I Am Legend

I Am Legend
Author Richard Matheson

Amazon.com
One of the most influential vampire novels of the 20th century, I Am Legend regularly appears on the "10 Best" lists of numerous critical studies of the horror genre. As Richard Matheson's third novel, it was first marketed as science fiction (for although written in 1954, the story takes place in a future 1976). A terrible plague has decimated the world, and those who were unfortunate enough to survive have been transformed into blood-thirsty creatures of the night. Except, that is, for Robert Neville. He alone appears to be immune to this disease, but the grim irony is that now he is the outsider. He is the legendary monster who must be destroyed because he is different from everyone else. Employing a stark, almost documentary style, Richard Matheson was one of the first writers to convince us that the undead can lurk in a local supermarket freezer as well as a remote Gothic castle. His influence on a generation of bestselling authors--including Stephen King and Dean Koontz--who first read him in their youth is, well, legendary. --Stanley Wiater --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Robert Neville is the lone survivor of a vampire plague which has wiped out most of earth's inhabitants. by day he single-handedly stalks the city laying undead to rest. At night he drinks himself into a stupor and listens to classical music. After 5 months alone Robert realizes that some of the legends about vampires are true and begins to seek scientific explanation. With all the time in the world, he reads books from the library and steals an expensive microscope to help him analyze the bacteria in the victims. This book reminds me a lot of Robinson Caruso. At first Neville rails against his loneliness, the vampires and the world in general... Eventually he develops a survivor mentality which allows him to deal with the situation. When Neville finds a dog things begin to look up... Can Robert survive humanity's near extinction or will he become the last survivor of earth's great plague?

I read the book in anticipation of the movie in December starring Will Smith. I can't wait to see how this is treated in film. Neville is an interesting character who I took a while to get to like. Mostly because the first 1/4 of the novel he drinks, smokes, and feels sorry for himself (who wouldn't). I really warmed to the character once the dog arrived... Overall this was a compelling audiobook well narrated and worth a listen.

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Blasphemy

Blasphemy
Author Douglas Preston

Review

Praise for Blasphemy:

"This baby roars... the pages simply fly."--Publishers Weekly

"Highly recommended... Preston joins Michael Crichton as a master of suspenseful novels that tackle controversial issues in the realm of science."--Library Journal

"An unusually alarming and thoughtful thriller... Clever and terrifying."--Kirkus

“A superb read! Blasphemy is both thoughtful and flat-out entertainment--a page-turning thriller about science and religion in which good and evil collide at the speed of light. You'll be up all night with this book.”--Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author of The Sleeping Doll

"Science versus religion--the ultimate crunch. Douglas Preston has written The Novel of the Year, an extraordinary, unique, fascinating, wildly imaginative mix of thriller, satire, Sci Fi, and every other genre in the book. Blasphemy--you're going to love it."—Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of The Assassin



"Terrifyingly realistic. An electrifying page turner. Preston at his very best."--Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, New York Times bestselling author of Revenge of Innocents

"With Blasphemy, Douglas Preston has finally gone too far. One way or another, I'm afraid he may burn for this book."—Lincoln Child, New York Times bestselling author of Deep Storm

“Blasphemy takes the latest theories of physics and pits them against the ancient religious beliefs that they now threaten, in an explosive, hell-bent and finally deeply moving book that I doubt I will ever forget. It literally made me pace as I contemplated the ideas that crackle through these pages, and it gave me pause as I realized that the physics here is so close to reality that the face of God that appears in this book may soon be, in real life, before us all.”—Whitley Strieber, New York Times bestselling author of 2012: The War For Souls

“In Blasphemy, Preston rips the toga off God, and what remains is simply the answer to the most profound question of human existence...why are we here? A stunningly great read.”—W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O’Neal Gear, USA Today bestselling authors of People of the Nightland and the novels of North America's Forgotten Past

