Harvesting Profits on Wall Street: Essays in Investing

Awesome book. Short articles. Some seem to require a business degree to comprehend, but most are easily understood. I bought 2 more copies for family members. Very simple (but not simplistic) approach to complex subject matter. Muhlenkamp does a great job of explaining why capitalism works!

Ron's book helps to understand the investing principles such as the real returns, inflation and interest rate. The essays in the books explain the triggering factors and the consequences behind these variables. Thus one could make a better judgement whether the current situation is good for borrower(Companies,home owners) or for the lender(Investor).

There is definitely a difference in the mind of an engineer - and Ron Muhlenkamp illustrates that clearly throughout the collection of essays bound in this book. The engineering mind in it's natural form is an analytical one - searching for answers, looking for patters & cause-effect realities - some folks have this inherent line of thinking and those that are trained in engineering disciplines reinforce this type of thinking. I mention it because the clear writing style and simplistic structure of Ron's illustrations are indicative of the engineer mentality - seek, understand, distill and illustrate as simply as possible. The reason that this book is likely to be eye-opening and beneficial to readers is that there is no agenda to the text other than to provide insight - Ron doesn't show four cards and leave the fifth face down. While this book is not overtly presented as a X-step program to financial wealth, it provides a thorough substructure for thinking and understanding the financial/economic world in which we live. Much like Ben Franklin's claim that of life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness - the citizenry would be responsible for attaining the third - this book will provide the reader with deeper insight and better understanding for the investment world...attaining success therein will be up to the reader. Good Luck.

This is a fascinating book to read---and unlike most books on investing---it is actually interesting, easy to comprehend, and filled with common sense analyses of the impact of the loss of buying power on each of us and logical approaches to negate this erosion of assets over time. The pure simplicity is refreshing. Hats off to the author of a book I can actually read and use---for the rest of my life. Five stars +++

This is an excellent book. I have been an investor in the Muhlenkamp Fund for the past ten years. I have witnessed firsthand how Ron Muhlenkamp and his team of analysts avoid the fads promulgated by today's financial media and select stocks based on the principles outlined in this book. The book is essentially a compilation of the essays written by Ron Muhlenkamp over the last twenty-five years. Very few money managers have the guts to post their past predictions and the the advice they gave to clients in the historical context of what actually happened to the stock market during that period. In doing this, the author has a knack for explaining complex economic concepts and scenarios in a way that anyone can understand. I especially liked the "Open Letter to My Congressman" which he wrote to Congressman Doug Walgren in 1990. This letter is "dead on" in terms of what the Federal Government needs to do to resolve the looming Social Security crisis. The advice is something that every one of our politicians should heed. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to become a better investor and I expect to turn to it often when I need financial wisdom on how and when to invest. I would also recommend subscribing to the Muhlenkamp Memorandum which is published quarterly.