bonds

In this very good beginner's guide to the bond market, author Michael V. Brandes addresses all of the fundamental questions clearly and concisely. Bond math can be daunting, but while the author includes a few equations for illustrative purposes, he clearly addresses his book to the general run of individual investors. The book, which has moments of surprising good humor, says right off the bat that bond investing can be dull in comparison to stock investing, not because the stakes are lower, but because the elements of personality and surprise are considerably more muted in the debt market than in the equity markets. We highly recommend this book, even though it is pedantic at times - a risk you take when you venture into the complex realm of bond investing.

I read the Motley Fool Investment Guide and really liked it, so when I saw this at the bookstore with Tom Gardner's endorsement on it, I thought I'd give it a shot. Just like the Fools, this book is written for regular people and is pretty humorous (for an investment book!). The chapters are well organized so that you learn about bonds "step-by-step". It includes discussions about every type of bond and advice on how to put them into your
portfolio. It's definitely not written like a textbook -- even the complicated concepts come across clearly. In short, this is a great book. I found it easy to understand and, most importantly, full of extremely useful information.

I was not expecting to gain this much insight on the topic of bonds and investing but am delighted to have picked this book up and savoured it to the last page in the course of one plane ride!
Adept, succinct without compromising depth, this young new author has really delivered on his promise to give us the "bare essentials" that anyone should know!