“Blasphemy is one hell of a good book. I couldn't stop reading, and at the end I had to force myself to slow down!”—David Hagberg, winner of three American Mystery Awards and USA Today bestselling author of Dance With the Dragon



“Preston has taken a fascinating concept and implemented it brilliantly. It's one of those books you think and talk about after you've finished it. I loved the characters. Even the sleazy ones were well-done. Science meets religion with a side order of politics. The mixture is explosive!”—Larry Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Dangerous Ground

“Can science discover God? Blasphemy is a stunningly ambitious novel that lives up to its goals. The theme is nothing less than the question: Is science the new religion?”—Barbara D’Amato, Edgar Award Winner and author of Death of a Thousand Cuts

Book Description
The world's biggest supercollider, locked in an Arizona mountain, was built to reveal the secrets of the very moment of creation: the Big Bang itself.The Torus is the most expensive machine ever created by humankind, run by the world's most powerful supercomputer. It is the brainchild of Nobel Laureate William North Hazelius. Will the Torus divulge the mysteries of the creation of the universe? Or will it, as some predict, suck the earth into a mini black hole? Or is the Torus a Satanic attempt, as a powerful televangelist decries, to challenge God Almighty on the very throne of Heaven?Twelve scientists under the leadership of Hazelius are sent to the remote mountain to turn it on, and what they discover must be hidden from the world at all costs. Wyman Ford, ex-monk and CIA operative, is tapped to wrest their secret, a secret that will either destroy the world...or save it.The countdown begins...

Giiny Comment :

It starts quietly but builds into a can't-put-down thriller that's as smart as it is fun to read. Don't worry about the physics -- those concepts make my head spin, but it didn't deter my enjoyment of this book in the least.

It's hard to imagine a thriller that is built around the science vs. religion hot bed not offending everyone, but this one manages to be though-provoking, fast-paced, and shouldn't offend anyone except the most extreme in either position.

A joy to read on so many levels. I liked Douglas Preston's books with Lincoln Child, but this one is in another category all together. It's great!

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The Road

The Road
Author Cormac McCarthy

The Road, in a post-apocalyptic blight of gray skies that drizzle ash, a world in which all matter of wildlife is extinct, starvation is not only prevalent but nearly all-encompassing, and marauding bands of cannibals roam the environment with pieces of human flesh stuck between their teeth. If this sounds oppressive and dispiriting, it is. McCarthy may have just set to paper the definitive vision of the world after nuclear war, and in this recent age of relentless saber-rattling by the global powers, it's not much of a leap to feel his vision could be not far off the mark nor, sadly, right around the corner. Stealing across this horrific (and that's the only word for it) landscape are an unnamed man and his emaciated son, a boy probably around the age of ten. It is the love the father feels for his son, a love as deep and acute as his grief, that could surprise readers of McCarthy's previous work. McCarthy's Gnostic impressions of mankind have left very little place for love. In fact that greatest love affair in any of his novels, I would argue, occurs between the Billy Parham and the wolf in The Crossing. But here the love of a desperate father for his sickly son transcends all else. McCarthy has always written about the battle between light and darkness; the darkness usually comprises 99.9% of the world, while any illumination is the weak shaft thrown by a penlight running low on batteries. In The Road, those batteries are almost out--the entire world is, quite literally, dying--so the final affirmation of hope in the novel's closing pages is all the more shocking and maybe all the more enduring as the boy takes all of his father's (and McCarthy's) rage at the hopeless folly of man and lays it down, lifting up, in its place, the oddest of all things: faith.

THE ROAD is a tremendous achievement, multi-layered, yet with enough surface story to attract mainstream readers. It resonates with classic allusions, simple parables, endearing moments, aphorisms, even some old testament language a la BLOOD MERIDIAN. In fact all of McCarthy's earlier novels are echoed here.

As with NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, all of the doomsday clocks, both personal and communal, stop at 1:17, a reference to John 1:17 in the Book of Revelations. As with his previous novel, McCarthy names love as the one value worth living for in this vale of tears, the last thing to go.

