Customer Reviews
Philosophy and Finance - By: T. LOTON, 06 Oct 2008 
This is very much like Soros's other books: a mix of (his own) Philosophyin PART I, & its possible applicability to the Finance markets of the timein PART II.
If you like Taleb's mix of Philosophy & Financein Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chancein Life &in the Markets & The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable then you'll Soros's approach.
If you're looking to emulate Soros's success, this book doesn't tell you how to do thisin concrete steps. The theory of reflexivity explains the nature of financial markets (the problem) but doesn't give a solution.
Tony Loton, author --
DON'T LOSE MONEY! (in the Stock Markets)
Financial Trading Patterns
He's got the answer - By: Frode Alexander Hegland, 05 Oct 2008 
Hidden inside the book, towards the end, Mr. Soros points out that when those who create credit arein trouble the government has to bail them out, as credit creation is too important. Therefore they should accept that since they are at government protection & they need to pay a price. And the price is anti-bubble-cycle regulation (my words, he puts it much more elegantlyin the book).
With this acceptance on both sides we can work towards minimal effective regulation, not just petty throwing of insults between 'hippies' & 'capitalists'.
This issue is way to important to be left to the extremes to deal with. All of us,in the more moderate middle ground, need to getin on this debate at a finer level of discourse.
And Mr. Soros provides a very useful framework for this.
Waste of time - By: Zabisco, 09 Sep 2008 
Starts off ambitiously attempting to explain the credit crunch, spends a few chapters reiterating why his ideology was not accepted earlier on, & ends proposing a philosophical view of the financial markets....just to say that market performance is a function of what other people do...hardly a revelation & more importantly, no suggestion as to what to do with this "revelation". Last section explains his portfolio performance with market events, which was interesting.
I'll say that again - By: Martin, 29 Aug 2008 As this was by George Soros, whom I respect greatly, I felt I had to read it but ended up very disappointed. In short, Soros feels his theory on reflexivity has been ignored & therefore needs to be repeated. This he does & further fills the book with the reasons why he needs to repeat it, particularly because he thinks the credit crunch vidicates his argument.
Very repetitive to the extent that some comments are even repeated on the same page. This is a book which says very little and, to be frank, is not really worth reading.
Practical insights and new rules from George Soros - By: Rolf Dobelli, 14 Aug 2008 
Legendary financier George Soros is worried. The financial markets face the worst credit crisis since the Depression & their existing paradigm needs to be replaced. The new paradigm Soros recommends is based on what he calls the "theory of reflexivity." This book-length essay provides a crash coursein the billionaire investor's philosophy & view of financial markets, the origins & consequences of the current credit crunch, the boom-bust model & the behavior of market participants. Soros intersperses his market analysis with enough personal details from his early life & career to keep the book lively. He is also quite vocalin his political beliefs; Democrats will probably appreciate the case he makes against President George W. Bush's administration & its policies. One weakness of the book, other than its repetitiveness as Soros explains his theory, is that he relies heavily on technical & financial jargon, which makes it tough to penetrate & may prove a barrier to some readers. Ironically, he seems to be fully aware of this shortcoming when he writes that readers may find one of his particularly theoretical chapters to be "somewhat repetitive & hard-going." Nevertheless, his warm personal voice & the depth of his financial experience, which spans more than half a decade, is hard to match. Thus, getAbstract notes that this book has much to offer executives, investors, & students of financial markets & theory. (As is true of every Abstract, the following views are those of the author & not of getAbstract.)
