rules and strategy will make investing easier and more rewarding. One can become a better investor by going back and reading a book like this a second time and even thereafter. Foreword by James Grant of Grant's Interest Rate Observer.
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Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
If people read or hear enough about something, what they will remember - or think they know - will be the incantations of experts who use their spells, verbal charms and other rituals of sorcery to place the general public under a magical enchantment. In the waning days of our prosperous and materialistic twentieth century, no subject is more demonstrative of this phenomenon than that of money, and the stock market in particular. In this book, the author refers to the recurrence of "social amnesia" throughout our financial history; that is, the willful repression of things we already knew but forget because they are extremely disturbing. But curiously, the overwhelming quantity and availability of information about our financial markets also triggers a form of social amnesia in reverse : we assume we already know about things of which we have barely a clue. This mental confusion helps to sustain our burgeoning financial services industry. Indeed, our recognized market gurus serve as high priests, offering sermons and sacraments to the faithful; while hordes of portfolio managers, stockbrokers and financial planners represent the hierarchical foot soldiers collecting alms in this cult religion. In questioning the complacency and platitudes brought on by a deliriously long bull run, The Mind Of The Market seeks no less than to construct a philosophy of mind as applied to the financial mind and auction markets. The stock market is a microcosm for our economic and psychic strivings. The author dissects the financial mind like a laser, revealing various parts of its internal anatomy, generating full-colored, multiple-angle images and magnifications. We hear, in turn, the voice of the philosopher, financial historian, psychoanalyst, market technician, trader, investment banker, and Zen monk. The double title of this work gives us a clue as to its meaning. Mr. Chu evokes our societal respect and fascination with money, mitigated by a repugnance of its innate corruptibility. Underlying the trenchant wisdom in this slender volume, we sense the mind of the moralist. If the reader is to learn anything from his counsel, it is to develop an increasing intellectual vigilance against the onslaught of financial mania, quackery and speculative excess. In the end, we may know more but also realize how little our knowledge matters. "Our ultimate aim in the market," he observes, "is to free ourselves of anger, illusion and false passion." The author exhorts each of us to become a better investor, a better person -- to strive towards a more balanced, meaningful life. He has set his targets high. His aim is true.
From the Back Cover
"In an era of mindless day trading and "new paradigm" valuations, Mr. Chu teaches us how to be better investors while focusing on the human attributes of the market. The author has set his standards high and challenges us to do the same. In The Mind Of The Market, he has truly captured the zeitgeist of the market" M. Anthony May, Paribas "Asked to say a kind word about the unpublished book of an author I'd never met, I dutifully started to read. But when, on page four, I encountered the happy phrase, "The history of the stock market is the history of forgetting," I put aside duty and began to read for pleasure ..Chu demonstrates his understanding of the deepest secrets of the financial marketplace." From the Foreword by James Grant "F. J. Chu invokes his extensive experience to put the stock market in a philosophical framework while maintaining a firm grip on the practical realities of investing. Whether or not you agree with all Mr. Chu says, his observations and conclusions are bound to stimulate your thinking, deepen your insights and cause you to reflect upon the workings of your own mind in the context of "the mind of the market." Ronald Linde Ph.D., Chairman, The Ronald and Maxine Linde Foundation. Former CEO, Envirodyne Industries, Inc."The Mind Of The Market offers a wonderfully unique approach to understanding the market economy; I am not aware of other books that explore the psychological landscape of the investor in such depth." Nikki Sabin, Harvard Business School Press
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enlightening, Enriching and Thoroughly Enjoyable,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Mind of the Market: Spiritual Lessons for the Active Investor (Hardcover)
Well worth the money! Iconoclastic, irreverent and at times cynical, the author pulls no punches. Not the typical rehash of other investment books and not a tout sheet, this book delves into the philosophical and psychological underpinnings of the market and forces the reader to examine his/her motivations for playing the game. From the perspectives gained through the author's extensive experience, his insightful observations and the reader's own self-analysis, a coherent individual investment philosophy emerges. The book is filled with wonderful quotations from disparate sources that are both thought-provoking and culturally enriching.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Profits And Spirituality In One Dose.,
By Sage Capital (Rye, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Mind of the Market: Spiritual Lessons for the Active Investor (Hardcover)
It took a spiritual concept from the East to put a moral and high-minded face on the stock market. F.J.Chu has brought his knowledge and practice of Zen and martial arts, along with a broad background in Western philosophy and psychology, to bear in this superb series of lessons.Both professional and private investors, as well as wannabe market participants, can benefit from this book if they are open to a real learning experience that comes from a thoughtful, reflective and analytical reading. The history of the U.S. stock market is made clear and understandable, even though the author says, "The history of the stock market is the history of forgetting." Chu is encouraging us not to forget. Outstanding writings such as Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" which explains the invisible hand of allowing us to have fair prices on goods and services, and the works of John Maynard Keynes are put into perspective. The author observes that the financial markets keep corporations and nations in line every single day by "marking them to market." Corporations' greatest taskmaster is the stock market - much more than regulators, managers and directors, and the market for their products and services. Chu employs pithy epigrams and aphorisms from Albert Einstein, Warren Buffet, J.K. Gailbraith and others for every chapter title. They are all thought provoking and relevant. He also outlines prerequisites for beating the market. But don't expect a pat formula. The author's suggestions have more to do with patience, when not to be in the market, and avoiding weakness in one's emotional and mental state. There is an enlightening and detailed elaboration on each bull and bear market of the 20th century, with very helpful discourse on how one might look around the corner to the next major market movement. And hang on to your hat, he has some interesting thoughts. "The most uncelebrated and misunderstood aspect of free market capitalism is its morality. Capitalism demands discipline,hard work and frugality. It preaches giving more to the system - via investment - than one takes out. It focuses the purpose and energies of a society toward productive enterprise. Finally, capitalism celebrates the wonderful diversity of individual talent and resolve. It reallocates capital to the daring; it rewards the industrious; but it punishes the indolent; and it humiliates those who cling defensively to the status quo." This is one of the more spiritual messages one could find in a book on the stock market. "The Mind of the Market" says that "the markets rest on an intricate theory of sin that recognizes the human tendency towards depravity and evil but attempts to draw from it its creative potential. A marketplace of sinners is transformed by the virtue of reasoned self-interest into a vessel of moral productivity." I agree, and hope that other readers can get beyond the noise and momentarily valued "how-to-beat-the-market" books and newsletters of the gurus du jour, on to a higher playing field of undersanding with Chu.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FINALLY- THE TRUTH,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Mind of the Market: Spiritual Lessons for the Active Investor (Hardcover)
The author attacks the true catalyst of the market. This is not the usual "How To" book about the market, rather a refreshing and coherent look at the foundation of the market.
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