Comic relief is provided in the form of Ely, the only named character in the book. Readers will have to judge for themselves whether they think that Ely is the prophet Elijah, Christ in ragged disguise, Buddha on the Road, or just a funny old man who speaks in koans.

THE ROAD will remind some of Jose Saramago's BLINDNESS, which won the Nobel Prize for that deserving author. Others will liken the beautiful writing to the very best of Ernest Hemingway--with the understatement one finds in BIG, TWO-HEARTED RIVER and THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA.

Cliched? Not in this reader's eyes. Of course the great themes here have been rendered before in the classics, and books are made of books. I immediately recognized Homer's ghosts of hades in here, pointing and pleading and crying for help.

What is the quote in THE ROAD on page 110? "Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it." Which resonates to a quote from Marcus Aurielius, saying that a man ought to live his life as if borrowed, and that he ought to be prepared at any time to give it back, saying--here, I thank you for this life which I have had in my possession.

I found it uplifting. A testament to the condition of humanity and the nature of death and the riddle of existence. Universal themes, the greatest themes in our literature.

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A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
by Eckhart Tolle

Reading the other reviews of this extraordinary work, I see folks commenting on Eckhart Tolle's character, how much ego he has, how much money he makes, whether the ego is good or bad, etc. This is missing the entire point of A New Earth and The Power Of Now because these are observations of the mind.

We are clearly living in an insane world. As Eckhart says, we killed 100 million members of our own species just in the 20th century; we are busy destroying the ability of the planet we live on to support human life; murder, rape and hate blare at us every night from the TV; the government pays farmers not to grow food while children starve to death.

There is only one problem and there is only one solution for that problem and Eckhart has more lucidly presented this than any author I have ever read. The answers we crave CANNOT be found through thought. They can only be found in the stillness, in the present moment. What matters is this: will we take this message and use it in our own lives? Or not?

There is all kinds of evidence that species of animals and plants have suddenly taken a quantum leap up the evolutionary ladder. There is a 'critical mass' that is reached when enough members of a species adopt a new way of being. At that point, the rest of the biological group is brought along and the numbers required to bring this about aren't really that high. There is no doubt that we humans are on a course that will ultimately end in our extinction if there are not fundamental changes.

The solution lies in each one of us taking responsibility for our own consciousness. We have countless opportunities every day to practice living in the Now, just as Eckhart teaches. When I don't want to cook dinner, or wash the dishes, or weed the garden, or mop the floor, I can resentfully do these activities - or I can use them as opportunities to practice. My life is filled with increasing bliss and ecstasy. I constantly focus on JOY, just as he teaches. Instead of grumbling, I seek the joy in every mundane chore and, just as he says, the power of spirit flows into what I am doing.

Of the billions of people on this planet, only a relative handful of us will have the privilege of reading Eckhart Tolle's two awesome books. If you 'grok' what he is saying, then practice, practice, practice. If enough of us evolve spiritually, one of these days we will all evolve into beings that we can't even imagine right now. This is the greatest contribution we can ever make.

Personally, I have been reading spiritual books for 30+ years. I knew even as a small child that something fundamental was missing in my life, but I couldn't seek it because I didn't know what to look for. Now my heart is now full and I am at peace most of the time - and when I'm not, I know what the problem is and I know how to restore the peace. I am living in a heaven on earth! Thank you, Eckhart Tolle.

