Knowing what not to do in investing can be just as important, if not more important, than knowing what to do; investment mistakes can be devastatingly expensive, and you'll be that much ahead of the game if you can vicariously learn from someone else's mistakes. This is exactly what you'll learn from Andrew Tobias; who has humbly submitted his financial foibles to the world.

But wait, there's more. You'll learn what you ought to do as well.

The secret to sensible, successful investing, revealed within, turns out to be quite simple and embarrassingly dull (though the book is anything but dull); in that sense, this really is the only investment guide you'll ever need. Those who get a thrill out of stock-picking may wish to drill deeper with other books; but those of us who have better things to do with our time than obsessively watch the markets would be wise to follow Andrew's sage and hard-learned advice.

For the amateur, time spent researching and picking individual stocks may very well be inversely proportional to their investment success.

Informative as well as entertaining, this could be the best twelve bucks you'll ever spend. Andrew Tobias makes reading about personal finance something other than a remedy for insomnia.

END

I read this book several times in the early 1980s. I read it until it fell apart. Since then I've been through dozens (more like hundreds) of other investment books, but this is the one that taught me first principles and taught them the best. Basically this guy is a really fine writer who happens to write about investments and personal finance. He's witty, entertaining, and right on target.

As for the content, the basics of investing and frugality are covered. When you get right down to it the basics are all you need, and you can fit them on a 3 by 5 card. Almost all of my investing mistakes in the past 20 years have been a result of trying to make things too complicated. Tobias keeps his message simple, and that's one of this book's strengths.

Like other reviewers, I've given this book as a gift over the years. However, there's another good writer out there in recent years -- Jason Kelly, author of "The Neatest Little Guide..." series.

Andrew Tobias knows his stuff and he lays it out in clear and simple terms. Whether you know very little or a lot about investments this book is a good investment. To complete your financial library I would also recommend a book by NPR's Personal Finance Correspondent, Nancy Lloyd.

In "SIMPLE MONEY SOLUTIONS: 10 WAYS YOU CAN STOP FEELING OVERWHELMED BY MONEY AND START MAKING IT WORK FOR YOU" Nancy puts on paper more of the savvy advice that she regularly shares with Bob Edwards on "Morning Edition." While every one else in the financial press is telling consumers to switch from a credit card to a debit card, to stop writing checks and start using online bill-paying services, and to swap their credit card debit for a low-interest rate home equity loan, Nancy is the only one telling about the costly downsides and increased risks that you will take on with these money moves. Both books are eye openers.

I read this book about 10 years ago while struggling with my own sexual identity and found it helpful to see others going through the same thing. I re-read it recently and found how much more I could relate to it now, then I could then. Some of the story is a bit dated now, showing gay life and the closet in the late 60's and early 70's when society had a different view of homosexuality and it's openness. Also, I found the author to be a bit more self-critical than I would like - maybe it's the liberal use of the pejorative "faggot" which today can be used within the gay community much like the "n-word" in the black community, but at the time of writing was still the major insult and put down.

That said, much of his struggles, both internal and external, are still very relevant. It gives a good view into the head of someone who has to go through realization, and acceptance of who they are, and their role in relation to those they love. It's a very real and truthful account, not full of reminiscent rosiness, but of reality. While the author never suffered major setbacks due to his seuxal identity, he always planned for the worst, and that is good to see and lends relevance to today, where despite best wishes, setbacks and more do happen as we all come out.

The book is even more interesting when followd up by the sequel "The Best Little Boy In The World Grows Up" where in the first chapters, Tobias returns to his book 15 years later, removes a lot of the veils of secrecy (he described Harvard, not Yale as in the book, etc.) and where he has gone in the years since. The pair of books make a very good 'Then and Now' pair.

I finally read this book after being out of the closet for five years and I found it to be a very interesting look into ones man struggle with his sexuality and coming out.

At times it mimicked mine and at others I was like "I wish"..

It is interesting that Mr. Tobias chose to write this book during a time when it was not safe for your life or your career to come out of the closet.. For that I will give him kudos!! On the other hand this book shows the "lighter" side of the coming out process.. (not to belittle the personal horror we all go through).. Andrew is a lucky man to be surrounded by people who are supportive.. Alot of us do not have that suport.. I wish he would have followed this book up with one on another man's life.. maybe one of those that did not have such a charmed life?

I found this book to be one of the most insightful and helpful books I have ever read. Although Mr. Tobias (aka John Reid) came out in the 70's, when it was far less safe or politically correct to do so, many of his emotions and internal struggles remain true to young people who are today struggling with their identies. Although at times Mr. Tobias has a tendancy to ramble in his writing, this only adds to the book's charm. It is a must read for gay and straight people alike. For the former it teaches that they are not alone in their sturggles, for the latter it teaches acceptance and understanding. It is truly a modern classic about a subject much too rarely discussed.

In this volume Andrew Tobias shares his adventures in personal finance and politics. The political part is only relevant as a guide to how things are actually done in that arena and also as a warning about how such things affect one's personal finances ( and perhaps as a plug for auto insurance reform). Tobias uses his personal experiences to support his position that slow wins the personal fortune game, even for those with a small fortune to start with. His involvement with auto insurance reform cost him money. His real estate investments are still up in the air. His Russian company and advertisments on smoking hazards worked to a degree. What is really great about this book is that Tobias takes you along on a ride through his personal finances:where his money came from, where it went to. Those looking for a finance guide in this book alone will be disappointed. It is more like the "laboratory research" that supports his point of view in The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need. The only quibble I have with the book is that Chapter 6 Your Vast Fortune appears rushed and scattered. As another reviewer pointed out most of this book is magazine articles collected together. It may be that the parts written to hold it all together are second rate. However, the book is humorous and a good read. It is definitely worth the time. It is also very self-effacing although I am not sure of the sincerity of the author in this regard.

