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The Bear Book: Survive and Profit in Ferocious Markets
October 28, 1997. The Dow drops 500 points. Investors the world over receive a startling reminder that "what goes up, must come down." It is a profoundly unsettling experience for those of us who have either forgotten or have never known the experience of a bear market. Half of the money invested in U.S. stocks in this century entered the market from 1991-1996, making the dark days of October memorable for their bloodletting. Overall, this was just a scratch, and despite the optimism of so many investors, history has shown that the bear attacks time and time again.
John Rothchild, critically acclaimed author of the bestselling A Fool and His Money, isn't even afraid to face a full-fledged bear market. In his topical and timely new book, Rothchild reveals how to prepare psychologically and tactically for the looming debacle. Breaking from the pack of investment books which tacitly assume a bull market, The Bear Book focuses on protecting assets and minimizing losses during a bear market and on taking advantage of unique opportunities for profit.
With customary flair and style, Rothchild chronicles the long history of bear markets, exploring in detail exactly what constitutes a bear market and how it affects us. Along with his own expertise, the author draws on respected and knowledgeable names such as Jim Rogers, Jim Grant, and Martin Zweig, among a host of prominent investment advisors, strategists, and fund managers. The result is a comprehensive chronicle that deftly and definitively fills the "bearish information gap."
John Rothchild's masterful penchant for blending wit, good storytelling, and sound investment analysis makes The Bear Book both informative and vastly entertaining. He distinguishes the characteristics of past bear markets, examining what triggered them, how long they lasted-and why. He probes the unique psychology of bearish investing, concentrating on which types of investments generally do well during a downturn in the market. His often surprising answers to some straightforward, no-nonsense questions clarify, among other key issues, what can happen to mutual funds in a bear market, and exactly what the dangers are of selling short. Of critical importance is Rothchild's overview of the alternatives to stocks, including gold, bonds, and money market funds, as well as tips on what stocks to buy when the market starts to turn bullish again.
For historical perspective, The Bear Book also includes a unique and eye-opening account of the Crash of '29 and its survivors. Profiles of prominent bearish investors-Roy Neuberger and Philip Carret, among them-contain illuminating long-term perspectives on the ups and downs of the stock market over the past fifty to seventy-five years.
A bracing tonic for investors at all levels of experience, The Bear Book offers a veritable blueprint of the various stages of a typical bear market. It will prove invaluable to those of us who wish to protect our savings -and peace of mind -whenever the market drops.
John Rothchild, critically acclaimed author of the bestselling A Fool and His Money, isn't even afraid to face a full-fledged bear market. In his topical and timely new book, Rothchild reveals how to prepare psychologically and tactically for the looming debacle. Breaking from the pack of investment books which tacitly assume a bull market, The Bear Book focuses on protecting assets and minimizing losses during a bear market and on taking advantage of unique opportunities for profit.
With customary flair and style, Rothchild chronicles the long history of bear markets, exploring in detail exactly what constitutes a bear market and how it affects us. Along with his own expertise, the author draws on respected and knowledgeable names such as Jim Rogers, Jim Grant, and Martin Zweig, among a host of prominent investment advisors, strategists, and fund managers. The result is a comprehensive chronicle that deftly and definitively fills the "bearish information gap."
John Rothchild's masterful penchant for blending wit, good storytelling, and sound investment analysis makes The Bear Book both informative and vastly entertaining. He distinguishes the characteristics of past bear markets, examining what triggered them, how long they lasted-and why. He probes the unique psychology of bearish investing, concentrating on which types of investments generally do well during a downturn in the market. His often surprising answers to some straightforward, no-nonsense questions clarify, among other key issues, what can happen to mutual funds in a bear market, and exactly what the dangers are of selling short. Of critical importance is Rothchild's overview of the alternatives to stocks, including gold, bonds, and money market funds, as well as tips on what stocks to buy when the market starts to turn bullish again.