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The Pillars of the Earth

The Pillars of the Earth
By Ken Follett


From Publishers Weekly
With this book, Follett risks all and comes out a clear winner, escaping the narrow genre of suspense thrillers to take credit for a historical novel of gripping readability, authentic atmosphere and detail and memorable characterization. Set in 12th-century England, the narrative concerns the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge. The ambitions of three men merge, conflict and collide through four decades during which social and political upheaval and the internal politics of the church affect the progress of the cathedral and the fortunes of the protagonists. The insightful portrayals of an idealistic master builder, a pious, dogmatic but compassionate prior and an unscrupulous, ruthless bishop are balanced by those of a trio of independent, resourceful women (one of them quite loathesome) who can stand on their own as memorable characters in any genre. Beginning with a mystery that casts its shadow on ensuing events, the narrative is a seesaw of tension in which circumstances change with shocking but true-to-life unpredictability. Follett's impeccable pacing builds suspense in a balanced narrative that offers action, intrigue, violence and passion as well as the step-by-step description of an edifice rising in slow stages, its progress tied to the vicissitudes of fortune and the permutations of evolving architectural style. Follett's depiction of the precarious balance of power between monarchy and religion in the Middle Ages, and of the effects of social upheavals and the forces of nature (storms, famines) on political events; his ability to convey the fine points of architecture so that the cathedral becomes clearly visualized in the reader's mind; and above all, his portrayals of the enduring human emotions of ambition, greed, bravery, dedication, revenge and love, result in a highly engrossing narrative. Manipulating a complex plot in which the characters interact against a broad canvas of medieval life, Follett has written a novel that entertains, instructs and satisfies on a grand scale. 400,000 first printing; $400,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild main dual selection; author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
A radical departure from Follett's novels of international suspense and intrigue, this chronicles the vicissitudes of a prior, his master builder, and their community as they struggle to build a cathedral and protect themselves during the tumultuous 12th century, when the empress Maud and Stephen are fighting for the crown of England after the death of Henry I. The plot is less tightly controlled than those in Follett's contemporary works, and despite the wealth of historical detail, especially concerning architecture and construction, much of the language as well as the psychology of the characters and their relationships remains firmly rooted in the 20th century. This will appeal more to lovers of exciting adventure stories than true devotees of historical fiction. Literary Guild dual main selection.
- Cynthia Johnson Whealler, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, Mass.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


Giiny Comment :

Follett primary strength in the book is his magnificent characters. By the end, Prior Phillip, Aliena, Jack, Richard, "Witch" Ellen, William of Hamleigh, Waleran Bigod, and a host of supporting characters are as real as people you know. Their strengths and weaknesses feel as sound as earth. I've just reached the part where the Cathedral is finished, and its magnificent image, built in love, hardship, and devotion, colors the whole book like light through stained glass. And I suspect the ending will be as immensely "right" as the entire rest of the book in its proportion in spinning out complicated human lives and emotions.

Follett manages to write of an age of religious devotion without tumbling into the two pits - making fun of medieval Christian faith, or uncritically adopting it. An IMMENSELY satisfying read.

I could quibble with what I feel is some gratuitous sex, some slightly contrived plot twists, but that's like complaining about some flotsam in the river as you're going over Niagara.

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Sub-prime Attack.

Sub-prime Attack.

Banks in the United Kingdom have not yet made the write-off of the prolonged sub-prime assets pledged by their American competitors, but they can not delay the disclosure of any loss much longer. Sean Farrell reports

Business Analysis

HSBC today the kick-off of the most eagerly awaited series of statements commercial bank in the years as investors seek reassurance that the contagion of the United States did not state a disaster for Britain's largest lenders.

HSBC is one of the first to alert the market to the looming crisis in the sub-prime US credit market when it issued its first profit warning last December. From the bank, once incursion into profitable loans to clients at risk rockets had exploded as defects caused bad debts to jump.

HSBC should also flag devaluations of the sub-prime fallout today, but, unless there is a huge shock, investors are likely to take the news in their stride. HSBC has stopped selling and trading US mortgage-backed securities and its shares have performed well due to the credit crunch.

The main concerns of investors in recent weeks have been Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland. These are the two British companies whose investment banking lenders and weapons rose most sharply on the back of the debt boom of recent years.

