Mastering Stocks - Michael K. Brown

                Mastering Stocks is an essential guide for anyone looking to get into the risky hobby/job of trading stocks. As the author states, you can get rich from playing the market but if you don’t know what you are doing then you could conceivably lose everything you invested and be left with nothing. Hopefully, reading this will address any questions you may have concerning your new adventure. This is exactly why I chose to read this book. I have a few investments that I leave in the hands of others to deal with but I would love to learn more so that I can take an active part in trading them. I didn’t want a dry read that would bore me to sleep before the second chapter and the cover of Mastering Stocks caught my eye with its bright coloring and its succinct title. Inside are thirty-nine chapters containing everything you could ever want or need to know about trading stocks. There’s information about how to get into the market and how much money you should have to back up your trading (at least $25 000 U.S.). If you don’t want to go for the high end stocks, then there is a chapter about penny stocks and the pros and cons involved with trading them. Each chapter is laid out in such a way that there is a lot of information but it is presented in an interesting manner. Mr. Brown doesn’t lecture or come across as a know-it-all. Instead, he lays the information out for the reader and it’s up to them to decide whether or not they are prepared for the risk that can happen if they venture down this path.

                Mastering Stocks does solely deal with the stock market in the United States, although the author does mention other markets, and this should be kept in mind while reading the book. As an example of how risky the market can be, Mr. Brown mentions a few stocks that seem fairly sure to be around. One of those is Sears which is now bankrupt; at least it is in Canada. Obviously, this is a very risky business and this book will certainly help with deciding if you want to partake or not.

                I read this in digital format and it worked perfectly on my ereader.