The only positive thing I can say about this book is that it's general investing advice for the novice investor is extremely useful.
I bought this book based on the reviews, but what I didn't take into account when reading them was that the last one was written in 1998 and a LOT has changed with online investing resources since then (the book is written in 96).
I expected to find some guidance on how to glean useful information on funds from the thousands of websites out there, but pretty much most of the book turned out to be a directory of websites. There wasn't much information on HOW to use these resources effectively with some specific financial goals or sector allocations etc. in mind.
I also expected to find some guidance on exactly what to look for when choosing a fund online and rules of thumb when browsing a fund prospectus, but it completely lacks any such pointers, other than a 10 commandments on picking MFs, which although great, are merely listed, not explained/elucidated upon) with examples or case studies.
Lastly, the screenshots of websites listed, and the graphs/charts (there are few to begin with) are appallingly out of date.
To summarize my grievances: The world of online trading has changed drastically since '96 and this book hasnt been updated. This book is mostly a directory of websites. If thats what you want, you'd be better of going to Google and typing in 'Mutual Fund Websites' or something like that.
One star for the sound investment advice, but thats about it.
Here are a couple of must-reads on investing for the novice investor.
1) The Coffeehouse Investor, Bill Shultheis
2) Common Sense on Mutual Funds, John C. Bogle