Investors were already nervous about the exposure of Barclays and RBS to the crash of the debt markets before the recent spate of statements by American banks upping their credit crunch devaluations. The huge increases in forced departures of two of the most powerful men on Wall Street

Things have come to a head of Barclays at the end of last week that rumors waved a question of rights, a $ 10bn depreciation, the Bank of England emergency funding, and the resignation of John Varley, chief the management, and Bob Diamond, the head of investment banking.

Barclays has stated publicly on Friday there was "no substance" to any of the rumors. This would once have been unusual step, but Barclays has been forced to reassure the market during the crisis credit, especially when he was rumoured to have borrowed from the Bank of England in September.

Investors' fears have mounted, in part because of lack of information. Considering that American and European rivals such as Citigroup and UBS report full quarterly results, Britain's financial giants publish their only twice a year, with the results of the next season does not begin until February.

The market will have to make do with British banks' trading statements, which appear in the coming months. Barclays is due to issue its declaration of exchange on November 27, with RBS next December 6. Despite requests from investors worried nor bank shows no sign of rapprochement statements before.

Given the record of American banks that had overwhelmingly to add to their initial estimates, it might be advisable for both Barclays and RBS to take their time and get the best possible information to investors. Both are expected to be aware of investor desire for detailed information on top of the usual coded language of trading statements.

Concerns revolve around three areas: the capital positions of banks, the scale of potential write-downs, and the loss of revenue.

Skeptics say analysts British banks' capital positions are stricter than those of many donors in the United States and Europe, as they used their own money to pay for acquisitions and have piled on assets in the investment bank that consumed the capital. With less of a buffer to absorb shocks, the pessimists say devaluations in the lower billion could force banks to raise capital.

Barclays is thought to be more prone to write-downs on complex structured credit products such as investment vehicles (SIVs) and collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), which are at the heart of the market fears over banks. SIVs issue short-term debt cheaper to invest in assets such as securities backed by mortgages and CDOs invest in the different grades of debt. La banque a l'obligation d'SIVs elle a mis en place pour inciter les clients aidés rumeurs d'un manque de liquidité, ce qui a été forcée de Barclays à contrer.

RBS its exposure in the United States credit markets is mainly by RBS Greenwich Capital, a major player in the packaging and distribution of mortgage backed securities. At the bank's interim results in August, Johnny Cameron, the head of corporate and investment bank, flagged 23 percent of the decline in volumes of asset-backed securities (ABS) in the first half. This will no doubt be struck by revenue, but he Cameron also noted that the ABS represent only 1.6 percent of group revenue.

But RBS capital position seems tight. Its core tier one capital ratio was 4.7 per cent, but is expected to fall to 4.25 percent by the end of this year after paying its share of the 71bn price of ABN Amro of the Netherlands . RBS, which is close to the 4 percent that is generally accepted as a minimum.

RBS has proved to be extremely cash-generating, in the past, and can be expected to add one percentage point of the capital generated within its ratio in a particular year as he did after Purchasing NatWest in 2000. But with so many uncertainties in terms of asset value and prospects for earnings, the market was scared.

But, despite several years of strong returns, many fund managers still think the UK market is underestimated, claiming that the recent slowdown presents a strong opportunity to purchase. We asked 10 of the UK's top investment managers and stockbrokers everyone to pick their favourite summer bargains

"Royal Dutch Shell B gives me security and stability. This is not the least expensive, but the investment available, compared to other actions, it is very solid and has the ability to survive the turbulence market. valued at 10 times earnings and with a gearing ratio of 6 percent of debt to total assets, the company has sufficient funds available for investment. Natural resources have been a favorite during the recent years and it is reasonable to assume that energy prices will not fall without a speedy recovery. oil prices are sustained To a greater extent by private demand. Demand for cars in China have more than tripled in Over the last few years, and while the Chinese GDP continues to grow at a rate of 11 percent, the United States far exceeds per capita car ownership in China. If you want to sleep in peace, this is probably the most reliable in the field of investment to its current price. "

