 Financial First-Aid - Cramer Style |
| Review Date: October 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: javajunki, |
First a caveat, Jim Cramer seriously annoys me. I rarely ever watch his show (especially after the notorious "melt-down") and less frequently read his books. However, as a college instructor and business writer, I read a lot of business books and make a point of keeping up with what is in the popular press since it tends to come up in daily questions etc...admittedly, I was also curious how well a book claiming to help people "Get back to Even" was going to do in the ratings...it's certainly a modest proposal at best and a constant reminder of financial pain at worst. Much to my surprise, Cramer actually mentions this early in the text so score one for Cramer!
The book is easy to read with a purely conversational tone; those that enjoy Cramer will feel right at home while those such as myself will still manage to get through it without constant irritation like listening to him on television. There is an abundant use of examples to explain any all all technical terms no matter how simple or complex but they do not (usually) insult the readers intelligence but rather enhance the reading nicely. The author assumes the reader has minimal prior exposure and takes little for granted so even novice investors or those that have always had their portfolio managed by someone other than themselves will not need to read with references in hand.
Now, as to the core of the concepts covered in the book itself. Cramer begins by presenting 8 new rules which are more or less "common sense" but well worth repeating given the typical lack of financial savvy of most "investors". I suspect most people will enjoy the statistics and rationale more than the actual "rules" themselves but it effective presents a foundation from which the rest of the book is written while acting as the typical disclaimer for all financial related books (ie, get your basics covered first).
Like any investment related book, there are likely areas to agree and disagree with...but if one manages to pick up a few nuggets it is well worth the time and effort to read. This book is no exception. Cramer is Pro diversification, gold/precious metals, dividends, performing your own research and weekly updates for stocks that you select. He goes into more detail than usual in how to research these stocks, his rationale for selection criteria and examples from both sucessful and non-successful examples in his own past.
For those that are well versed in reading/understanding financial statements, most of this will be rudimentary but as a person that routinely deals with people in various stages of financial literacy - there is a strong need for user-friendly information that can be applied directly to one's own portfolio. Cramer earns an "A"...he keeps the information direct, relevant and easy to understand while covering the flaws and limitations of everything from valuation to growth rates and the impact of "big money".
After a fairly robust section on dividends (like a dividends 101 abbreviated course), Cramer goes on to name 12 stocks to watcch for the recovery including a few well placed plus for his show and newsletter. As a general rule, I despise books that are thinly veiled marketing materials but in this case, didn't dock a point from the review because he showed quite a bit of self restraint and kept it to a minimum. Each recommendation is supported by a full rational including areas serviced, history, future potential etc as would be expected. Whether you agree or not, each is well worth the time for consideration and/or to use as a foundation for your own selections.
Bottom line - worth the time and effort to read. Novice investors will appreciate the examples and conversational style, more experienced investors will appreciate the actual stock selections with rational behind each even if you disagree. I suspect one of the largest complaints will be on what is NOT included in this book as well as the typical (and expected) diagreement surrounding Cramer's general investment advice...of course, readers should not expect a radical departure and will get what is expected in terms of Cramer's general investment orientation, style etc...
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Great book for beginners
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| Review Date: April 10, 2010 |
| Reviewer: S. J. Vega, Orange City, FL |
I admit I love his show but the real reason I give this book 5 stars is for the Options chapter. Every option site I have viewed made it seem so complicated, which it can be, but buying call options is as easy as it gets and for me so far very profitable.
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Good book
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| Review Date: October 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: R. Sur, US |
I really like the book. Thanks Jim Cramer for the investment insight again.
1. One thing what Jim talks about is how the mutual fund play in the stock market.
2. This is important you need to buy stocks when the market is in a uptrend and a stock which is hitting the 52 weeks high is going to go higher.
3. Also investment is about gaining knowledge.
4. One other important lesson in investment is how and when to sell your stocks.
5. The most important rule as I learned from William O Neil or IBD ( Investors Business Daily) is sell a stock when it goes below 8% of your purchase price.
6. If one had followed this rule people would have conserved their hard earned capital in 2001 and 2008.
7. Jim covers in details about Visa and Apple, two powerful stocks for the next 5 years atleast.
8. Its true what he has stated stocks have produced the best return if we go back to last 8 decades.
9. But in investment one needs discipline, understanding, patience, when to buy, when to sell.
Lastly I would encourage retail investors to do their own research and homework. For that along with Jim Cramer one should be a a serious reader of
Investors Business Daily. In fact even Jim reads it. If you look at his recent shows he talks about arcsight, Salesforce, Apple, Visa , Flir systems they
are all covered in detail in IBD. One place where Jim lost out this year in 2009 was in Chinese stocks. He kept talking about Chinese ETFs whereas the
reality was when the uptrend started in March 2009, it was led by Chinese stocks like SNDA, NTES, PWRD, BIDU, ASIA, RINO. They were extensively covered in IBD.
To be a successful retail one needs to be diversified in their research as well. So combine IBD with Jim's books and also the book of Jesse Livermore,
Gerald O Loeb, Nicholas Darvis and one will be a winner in the long run.
Investment is a long term process of learning. Good luck and best wishes. |
Cramer shows investors how to get their portfolio back to even
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| Review Date: November 30, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Steve Burns, Nashville, TN |
I would buy this book regardless of what your personal opinion is of Jim Cramer. My investing and stock trading style is very different from his but I agree with him on most points in this book. In this book Cramer focuses on many risk adjusted strategies that over time will bring your portfolios back to even, if you are down the 30-50% like most investors are in the past two years. (I am a trend follower and did my homework on the fundamentals so I went to cash on January 4th, 2008). I completely agree with Cramer's advice to never buy and hold, but buy and homework. I know this is true from personal experience. Cramer also points out that if your investments drop by 50% you must have a 100% return to get back to even. If $100,000 drops by 50% to $50,000 it has to go back up 100% to get back to $100,000. This is sobering, however I would also like to point out that a compounded 12% return six times is a 100% return, this is certainly possible and this book will show you many ways to accomplish this.
