Customer Reviews:
The Beardstown Ladies Little book of Investment Wisdom.......2006-11-27
Well, here is your polar oposite view of the other comment on this book. I found it wonderful! These are not Wall Street MBA's giving you advise. These are everyday people trying to figure out how to invest their money. Over time, the Ladies have done pretty well! If you find them a bit brash, okay! A small price to pay to get their wisdom. Buy the book!
Investment Wisdom at 9.1% returns??? Gimme a break!.......1998-09-27
Irrelevant one-liners and drawings from a bunch of underperforming pseudoinvestors with a superiority complex, written in a condescending grandmotherly tone. It was hard to keep a straight face while reading it. Save the wear and tear on your nerves by not reading this book. I didn't buy it, neither should you.
Customer Reviews:
Forget individual stocks.......2006-06-17
Forget trying to beat the market. Most people can't do it over the long run, no matter how many hours of work you put into it. Instead just put your money in an S&P 500 or Total Stock Market index fund and forget it.
They did not equal the market average.......2006-01-15
The S&P 500 Index returned 14.9% per year. The Beardstown Ladies, when their returns are calculated correctly, earned 9.1% per year. See A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton G. Malkiel, quoted by en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beardstown_Ladies
Self-glorification at its best ..........2005-06-30
If you are planning to read this book to learn about some "Beardstown Ladies magical formula to beating stock market", then forget it. This book is not for you.
"The Beardstown Ladies Common-Sense Investment Guide" is a self-glorifying book by the "Beardstown Ladies", about the "Beardstown Ladies". In brief, this book is all about how some small town ladies got lucky in the stock market.
In no way can this book be considered a "Investment Guide". Most of the ideas presented in this book are self evident and already known to the general public. There are no specifics on how much they made but based on some of the numbers quoted, it does not look like they made millions or anything close to it. Again the pompous ladies have quoted just the beginning and ending numbers, so it might seem that they got good overall returns, but if you try to find the compounded rate of returns, it turns out to be mere few points above or close to the market and that too over a not so long period.
The book just talks about its so called "great" successes. But fails to tell any of their failures.
This book should probably have been renamed as "Beardstown Ladies book of recipes".
All you can take from this book is ... If some small town ladies can make "some" money in the market, you too can :-)
-Sachin
Poor Bearded ladies..........2005-04-08
Allow me to chime in a little, too. The ladies were probably running a ponzi game. It's hard to say whether it was intentional or not, but am I glad they are totally forgotten at this point. This episode does prove that not everything in print is true. A cynic's corollary: most things in print are not true.
A good read despite the controversy........2000-02-25
Despite controversy of the past, this is still a great down to earth book that will make you a better investor. One good idea can be worth big money. There are many good ideas and advice within the pages of this book. Especially well suited for those starting an investment club.
Average customer rating:
- Wonderful Research -- Woeful Reasoning
- Lincoln helps a murderer get off.
- A Good Book Spoiled
- Lincoln's Legal Ethics
- An embarassment to Lincoln scholarship
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Moonlight: Abraham Lincoln and the Almanac Trial
John Evangelist Walsh
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
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On Trial: American History Through Court Proceedings and Hearings
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On Trial: American History Through Court Proceedings and Hearings
ASIN: 0312229224 |
Book Description
On Aug. 29, 1857, in the light of a three-quarter moon, James Metzger was savagely beaten by two assailants in a grove not far from his home. Two days later he died and his assailants, James Norris and William Armstrong, were arrested and charged with his murder. Norris was tried and convicted first. As William "Duff" Armstrong waited for his trial, his own father died. James Armstrong's deathbed wish was that Duff's mother, Hannah, engage the best lawyer possible to defend Duff. The best person Hannah could think of was a friend, a young lawyer from Springfield by the name of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln took the case and with that begins one of the oddest journeys Lincoln took on his trek towards immortality. What really happened? How much did the moon reveal? What did Lincoln really know?Walsh makes a strong case for viewing Honest Abe in a different light in this tale of murder and moonlight.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful Research -- Woeful Reasoning.......2007-03-03
Walsh does diligent spadework with the original sources and clears up many misconceptions about the famous "Almanac Trial." Unfortunately he engenders a few misconceptions himself. The greatest misconception he engenders is his portrayal of Lincoln as behaving in an ethically challenged fashion. Not so.
