Review: Enough with Armageddon!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 17, 2014
There is some real value in this book as well as some questionable information. The former outweighs the latter. The author is knowledgeable, humorous and direct."How to Invest in Gold and Silver indeed presents a very good overview of both investment and trading alternatives. The author presents both facts about the various products (bullion, numismatics, ETFs, mining stocks) and his own frank opinions about their appropriateness for individual investors, most of which coincide with my own experience. There are useful technical tidbits like a simple Excel formula to determine how well an ETF tracks the metal's spot price. The final section offers a well-conceived approach to develop a risk-managed trading system for those so inclined.My main concerns about this book relate to (1) the many predictions about future gold prices found in Part 1, with little or no supporting evidence; (2) the assertion that gold prices follow inflation (credible studies show the gold price responds to the difference between inflation and interest rates; if inflation rises faster than rates, up she goes, as the author says, otherwise price declines); (3) the author's characterization of investor Jim Roger's as a market-timer (Rogers repeatedly denies, in public and in print, any market timing ability), and (4) the assertion that gold prices were essentially "stagnant" from 1981 to 2001 (gold fell from a high of $682 on 1/1/1981 to $271 on 12/31/2000: a 60% decline, hardly stagnant). These are bothersome errors yet they do not mean this book is not a worthwhile read, at least for those fairly new to gold investing. We are all entitled to our opinions.The title of this review, "Enough with Armageddon," refers to the author's observation that those who object to investing in gold through ETFs, due to the possibility that the world economy as we know it may end (and all stock exchanges cease to function), is useless as an investment strategy. If it comes to that, the bad guys will take your physical gold at gunpoint if you try to barter with it, so physical gold will be as worthless as a Bitcoin wallet with the Internet shut down.Overall this book is "ok" giving it three stars per the Amazon rating system. It is useful as a brief on the many ways there are to invest in gold and silver, as presented through the eyes of an experienced trader.