1). Jim suggests buying great stocks at good prices, he advises not to chase stocks but wait for pullbacks to buy what you want at the right price. never chase a stock when it goes beyond a reasonable price. (This also explains why he loves certain stocks then a week later does not, the stock became to expensive).
2). He gives great strategies on how to use the right dividend stocks to get steady low tax returns. Dividend stocks hold value better than other stocks in huge sell offs. He shows how to choose the ones with strong steady earnings to get the ones that are accidentally high yielders and avoid the ones about to cut their dividends due to declining earnings.
3). He gives you twelve specific stocks that he believes will benefit greatly when the full economic recovery takes place. They are all very strong companies in different sectors: construction, financial, industrial, housing, and oil, etc.
4). He suggests investing in companies that will benefit from the growing world of wireless internet. He believes that the growth in this industry will be a growth story of epic proportions.
5). He gives names of regional banks with strong balance sheets, and good loan practices, that are poised for growth through takeovers and better management. Cramer has seen this before in the savings and loan disaster and recovery of the early 90's.
6). For the first time in one of his books Jim Cramer explains how to use deep in the money call options intelligently for low risk returns.
7). He urges us not to become perma-bears and miss the recovery. Things will recover and we must be invested to take advantage of it when it arrives.
The book ends with twenty-five new rules for post-apocalyptic trading. Which gives some great advice including how to use secondary stock offerings to make money by buying in at the right time. Also, how to choose the right IPO to buy based on who is taking it public. At the end of the book he rails against the dangers of double and triple leverages ETFs, showing how they have daily returns that in the long term do not mirror the index it is reflecting. You can be short a double leverged financial ETF and still not make money after the financial sector crashes for two months due to volatility and daily rebalancing. They are strictly for day traders.(I agree, and I have done very well day trading them, but they are also sometimes great for trend following for days and sometimes weeks).
I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I would and learned several things to help me in my investing and trading. I highly recommend it for anyone starting on the road to get you portfolio back to even or just get great returns from being a more informed investor.
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Cramer is good. But he's not a hero.
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| Review Date: November 4, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Walter H. Kuenstler, Pennsylvania, USA |
Cramer begins with six rules for protecting the money you have and making sure that you have the money you need. (Rule Number 3: Skip the first four stages of portfolio grief: denial, anger, bargaining, and depression.) Your portfolio won't fix itself; you have to do that. It's easy to close your eyes and pretend that it all never happened, but you'll never get back to even that way, much less profit from the opportunities that this new market offers to investors who know where to put their money. One key to making investment decisions is to watch what the mutual-fund managers are doing and -- better yet -- to anticipate their moves. Cramer tells you how to do this. Their decisions will move markets, and you want to profit from these moves.
Of course, Cramer begins from the premise that his readers lost their shirts in the past year. An alternative perspective that those serious about financial planning should consider is put forth in Fasten Your Financial Seat Belt Fasten Your Financial Seatbelt: What A Fatal Plane Crash Taught Me About Retirement Planningby regular [...] contributor, Tom Scott. Scott, as you may know, gained a degree of fame when he was a hero crew member on a 747 that crashed in flames--he pulled 12 passengers to safety before the plane exploded. iIs point of view is that proper preparation is key, and that savvy investors always have a plan in case of a market catastrophe. He tries to avoid disaster, rather than focus on recovering from it.
This is a short read, and a page turner. And his advice on how to avoid common traps such as the temptation to acquire plumage can make a real difference in your peace of mind---and your bank account. |
Good book
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| Review Date: May 16, 2010 |
| Reviewer: J. Evans, Tulsa |
I learned a lot of information that I will use. I wish he had used more charts but he explained things in a very understandable way.
I bought it mainly for the 2 options chapters. That alone was worth the price of the book.
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How about staying ahead by avoidng the madness?
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| Review Date: November 9, 2009 |
| Reviewer: 503Conway, |
For the first time in any of his books, Cramer offers a portfolio of twelve stocks that he says are poised to profit from the economic recovery. And he gives investors a list of five regional banks that could make big moves and return a handsome reward to shareholders. As always, Cramer explains why investors can't just take his word but have to "buy and homework" on these stocks to make sure that their stories don't change.
If you're near or in retirement, Cramer tells you why stocks should still be an important part of your investment portfolio. And for younger investors, Cramer explains why you must take advantage of what could be a rare opportunity to buy stocks at fabulous prices and set up a terrific portfolio. And as if all that weren't enough, Cramer has come up with twenty-five new rules for the post-crash market. (Rule Number 4. It pays to follow the dumb money.)
My friend who always seems to know more than any one else in our circle about money says that recovering from the crash is a good idea, of course.
But the better idea is to avoid the crash entirely.
He recommends a new book by Tom Scott, an investment advisor from Irving, California whose claim to fame is having been a hero aboard the first ever fatal crash of a big 747 jet. He rescued a dozen passengers from the flaming wreckage.
Scott went from being a jet crewmember to one of SoCal's top financial advisors. His new book is titled, appropriately enough, FASTEN YOUR FINANCIAL SEAT BELT. Fasten Your Financial Seatbelt: What A Fatal Plane Crash Taught Me About Retirement Planning
Moneyman Scott suggests that just as passengers in a plane crash panic and freeze, allowing smoke and flames to kill them, that investors do the same in a market crash. Sitting tight is one way to destroy your wealth.
Of course, the real key to to pre-plan so that you always have an exit strategy in mind, and to always have alternative strategies at the ready when conditions change.
A rising star, Author Scott is a regular contributor to [...], has been in the NY Times, and I know I've heard him on the radio in Washington DC.
