The Elements of Investing

In a world in which investing for retirement can seem far more complicated than it needs to be, THE ELEMENTS OF INVESTING is a welcome arrival. Inspired by the classic little book on good writing THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE, Malkiel and Ellis (who have taught at Princeton, Harvard, and Yale) lay out their case for a simple strategy, based on low cost and diversification. Erik Synnestvedt is suitably businesslike in this production, narrating at a steady pace that allows the listener to soak up the material. There are some of the inevitable problems that come with audio versions of investing books--tables of numbers just don't work well in the medium--but these are few. Overall, it's remarkable how this audiobook manages to pack decades of wisdom into just a couple of hours. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine