
Title : A Peaceful Retirement: Complete Unabridged
Author : Miss" "Read
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Another gentle and charming book from my favourite author
A change in direction with not only retirement but marriage proposals as well for my most loved fictional character. With all of the Fairacre books, a book I have read over and over - only with particular sadness as it appears that this may be the final book. I found the illustrations a bit off putting - part of my love of Miss Read's books are due to J Goodall's beautiful illustrations - not that these are bad, just not what previous readers may be used to. My only complaint is that it is too short!

Title : Age Power: How the 21st Century Will Be Ruled by the New Old
Author : Ken Dychtwald
Rating : 1 Stars out of 5.
Summary : More Dychtwaldian Drivel
There is nothing insightfull about this book! It's a compendium of information that is clearly available elsewhere. If the author is such an "expert" on the marketing of products to the ageing demographic one has to wonder why he can't keep any of his "Age Wave" businesses afloat. He's had a least two "Age Wave" businesses go under this year! The only thing this man knows how to sell is a book! Get advice from people with a proven track record, the authors is spotty at best.

Title : How to Retire Rich: Time-Tested Strategies to Beat the Market and Retire in Style
Author : James P. O'Shaughnessy
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Reasonable runaways - Best way to lose big monies!
Mr. O'Shaughnessy outlines several of his investment strategies and in particular his "reasonable runaways". If you look at his numbers AND factor in costs of establishing a similar group of stocks (something he neglects to do)the SP 500 is the clear winner.
A VERY IMPORTANT piece of investing advice that Mr. O'Shaughnessy advises against is the use of stop-limit orders in his portfolios. By neglecting to use this very important investment tool, you open yourself up to huge losses in the very questionable turnaround stocks that have just been run up in price. Most of these WILL go down and many they will go down big and not recover. Take the advise of someone that has been watching (and burned very badly) by taking his advice and not using stop-limit prices, USE THEM IF YOU EMPLOY THIS VERY RISKY STRATEGIE!!!
If you look at ANY of his mutual funds, you will clearly see that the performance of all of his funds badly trails the SP 500. His expense ratios are also out of line to the high side, something that he warns against in this book.
The three pieces of advice that are of any value in the entire book are to establish a plan, stick to it, and, if 87% (or so) of mutual funds (including his) do not match the performance of the SP 500, why are you investing in anything other than the SP 500?
Good luck to all!!!

Title : The 401(k) Millionaire: How I Started with Nothing and Made a Million and You Can, Too
Author : Knute Iwaszko
Rating : 3 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Interesting, easy read but not relevant to UK
An interesting book with a very 'easy to read' style. However, the book is very much designed for savings and investments in the USA and is of LITTLE RELEVANCE to UK employees.

Title : Life Begins at Fifty: A Handbook for Creative Retirement Planning
Author : Leonard J. Hansen
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : The most down-to-earth, practical handbook I have ever found
There are a lot of books on "retirement" out there. There are very few like this one. I was delighted with the way it laid out every aspect of these special years of one's life. Unlike so many other texts I found on the booksellers's shelves, this one--at least to me, someone who was fast approaching fifty at the time--was downright practical. I wasn't interested in all the academic mumbo jumbo a lot of the other books contained. I just wanted a down-to-earth, practical handbook that would guide me through this potential minefield of bureaucratic and oftentimes nonsense that comes with government activity. It was obvious to me at first reading, that here was a person who was writing from his own experience, combined with an authoritative background in this very specialized field. I'm sure glad I found it!

Title : Basic Investing Guide for the New Investor: Start Investing for Your Retirement with as Little as $50 Per Month
Author : Alfred V. Scillitani
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Overcoming Important Misconceptions of Young Investors
This book is aimed at the young person who will be starting a first full-time job in the next year. I have graded it for its appropriateness for that audience.
Stock investing is treated now in families like sex education was conducted in the fifties. People try to avoid any reference to this delicate subject.
As a parent, you can spend over $100,000 to send your child to a private college or $50,000 for a public one. In neither place will your child pick up the basic information to make her or him financially literate about doing long-term stock investing.
Or your child may not go to or finish college, and potentially have less income as a result. Investing becomes even more important in this situation.
What's worse, regardless of what educational or vocational route these capable young people take, they will have picked up misconceptions that will discourage him or her from getting started. This book can remedy that problem, by helping your daughter or son (or grandson or granddaughter) realize that they should begin investing as soon as they have enough income to save some ($50 or so) money every month.
If you are a young person just starting your career, chances are that you are handicapped by lack of information, and misconceptions about what you should be doing. Ordering this book today is a simple, effective step towards overcoming that situation.
This book effectively addresses these misconceptions:
(1) It doesn't matter much when you start (Actually, starting young is the biggest advantage any investor has)
(2) You need thousands of dollars to get started (Some investments can be started with $25, and putting in small amounts regularly makes you more money than larger amounts less often)
(3) It's too complicated for a young person to understand (Most of what you need to know is covered in less than 50 pages in this book, with not that many words on a page. If you can pass algebra and high school English, you will have no trouble with this material.)
(4) It takes too much time to get started (You should be able to take the right steps after spending less than 15 hours over a period of two months or so.)
But taking action counts for a lot in investments (as in other areas). So I suggest that you be sure the young adults in your family know this information. You can get a copy and teach them yourself, or you can simply give each person their own. Ask them what they have done about the information from time to time, and praise any actions they take to get information, start saving, or begin investing.
If you are a young person, every month you delay starting investing is costing you hundreds of dollars over your lifetime. Can you afford to waste that much money?
I think this book will make the most sense if read after Rich Dad, Poor Dad. After reading this book, I suggest that John Bogle's Common Sense About Mutual Funds be read to deepen and widen the interest that Basic Investing Guide for the New Investor will stimulate. If you already feel motivated to invest and do not have the misconceptions I mentioned above, you may already be ready for Bogle.
May your money and your children's money be saved and invested in ways to create much financial security for your children and grandchildren!
As a parent, consider that giving this book is a lot cheaper than providing any other form of education, or providing on-going financial security for the next two generations. It's a great investment for you, as well.
As a young person, consider that investing your money well is a lot less work than taking on a second job for most of your life to increase your income. This is important to creating time and balance in your life to enjoy your family and relationships.
Get started as soon as possible!

Title : One World, Ready or Not
Author : Wil Greider
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : An Alarming But Accurate Perspective on the Global Economy
The Washington political elites repeatedly tell us how wonderful things are today; why does the American public have difficulty believing the message. Inspite of 8 years of economic growth, why is real median family income stagnant? Why is income polarization increasing across America and the entire world? Sadly, the American public is clueless to the economic forces reshaping the nation.
William Greider addresses the most important issue concerning America's economic future: the globalization of the economy and it's implications. In the new world order, capital is in limited supply but labor is in overabundance. As would be expected in a laizze faire economy, the cost of labor will remain depressed in the industrialized world.
In the developing nations across Asia and Latin America, the factory workers simply don't have the purchasing power to buy the products they are manufacturing. Since Japan has never matured into a consumer based society, developing nations especially China will add to the global oversupply of labor and production.
While few mainstream economists predicted the recent economic collapse of the 11th largest economy (ie. South Korea), William Greider's prediction of global economic chaos and collapse can no longer be ignored. "One World, Ready or Not" should be heeded by Washington policymakers mesmerized by the exuberance of the stock market.