Book Review > The Australian Stockmarket 8th Edition

This book was first published in 1960 and has been so popular that it is now in its eighth edition. If you have questions as to how the Australian Stockmarket works then this is the book for you. It will appeal both to those who currently invest in the stockmarket and those who had bought equities in the past and wished, when they did, they had known more. It is a reference book to all the "jargon" that persons new to the stockmarket find so bewildering. It his section on the origin of stockmarkets he has details of how the first stockmarket began. The fact that it started in Venice 700 years ago was new to me. The detail of how the Doges were able to borrow money, convert the borrowings into tradable bonds and so give the borrowers a chance, for the first time, to get some or all of their money back, was very interesting.

The book is full of practical advice for newcomers to the market and to those more experienced. Ron Bennett's wide experience is apparent and his expert knowledge as a Fellow of the Securities Institute of Australia is evident. His wisdom and insight comes through in every page. He even has checklists for investors to fill-in to make sure that they are making informed decisions about what they doing. He covers, in an easy to understand manner, such difficult and diverse subjects as investment strategies, the derivatives market, different sorts of companies and their meanings and the interpretation and understanding of cycles on the stockmarket.

In one chapter he explains economic theory in a way that I found meaningful. He gave examples of theory and practice from the most influential economists over the last century namely Adam Smith, Keynes & Friedman.

This book will also give you some idea of the essentials of stockmarket investment. This chapter alone makes the book worth buying. If I had to find a single comprehensive publication to use as a reference book then this is the book to which I would turn.

The typeface is in 9/11 point Formata, it is one that I had not seen before and it made reading the book very easy.

In summary I found the book easy to read, interesting and full of the answers to my questions. It should appeal both to the novice investor and to those investors more experienced.

Available at ABC shops, ABC Centres selected bookshops, abcshop.com.au or phone order 1300 360 111.