John Neff on Investing Wiley & Sons, 1999 about $40. Cdn

John Neff has been one of my investment hero for decades. He began running the Windsor fund about the time I received my Commerce degree...in the mid 1960s. Neff has been retired for some years now but is still quoted from time to time in the financial press. This book is mostly written by John Neff and contains many pearls of wisdom. John Neff on Investing is one of the top ten investment book I've ever read.

from the Prologue
"...investment success does not require glamour stocks or bull markets. Judgement and fortitude were our prerequisites. Judgement singles out opportunities, fortitude enables you to live with them while the rest of the world scrambles in another direction. Citi [bank in 1991 when prospects were bleak] exemplified this investment challenge. To us, ugly stocks were often beautiful. If Windsor's portfolio looked good, we weren't doing our job." p.4

from the Preface
"Eventually good stocks of good companies with solid earnings and low price-earnings ratios receive the attention they deserve. With patience, luck and sound judgement, meanwhile, you keep moving forward. That's the nature of the investment game: now and then a windfall, but mostly a four-yard gain and a cloud of dust. My investment style can give investors a lucrative edge over the long haul. But if you can't roll with the hits, or you're in to big a hurry, you might as well keep you money in a mattress."

Some of my favourite quotations:
"...a superior yield at least lets you snack on the hors d'oeuvres while waiting for the main course" 72
"If you buy stocks when they are out of favour and unloved, and sell them into strength when other investors recognize their merits, you'll often go home with handsome gains." 64

I shall add more comments about this book later...