Walsh reports that Lincoln, in his investigation, told a witness not to tell him about inculpatory evidence against his client and then goes on to have the witness manufacture exculpatory evidence. Not so. Walsh serious misinterprets what was going on. One of Armstrong's friends stood ready to testify that the slunshot found at the crime scene was his, that he had set it aside and forgotten it at the scene, and that insofar as he knew, Armstrong never had it. The slungshot was allegedly used by Armstrong to beat the victim. The witness also would have testified that he saw Armstrong hit Metzger with a wagon hammer, not a slunshot, but Lincoln didn't inquire into this evidence and didn't present it at trial. Lincoln did nothing unethical. As the representative of the defendant, who has a Fifth Amendment Privilege, Lincoln was under no duty to disclose inculpatory evidence. He was quite possibly foolish in calling the witness because the prosecution might have wheedled the information out of the witness on cross, but that didn't happen.
Walsh then speculates that Lincoln told the witness to testify that he mislaid the slunshot and the witness obliged. This speculation is contrary to the probabilities. The witness was afraid he would be asked on cross if he saw Armstrong hit Metzger. If he had been asked, he would have admitted it. If he was such a liar as to make up a story about mislaying the slungshot, he would not have stuck at lying and saying he never saw Armstrong hit Metzger.
Walsh then claims that when the star witness for the prosecution disappeared, Lincoln personally had him hauled into court so he could cross examine the man. Not so. Lincoln would have been happy to have the witness, one Allen, not appear, because he was the heart and soul of the state's case. Without him, there was no testimony that Armstrong hit Metzger with anything more than his fist, which could not have produced the injury. Lincoln retrieved the wayward witness because he learned that Armstrong's family had hidden him to keep him from testifying. If Allen had failed to appear on his own, Lincoln would have been under no obligation to go get him. But that is not what happened, Lincoln's "allies" spirited the witness away and he could not be party to such a circumvention of justice. When he found out about the maneuver, he ordered them to bring Allen back.
Then Walsh claims Lincoln lied in final argument. Judging by the eyewitness reports, Lincoln said some things that would never be said in a modern courtroom, but the 1800's were a time of bombastic oratory. What Lincoln supposedly said was nothing more than that, bombast aimed at stirring up sympathy.
Walsh's book shows that Lincoln comported himself strictly within the bounds of legal ethics, but you have to ignore Walsh's off-the-mark analysis to see it. I'd give the book two stars if it weren't such a goldmine of information on the trial.
Lincoln helps a murderer get off........2004-06-02
Walsh certainly comes up with an interesting topic that has been bypassed by other historians. The case involves Duff Anderson and his use of a deadly weapon in killing a large man. Because of his friendship with the family, Abe Lincoln defended Duff in court and got him acquited of the charge of murder. In the trial itself, Abe may have used an incorrect almanac, and this was not challenged by the prosecution. Because of this, a guilty man may have went free. Walsh also questions other Lincoln cases in the book. This is all interesting reading, even though unproven.
I give the author credit in writing about a topic that has not been explored in great detail. He writes this as history, but there is not enough evidence here to convict Lincoln. Lincoln used the full extent of his powers to defend his client. At this stage, there is not enough documentation to prove he doctored the almanac. This is a quick short interesting read.
A Good Book Spoiled.......2003-08-01
This is nearly a very good book. Walsh has done credible research and his bibliography is helpful. He clarifys the issues in the almanac trial and provides a picture of Lincoln at work as a defense attorney as few have. BUT.. In his introduction Walsh says, "no fictional coloring has been added" and eveything "rests squarely on documented sources." If only that were so. The tone of the book is like an over-ripe romance novel. I counted two !s and five usues of italics for emphasis in the introduction alone. He virtually admits he can not prove any of his more florid conclusions. A defense attorney is not on a quest for the truth. He or she need only make the prosecution's case look uncertain, which is what Lincoln did. Walsh states that Lincoln could not help the man convicted of killing Metzer, "without endangering Duff [Lincoln's client.]"
Duff had already been aquitted. He could not have been tried for the same crime twice. It is a shame that with all the good work he did Walsh did not present the case in a factual matter. he could have raised very interesting ethical questions about the role of a defense attorney with a very probably guilty client. He did not.