For historical perspective, The Bear Book also includes a unique and eye-opening account of the Crash of '29 and its survivors. Profiles of prominent bearish investors-Roy Neuberger and Philip Carret, among them-contain illuminating long-term perspectives on the ups and downs of the stock market over the past fifty to seventy-five years.
A bracing tonic for investors at all levels of experience, The Bear Book offers a veritable blueprint of the various stages of a typical bear market. It will prove invaluable to those of us who wish to protect our savings -and peace of mind -whenever the market drops.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
4 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
John Rothchild
42 books29 followersJohn Harmon Rothchild was a freelance writer specializing in financial matters. He authored or co-authored more than a dozen books on finance and investing, and served as an editor of Washington Monthly as well as a columnist for Time and Fortune.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 6, 2023
- If you're making money when others are losing money, either keep your mouth shut or complain with others. On the other hand, when you're losing money when others are making money, be as loud as possible on the fact that you're losing money - you'll gain sympathy because others think they're winning against you
- It's awfully silly to time the market - as Keynes said, "the market could stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent". Never time the market, rather, use a system to invest and stay with the system to avoid tilt
- Always do your own thinking and avoid following the crowd: the crowd has truly no impact on the market. Focus on real information that will make you money (how to do something) rather than opinion pieces (I think, I feel, something may happen, etc)
- The crash of '29 was not severe: in fact, it was wildly welcomed by almost all participants as they believe the market was unhealthily overvalued. The real decline didn't occur until 2 years later
- It's awfully silly to time the market - as Keynes said, "the market could stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent". Never time the market, rather, use a system to invest and stay with the system to avoid tilt
- Always do your own thinking and avoid following the crowd: the crowd has truly no impact on the market. Focus on real information that will make you money (how to do something) rather than opinion pieces (I think, I feel, something may happen, etc)
- The crash of '29 was not severe: in fact, it was wildly welcomed by almost all participants as they believe the market was unhealthily overvalued. The real decline didn't occur until 2 years later
February 23, 2018
The book doesn’t really have good advice on how to profit in a bear market. It has some advice on spotting the signs of a bear market but the last 100 pages digress significantly into telling the lives of rich people who made a profit in bear markets and other stories not tied to the theme of the book and becomes a bit of a drag.
August 5, 2013
John Rothschild, bearing no relation to the pecuinary poohbahs of the “Rothschild” family, gives a fasinating book on the reclusive bear. The bear of course being the downturn markets that still germinate to big rewards for the gadflys and wolf criers of the finance world. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Michael Lewis's “The Big Short”; a well-written suspenseful book about rogues who bet against the housing market in 2007 and won big time! Of course we are reminded that short-selling is extremely risky, and very few people have gotten rich through this method.
The book is accessible, and sums of the basics like the price-earnings ratio, how to spot a bear, and some of the historical patterns where the stock market was in the tank (depression, 1976, 1987). Chapters are easy to move through, and the themes stay pretty near to the top with not too many details to drag the book down.
One of the other interesting points of the book is its timing Ah yes, those blissful 90s. So it's an artifact from 1998 of a voice of caution in an otherwise confident sunny economic time. We would be wise to rememeber it's cautionary lesson of irrational exuberance, and the reminder the bull is just around the corner.
The book is accessible, and sums of the basics like the price-earnings ratio, how to spot a bear, and some of the historical patterns where the stock market was in the tank (depression, 1976, 1987). Chapters are easy to move through, and the themes stay pretty near to the top with not too many details to drag the book down.
One of the other interesting points of the book is its timing Ah yes, those blissful 90s. So it's an artifact from 1998 of a voice of caution in an otherwise confident sunny economic time. We would be wise to rememeber it's cautionary lesson of irrational exuberance, and the reminder the bull is just around the corner.
December 30, 2021
An interesting book.
However, some of the anecdotes and the last 2 chapters are good to get back to.
A great reminder of how history rhymes, and what the mood of 1997 was, and how the bears were almost 3 years too early.
However, some of the anecdotes and the last 2 chapters are good to get back to.
A great reminder of how history rhymes, and what the mood of 1997 was, and how the bears were almost 3 years too early.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews