Investing: The Last Liberal Art

"Investing: The Last Liberal Art" and "Latticework: The New Investing" are exactly the same book with exactly the same content up to the page numbers. Just the book name and book cover were changed. It's not clear why the publisher changed the book name but after purchasing both books I find highly misleading.

A good, but light introduction to various liberal arts subjects for interested investors. The subjects R. Hagstrom tackles are topics any liberal arts major in college would've already been exposed to in varying degrees, however, for MBA's and those out there who've not yet "invested" their own time into "life's larger issues" and subjects, then this book is an excellent jumping off point. On the flip side, those of us who have spent a lot of time studying and thinking about liberal arts, and are new to business and investing but would like to learn more, Hagstrom's book helps synthesize the business/investment world with various disciplines which at first glance seem not to be related, but which in actuality, as Hagstrom shows, are inextricably linked.Overall, I recommend this book along with Peter Lynch's, "One Up on Wall Street" for serious long-term investors who understand that there's more to life than income producing stocks.

Latticework is a good book. I liked the premise and approach more than the writing, but the writing was still good. The term latticework is attributed to Charlie Munger, the inimitable vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Charlie views a latticework of mental models as an interlocking structure of ideas that is clearly multidisciplinary in nature. Drawing from this transdisciplinary focus, Hagstrom takes us through some key principles or laws from a number of disciplines such as psychology, physics, biology, and philosophy, among others. He then applies these theories to investing and the marketplace. Bottom line, this book is not about financial models or equity premiums. It is more a book about how to apply theoretical precepts in one discipline in helping you to understand another discipline, principally investing. As anyone who has studied widely, it is quite apparent that most disciplines are artificially delineated and socially constructed. The undergirding currents of knowledge seem one and the same (cf. the 'g' idea of intelligence). In general, people that have crisp and disciplined thinking and problem solving skills can tackle any subject with authority. I would read this book if you are tired of reading all the material that everyone else is reading and that seems to say the same thing a hundred different ways. At the end of the day, if you read what everyone else is reading, you are going to have difficulty thinking "outside the box" or differentiating your ideas in the marketplace. The smartest people I have read or talked with seem to be quite adept at applying knowledge from one area to add insight to another area. This book will at least start you on the right path to a new way of looking at the shifting market landscape.

A good book always makes you think about its particular subject in a new way. Robert Hagstrom's new book, Latticework: The New Investing will definitely have the reader thinking about investing differently. The book develops the notion of combining insights from many different disciplines (biology, physics, and literature to name a few) to develop worldly wisdom. If the investor develops their own mental models (and understand how the interact with one another) they can develop a competitive advantage over most investors. Mr. Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, has endorsed this mental models concept in two separate speeches he has given.

When was the last time a Wall Street whiz suggested that you pick up a biology text?The finance MBA programs would have us believe that investing is simply a matter of math. Robert Hagstrom, someone who has clearly mastered the numbers in his field, quite poetically tells us otherwise. It presents a way in which to view the field of investing that relies on an understanding of many other disciplines. In fact, one of the greatest outcomes of this marvelous book may just be the resurgence of the liberal arts education.