Jim Cramer's Getting Back to Even Hardcover – Unabridged, October 13, 2009

For reasons that are not obvious to anyone who has lost money on shady business deals, US coins contain the phrase, "In God We Trust." In order to make money, you would be better off believing in the motto, "In Jim Cramer We Trust," because for all the cheap shots the man endures from a jealous business press and an annoyed public, most who don't actually trade stocks, nobody is more accurate in forecasting the market than Jim Cramer. To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway's comment that Ezra Pound helped struggling young writers and mostly got a kick in the buttocks in return, Jim Cramer has helped thousands to make money, and except for a few who call in and thank him on his television show, "Mad Money," he mostly receives abuse in return.Nor is there anyone out there in business or television who is as fast and honest in admitting his mistakes in making a call on a stock than Cramer. His most recent book, "Getting Back to Even," is yet another effort to educate the public in the stock market, in this instance, in the wake of the 2008 crash.As he points out daily, and reiterates in this book, "There is a Bull Market out there somewhere," meaning there is no uniform stock market that goes up and down every day, but some good stocks and some bad stocks, no matter the news and conditions which influence stock trading.First off, let's get one thing straight. Jim Cramer did not make a couple hundred million dollars on Wall Street by being a dumb clown. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and has had a long and successful career making money in the market and writing and broadcasting about it. He was a professional journalist before going to law school. He did not con the American public because he was as unaware of the Lehman collapse or failed to predict the fall of Enron or any other situation where a company lied about its finances. Cramer has always waxed skeptical about a company where the information warranted it. Second, Cramer's "buy, buy, buy" advice is usually accompanied by the necessary caveats, such as waiting for a stock to fall to a certain price.Like his other books and his show, "Getting Back to Even" does share information about corporate chicanery. For example, he offers "the dirty little secret" that "any large enough company with halfway competent management" "can almost always ensure that its earnings per share beats the street's expectations, as long as its quarter isn't totally abysmal....such as firing people or using buybacks to generate earnings-per-share-based upside surprises."Cramer reminds us that market "Bears" who might seem more objective because they are negative on the market or a particular company are probably not. "People who criticize the market on television or in print are not necessarily trying to help you...this person might be shorting the market or underinvested in it hoping to knock stocks down in order to buy them at a lower price." And he cautions us to be skeptical of stocks that are owned by a lot of hedge funds that could be dumped in a down market.Cramer correctly saw the first Obama stimulus package as way to little to help the economy, and it remains so.Cramer has some good advice on the Baltic Dry Freight Index, something of interest to me because I follow shipping stocks. It is probably the best indicator of the all encompassing and all powerful Chinese market, he notes, because large goods are shipped in "dry ships," which are distinguished from oil tankers. As Cramer put it, "we'll all be paying very close attention to this index for years to come, as it's the best way to track imports to China..thus "I now regard the Baltic Dry Index as more important than almost all U.S. data save the monthly unemployment numbers."It is interesting to track the companies that Cramer predicted would recover and prosper after the 2008 crash. In oil drilling he recommended Schlumberger and Transocean. Schlumberger continues to lead the pack, as he predicted. Transocean has had its problems. Cramer raved about Under Armour over Nike and the company has continued to grow faster. In a similar manner recommended Con Edison in utilities and AT&T in telecom. AT&T has been the star of telecom, including its juicy yield. All utilities have not fared all that well, including Con Edison which has more or less been stagnant as the utilities industry, like many industries, seems to be in a transition period to cleaner fuels.Cramer was right on with 3M, which does 20 percent of its business in China, 25 percent in Asia Pacific, and 11 percent in Latin America, and has come off the bottom like a rocket since 2008. He was also right on about the success of railroads and Union Pacific, which he specified, and CSX have gone gangbusters, often by raising rates. As the oversupply of commodities and stalled recovery still plagues natural resources, Cramer's high hopes for ConocoPhillips, PHP Billiton, Hewlett-Packard and home Depot have yet to be realized.However, Cramer has been more accurate in his predictions, both for individual banks and credit card companies, in the financial sector. JP Morgan, and particularly Visa, have improved since the crash. Since he devotes an entire chapter to regional banks it must be mentioned that he has been proved a prophet in their steady growth since 2008. As a whole they have been better than the sum of their parts, as such Cramer picks as First Niagara (FNFG) have struggled to digest their rapid acquisitions throughout upstate New York and New England. I personally prefer Huntington Bankshares (HBAN). Cramer has subsequently declared his choice of First Niagara a mistake on "Mad Money," but I remain long on the bank.As always, Cramer's latest book offers a great overview of the stock market's fundamentals. And although critics continue to put down Cramer for writing for "the general public," there is no evidence that the general public fares any worse in picking stocks than the experts. Perhaps one of the reasons is the help given to us, gratis, by Jim Cramer.[Hansen Alexander is an attorney and author of "An Introduction to the Laws of the United States in the 21rst Century," an Amazon, e-book exclusive.]