This is slim book, attractively priced,and probably a very good companion to Mad Jim. Hero Tim and Mad Jim, now there's a combination! I know who I'd rather have at the controls of my financial future.Fasten Your Financial Seatbelt: What A Fatal Plane Crash Taught Me About Retirement Planning |
Cramerica Rocks
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| Review Date: November 30, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Cynthia V, |
| I'm a fan of Jim's show on CNBC, and this book is a supplement to all his great television material. He writes in a clear, concise, yet entertaining manner, and takes the fear out of becoming abundant and prosperous again. I recommend this book as a must-read for everyone looking to take control of their financial lives. |
His BEST Book to date! Amazing insight into the markets now, and for the future!
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| Review Date: May 13, 2010 |
| Reviewer: S. Adair, Dallas, TX |
| This is a MUST HAVE for anyone investing more then $100 in the markets. Jim Cramer covers ALL spectrums of the markets in this one. From Options - to ETF's - 401k's - best yielding stocks - to must own stocks for any portfolio. This book has already saved me thousands in errors I was making and did not even know it. So many lessons to learn in this one! |
Jim Cramer book
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| Review Date: November 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: E., USA |
The book is a good guide that can help investors around US. Some parts are challenging, but is important to dig on them and understand the market behavior from a truly professional market player. I do have accounting background but regardless of that i found the book helpful , to be a better investor in the future.
Thank you Mr. Cramer. |
Getting Back To Even With A Vengence!
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| Review Date: November 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Charlie, Green Cove Springs, Florida |
Cramer cuts to the chase when it comes to explaining how to get your money back. My money languished in a mutual fund like a political prisoner for way too long. The ski-daddy proposed a break out, and on a moonless night I pulled it off, driving the get-away vehicle for my shriveled dollars. And it's all in his latest book, "Getting Back To Even."
I needed a no-nonsense explanation about how the stock market works. I intended to use real money and I didn't want any screwing around. This book doesn't, explaining how you can plan. The operative word is plan, and sticking to it with discipline. Cramer will teach you jungle warfare, and keep you from getting killed on your first step out of the helicopter. His book is the equivalent of ammunition and clean dry socks for your next mission.
Better yet, he will continue to coach you from "Mad Money" so you can plan forays of your own. It's like "Call of Duty," except you get real money--the blood is real too. (You are hurt, take cover). |
Very Helpful Investing Tools
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| Review Date: November 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: T. Hunt, |
| I wish this book had been available a year ago. I would have made it back to even a lot sooner. The option strategies and IPO analysis sections were particularly helpful. I begin using those recommendations immediately. |
Getting Back To Even
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| Review Date: December 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: C. Hieronymus, |
| This is an excellent book. It was delivered in record time. Will order from this company again. cheryl |
great reading
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| Review Date: December 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Vern Trahan, PALMDALE, CA, US |
| This book is very easy to read and understand.It has some great ideas to get back to even.Best Jim Cramer book Ive' read yet.Great price from Amazon. |
Review of Getting Back to Even
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| Review Date: December 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Robert F. Mclaughlin, Dallas, Texas |
Jim writes in an interesting style. To understand Jim you should know that he started out as a writer and news reporter. I believe that these are the unique talents Jim uses in his TV show to get your attention and then to report market news back to you.
Jim actually has a reporter and writers background. (From Jim's [...] Bio, Jim graduated from Harvard College where he was President and Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious daily The Harvard Crimson. After graduation he became a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat and later for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner where he covered stories ranging from homicides to sporting events.)
I read Cramer's previous book REAL MONEY SANE INVESTING, also written for the home-gamer amateur investor, so I'm familiar with Cramer's writing style and philosophies.
Here are Cramer's basic topics.
1. Understanding the markets why people actually buy and sell
2. Investing in dividend stocks
3. 12 stock recommendations and also bank stock recommendations
4. Using options
5. Using ETF's and avoiding toxic ETF's.
6. 25 trading rules
7. Other trading ideas
Jim covers, what really controls stock prices. It is not the intrinsic fundamentals of a stock. I it simply when you have more buyers than sellers that moves the stock up and vice versa for down moves. Jim covers using market cycles and sector rotation to capitalize on these major moves.
Jim's coverage of dividend stock is very thorough. He covers dividend dates and his must-own date. I never knew that good dividend stocks protect you against short sellers, until Jim told me. And Jim tells you how to use simple stock metrics to determine if an accidentally high-yielder stock is a safe dividend or not!
The one thing Jim excels at is explaining his Thesis or reason to be invested in a stock or market. I know of no other TV show host or writer that can get right to the point and explain a Buy thesis as well as Jim Cramer. This is apparent in his recommendations of his 12 recovery stocks. Each recommendation is supported by a well-reasoned thesis that include buying rational, fundamentals, market analysis, future stock expectations.
Jim's 25 rules of investing give you a tool to re-evaluate your own trading and investment plans.
Jim is never a doom-and-gloom guy. He writes in an easy reading style and presents a realistic and positive future of the U.S. and the stock market.
BooYaa Jim Cramer
I recommend this timely book as a good read for 2009, 2010 and beyond.
Robert F. McLaughlin AIA, NCARB
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Jim will make you a better investor
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| Review Date: October 17, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Paul Nunes, Kansas City |
| When you read the acknowledgements at the back of the book you will read a sincere thanks to readers of [...], the books and Mad Money viewers. I know from personal experience the thanks and his effort to help investors is sincere. The internet has created a giant library for all to access; and Jim's dream of [...] elevated financial news, reporting, and analysis to a level way beyond public television and The Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately, the internet and mass media has also created a world where bloggers, columnists, and tv media personalities can present their views without rigorous critique. How can the public distinguish between "the real deal" and superficial analysis? Jim's writings at [...], Mad Money, and all of his books give you the tools to make intelligent judgements regarding what you see, hear, and read regarding your investments. But you need to resign yourself to hardwork and effort as DEFINED by JIm's writings; that is the only way to improve your thinking. Back to even??.. as someone that has known Jim was the real deal for a long time (and grateful for it) I am way past that. Thank you for the hard work on our behalf! |
AWESOME book
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| Review Date: October 21, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Mick Hendrickson, |
To give readers a review of the basic ideas presented in this book:
- "For every stock you own, you must spend at least an hour a week checking up on the underlying company, and that's in addition to the research you ought to do before buying a new stock." Don't go by "gut feeling", don't see "what's hot" in your kids classroom when you buy stock. Just because a company is "hot" doesn't mean it is well run financially. It may be well marketed, but marketing is only ONE component of a good company. Fine print in financial statements, high debt levels and company leadership that is overcompensated are tell-tale signs that YOU need to pay attention to. But don't trust Cramer on this, it's what Warren Buffet says too in his essays: The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Second Edition
- "You should never buy into the notion that "it's too late to sell."" You can focus on the long-term value of stocks, and still take action when required given market conditions. You don't need to sell your WHOLE portfolio when the market is beginning to collapse, selling a portion may actually IMPROVE your long-term prospects.
- Cramer is a very talented journalist and writer, so the entertainment value DOUBLES the value of the book. If you like to learn, and you like to trade, this book is worth the money. Personally, I feel Confessions of a Street Addict remains Cramer's best book of all time.
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Key Picks
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| Review Date: November 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Donald R. Dion, |
| Jim gives specific picks that are outstanding for this new bull market. A must read for investors that are looking to make money now. |
But this book now, it will be too late later
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| Review Date: December 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Nannie McPhee, Tucson, AZ USA |
| Easy to read and down to earth. Jim Cramer makes it all make sense. This is not a "Get Rich Quick and Easy' book. That's why I can believe the advise. The advice is pertinent right now. Once the recovery occurs, it will be too late to use this book. You'' have missed the oppotunity. |
This it "the" book
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| Review Date: January 7, 2010 |
| Reviewer: billyk, |
Jim Cramer's "Getting Back To Even" can give you the keys to a money making machine. I have read other of his books and they all are worth many times the purchase price. Cramer's been there and done it, so he tells you what really works in an easy to understand way. He "gives back" so much. The Street. com is his comprehensive web site and he is on CNBC every trading day.
Bill K |
Very Satisfied!
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| Review Date: March 27, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Super Shopper :), California |
The listing for this book said it was used, but when I received it, it looked brand new! My dad is a fan of Cramer, and Mad Money, so he loved the book.
Very quick shipping. |
Jim Cramer's Getting Back to Even
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| Review Date: November 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: John D. Roberts, Sr., |
| Great book. A must read if you want to get back to even. I enjoy all of Jim Cramer's books. |
Jim Cramer's "Getting Back to Even" in Santa's bag!
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| Review Date: November 17, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Santa Claus, Oklahoma City, OK |
| I was delighted when I found Jim Cramer's new book already available on Amazon--and at a such a good price. As result, I purchased my first two Christmas gifts and had them in hand within 5 days! |
Hey it's Cramer!
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| Review Date: November 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Julie A. Brewer, San Francisco |
| This is Jim Cramer's latest (and greatest!) publication; very worthwhile reading and entertaining as well. Highly recommended. |
Very instructive
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| Review Date: November 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Manfred E. Angermann, |
| I find Cramer's "Getting back to even" an excellent instructive manual for the average part time investor. especially that investor who was hurt in the recent financial crisis. |
His Best Book EVER....
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| Review Date: December 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Jeffrey Shapiro, Hollywood, FL |
| He speaks in laymen terms and gives you concise information. He give you pics/plays/high yielders/options (YES OPTIONS). LOVE THE AUDIOBOOK! |
Jim Cramer GBTE
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| Review Date: December 12, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Joseph A. Phillion, |
| Informative...very "readable" and understandable for non pro investor...TIMELY...actually pertinent to todays economic climate...investments...stocks...light anecdotes to keep you from getting bored...yet inciteful. |
New Cramer Book
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| Review Date: January 7, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Mark J. Pittas, Spring City, Pa |
| Getting Back To Even was a Christmas gift for my brother. He loves the book and it was a terrific purchase, arriiving quickly and in brand new condition. |
Ignore the short, angry critical reviews
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| Review Date: October 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Vance Hanin, Florida |
For prospective purchasers, hopefully you read the reviews to items before you buy them. In the case of this book, Getting Back to Even, I want you all to know that you can safely ignore the vague, uninformative, and unhelpful reviews left by some members (who probably haven't even read the book). You should not be purchasing this book unless you know something about the author, Jim Cramer. He has a daily show here in the US, every week day at 6PM EST on CNBC where he discusses stocks and their companies. If you have aren't familiar with Mr. Cramer, don't buy this book. Buy his earlier books. Though they are not cataloged or described as a series, the different books focus on different aspects of investing. They all provide general investing information, but it loosely breaks down like this (I am not listing all of his books, just the ones I've read):
Real Money: One of his earlier books, it explains his methodology in an overview fashion. This is where I would recommend starting.
Mad Money: This book follows Real Money and goes into more detail on many aspects of Real Money, such as his prescribed homework for your stock picks.
Stay Mad for Life: This book focuses more on investing for retirement, so it's not as suited to younger folks such as myself (25/male). But it is still a great guide with a ton of great information on preparing yourself for retirement at almost any age.. except perhaps if you're already retired!
Getting Back to Even: Despite what some of the sensibility-impaired critics have implied or outright accused, Cramer never suggests that he is infallible, nor does he ever give you the illusion that if you do what he tells you that you will never lose money. He always makes it clear that investing in stocks, especially speculative stocks, has inherent risk attached to it and that no matter how good you are, you WILL lose money. The goal of his books is to help teach you how to minimize your losses and maximize your gains, with the only limit being the amount of effort you are willing or able to put into the process. Getting Back to Even is for helping those whose portfolios have been hit hard by the global recession. Again, this isn't the right book to purchase as a starting point; read his earlier books first.
