The Wall Street Journal Guide to Investing in the Apocalypse: Make Money by Seeing Opportunity Where Others See Peril—Profitable Tactics for Navigating ... Catastrophes

by James Altucher, Douglas R. Sease

Disasters happen every day. Are your investments prepared?

The investor who knows how to anticipate historically significant or earth-shattering events—who is prepared to act when others are frozen with fear—will always have a substantial advantage. By closely analyzing potential global threats and the opportunities they present, The Wall Street Journal Guide to Investing in the Apocalypse offers investors the key to finding a silver lining in almost any cataclysm. Even if the catastrophic does not occur, the strategies here can pay huge dividends even under more mundane circumstances.

The Wall Street Journal Guide to Investing in the Apocalypse provides readers with valuable information for investment the ability to see opportunity where others see peril. Whether a global disaster is natural or man-made, environmental or financial, every fearsome scenario contains the seeds of profit for the investor who stays calm and thinks rather than panics and runs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Money

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2011

About the author

James Altucher is a writer, successful entrepreneur, chess master, and investor.

He has founded over 20 companies and sold some of them for large exits. He has also run venture capital funds, hedge funds, angel funds, and currently sits on the boards of many companies.

He has written and been profiled in most major national media publications like the Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, CNBC, Forbes, and Business Week.

His blog, which began by detailing Altucher's precipitous fall from wealth and success to absolute rock bottom and then back to wealth, has attracted more than 10 million readers since its launch in 2010, and in 2011 inspired a comic book.

Reviews

[Jack LaZebnik · Rating 3 out of 5]

It probably should be noted that absolutely everything they predicted in the book regarding pandemics (specific stock increases, etc) has happened during the coronavirus outbreak.

[Kursad Albayraktaroglu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book on how to invest during the "apocalypse", when the markets are in turmoil and many investors seem to believe that the sky is falling down. I read it during the great coronavirus pandemic of 2020 (let's see how this review will age), and its suggestions on investing during a hypothetical global pandemic were so accurate that I had to check the publication date to make sure it was not written after the pandemic started. It was published in 2011.

While I think I made some good investment decisions during the pandemic; I wish I read this book last year. The authors present several "apocalyptic" scenarios, and explain in detail how an individual investor can make sound investment decisions in each setting. Highly recommended to anyone interested in investing.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was slow reading at the beginning but sucked me in about 1/3 of the way in. James lays out crisis scenarios both fictional and historical that markets are vulnerable to and goes on to explain how you can come out ahead in each one based on 3 main principles. This book explains just how much the economy is able to take and how little apocalyptic events really matter in the grand scheme of things. Overall I was glad to have read it.

[Adrean Rudie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really feel that these gentlemen hit the nail on the head. They may teach one to be an "ambulance chaser" and invest in vices etc. But the teach the cruel hard facts of where to position oneself during a catastrophe. Also, this book may have gotten lower reviews because folks never want to hear that bad things are imminent. They know what they are doing. The are right on with where and how they are directing folks in order to benefit. I read this in 2008 or so, and I recommend it again now. Now go buy (and invest) in your toilet paper for the Covid-19 rush. (Kidding....or am I?)
Best wishes and prayers of protection over all of us.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book. Just wish I read this last March!

[Mads Bøgh Arildsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hardly worth the read. Circled around a few apocalyptic-events, how they could occur and how one could ready themselves from an investment point of view.

Though the points in the book are okay, their delivery lack the sharpness you see in similar books such as the snowball, one up on wall street, come into my trading room or rich dad, poor dad. If you're at a point, where you have read all the must-read investment books, this can be a fresh breath of air; otherwise don't.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read! I couldn't put this book down--it was gripping, readable, and relevant. This book could easily serve as a beginner's guide to investing because it explains complex principles in simple, understandable ways. It also gives you plenty of leads on specific stocks to investigate. Highly recommend.

[Ellen Attar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy is a great writer and I love reading his work. Everything he writes is relevant yet full of irony. Like Cramer, he is great for ideas, but you'd be a fool to run out and use his ideas willy nilly. His blog is GREAT.

[Russ · Rating 2 out of 5]

silly book that does mention some good stocks

[Ali Akeel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book has many valuable and common sense methods in dealing with investment before, during and even after the catastrophe time. Regards

[Bilal Khalid · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good book to read as it emphasizes on the most important factor of investment FADE THE FEAR THINK RATIONALLY....