Ah, the elusive and mysterious world of personal finance. I first heard of Andrew Tobias from his website, where he dissects and explains all mutual funds expenses. Not all no-load funds are created equal, and I realized that thanks to him. This book is great to get a sense of who Andrew Tobias is, what his core investing philosophy is, and be entertained in the meantime (he has lived a fascinating life). I can see where those readers who know a couple of things about personal finance might be a bit frustrated with the book, which is more than anything an autobiography. It was certainly worth my while to read it, and I recommend it.

The other reviews cover the contents quite well. This is a book that has tidbits which have stuck with me over time, such as Tobias' account of how he purchased air-time in Russia to warn people there about the dangers of smoking and foreign cigarette companies. Probably the most influential chapter for me in this election year is the one on auto insurance reform, in that it paints a picture of Ralph Nader as someone who is all-too-human on this issue. Mr. Nader appears to make up his mind early on to support his lawyer friends, and has a "please don't confuse me with the facts" attitude. Obviously this is Tobias' own view of the world, but as a liberal and a man whose father helped Nader first become famous, he is sad to see Nader refuse to even discuss the issue with him.

The book occasionally meanders through topics and areas with little focus, such as his account of protracted real-estate headaches. That said, it is enjoyable overall in many ways and I definitely recommend it.

Having grown up myself with the help of Tobias' 'Best Little Boy in the World,' I was overjoyed to return to a replay of the insecurities, confusions, unanswered questions, and mixed friendships of John Reid's life. This book is no longer written by the John Reid I fell in love with. In "growing up," Reid (aka Andrew Tobias) has come to believe that unless one is politically gay and snobbishly gay, one is not much of anything. Also, according to this book's constant name-dropping, it's not what you know, but who you know that will make your gay life worthwhile. Oh, add to that also that unless you find a lover, as Tobias has, you really don't count. Whereas I felt so much a part of Tobias mindthink from the original "Best Little Boy in the World" (still a classic), this sequel made me feel as though I had lost my Best Little Boyfriend in the World to a group of financial and political gay snobs of which I will never be a part. In this regard, thanks also to my 'old friend's' newfound prejudices, I could have done without all of Tobias' negative references to growing older. How very sad, distant, and very hopeless this sequel made me feel.

Tobias's book was an inspiration for others like him whom society has branded negatively. I'm his age and can relate to every detail (except the friendship with the President, winning the Pulitzer, Nobel, and High Exalted Something-or-other Prizes, and finding Mr. Right, Mr. Wonderful, and Mr. Right Now!)--well, maybe not EVERY detail. Despite those aspects, Tobias shares in a very articulate way thoughts, urges, desires, frustrations, and navel contemplations that we all go through. He's disappointing in that he's reached a level of acceptance that is unattainable by many of us--and his fortunate financial situation permits him to say "f.... you" with pinache that's not available to the rest of us. I recommend this book to any gay man for comfort and to any straight man or woman to get a glimpse into how what they say and do, as innocent and thoughtful as they may think their comments are, can be devastating and insulting to gay men. I want to read Tobias's "Best Little Boy in the World Grows Up and Grows Old" in another 20 years.

Having just finished this delightful book, I decided to post a review. As I read over the comments about this book, I was taken aback by the harshness and negativity of so many of the reviews and the intensely personal nature of the comments, many of which appear to spring from jealousy of Tobias' financial success, and have nothing to do with the intrinsic merits of his book. They constitute what I would call an ad hominem attack on its author. The man's work is fair game, but please refrain from attacking him personally.

As a reader who found "The Best Little Boy in the World" to be a seminal (no pun intended!) work in his own coming out process, I was quite looking forward to the sequel. I wanted to find out how The Best Little Boy had fared during the twenty-five years since the book was first published. Also, since learning a few years ago that "John Reid" was a nom de plume for Andrew Tobias, whose financial books I had enjoyed, I wanted to see how he had integrated his two personas. And I must say, he has done so quite nicely!

This book is a wonderful read. Andrew Tobias has written an entertaining narrative that is well worth anyone's time. I read the book in one weekend, and found myself breaking out in laughter time and time again - his anecdotes resonate with me.

In fact, I enjoyed this book so much that I went out and bought "My Vast Fortune", Tobias' account of his various business ventures and misadventures, and found it delightful and informative as well. It includes the author's tragicomic accounts of locking horns with Ralph Nader over no-fault auto insurance and launching an anti-smoking campaign in Russia. (I'll write a review of that book next!)

Personally, far from begrudging his success, I wish Andrew Tobias the best in all his endeavors. He's a gay man who's making a positive contribution to American society, in a way that reflects well on all of us. I am very proud of the role he is playing as Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee. I only wish I had some money to contribute!

Andrew Tobias is a great writer but he is too caught up in his own crusade here.

I'm a semi-retired insurance agent. Mr Tobias has some great ideas, some pretty radical. I read the book a few years ago, and I'm surprised it is out of print.

I guess the suggestions were too threatening to the people who bring you the current insurance system. I wasn't threatened, but then I liked Hillary's suggestions on insurance!