I recommend this book to anyone. From students to Investment Bankers - this book boils down the PHILOSOPHY of making money.  Everyone who reads it will buy more copies to distribute to friends and family, I guarantee it. You can read my post on this book  here. If you would like purchasing information, please click on the picture of the book for a link.

Canadians: You can find a link on the Amazon page to purchase in Canadian funds if you click on the book. (It should be $9.99 CDN)

For those of you who do not know who Peter Lynch is, you should start by doing a Google search on him.  He was the legendary mutual fund manager of the famous Fidelity Magellan fund. During his tenure as manager from 1977 to 1990 he managed to guide the fund to an average annualized return of 29% per year. He commonly ranks in the top ten of everyone's "Greatest Investors" list and according to investopedia.com his two books are widely considered "mandatory" reading for all investors.  I think they are right.  I read his two books once every 5 years or so.  You do not have to have much knowlege, you can be a beginner to enjoy this book.  There will be a few sections that get a bit technical - but don't let that stop you - this book deserves a spot on your shelf.  Peter Lynch is a terrific and very engaging writer.

You could consider this the sequel to "One Up on Wall Street". If you read the first of Lynch's books then no doubt you are hungry for more - and that's exactly what this book serves up.  His first book was written while Lynch was still managing Magellan.  This book was written after he had hung up his mutual fund manager's hat. It should be noted that Lynch continued his stellar track record after Magellan behing the scenes with some pension funds and charitable foundations' investment portfolios. I don't really need to tell you why you should buy this book if you read Lynch's first effort.

Hopefully you have heard of the investing legend that is Warren Buffett.  This book is written by Robert G. Hagstrom and attempts to provide not only the biography of Mr. Buffett, but also dissects his various investment decisions through case studies.  It discusses Buffett's investment philosophy and where it came from. While one of the world's richest men, he lives a relatively frugal life save for his company's private jet named "The Indefensible" - a dig at himself for his only real indulgence in life. I would peg this book on equal footing with Lynch's first book in that they are both required reading for any investor.  Again, don't be put off by any seemingly technical sections - the real message is in the philosophy of his investment style which is easily assimilated.

You will have noticed that I made mention of prior books in this list as not being too technical - well THIS book is probably the MOST technical book you will find and will certainly put all but the most technically minded readers to sleep. However, Benjamin Graham was Warren Buffett's mentor and Buffett's overall investment style has been describe as about three-quarters Graham and one-quarter Fischer (see the next recommended book). Graham was the quintissential "value" investor - he didn't give much thought to subjective measure but rather preached about selecting undervalued securities that were SO undervalued that by his calculations would eventually go up simply because his mathematical formulas dictated it so. Last time I checked this book was part of the curriculum for the CFA designation - which is widely regarded as the hardest financial designation to achieve (something like 90% of people fail it).

Remember how I mentioned that Buffett attributed most of his investment style's attributes to Benjamin Graham? Well the balance of it is attributed to Phillip Fisher who argued that one should thoroughly analyze a company's management team and their ability. This book will focus on that aspect - and is again more of a technical read. This book is not the first book you should be buying if you are still learning about investments, but you would do well to eventually read it...

This book is like the War and Peace of finance books. Okay, seriously what else am I going to say - I wrote this! If you would like more information, or to read some excerpts from the book you can visit: www.therrspbook.com

One thing I can tell you right now: there are 41 strategies listed and it's almost a sure bet that you will find one that saves you more than the cost of the book.