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Philosophy and Finance

Customer Rating:

This is very much like Soros's other books: a mix of (his own) Philosophy in PART I, and its possible applicability to the Finance markets of the time in PART II. If you like Taleb's mix of Philosophy and Finance in Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets and The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable then you'll Soros's approach. If you're looking to emulate Soros's success, this book doesn't tell you how to do this in concrete steps. The theory of reflexivity explains the nature of financial markets (the problem) but doesn't give a solution. Tony Loton, author -- DON'T LOSE MONEY! (in the Stock Markets) Financial Trading Patterns

He's got the answer

Customer Rating:

Hidden inside the book, towards the end, Mr. Soros points out that when those who create credit are in trouble the government has to bail them out, as credit creation is too important. Therefore they should accept that since they are at government protection and they need to pay a price. And the price is anti-bubble-cycle regulation (my words, he puts it much more elegantly in the book). With this acceptance on both sides we can work towards minimal effective regulation, not just petty throwing of insults between 'hippies' and 'capitalists'. This issue is way to important to be left to the extremes to deal with. All of us, in the more moderate middle ground, need to get in on this debate at a finer level of discourse. And Mr. Soros provides a very useful framework for this.

Waste of time

Customer Rating:

Starts off ambitiously attempting to explain the credit crunch, spends a few chapters reiterating why his ideology was not accepted earlier on, and ends proposing a philosophical view of the financial markets....just to say that market performance is a function of what other people do...hardly a revelation and more importantly, no suggestion as to what to do with this "revelation". Last section explains his portfolio performance with market events, which was interesting.

I'll say that again

Customer Rating:

As this was by George Soros, whom I respect greatly, I felt I had to read it but ended up very disappointed. In short, Soros feels his theory on reflexivity has been ignored and therefore needs to be repeated. This he does and further fills the book with the reasons why he needs to repeat it, particularly because he thinks the credit crunch vidicates his argument. Very repetitive to the extent that some comments are even repeated on the same page. This is a book which says very little and, to be frank, is not really worth reading.

Practical insights and new rules from George Soros

Customer Rating:

Legendary financier George Soros is worried. The financial markets face the worst credit crisis since the Depression and their existing paradigm needs to be replaced. The new paradigm Soros recommends is based on what he calls the "theory of reflexivity." This book-length essay provides a crash course in the billionaire investor's philosophy and view of financial markets, the origins and consequences of the current credit crunch, the boom-bust model and the behavior of market participants. Soros intersperses his market analysis with enough personal details from his early life and career to keep the book lively. He is also quite vocal in his political beliefs; Democrats will probably appreciate the case he makes against President George W. Bush's administration and its policies. One weakness of the book, other than its repetitiveness as Soros explains his theory, is that he relies heavily on technical and financial jargon, which makes it tough to penetrate and may prove a barrier to some readers. Ironically, he seems to be fully aware of this shortcoming when he writes that readers may find one of his particularly theoretical chapters to be "somewhat repetitive and hard-going." Nevertheless, his warm personal voice and the depth of his financial experience, which spans more than half a decade, is hard to match. Thus, getAbstract notes that this book has much to offer executives, investors, and students of financial markets and theory. (As is true of every Abstract, the following views are those of the author and not of getAbstract.)