And just for the record, if all you did was listen to Cramer recommend a stock on his show, Mad Money, and then went and bought the stock without doing the homework he RELIGIOUSLY instructs you to do, you deserved to lose your money because you ignored EVERYTHING he has told you to do to make money. Mad Money, the show, is not a stock-picking show. He doesn't just say the name of stocks he likes. He tells you WHY these stocks are good, in his professional opinion. He helps you with your research but he is NOT a substitute for it. Don't attack him because you were too lazy or impatient to do it properly. All he teaches you is to basically learn as much as humanly possible about the stocks you own or want to own-- how can that possibly be a "scam"? |
Hyper-charged entertainment.....
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| Review Date: October 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Sreeram Ramakrishnan, Lynnfield, MA |
In his trademark hyper-caffeinated style, Cramer's latest gig is an attempt to how to get one's portfolio back to even (from the beating it took during the recent financial crises). Considering the market has significantly moved up much before this book was released, the timeliness of some of Cramer's observation are probably not that great. Despite numerous references to how he made money for his rich clients in his hedge fund (his having to leave that field is of course not under glamorous circumstances), constant self-congratulatory references to his famous "sell" calls the book actually is quite an entertaining read. If a reader is going to be so enamored of Cramer (or any expert - real or not) that you will be timing and selecting your investment decisions, heaven help you. One should read this book for what is worth - an entertaining read that can provoke some thoughts.
After a old-wine-in-new-bottle take on dividends, Cramer focuses on identifying key stocks (12 of them) that he thinks are best poised for the "recovery" - all recognizable names. The rationale for their inclusion is OK...but then, you wouldn't expect to find significant information edge from popular press, would you?
Cramer's investing style, often characterized as momentum plays, takes a very curious turn when he starts talking about regional banks. Who knew there is an element of contrarian investor in him! And his rationale and picks have been given with his trademark humility ("I'm certain of it").
Despite all the academic papers (and a few theses) that have been written on Cramer's impact on stock performance, it is difficult to argue with the fact that he does energize a relatively newer segment of investors/traders with his "simplification approach". He takes it too far when he talks about options in this book. Without devoting significant time into the margin requirements and the hyper risks from leverage, Cramer talks about calls/puts as if this is a magical way to resurrect a portfolio. This oversimplification has the power to hurt than help.
His "new" 25 rules of investing is a good opportunity to critique one's own thinking or investment plans and perhaps is the best part of the book. Overall, an entertaining read with some nuggets of information, but the oversimplification and his trademark narrative style may appeal only to his fanatic fans. |
I Don't Know How To Feel
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| Review Date: July 14, 2010 |
| Reviewer: C. Oliver, Worcester, MASSACHUSETTS United States |
Since I usually find myself buying puts on the stocks that Jim Cramer reccomends and have occassionally made large sums on it (Inuitive Surgical anyone, the I in his CANDIES made me 20,000 thousand dollars when it collapsed from 350 to 308 dollars, and I had puts for 330) I can't really reccomend his show. But, nonetheless, doing your homework, studying the stocks, and giving Jim Cramer a listen can be interesting and helpful. His books were the first thing I read because he was the only personality I knew about that had to do with the stock market, and I learned a lot of stuff.
This book has a lot of good information that can probably help you get back to even and even start to get ahead, but I don't feel the book completely stands alone, I feel that without having read Watch T.V and Get Rich, Stay Mad, and Real Money, I wouldn't have gotten as much out of the book as I did, and wouldn't have felt so good about it. That is why I don't know how to feel about this book.
I'm not sure if it stands on its own. Reading through many of the reviews, I wonder how many people have gone through all of his other books. But that's really my only concern.
This book is full of information, including some picks to look at. The information he gives you is solid, including a good strategy of buying deep in the money calls. Options are the often overlooked strategy of the investor, but can be a great aide for the individual to speculate with a little money, or to hedge a bet against volatility.
Jim Cramer brings all his usual energy into this book and comes up with a streatgy that can realistically help you get back to even and get ahead in this new environment of chaotic confusion. This book is a refreshing, realistic calm--Cramer Calm--approach that can help people start organizing their portfolios and start getting back what they lost.
Because of that, I reccomend the book wholeheartedly, especially for people who are already familiar with Jim Cramer's books. |
Excellent book for anyone interested in basic stock investing
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| Review Date: February 14, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Rich Duisenberg, |
| While I have a hard time watching Mad Money on TV with all those "Booyahs" and noisemakers, Jim Cramer's writing style is very calm, clear and generally to the point. In Getting Back to Even, he gives a good overview of the market yesterday and today, followed by several strategies for getting ahead in a turbulent market. Truly a worthwhile read for beginners like myself, and maybe even for some hold hands. |
From the stock trenches, how to rebuild your portfolio.
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| Review Date: November 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: photondn, Florida, USA |
Jim Cramer's Getting Back to Even is about trading/investment strategies to build one's portfolio in the wake of the economic crisis.
This was really an interesting book. I have read Cramer's three previous books which were geared towards the amateur investor and the mainstream investor such as the type who would watch his show Mad Money. This book, on the other hand, explains elaborate yet nifty trading techniques and ideas that might cater to the intermediate investor.
Inside this book covers the following topics:
- Investing high dividend yield stocks
- Consider regional banks for your portfolio
- Using options to lock gains and add greater gains to existing positions
- steering clear of some ETF's.
- how to approach secondary offers
- lists a smorgasbord of rules and ideas for the given trading environment.
The topic about options was interesting. He spent a great deal explaining options and how options can be used conservatively. I was quite surprised to read about options, because in the past I had the impression he sheltered the novice and mainstream traders from elaborate trading techniques in order to limit high risk exposure from the traders. I had to reread certain parts on options a few times just to get what he was conveying.
