Benjamin Graham on Investing: Enduring Lessons from the Father of Value Investing

This book is actually a collection of articles written by Graham that appeared in "Magazine of Wall Street." They were articles Graham wrote early in his career, some as early as 23 years old. According to the author, we should read these articles because they show a young genius at work, and the evolution of Graham's way of thinking. To me, reading this book is about as relevant as a computer programmer reading a collection of articles written by Steve Jobs in 1975 on the state of technology and how to build a computer.Many of the concepts Graham talked about are not applicable today. He goes into discussions on how certain companies are overestimating their tax, that we must remove some of the tax liability and add it to the balance sheet, etc. Other stories involve a mining company expected to dissolve in the near future and how we should see what the value of assets will be once it dissolves.This book also discusses bonds. I've never owned a bond nor do I plan to, at least for a very long time.I rummaged through this book through the bookstore and read the discussions on how Goodyear bought expensive assets and took on too much growth during the boom years and how it's business suffered during the depression because of this. I thought this book would be filled with examples on how to analyze the merits of a company's management by using the numbers. Instead, this book focuses heavily on accounting. I would say this book focueses in great detail on things I don't care about, quite frankly.Graham's writing style is quite dry. "Security Analysis" is very dry. "Intelligent Investor" is also dry but is at least readable and serves more as a guidebook on how to think, and how to approach the markets. This book is more of a careful analysis on the statistics on certain companies from the early 1900's, and a very analytical discussion on their financial statements.Graham came from a different time. A few of the articles discuss how companies are approaching taxes on assets and goodwill, and a tax code that has changed dramatically since the early 1900's, and how we must make adjustments to get the correct book value.This book came from a different era; stocks were still viewed as "speculative" and the only safe way to invest in stocks is if you didn't buy at a price higher than book value. The business world has changed significantly since those days. Now, companies are all about doing more with less, outsourcing, and focusing on ROI and ROE. I just don't think this book is relevant. Though, some very serious value investors may actually enjoy this book! I cannot give this book a low rating. However, I was disappointed with it. We also see articles by a very young Graham and see him write things we probably wouldn't have seen from him in later years. As an example, after a dry discussions on capitalization, assets, depreciaction, and on and on, Graham concludes that there's not much value in the company, but the article ends by saying since the shares are under accumulation and this usually ends up with further higher prices, we should buy. That goes against the Graham I imagine.I have read literally hundreds of books about the stock market. I can read books that discuss technical analysis, fundamentals, etc. I read a book by Mary Buffett in a few days, "Buffettology" which discusses competitive advantage, and other important topics. But this book is about as exciting as reading a textbook on your least favorite subjetc. And to add to that, much of it is not relevant.

If you were a joint econ/history major you will love this book. It is super to read about the stock markets our grandparents experienced. Excellent commentary by Klein and Darst. The Graham article on Goodyear's experience in 1920-21 I found particularly interesting. Shows how little has really changed. Obviously if you are looking for current investment ideas, this isnt the book for you.By way of background: I have been in this business for 33 years.

outdated but still a good book.

Couple of good articles from young Graham, but mostly redundant.I like to collect financial history and would count this as a collectable piece... but do not expect more than that.

The book is well written. I bought it as a collectors item to complement all the other books I have written by Graham. A must for any serious collector of fine works.

Graham is the value investing ideology the Warren Buffet follows. Buffet worked for Graham for a couple of years. "If you buy shares in a company you are an owner so only buy shares of a company you want to own".One problem with articles is they are topical at the time but the companies referenced are no longer in business in most cases. So no hot stock tips (and of course the basis of value investing is there is no such thing as a stock tip).What is interesting is to see the methods he uses. Most of it is common sense. But then again, common sense is not that common.He placed a high emphasis on the balance sheet and the numbers. Although he does not ignore the fundamentals of what the business does, he does not spend as much time as I do in trying to vision the future. The other factor that seemed weak was the attention to management and entrepreneurial creativity within the companies he analysed.It was interesting to see that Graham owned majority control of Geico at one point and now Buffet owns it.If you are going to be an investor, it seems to me following Grahams' ideology is a good idea. Think like an owner - not a speculator.

Excellent book