Benjamin Graham the Memoirs of the Dean of Wall Street

This book concerns Benjamin Graham, the man (well, he wrote it). There has been virtually no mention about investment principles other than his career and some corporate battles. However, I like the book because I wanted to find out more about the man who was arguably the greatest original thinker in security analysis and investment. I'll try to highlight below some points that I find interesting. Ben explores his childhood and the difficulty brought about by the death of his father, and the "dignified" manner which his family conducts itself despite the limited circumstances. You can certainly sense that he is industrious and smart. If you read The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing. A Book of Practical Counsel (Revised Edition), the "Is Mrs Grossbaum worth five dollars" incident refers to this period of life. According to him, his decision of calling Wall Street as his career was highly unorthodox at the time - no college men would ever go there then (nice contrast with today's environment!). He quickly rise through the ranks and before long is managing other people's money - though with some painful experience. Nothing is as painful as the 1929 crash though, but that might even be a blessing in disguise - Security Analysis: The Classic 1934 Edition was published in 1934! Ben certainly has a sense of irony, as noted by reviews elsewhere and I would quote a section here: "I had applied myself diligently to reading the standard textbook on the subject [bond], The Principles of Bond Investment, by Lawrence Chamberlain, a ponderous tome in every sense. (How could I have suspected then that a textbook of mine would one day supplant Chamberlain's throughout the country?)" And I do derive consolation from the fact that one does not have to be good at everything to be a good investor - Ben does has his dose of shortcomings as well! :P Well, "Let me describe my first extramarital affair in the soberest fashion" is certainly quite an impressive introduction! That is not to say that he is someone who is blatantly "colorful" and seeks to fulfill his desire as an end in itself. His reading of the classics and philosophy earlier in his life might have influenced him. He did realize rather late in his life that he is "humane but not human", that "love not as *an* experience of life, but *the* experience of life", and that he would have to be a little more humble and stop regarding himself as the only worthy companion of himself. As you can see Ben the man is just as interesting as Ben the investor-teacher, and I believe it would be an interesting read to a large group of people. Sadly, it is out of print; I am fortunate that I obtained a pristine used copy at a reasonable price. Nowadays the book can fetch a very high offer price.

The book is very appropriately titled. The story is told directly by Ben, and it covers his life from his family when his father passed away to his education at Columbia after losing his scholarship the first time. Ben was a colorful person, and reading an autobiography like this allows the reader to see the paths a great person chose in life to really become what we remember him for.Of course, the fact the Warren Buffet was his best student and biggest advocate was probably the reason I picked the book up in the first place, but after reading it, I discovered the Ben was wise in more than just Wallstreet. My favorite wisdom derived from Ben is on the subject of sex and relationships, as he had so many of the latter while becoming the great investor that we first associate with him. I feel that I learned skills that will help me grow to be wiser by reading his bio. I definitely suggest the book to anyone who is interested in not only Ben's life but in contemplating how to improve his or her own.

The Dean of Wall Street confesses. That would be a great lead, except that Benjamin Graham has little to confess. Rather, Graham, considered the father of modern security analysis, tells us about his life, career, and his intellectual passions. He shares his thoughts about a range of issues, and about his experiences. For instance, did you know that he valued his intellectual pursuits more than making money? Or that he was a Broadway playwright? These memoirs are more concerned with Graham's story than with his investment techniques. We [...] recommend this book to those who want to learn more about Ben Graham, the man. It is not for those who want to learn more about Ben Graham, the founder of value investing.