Cramer's language in this book was quite colorful, more so than his previous books. He writes from a hedge fund manager perspective. This was definitely a different book from the previous three. Cramer lays out a lot of his trading techniques and ideas in this book. From a number of parts in the book, he describes the thinking behind the major market players, such as hedge fund managers, mutual fund managers, journalists, and dumb money, so much so that I have a good picture on why the market moved the way it did for the past year.
Before considering this book, bear in mind one thing: Cramer seems to have a lot of faith in the economy, the Fed, and the US Government. This is going to run counter with some of the doom-and-gloom books like Crash Proof and Financial Reckoning Day Fallout. The doom-and-gloom books look at the market from a global perspective, while Cramer's book takes a perspective from the stock market trenches. Interestingly, both Cramer and the gloom-and-doom books have one thing in common: gold.
This is not a doom-and-gloom book. This is more about trading for the long term investor and even for the short-term trader. The book has some interesting information. it gave me a glimpse of what the big momey players did in the stock market.
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Very good!
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| Review Date: February 5, 2010 |
| Reviewer: E. Hochberg, TX |
| This is a good book. It's a bit of a repeat of his show, but with more detail. I recommend reading this book, but be sure to read others on more technical detail on how to invest in the stock market. All in all, it's helpful. |
Cramer does it again....
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| Review Date: December 8, 2009 |
| Reviewer: JW, |
| Jim Cramer has set a difficult task for himself being an entertainer, educator, investor and author. In his writing, I think that he does a very good job of speaking to the audience he calls "home gamers." The book adds more investing ideas to his previous work and, more importantly, Mr. Cramer spells out several companies that he would recommend...and the reasons why. In this book, Jim is much more specific about the nuts and bolts for how he looks at companies in different business sectors. Yes, Cramer is a showman. However, I wouldn't make the mistake of dismissing his ideas. This book helped me understand more about some specific techniques that should increase my investment returns. In that sense, it's already paid for itself! |
Classic Cramer
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| Review Date: November 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: B. Perry, South Florida |
| Like him or not Cramer is not affraid to stick his neck out there. He actually gives individual stock recommendations in this book. I am a big fan of Cramer and this is a great addition to his library. |
Cramer's Getting Back to Even
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| Review Date: November 20, 2009 |
| Reviewer: E. Gittleman, San Francisco |
The vendor provided great service especially when I could not track the shipment because of a tracking number error on the email provided by Amazon.
As for the book, just like the last book I read by Jim Cramer, there is a lot of great information and ideas, however, I feel that they are getting paid by the word. I like the book to be a book, not a one-way conversation with the author where he keeps telling me what he is about to tell me. Jim needs to assume his readers are educated and then get to the point and not beat around the bush. |
Mixed bag of advice
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| Review Date: October 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Swami B, Harlem, NY USA |
I liked this book better than some of Cramer's past books on amateur investing and trading. The first few chapters provide a long-winded explanation of how economic recovery inevitably follows recessions, and Cramer explains how he learned lessons from past market declines. He also repeats his past message of 'buy and homework,' meaning that buying a stock requires a commitment of an hour a week of reading about the company, economic outlook and industry trends. He again cites the virtues of diversification.
This book may only have a shelf life of four or five months to take advantage of his recommendations, but he tells readers to put money into cyclical stocks that will snap back in the early stages of a recovery, such as Caterpillar, J.P. Morgan, Visa and Hewlett-Packard, among others. He provides a short list of regional banks that he says have strong balance sheets and will be well positioned to take over weaker financial firms. The chapters on options are somewhat oversimplified. He basically recommends buying deep-in-the-money calls on stocks you think will rise in the near future--of course, finding those stocks is the biggest challenge for any amateur investor.
Some of the best advice I ever got from any investment books is knowing when to sell, which often divides winning traders from losers. For that, I would recommend the book "What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars." It's an autobiographical account of a Chicago futures trader who discovered that he never was a real trader, only a buyer of long positions that happened to make money during a bull market. |
Cramer
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| Review Date: March 29, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Janique (Gillette, Wyo), Gillette, Wyoming |
Finally, down to the last of the blasts from the past reviews Ive neglected since 06!
I actually bought this one as a requested gift. I have watched Cramer in the past, and while I think he has good information for researching stocks, and understanding all the charts, statistics, balance sheets, ect his stock picking is about as accurate as flipping a coin. I also found his Free Market phylosophy, and attitude toward certain stocks to be inconsistent. Having said that, he is helpful in the above area's, if that is what your are looking for, and he is more entertaining on paper than he is on TV (read one of his earlier books) where I find him loud, and sometimes obnoxious. Otherwise, I would recomend looking elsewhere :) |
typically Cramer
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| Review Date: November 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Bavarian Original, WI USA |
to trade stocks as Cramer recommends is too "complicated" for me. Buy a stock or borrow it, etc. and "insure" it on the front and back end against losses like professionals are doing out in investment wonder land makes investing a game.
The book showed me what all this gaming involves. I have very little use for this book otherwise. |
Negative Reviews
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| Review Date: November 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: B. Cheek, Land of the free because of the brave. |
I've always found it more useful to me personally to read all of the negative reviews (1 or 2 stars) rather than the positive ones (5 or 6 stars). That said, I have not yet read this book as I'm working on a couple of others, so I gave it a neutral rating to be able to post some general comments. It has been my personal experience that unless you can get the Wall Street Journal a week in advance all financial books offer some information that is more useful than others, depending on your particular situation. As a single male with no dependents, I invest differently than if I were supporting a family and saving for the kids college education. So if your reading any finical book or watching some show, cross check your source then add a little common sense. The common sense factor is obviously the hardest to find for many of these reviewers I'm speaking of. The best and most obvious piece of finical advice I can give is learn all you can, especially about loans and mortgages. A little extra principle paid every month can add up to thousands of dollars in savings on interest. Also, always remember the bank is not your friend. They are there to make money, from you. If you don't believe me just think of this: Drive through any major city and look at the names on the largest buildings. You will find 3 consistent ones everywhere; banks, insurance companies and churches. Now, you tell me who is really making the "Mad Money".
