Art of Contrary Thinking
Years of observation and analysis of economic trends from the vantage point of Wall Street did not rub his Vermont heritage out of his face, or speech, or heart. Since 1828, generations of Neills have occupied their homestead in Saxtons River, Vermont. A book-lined room off the kitchen of the venerable house served Humphrey Neill as his editorial workshop, while the former harness room in the big barn housed his research library and his newspaper and bulletin files. From these sanctums he wrote his well-known Letters of Contrary Opinion.After a decade of apprenticeship with such organizations as the Brookmire Economic Service, Humphrey Neill established himself as a business writer whose lively, human approach to a "dusty" facts-and-figures science brought him nationwide attention. His many published books include Tape Reading and Market Tactics (1931), Understanding American Business (1939), and The Inside Story of the Stock Exchange (1950).Throughout his active business life Humphrey B. Neill observed, researched, and recorded data from which he developed the theory of Contrary Opinion.