Four Pillars of Investing

Title: The Four Pillars of Investing
Author: William J. Bernstein
Publisher: McGraw-Hill 2002

As the title says, the author writes about the 4 pillars of investing, which are:

1. The Theory of Investing
2. The History of Investing
3. The Psychology of Investing
4. The Business of Investing

The general principles of the book are not bad, but then it does advocate something that I don't really agree.  The good points first.  The book condemns investment newsletters, the hype of mutual funds.  He points out the readers just how poorly most mutual funds perform and still get a fat pay check. 

Then the bad things about this book.

1. Basically it says you can't beat the market, seems like an advocate of 'efficient market' theory.
2. The way the author handles the investment psychology portion is not very good.  It lacks the depth and impact comparing with Dr. Van Tharp's 'Peak Performance Course'.  Maybe that accounts for the price difference between Dr Tharp's over US$1000 course and this book.

Personally, I will not recommend this book to my friends, especially people who are just embarking on their investment journey.