Choosing Books.

Here we are after writing the Blueprint, just in time to set the foundation in the ground. But first, we need to set the mold in which to pour the concrete. That is what was drawn in the blueprint as Phase 1, setting the curriculum for the forthcoming education.

Before I write my choice of books to read, I'll explain what I was looking for in setting a curriculum.

Prior to studying anything in depth, I like having an overall knowledge of the desired field of study. Bearing that in mind, I proceeded to choose my first book.

Understanding Wall Street
By Jeffrey B. Little, and Lucian Rhodes.

Well, it’s not a “value Investing” book, and I wasn’t looking for one. As I said, I first need to have a clear overall picture. I was looking for a book, which, without preaching any specific method of investing, simply explains everything that’s happening on Wall Street. This specific book uses layman’s language (not for Dummies language…) to explain the terms abundant in the Wall Street guy’s vocabulary. That’s why this is my choice at getting the objective look at the overall way the markets function.

After getting a full view of the market, I need to get an overall view of value investing. I spent many hours on the web, then at the library and finally in Barnes & noble, I decided on this one;

Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond
By Bruce C. N. Greenwald, Judd Kahn, Paul D. Sonkin, Michael van Biema.

Even though I haven’t read it yet, it looks to be a good choice. It came across as a book, that while giving you the general picture, does not stray from the clear points. I also liked that it has a brief history of 8 masters of the trade, which sort of puts life to dead numbers.

So much for introductions, now we get to study the bible itself. Namely, Benjamin Graham’s Security Analysis, and The Intelligent Investor.

Next post I intend to write the order and timeline, in which I wish to study all of these.