Chris Watt, director of the Jupiter Environmental Income Fund: Hydro International

"This is a stock we have held for a long period, but it is very topical given the recent weather conditions in the United Kingdom. It specializes in the control and treatment of storm water and waste using proprietary technology based on vortex. This is a good example of the type of business that interests us: small, at an early stage of its development, but has developed real traction using a unique technology in a growing market. That is why we believe it has the potential to become a major market leader. "

Trevor Green, manager of the Allianz RCM UK Mid Cap funds: Cap --

"Cape Town is an international provider of essential support services to the energy sector. It provides services such as scaffolding, insulation, fire protection and cleanup specialist for blue-chip clients, including BP, Exxon, BNFL and Scottish Power in the United Kingdom. At its recent AGM of the company was able to increase significantly its profit forecasts for the full year, which is significant to their end of the year five months. This shows the high visibility it has on its order book, and it seems likely that next year it Retournera to pay a dividend. "

Felix Wintle, manager of the Neptune US Opportunities Fund: Crocs Inc

"Crocs is the manufacturer of a shoe phenomenon. Shoes sold in more than 40 countries, are sturdy and comfortable. We discovered this stock as a result of our investment process, taking a macro view down before seeking Business. we support for more than two years, as the market for advice on the American economy and its consumers is too bearish, Neptune has led to consider the consumer stocks. Crocs is in the growth phase d 'a global fund for the deployment and earnings will double this year. Notre Unrealized gain so far is 83 percent. "

Henk Potts, equity strategist, Barclays Stockbrokers: British American Tobacco

"One could be forgiven for believing that the increase in smoking bans and the constant bombardment of anti-smoking ads would be bad news for the big tobacco companies. However, British American Tobacco (BAT) has recently reported the results of the first quarter, which were better than the market expectations, with the band recording double-digit profit growth. This good performance was driven by emerging markets in Asia, Latin America and Africa, where cigarette sales continue to rise. BAT is very cash-generating and plans to increase its dividend by 15 Percent per annum in the next two years. BAT also plans to spend 750 [pound] stock this year. stock currently trades at 1620p - we believe that its fair value is 1780p. "

Chou Chong, director of the Dunedin Income Growth Investment Trust: Premier Foods

"Premier Foods is the largest in the United Kingdom and food company owns brands such as Branston and Crosse & Blackwell. It has recently added to its portfolio Batchelors in 2007 and early acquired RHM, whose brands include Hovis and Bisto. We are confident Prime Minister will be able To extract considerable production costs and synergies of the acquisition of RHM, refreshments and newly acquired brands such as RHM of Bisto and Mr. Kipling. shares are trading at about 12 times estimated 2008 earnings, the stock and also offers investors a dividend yield of 5.2 percent. "

George Finlay, one of the fund's managers Marlborough Special Situations: Hamworthy

"Hamworthy calls because it ticks all the boxes we love. This is a niche business providing products essential to global security growing businesses, shipbuilding and LNG (liquefied natural gas ). LNG is increasingly a vital part of World Fuel Mix and Hamworthy is the world leader in this market. On land, it has developed a technology that traps gases released during the development of oil and gas fields.Hamworthy is also the world leader in the provision of desalination systems for cruise ships. stock for a sit down. "

Jim Cramer's Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer)

Jim Cramer's Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer)
by James J. Cramer


BOOK INTRODUCTION: GET RICH AND STAY RICH

Most people don't think about it, but there's a difference between making a lot of money and building lasting wealth. When it comes to money we think that striking it rich is the ultimate goal. I know because I used to feel that way. In reality, getting rich isn't the financial finish line. It's the first lap of a much longer race. I'm talking about ensuring long-term prosperity for you and your family: not just getting rich, but staying rich. That's what each and every one of us truly wants to achieve with our money, and I don't care who you are, who your parents are, where you live, or what you do for a living: you can do it if you let me help you. I don't care if you don't have two cents to your name or if you owe thousands of dollars in credit card debt. I am confident I can get you there. You may think of yourself as someone who's awful with money; you could be a person who's tried and failed to get anywhere with every single financial plan you've ever been handed, like so many failed faddish diets. Whether you're 16 or 60, sending your kids to college or sending yourself to college, I'm writing this book to tell you everything you will ever need to know and everything you must do to create and maintain the kind of wealth that lasts a lifetime. I want you to get there and stay there.

