getAbstract Summary: Get the key points from this book in less than 10 minutes.

Whether or not this book's "magic formula" delivers the results that author Joel Greenblatt promises, the book itself presents a lucid, simple explanation of investing in the stock market. Unlike many who write about investing in stocks and offer formulas for success, Greenblatt is remarkably honest in his discussion of the difficulty of beating the market and remarkably modest in his claims (although perhaps not quite as restrained in referring to his Web site). getAbstract finds that the chief merit of this bestseller is not its formula for success (which derives from guru Benjamin Graham's value approach), but rather its clear, step-by-step introduction to the fundamentals of investing for novices. The author makes the market understandable to a child. That is quite an achievement.

Book Publisher:

Wiley