Review: The Bogleheads Guide to Investing

The Bogleheads Guide was the first book I picked up on personal investing, and I am very happy with that decision.  Let’s break it down.

Pros

• Very readable.  The language used is very clear and casual - they do not over use technical terms and they explain things well enough that I was able to understand everything they were saying with essentially no prior knowledge.
• Concise information.  This book is chalked full of relevant information that is important for both beginners and seasoned investors alike;  I was honestly excited after every chapter at the new topics I had under my belt.
• Fantastic advice.  Not only do they explain the basics of investing, they give very sound advice based on the combined years of experience from the three authors.  I often found myself shocked at the misinformation I believed before reading this book, and I now have a pretty clear idea of the best way to invest to achieve my goals.
• Lots of evidence to back up their facts.  One of the best things about the book was the sources and studies they included in text.  Many of their hard-hitting facts were backed up by several studies that are difficult to dismiss, and incredibly interesting to read.
• At the end of several chapters the authors included a list of quotes by various experts. I found these relevant, interesting, and they reinforced the topics being discussed.  They also provided a good source for further reading.

Cons

• Everything is based on investing in the United States.  This is the only complaint I had; it was the first book I read so I wasn’t confident in what advice would translate well to Canada.

Conclusion

When I chose to start my project by reading this book I had no idea how much I would learn, or even if I would be able to finish it without getting bored.  I can safely say that this book has propelled my interest in investing so much further than I thought was possible.  The sound and practical advice in this book has given me such a rock-solid start on investing that I will judge everything I read from now on by it. 

Instead of feeling lost about investing I am now excited at the level of confidence that I have received from only one book.  If you are even vaguely interested in understanding investments, you owe it to yourself to give The Bogleheads Guide to Investing a try;  I guarantee you will not regret it.

Rating: Highly recommended