Category: Excerpts
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Vampires
By Francie Train (Partially excerpted from her book “In Those Days”) When I was about 10, I was a precocious and voracious reader and, urged on by my devilish older brother, George, I devoured, if that is the appropriate word, the entire book. Now, more than 70 years later, many scary details… are still vivid…
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The Great War Loan Conversion
Flooding the market with cash has not yet led to inflation, because the recession created a Grand Canyon of underutilized capacity to be filled first. When it is, though, expect inflation, and lower prices for long-term bonds. For a parallel situation, consider The Great War Loan Conversion, described in my Famous Financial Fiascos, where bond…
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The Executor’s Job
An individual should hesitate before accepting a position as sole executor of an estate. This advice is as sound today as it was in 1983, when this list of an estate executor’s tasks appeared in Preserving Capital and Making it Grow.
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On Leadership
The qualities of a great leader, with reference to Wellington, Machiavelli, Lord Wu, Marshal Lyotey, Socrates, and others. From an address given at the Army War College.
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How to Name Your Baby
As most parents know instinctively, there is a curious magic in names. Call your little on Elmer, and he will be less likely to succeed than if you plunge in with Charlemagne or Napoleon…Excerpted from John Train’s Most Remarkable Names, 1985.
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When Large Matters Go Awry
When large matters go awry, they often follow standard patterns—groupthink, hubris-nemesis, the Ponzi scheme, speculative manias, the “distance lends enchantment” mirage, and other raptures—alone or in combination.
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Swarm Theory
The Dance of the Money Bees was the first book ever to use a biological example to describe financial phenomena, writes Christopher T. May.
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When to Sell, or How to Boil a Frog
The investor’s first concern must be to survive; that is, not to lose a lot of money. I mean in real terms, not quotational terms. The market rises and sets all the time. Don’t worry too much about that. So does the sun. Truly losing money is when an asset you own falls apart. That’s…
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Going Into Wall Street
I am frequently asked about the best background for the investment business. To start with, I am quite sure what isn’t: majoring in economics, and then entering Wall Street.
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C. Northcote Parkinson – An Appreciation
Few management philosophers have combined so much wit and wisdom, and none was as charming, as Professor C. Northcote Parkinson.