First a caveat, Jim Cramer seriously annoys me. I rarely ever watch his show (especially after the notorious "melt-down") and less frequently read his books. However, as a college instructor and business writer, I read a lot of business books and make a point of keeping up with what is in the popular press since it tends to come up in daily questions etc...admittedly, I was also curious how well a book claiming to help people "Get back to Even" was going to do in the ratings...it's certainly a modest proposal at best and a constant reminder of financial pain at worst. Much to my surprise, Cramer actually mentions this early in the text so score one for Cramer!The book is easy to read with a purely conversational tone; those that enjoy Cramer will feel right at home while those such as myself will still manage to get through it without constant irritation like listening to him on television. There is an abundant use of examples to explain any all all technical terms no matter how simple or complex but they do not (usually) insult the readers intelligence but rather enhance the reading nicely. The author assumes the reader has minimal prior exposure and takes little for granted so even novice investors or those that have always had their portfolio managed by someone other than themselves will not need to read with references in hand.Now, as to the core of the concepts covered in the book itself. Cramer begins by presenting 8 new rules which are more or less "common sense" but well worth repeating given the typical lack of financial savvy of most "investors". I suspect most people will enjoy the statistics and rationale more than the actual "rules" themselves but it effective presents a foundation from which the rest of the book is written while acting as the typical disclaimer for all financial related books (ie, get your basics covered first).Like any investment related book, there are likely areas to agree and disagree with...but if one manages to pick up a few nuggets it is well worth the time and effort to read. This book is no exception. Cramer is Pro diversification, gold/precious metals, dividends, performing your own research and weekly updates for stocks that you select. He goes into more detail than usual in how to research these stocks, his rationale for selection criteria and examples from both sucessful and non-successful examples in his own past.For those that are well versed in reading/understanding financial statements, most of this will be rudimentary but as a person that routinely deals with people in various stages of financial literacy - there is a strong need for user-friendly information that can be applied directly to one's own portfolio. Cramer earns an "A"...he keeps the information direct, relevant and easy to understand while covering the flaws and limitations of everything from valuation to growth rates and the impact of "big money".After a fairly robust section on dividends (like a dividends 101 abbreviated course), Cramer goes on to name 12 stocks to watcch for the recovery including a few well placed plus for his show and newsletter. As a general rule, I despise books that are thinly veiled marketing materials but in this case, didn't dock a point from the review because he showed quite a bit of self restraint and kept it to a minimum. Each recommendation is supported by a full rational including areas serviced, history, future potential etc as would be expected. Whether you agree or not, each is well worth the time for consideration and/or to use as a foundation for your own selections.Bottom line - worth the time and effort to read. Novice investors will appreciate the examples and conversational style, more experienced investors will appreciate the actual stock selections with rational behind each even if you disagree. I suspect one of the largest complaints will be on what is NOT included in this book as well as the typical (and expected) diagreement surrounding Cramer's general investment advice...of course, readers should not expect a radical departure and will get what is expected in terms of Cramer's general investment orientation, style etc...

Written by a ghost writer, this is an interesting one-time read for the novice and a quick refresher for the seasoned investors. Although a bit self-promotional and braggardly, there are some excellent summaries of stock investing techniques and strategies.Best borrowed from the library, though - once read, there's no reason to keep it to hand.

Not sure if this book help choosing stocks but since 2009 almost any stock made incredible gains - S&P500 index up ~60% over 5 years. If anything, Cramer encourages you to get back into the game. For that the book has already paid itself off.

I love to read opinions on the market and I believe Jim Cramer is convinced that he knows it all. Great condition and speedy delivery

Jim, thanks for the good advice in this book. I am still trying to get back to even , but I think I have a chance. Oh, and of course watch Mad Money on tv.