Lincoln's Legal Ethics.......2003-01-07
I think this book is an interesting evocation of the ethical scruples of Lincoln as lawyer. Contrary to the conclusion drawn by the author, the sources he relies upon demonstrate that Lincoln was ethical in the zealous representation of his client, an accused murderer. Even under today's legal standards, Lincoln would have been correct to instruct a witness that he was only interested in the witness's ability to testify on a single factual aspect of the trial and to instruct the witness to tell him nothing else except the truth about that single fact. During his preparation for trial, when the witness tried to stray from his instructions and inform Lincoln of other observations, Lincoln would have been within his right to interrupt and remind him that he mustn't offer additional observations beyond the fact requested.
Even today we instruct juries that they may believe all, part, or none of a witness's testimony. Lawyers are held to no different standards in their use of witnesses at trial except lawyers may not offer a witness whose testimony the lawyer believes would commit a fraud upon the court. Lincoln never placed this witness on the stand to elicit any testimony other than what the witness stated to be the truth. Thus the claim that Lincoln "suborned perjury" is naive and insulting. For all that, I enjoyed the underlying research, and the author's exposition of it. It does strike me that consultation with an attorney would have vastly improved the history and dampened the sensationalism.
An embarassment to Lincoln scholarship.......2000-10-04
"Moonlight" by John Walsh is an embarassment to honest Lincoln scholarship. It is a book with enormous potential to illustrate one of Abraham Lincoln's most famous legal cases, but instead it weaves a narrative feculent with specious logic; the factual assertions of unknown, unknowable and unproveable theories; and assumption after assumption after assumption. Walsh proves some important points, and makes good use of some primary and secondary sources. He offers a detailed account of the murder, the trial and the outcome that cannot be found elsewhere. However, the positive attributes of the book become overshadowed by Walsh's outrageous assertions of supposition as fact, his assertions without qualification or citation, and his complete reliance, as unassailable proof and fact, on the second-hand interview of a trial juror 50 years after the trial. More than once Walsh makes unknowable and unproveable assertions, then admits he can't prove them, then dismisses this serious circumstance as unimportant. For example: "That the charge was levelled during Lincoln's senatorial campaign of 1858 is stated in many sources but I have not been able to document it." (p 155) "Moonlight" is a lost opportunity. The frighteningly childish writing quality, the fanciful indulgences, suppositions, specious logic, appearance of questionable sources and Walsh's own obvious insularity in his investigative objective, make this book a sham, and an insult to the field of historical research.
Amazon.com
As in their first book, The Beardstown Ladies' Common-Sense Investment Guide, this lively group of ladies manages to explain in terms any layperson can understand how they have managed to outperform professional money managers since 1983 and build their retirement portfolios to enviable proportions. Folksy, funny, and filled with native money wisdom.
Book Description
The group of ladies who make up the Beardstown Ladies' Investment Club has been making money together since 1983. In their national bestseller The Beardstown Ladies' Common-Sense Investment Guide, they explained in simple terms how they beat the stock market by doing their homework, using common sense, and investing for the long term.
Now they bring their homespun wisdom to retirement planning in The Beardstown Ladies' Stitch-in-time Guide to Growing Your Nest Egg. In this handbook you'll learn everything there is to know about preparing for your financial future and guaranteeing yourself a comfortable retirement.
With their common sense, down-to-earth approach, The Beardstown Ladies will teach you every trick and tip for living out your golden years in comfort -- just the way they do! From learning the ins and outs of IRA's and determining your Social Security benefits to creating a budget in 10 easy steps and finding the best places to retire, it's all in here. The Beardstown Ladies' Stitch-in-time Guide to Growing Your Nest Egg is the perfect guide for everyone who cares about their financial future.
Customer Reviews:
Not as great as it sounds.......2000-04-26
The book offers basic information on how to invest and save money, but, that's all it does. The book is more appropriate for someone at a later stage of their life, and for someone who has no idea how one should save or invest money. If you already know the basic information about investing, then this book is not for you.
A Primer on Common Sense Investments and Financial Info.......1996-05-26
If ever there were a standard primer for financial information, my vote would be this book. What a wonderful gift this book would
make for a newly married couple, or even a daughter who has just graduated high school or college. A son, too for that matter! As
someone who has never had much extra money, I just recently graduated from college and am now pursuing full time employment, I know
that when I begin bringing in that second income, that I will want to have some education on what to do with it. I bought this book for that purpose.
It is a basic information book that provides vital facts and figures to anyone needing advice in regards to insurance, 401K, stocks, bonds, retirement and ect.
For someone who has just a limited knowledge of these topics, this book will be a Godsend. A child could read and understand the concepts presented in this book.
