Rule #1 by Phil Town (2006, Hardcover)

This is, beyond a doubt, the best book I have ever read on investing. Don't be mistaken however, it is not a get rich quick stock market scheme. If someone takes the time to understand the lessons and approaches to investing discussed in Mr. Town's book, I have no question they can be successful in the stock market. After reading the book I bought additional copies as gifts for friends and family.

I found it easy to follow, plus he uses MSN's Money web site to see examples of its use. As a chartist, I found how to tie in Yahoo Finances and MSN-CNBC Stock Scouter most helpful and how to use the sites!

What makes this book so good? Phil writes very well, uses examples and analogies that make rule #1 crystal clear, explains why Rule #1 works and traditional investing doesn't, writes for readers who have no experience with the stock market, and takes you through a step-by-step "Rule #1" investment, start to finish, using a real-life example. I've read many books on the stock market and consider this book the best money I've ever spent.

Excellent easy to read book that provides an alternate approach to investing and minimizing risk. It compares investing to own with an unfortunately common approach of gambling on stocks or being dependant on mutual fund managers who remain fully invested no matter what the market it. He notes periods of level or declining markets when buy and hold is buy and lose. Its a path less traveled - but a path that can provide more value if you are willing to do a little research work.

I decided to buy the book because it was the best price I found. After reading the book I am convinced this is an excellent value for the money!

The book is very informative and if one is driven by success then the sky is the limit for you after reading this book. I will start paper trading soon and then I will be ready to make some real money shortly thereafter. This is an excellent read for anyone looking to break into buying and selling stocks because Mr. Town details the most important factors for determinig why you should buy stocks (a business), what specific numbers you need to strive for and most importantly he shows you the free tools to use in order to know when to buy (so you can make money) and when to sell (so you don't loose money).

If you study this material like you studied in school or like you study the dearest thing to your heart you are sure to make a profit along the way. The key is to take your time with it, if you're in a hurry to get rich don't do this. This will take time but not an enourmous amount of time and the more you practice it the better you become, as with anything.

Phil Town is a well informed man and was blessed by the knowledge he shares (read the book, you'll see what I mean). I feel very fortunate to have found the book and I already started practicing Rule #1 when I bought the book at half price!

If you're interested in learning an excellent way to buy and sell stocks (businesses) and you're not in a big hurry to get there then I encourage anyone to buy and read this book!!!

I paid for the item immediately after closing. Seller never shipped item. Never responded to my e-mails. I had to resort to PayPay to get my refund. Seller did not respond to PayPals first e-mail.

Finally read all of the other NEGATIVE feedbacks. That tells it all! He might have several good reviews but he has tried some fast ones with me. Evan tried to get me to state that I did not complete the transaction in order to get the refund from E-bay charges.

Very dishonest from my stand point.


All I ever wanted was for him to ship me my BOOK and I would have retracted all of the above.

I still would --- BUT now I got a refund.

Nice book, got it last year, had been my water closet office's read for last week.


The good:
Books like these usually are only useful for ideas and not a step by step guide to success; Heck, if everyone able to do this, we should all driving 911's and smoking montecristo petit's.

Anyway, this book give a good eagle-eye overview of how this "rule #1" works (aka the Warren Buffett's way) The author try to used his experiences to illustrated how he was able became successful. And as such, it was written in simple terms that everyone could understand.


The bad:
Maybe a bit of too much of shotgun effect for less focus investor (me) since it give out too much possibility to ponder upon.


The Ugly (?)
I need to ask for a raise and/or take up gold panning as a second job.


The verdict?
I would have to say if you want "Get rich" guide, this is not that book.
But if you are interesting learning a bit about "rule #1" school of investing (by no means the only way...), this is a quick and somewhat clean read for you.

Just finished the book and can't wait to start putting the principles into practice. Very well written with plenty of links to helpful websites. Not a get rich quick book, just sound advice.

it was reasonable and fast delivery the book was also in perfect condition hopefully it will be just as inspiring

I have been enjoying this book since I purchased it and I highly recommend Rule #1 by Phil Town for anyone investing in the market.

After losing over 30% with a stock broker who was getting paid to watch over our life savings, the time came to take personal responsibility. This book is written in plain English that makes common sense. Easy to understand even for someone who has never owned a stock. In the two months we've been investing we're ahead of the DOW, S&P and Nasdaq. Phil Town is The Man!

I was at an investment seminar and one of the participants told me about this book. After the seminar I did my usual thing when I hear about good books, I went to my local library and borrowed a copy. It was such an excellent read and contained a number of tools that I decided I needed my very own copy to refer back to from time to time.

Loved the price, loved the speed and loved the book very much.....wish all purchases compared with this....

I decided to buy it because it was refered to me by a friend. I have not completed book but do like it thus far.

If I gave you a choice between getting $1 Million Dollars today or told you that I would give you a shiny penny today, and double the amount every day for a month, which would you take? Do I have your attention? This, my friends is the power of compound interest. Making money on the money you already made.
A few months ago my brother recommended this book on investing. It should be called “Getting Rich, for Dummies”! It’s that simple. But in actuality it is called Rule #1 by Phil Town. I read it and it is so simple to do that it will make you wonder why everyone isn’t doing it. To make a long story short, you will invest in companies of YOUR choice, looking for bargains, SALES for you ladies. Now who doesn’t love a good SALE! The point of the book is to buy $1 dollar for .50 cents and sell it for $1. Now how simple does that sound? There’s no catch!
You will learn the basics from finding the Price of the company, what the SALE price should be, and when to buy and sell. There are FREE tools on the internet that will help you to know EXACTLY when to buy and sell. I know you are probably thinking, this sounds too good to be true, right? If it’s too good to be true, then it probably is, right? Well, not this time. Trust me there is no bigger Pessimist than I. If there is a flaw in something, I will usually find it!
By the way, for those of you who were wondering how much that penny would amount to, roughly $10,737,418.24. Yes, 10 MILLION! Not bad for having to wait 30 days for an extra $9 Million… Now imagine what you can do with 20 YEARS!

After a not getting the item after 3 weeks, I contacted the seller and explained it was returned to her from the post office. She said it would be re-shipped. Another 3 weeks passed and still no book. I tried contacting her a few more times with no success until I filed a claim with PayPal to get my refund.
I felt I was as patient as I could be.

Item was shipped just as described and faster than I ever imagined. I highly recommend using this seller.