A lot of people who try to sell you advice about your money are doing it to make money themselves. They don't care whether you succeed or fail with their advice because they're just looking to sell books or earn fees. I made more money than anyone ever needs working at my old hedge fund, and if I wanted more, I'd start another one. I am confident that I could raise a billion dollars to manage tomorrow, but frankly, I'd rather help you. That means more to me than working for people who are already rich. Perhaps it's because I'm a good guy, or because I just want to look like a good guy, or maybe I do it because I love positive attention. Maybe it's because after years of making money for myself, it just feels right. At the end of the day, the "why" isn't important, as long as you're satisfi ed that I'm writing this book in good faith to help you. What's important is the "what." I spent fourteen years running a hedge fund, which means that the only higher purpose my job had was to make incredibly rich people even richer. I used to joke that my job was to move people higher on the Forbes 400 richest people list -- not a higher calling.

I've now spent the past seven years since I retired from the fund writing books and columns for TheStreet.com and New York magazine and hosting a radio show and two television shows: first Kudlow & Cramer, then Mad Money. The venues have changed, but my goal was always the same: to share my experience and expertise with regular people to help them become rich. In this book, I'm aiming even higher than that: I'm teaching you how to make money and use it to ensure enduring prosperity and permanent financial security over the course of your entire life. The disciplines and the knowledge you need to build a firm foundation for your wealth and maintain it for the rest of your life are not the same as the ones you would need to make yourself rich by investing in stocks, the subject of my previous two books. If you're looking for long-term financial security, I would hope you'd set your sights higher. For long-term extravagant wealth, you need to know how to take advantage of tax-favored vehicles like 401(k) plans and IRAs; you need to know when you should buy bonds rather than stocks, not to mention the kinds of bonds you should choose; you need to know how to save for college; how to guarantee you have a smooth retirement; how to save; how to borrow; when you should buy a house; when you should be taking risks; when you should be avoiding risks; what you must teach your children about money; which mutual funds you should put your money in; and which stocks will look good for the long haul, the next twenty-five years. These are the subjects people beg me to address, and I am ready and willing to do so. I have the answers for all of the financial questions you, your parents, and your kids have about getting rich and staying rich. Don't be intimidated -- I'll explain everything in layman's terms, not in the Wall Street gibberish the professionals use to scare you into relying on them instead of using your own judgment.

But what about my judgment? You want to know where my advice comes from, and I don't blame you. Most of what I know about making money I learned in my years on Wall Street, first as a broker at Goldman Sachs, advising the wealthiest of the wealthy about all these lifetime issues, and then as the manager of my own hedge fund, Cramer, Berkowitz & Company. I've had a long love affair with stocks, but stocks are only one of many tools, albeit the most important one, that we're going to use to create lasting prosperity for you and your family. I know better than most people the difference between having money and not having it, or having it and having a whole lot of it. I'm a self-made multimillionaire, and I'm going to share with you the lifelong disciplines that made me rich and have kept me that way.

As I said, I made my own money. I've also been poor. In fact, I wasn't just poor; I was homeless and destitute. In 1978 I spent six months living in the backseat of my Ford Fairmont while I worked as a homicide reporter for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, unable to afford even rent money. By 1979 I had moved up in the world: I was living in the most spacious corner of my big sister's studio apartment in New York City. I was the last person in the world anyone was ever going to ask for financial advice, but even then I was diligent and self-disciplined about money. I may have skimped on the auto insurance and skipped on the rent, but I still put $50 a month into the best mutual fund I could fi nd, Fidelity's Magellan Fund. I have always been fascinated with mutual funds and managers, and I am going to tell you all about which ones you need and which ones you should avoid. I know what it's like to need money and not have it, and ever since those early days I have lived in desperate fear of poverty. Living out of my car with barely enough money to get by convinced me that I had to become rich, that no amount of money was too much, and that I would have to do it with more than just my meager paycheck. I would have to parlay that paycheck into something much bigger, using whatever financial resources I could get my hands on. I spent twenty years single-mindedly pursuing greater and greater sums of money until well past the point where more money made a bit of difference. I know it's possible for anyone to get rich and stay rich because I did it myself and I'm no different from any of you.

Like most things in life, getting rich and staying that way take a lot of hard work, a lot of knowledge, and a little bit of good advice. There are many ways to get your hands on a whole lot of money, though few of them can be called easy. You can invest in the right stocks, get a high-paying job, start your own business, or inherit the money, to name just a few. But there's only one way to make sure your newfound wealth leads to long-term prosperity: you have to use your money to make more money, and you need to do it the right way. It's hard work, and it takes diligence, but in this book I've already done a lot of the work for you. No, I don't have six easy steps to financial security, nor do I have three magic habits that will make you a millionaire, and I can't tell you the financial secrets of the superrich because as far as I know, they're just as feckless with money as ordinary people. People who promise that they can make you truckloads of cash and help you keep it as long as you follow their simple five-point program aren't telling you the whole story. Easy steps turn out to be not so easy, and advice that seemed great in theory turns out to be next to useless in practice. I suspect that many of these people have never made a dime except in book sales! I read a ton of these personal finance guides because every time someone writes a new one, which seems like every five minutes, the publisher comes to me to pen the introduction and give it my seal of approval. Many of these books are well-written, some of them by terrific people, but they generally don't tell you what you need to know. I swear, more books have been written about creating and keeping wealth than any one person could read in a lifetime, but I have yet to find a single one that actually tells you, in detail, what you must do during every stage of your life to develop enduring wealth and ensure that you never have to worry about your money again. So I decided to fix that problem by writing this one.

For most people, there are few things that are more confusing and frustrating than trying to manage their finances. I can't tell you how many people I've spoken to who agonize over trying to pick the right mutual fund and end up giving up, their money still in a checking account, because the decision was too hard and reliable information was too scarce. If you're looking for a financial plan, it's easy to get a broad outline, but very hard to fi nd anyone who will give you specific, detailed advice. But that's exactly what I'm going to do. Others are more than willing to show you the forest: save money, pay off your credit card debt, contribute to your 401(k), start an IRA. But no one will identify the trees, where the money is actually grown. How should you manage your IRA? What, specifically, should you own in your retirement and discretionary accounts? Which of the most popular mutual funds available in your 401(k) plan is the best place to put your money? I'll even recommend the best mutual funds, using all the data available as I write this book.

Too many books about money go wrong because they try to offer timeless advice. There's no such thing as great timeless advice. The really useful financial information is time-sensitive. I don't know if the people...

Giiny Comment :

Jim Cramer has really produced another great book. This one starts out as a personal finance book explaining how to budget and the importance of saving money in a retirement account each month. He advises to contribute whatever is needed into your 401K plan at work to get the match. (Most companies offer a 80%-100% return on your money off the top with the match). I can tell you from my experience that is the #1 reason I have a hefty net worth at 35 years old. Cramer then advises putting money beyond the match into an IRA for more investment options than the 401K offers.
His advice is to put the money in an S&P index fund if your 401K does not offer excellent funds to invest in. He advises to never put this money in your company's stock, the risk is to great. Cramer explains bonds, bills, and treasuries in this book along with the percentage of your money to hold in them. You will see that he is much more aggressive with his recommendations for the percentage of your money to hold in stocks as you age.

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