It gives resources for more information as well. Pick up this book and you will expand your financial horizons! The book is written in a very casual, witty and motherly type fashion.
It will make you warm and fuzzy! And perhaps even fatten your wallet
Customer Reviews:
Give me a break.......2002-02-13
With the well known clerical errors in computing their investment returns, why would anyone waste any time, not to mention money, on these "unlucky" ladies advice.Try instead, any book by Larry Swedroe, John Bowen, William Bernstein, or Charles Ellis.
The Beardstown Ladies Pocket-Book Guide to Picking Stocks.......2000-07-13
From 1975, when a "full-service" broker sold some loser stocks to me, all the way up to January 2000, I thought the stock market was an unknowable morass of pitfalls for the "ordinary" working person. Then I read The Beardstown Ladies Pocket-Book Guide to Picking Stocks. Their straightforward style encouraged me to study further, then to join the National Association of Investment Clubs (as an individual member), and to start studying, picking, and buying stocks through an on-line discount broker. Thanks to the Beardstown Ladies, I now believe it will be possible for me to someday retire.
I recommend this book without reservation. I just wish I had found a book like this 35 years ago. And I wish I could locate some more copies of the book, since mine is getting dog-eared and worn because I return to it constantly as a REFERENCE, of all things! Also I want some copies for gifts to younger family members.
Buy this book. It explains common-stock investing in a very clear and engaging style.
An excellent, helpful methodology for analyzing investments........1998-12-22
For anyone who is interested in investing in stocks for long-term growth, this is an excellent, well-laid out book for analyzing companies, and helping you determine where to start looking. It is not for the lazy investor who wants to make a bundle on a quick "tip" or magical formulas. If you're willing to take the time to really research a company before you invest in it, this book lays out the steps and the methodology in a very clear, step-by-step methodolgy. It's not the "how-to-make a million overnight" type of book, but rather, how to sensibly invest your money for the long-term in the stock market. I highly recommend it.
Read the card, read the card!.......1998-08-22
A funny thing happened in the bookstore today. I picked up theBeardstown Ladies' Pocketbook Guide to Picking Stocks and read theback cover to see if it was worthwhile reading or buying the book. "My goodness", I thought, "23.4% these ladies know how to kick A..." Then I found a white card inside where they sheepishly confessed that it was really only 9.1%. This confirmed by an article found on the CNN financial network. It seems these financial geniuses are "mathematically challenged". If these ladies and the publisher had any integrity, they would recall all the books, have an educated, certified competent financial analyst review and redo all their calculations and republish an HONEST copy.
Book Description
ReferenceLarge Print Edition* A New York Times BestsellerOn the heels of the enormous success of their first two national bestsellers, The Beardstown Ladies offer more of the common-sense wisdom that has made them the most trusted financial advisors in America. Now the fourteen women tell us exactly what we need to know and do to spend the least and get the most. Its easy once you know the ground rules and the ladies show you how with fail-proof planners, worksheets, charts, graphs, and a spending-smart Savings Pyramid that cant miss.
Customer Reviews:
Beardstown Ladies Guide to Smart Spending for Big Savings.......2004-02-10
This book has a wealth of information on how to save money.
It is directed to middle age and elderly people. For instance,
the book provides car buying checklists, brand name equivalents,
repair or replace decision-making criteria, insulation R value
statistics and the priority pyramid . The priority pyramid
ranks spending categories by order of importance. There is a
section of mail order drugs and comparative pricing to local
pharmacies. This book is worth the price of admission in every
respect. It will help you in your personal planning and
routine purchasing decisions.
Everyday hints.......2002-10-05
This book has a lot of every day hints that are timeless.
Pathetic.......1999-11-20
OK, Now that it is official that they didn't beat the market, they have reversed gears and try to address the savings part. Nothing to differentiate this from a zillion other such books. I should grant them one thing, they know how to market their name to catch on the gullible.
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The Beardstown Ladies' Common-Sense Investment Guide: How We Beat the Stock Market-And How You Can, Too
The Beardstown Ladies' Stitch-In-Time Guide to Growing Your Nest Egg: Step-By-Step Planning for a Comfortable Financial Future
The Beardstown Ladies' Pocketbook Guide to Picking Stocks
The Beardstown Ladies' Guide to Smart Spending for Big Savings: How to Save for a Rainy Day Without Sacrificing Your Lifestyle