Just one man's opinion, for whatever it's worth. So, good luck and let's be careful out there. |
Very little that isn't presented on his show
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| Review Date: November 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: moneymanager, Rhode Island |
| Cramer's new book can basically be broken down into into five sections: commentary about the financial meltdown and moral support that you can come back, high yielding dividend stocks to buy, two ways to use options to increase gains, commentary on how to mentally approach your comeback, and 25 rules you should follow. The section on how to use options is by far the best section and most novel for a Cramer book, its not something you would see on his show. But almost everything else has been presented in more depth at one time or multiple times on his show, so for me the book was pretty much a waste of money. Finally, it gets to be annoying that on subjects where he skimps on info he goes on to mention that if you want to learn more there are several subcription services at [...] that you sign up for to become a better investor. Falls far short of Real Money and Street Addict. |
Cramer always has an angle
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| Review Date: January 12, 2010 |
| Reviewer: D. N. Ivanoff, NY |
| In this book again, i catch myself reading and not trusting the author. Years ago I learned that the best way to invest is to read people that do it for living, this is why i always recommend the writings of Linda Raschke and Toby Crabel, both real traders and practicing hedge fund managers -now out of print but maybe if you check on ebay you may find them. Anyways, another read from Cramer, that suffers from the same thing as his show: integrity. |
When will this joker go away
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| Review Date: October 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: D. Moore, Thousand Oaks, CA |
| Bad Advice all the way around. Cramer has a lot of gall to write this book. Hey Jimmy boy, so are you saying this book is for your previous book buyers who have lost most of their wealth listening to your worthless advice. I thought so. Burn me once... |
Probably Cramer's Last Book
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| Review Date: November 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: John Mccloy, New York,NY |
As someone who previously was a fan of Jim Cramer having read Confessions which was a great book and using Real Money s a starter guide I say with a heavy heart that Jim Cramer was not who I expected him to be. I cannot for the life of my understand why he would be writing an book like this an environment the likes that has not been seen since the Great Depression. I once had the opinion of Cramer that he was interested in politics and legitametly had aspirations of public office given the popularity of his show. As evident by CNBC's recent decline overall and Cramer's show I find it remarkable that Jim Cramer is not truly seeing the shape of the economy and how dire it is.
I know Jim Cramer is an intelligent man. For heavensake he attended Harvard Law, ran a successful hedge fund and created an immensly popular show. He had the world in his hands and he lobbied for the SEC job over Shapiro. And then him and CNBC lost their viewers by participating in cheerleading this staged rally that will in all likelihood place us in a Depression when it ends. I am a young guy,work and live in Manhattan, I am finance & economics student now and will honestly admit that Jim Cramer and his energy inspired me but I am disappointed by him now. Why?
Because Jim Cramer is an amazing high energy trader and ALWAYS had a fairly good grasp on the direction of the economy. He called plenty of false bottoms but his call to have people get out at 10k was excellent. I was out at 12,000 because I have an advantage in seeing economic trends and their ripple effects in Manhattan. Right now Jim Cramer could be the force of good we need by calling out the games being played by investment banks trading for gains with our money while we are once again becoming less wealthy. I refuse to believe someone as intelligent as him is not witnessing the Prime mortgages and foreclosures about to depress housing values, crash markets once again and force further job cuts. I believe siding with the people was the responsible move. For this reason I have not watched his show for 4 months. I do not want to see Jim jump up and down about how things are getting better and the rest of America has no desire to as well. Everything is getting worse on a compounding level.
People are forever disenchanted with the markets and they will have their revenge. I see no need for Jim to be writing yet another book when people are not even thinking about the markets and instead are worried about what will happen when unemployment runs out.
This man could have been a Senator yet I simply cannot trust him anymore. |
Even the book's title is none sense...
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| Review Date: April 18, 2010 |
| Reviewer: 2 cents worth, New York, NY |
"Getting Back to Even"
Crammer is implying that he as a way to get back the money almost everyone lost in 2008.
This is just dishonest. Crammer is playing on peoples emotional response whenever they lose a lot of money, i.e. If I could just get back to even then I would not feel so badly...
My point:
Lets say you have two investors, one lost a load of money and the other made a lot of money in 2008.
So Crammer's book would only help the investor who lost money and then some how Crammers special investing advise would not work for the invester who made money.
What does this mean: some how the "market" knoww who made money in 2008, so Crammer's advise on getting even would work for an investor who didn't lose money in 2008?
Crammer's books and show should just be used as entertainment for the silly masses.
Wise up man in the street ...nobody who has an MBA in Finance from a top school or is a succesful money manager takes Crammer seriously.
Check out Crammer's interview confrontation with SYLVAIN RAYNES on CNBC, discussing Goldman Sachs fruad allocations, April 16 2010 on youtube...very funny!
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getting back to even-cramer
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| Review Date: July 22, 2010 |
| Reviewer: JOHN E HANES, |
| they sent old book of cramers not one intended. got my money back and sent them the wrong book. |
Worst transaction ever!
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| Review Date: June 25, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Claudia Walworth, Oviedo, FL United States |
| I received no reply from seller. Seller never shipped item (from several months ago). Amazon.com has ignored my requests for a refund. Good luck if you order anything from them. |
Another Cramer Book - You get what you pay for
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| Review Date: October 21, 2009 |
| Reviewer: C. Young, |
Jim Cramer once again writes a book and gets it to market as quickly as possible. What are we up to now.. 5 books this year?
I read this one out of curiosity of how this screw ball thinks he can get people 'back to even' when he FAILED to get them out before the market collapsed in the first place. Putting ones money and trust in the hands of Jim Cramer is one of the largest mistakes you could ever make in my honest opinion.
Today (October 20, 2009) Jim Cramer makes a call for Apple stock to run up to $300. That is funny, In the summer of 2007 he said Apple would run up to $400... just before the market began to crash. (good one Cramer) .. wink wink..
Do yourselves a favor and steer clear of this book.
That is my honest opinion of this latest book from Mr. Cramer |
His book titles speak for him
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| Review Date: October 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Ranjan, Salem, Virginia |
| If you were helped by "Watch TV, Get Rich" or "Get Rich, Stay Rich" then why do you need "Getting Back to Even"? |
Maybe a more fitting title would "The road to poverty" by Jim Cramer
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| Review Date: October 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Scott Martin, Florida |
Does anyone who follows his advice have any money left to buy this book?
This guy is a hack... a criminal just as bad as the rest of the wall street rip offs that fleeced america out of TRILLIONS. Here is some advice, take the money you'd spend on this book and buy a lottery ticket. Both options will leave you broke, but at least you'll get some excitement with with the lottery ticket.
The only value this book could possibly have is if you bought it and did the exact opposite of everything Cramer recommends, then you would probably be ok. This guy is just a shill and following his advice will leave you broke when the next bubble bursts, but don't worry ol Jim will tell you after the fact to pull your money out..... sort of..... if you have any left.
With his previously stellar recommendations to BUY BUY BUY Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns hours before they imploded, I don't know what's more offensive, that he is still shilling wall street "investment" and losing people's life savings for them or that he isn't behind bars. |
Jim Cramer- the ultimate snake oil salesman
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| Review Date: October 20, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Viewer, Orlando, fl |
| This guy is costing the individual investor huge amounts of money be it on his RIMM buy recommendation or his sell AAPL ahead of earnings call. Why anyone would purchase anything from this guy is mind boggling, he is the laughing stock of the blogosphere. |
If you like screaming fools, read this book!
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| Review Date: October 31, 2009 |
| Reviewer: B Humphrey, |
Seriously folks, why would you trust your retirement to someone who is so consistently wrong when giving investment advice?
Have you ever watched an investment show that is has a poorer track record of calling the next hot investment? All Jim Cramer does is scream "buy" or "sell" while the spittle flies across the room. If that is what it takes to be a top notch investor, then sign me up so I can be an expert too...I just need to learn how to scream, jump up and down, and throw darts at a stock chart..
Please, please don't bother reading this book, because it will cost you a lot more than the price of the book. It could cost you having a safe, warm retirement.
If you would like to read how to construct a portfolio that is properly diversified, there are plenty of real investment advisers who have written books on "how to". Start with David Swenson (he runs Yale's endowment) or William Sharpe.
Cramer is a clown, and a shill. Steer a wide course around this book. |
Did not receive the order.
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| Review Date: March 17, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Jack D. Milligan, |
| I did not receive this order so its difficult to rate the product. It was never shipped to me, I don't recommend this vendor. |
You want to get MAD listen this guy
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| Review Date: October 20, 2009 |
| Reviewer: JEO, |
| This guy is a trader, listen to him and you going to end with your broker account empty. |
I am already even but thx anyway Jimbo
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| Review Date: October 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: harrythompson, Fort Knox Rox |
If Cramer was such a good hedge fund manager what is he doing hosting a monologue show and pumping out books? Personification of greed, yep. This is a large book with little content. Cramer's books are like a Betamax, you gotta ask yourself, "They still make you"? What amuses me the most is what he calls stocks that have taken a beating because of poor fundamentals yet he names them "accidental high yielders". Well its no accident that these stocks have a high yield after losing 80 percent of their value. Go figure.
Anyway I am up 6 percent since the Dow dropped from 13,000 early last year on a large portfolio, even though I had 50 percent of my portfolio in equities. I make about 7 grand a month on my portfolio. Comprendez-vous? In the time the market has lost 30 percent I am up 6 percent, that is a 36 point out-peformance, comprendez-vous? You see my pappy didnt raise no turnip farmer! I traded corporate bonds no thanks to Jimbo, who is a speculator and a day trader. The market is meant to take the retail "investor" for a ride, its craps game and the house usually wins my friends. Perhaps I havent made myself perfectly clear, while yall lost I won. Jim has lost his audience, his cable tv show is going to be canceled next year 2010. He has lost his audience.
I am a professional bonds trader and I dont listen to amateurish advice from self proclaimed experts who dont even know how to use a computer!
I feel sorry for the audience this babbling brook has garnered, Cramer is all about increasing trading volume! Yall would be better off blowing your savings at las vegas!
This book's audience appears to be targeted towards intellectually challenged college kids with a severe case of attention deficit disorder groomed from his tv show, kids with dumb money and even dumber parents. Perhaps I havent made myself perfectly clear, that 6 percent rise in my portfolio over 18 months is on a mid 6 figure portfolio and that doesnt include commas or decimal points-- its difficult to move a large portfolio in percentage terms but most of you wouldnt know that since the average person between the ages of 35-45 has less than 40 grand saved. Trolls are invited to comment. YOU STILL DONT GET IT DO YOU??
Stock picking is for monkeys, professionals use etf's now instead of taking on company risk. Yall in the stone age.
Well now its clear why yall lost half your money in the market, yall appear ripe for the taking! Cramer exploits people who cannot think for themselves, people who are incapable of independent thought. He has raped your mind! Flock to his stock picks and lose the other half of whats left of your savings.
I own HAO China small cap, its the future. The US corporate culture has shown itself decadent and immoral, the system is corrupted beyond repair.
I prefer investing in junk bonds, they have superior performance to US blue chip stocks. I am laughing all the way to the bank. My junk is up 40 percent this year while the market is up only 20 percent. I rule. Have a nice day. |
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