Bull! 144 Stupid Statements from the Market's Fallen Prophets [Paperback]

Greg Eckler (Author), L.M. Mac Donald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2003

o "We're going to reach the point where stocks are correctly priced, and we think that's 36,000." -James Glassman, best-selling authoro "Not even Greenspan can stop the Internet economy." -Larry Kudlow, economisto "Our techs are all overvalued but that's not a factor right now." -Jim Cramer, CNBCThrough the 1990s, stocks went up for so long that millions started to believe the pundits who predicted they would climb forever. The market was heralded as a magic get-rich-quick scheme-and its stars were the breathless financial reporters, analysts, politicians, and CEOs who urged Americans to buy, buy, buy and hold, hold, hold. But trees don't grow to the sky and as the market plummets by frequent and lasting double-digit drops, these stars no longer seem as bright. In retrospect, some seem downright stupid. Authors Greg Eckler and L. M. Mac Donald use their wry perspective to profile them all, reminding us that there was a whole team of "experts" encouraging us to rip up our savings while the rich got "super rich." With quotes from Alan Greenspan, Al Gore, Bernie Ebbers, Larry King, and more, Bull! provides a humorously outrageous look at the bubble that many swore could never burst. "The stock market, as best as I can judge, is high. It's not that there is a bubble in there." -Alan GreenspanWe rate this book a Strong Buy.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Greg Eckler began his 14-year comedy career at YukYuks, along with Jim Carrey, Norm Macdonald, and Howie Mandel. He has written for Mad magazine and numerous Canadian television shows. Greg lives with his wife and daughter in Toronto. L. M. Mac Donald is a New York writer and producer who works in television and film. She is also the coauthor of Kay Darling. The authors previously worked together on the talk show Open Mike with Mike Bullard and cowrote Open Book: Little Thought from a Big Head, which sold 25,000 hardcover copies

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (April 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740736124
• ISBN-13: 978-0740736124
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,986,406 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is really funny.... no bull!, May 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Bull! 144 Stupid Statements from the Market's Fallen Prophets (Paperback)

I stumbled across this book at my friend's house and spent the next hour laughing myself silly. Page after page of predictions gone bad, corruption galore and lots of bad market advice from some very familiar faces from the bubble. If you're watching the Nasdaq climb up and are starting to think about getting back into the market, read Bull! just to remind yourself that those stock market stars are not only fallible, they're sometimes stupid. Graphs and photos make for fast, easy read. Hilarious!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and important, November 12, 2003

By 

Koeeaddi "shmuelman" (Denver) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bull! 144 Stupid Statements from the Market's Fallen Prophets (Paperback)

This book chronicles the hype, promotion, conflicts of interest and outright lying by the financial media, pundits and corporate leaders. It also shows the serious recriminations for the few analysts and brokers who went against the market madness of the late '90s. On any financial bulletin board today, "strong buys" issued by the large brokerages are normally perceived as a sure sign that they want to dump stock on the naive small investor. I trade the stock market almost daily, and eshew all the major media new sources - the hype, no matter how absurd, never ends. This small book confirms my worst, cynical beliefs. Read it and laugh, read it and weep.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A VALUABLE RECORD OF THE MANIA, August 12, 2003

By 

Neil Naftalin (Minneapolis, Minn USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bull! 144 Stupid Statements from the Market's Fallen Prophets (Paperback)

The authors have performed a valuable service in providing this record of the mania.

I predict it will occupy the same position in future study of stock market history of this period as has a similar account of the 1920s experience.

(Surprisingly there's already enough new material associated with the 2003 stock market rally for a sequel)