
Title : The Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked
Author : Ernie J. Zelinski
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : One of Top 3 books on business I've ever read
Even though the Joy of Not Working is technically not a business book, I'd lump it in that category nonetheless. I've read what seems like a gazillion books and I have to rate this little jewel as one of the three best business/lifestyle books I've ever read (the other two are Hawkins' Growing a Business and Lancaster's Secret Money Machine)--it's filled with wit and humor and tons of little tips. I've read it three times and Zelinski seems to add stuff between each reading. Enlighted guy!

Title : The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica: A Guide to Inexpensive Living, Making Money and Finding Love in a Peaceful Tropical Paradise
Author : Christopher Howard
Rating : 1 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Great book--if you lack common sense
This book is great if are planning on traveling to Costa Rica as a tourist for a short amount of time; however, it really does not emcompass the complexity of moving or investing in a foreign country. Don't be fooled--this book lacks substinative information on starting a business in Costa Rica, other than the overarching message that "Not everything in the States will work in Costa Rica." Oh, really? My other favorite section was "How to Find a Nice Girl." After "interviewing hundreds of quality Costa Rican women" the author managed to whittle through the unrespectable, poor, uneducated women who were only after him for his money and find a nice girl. I guess the real shame is that he wasn't able to complete this process through a mail-order catalog.

Title : Investing from Scratch: A Handbook for the Young Investor
Author : James Lowell
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A well written book for beginners.
The author writes very well, but all too often the advice is a little thin. I liked his approach to handling money but for real practical advice I found another book more useful: "How To Invest $50 to $5,000" by Dunnan. However, both make excellent presents for young and/or inexperienced investors and savers.

Title : Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich: How to Get Rich and Stay Rich Forever! (Rich Dad's Advisors Series)
Author : Robert T. Kiyosaki
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : More great ideas, more great context - huge value for money
This fourth book in the main series follows through the logical progression from 'taking care of your business' to retiring and doing what you want to do full time. Some people in the UK may find Robert Kiyosaki's American enthusiasm and repetitive writing style a bit hard to take - just stick with it and realise that making money is something that Americans do better then us! Others may say that you 'can't do those things here' - may I suggest to them that they need new advisors as I have not had any problems in implementing these ideas. I would read 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' and 'Cashflow Quadrant' before this book - could be a bit much at once otherwise.
The big gain from this, as with all the books, is the sense of challenge and attitude that comes across. Combined with the specific ideas for action and areas to think about Robert is able to lead you towards acheiving your financial goals, whatever they are.
Retiring before 45 is a dream that most us share, but few think is possible. I would rate these four books as being of equal value in helping me to be on track to reach this goal (despite having started at 31 years old), as my MBA. The MBA tells me how, Rich Dad helps me think of why, when and what.
The true value of these books is really demonstrated by their life expectancy on my book shelf at home. I have leant a number of copies of Rich Dad Poor Dad to friends and family, none of which have ever been returned! Since then my sister is now starting her own company and writing a book and friends have made some very profitable moves into property investment. None of these people, including myself, talked about such things before reading Robert's books.
Buy this book. Read it. then hide it and re-read it every few months - if you don't you will probably find that it disappears and those close to you start to have more money in their pockets!
A real delight.