The Britannica Guide To Soccer

Soccer... Or football in our terms... remains my favorite... Apart from IT+Mathematics stuff in Algo as mentioned in the previous read, football remains my number one hobby during my leisure time. As such, I always find interesting to read football stuff...

Ok, some major discoveries through this book... The earliest teams played in attack-oriented formations (such as 1-1-8 or 1-2-7) with strong emphasis on individual dribbling skills... Preston North End created the more cautious 2-3-5 system. (Cautious? LOL). Then we got Herbet Chapman, the Arsenal legend of all time who created the WM formation, featuring 5 defenders and 5 attackers; 3 backs and 2 halves in defensive role, and 2 inside forwards assisting the 3 attacking forwards. Amazing, right? Despite my knowledge in football (I thought I know a lot, LOL), there are still some new stuff to dig out from this book. This is an evidence on how beneficial a book can bring to a reader. So, for those who slammed me for reading so much; well, I gain all the way except losing some of my leisure time... Net winners, right? LOL.

However, I thought the coverage is not details enough. Overall, this is just a "guide"... In precise, a guide in very "general" way. As such, readers who are familiar with world of football may find this book very inadequate. For example, the author missed out tons of great players in the "Past Soccer Greats" such as Dennis Bergkamp, Raul, etc. Meanwhile, the author selections of "Current Stars" created a lot of confusion when Michael Ballack and Landon Donovan were in while tons of Barcelona tiki-taka personnel were left out cruelly. Well, judging a player is something subjective. However, since it is a "guide"; any irrelevant info could be misleading to some football newbies.

Then, we got this very simple introduction on football tactics and formations. I am very disappointed when the author did not dig further into the "Total Football". With the book published before the famous Tiki-Taka, it is fine for the author to omit the said beautiful tactics. However, you do not leave out "Total Football" as that was the masterpiece of skills that certain teams are still deploying at the moment. Finally, since the author have topics on "Past Soccer Greats" and "Current Stars", what about the managerial section? In my humble opinion, managers are the real soul and architect of a club. Hence, there is no reason not to talk about it...

To be frank, it took me less than 48 hours to finish this book. Besides the leisure of reading what I love, there is some food of thoughts... First, the corruption being mentioned throughout the book. Although not being emphasized, it is really something to ponder about. After all, sports lost its identity thanks to the series of corruptions. Then, we see the ups and downs of famous football clubs around the world. The two obvious examples are Arsenal and Ac Milan. The said two teams were famous clubs those days. Now, the Gunners were hit by the stadium and the stubborn Professor (The current owner as well) who view football as a pure business. The Rossoneri itself was a reflection from the economic slump and inflationary wages. So, in contradict, one club tried to survive on its own while losing popularity as it simply cannot compete with big clubs in Citeh and Chelsea. On the other hand, the Italian seems moving backwards as they just cannot hold on (and buying in) with star players who demanded higher salaries.

Overall, this is a nice book for me since I am a football die-hard fan. Although some flaws, I rated it at 6/10. To sum it up, it is a "leisure" book... When we are stuck in the holiday mood, this kind of books serves its purpose.... LOL!

Nerds On Wall Street

I love IT stuff and of course... I love investment stuff too. Since "Algo" is the combination of what I love... this book attracted me so much at first glance...

As mentioned on the cover, it is all about Math, machines and wires markets... I think for those who are keen on the said subject, this book serves as a very good introduction on how maths and machines become part and parcel of wired market these days. However, for those who are not really keen; they might find it boring. I thought the writing is quite rigid(stiff?LOL) for certain chapter. After all, the author needs to explain the chronology in wired markets from day one. Besides, this book is actually a collection of articles written for technology magazines from the mid-80s to the mid-90s. As such, there are certain items which we may not know since those were the days where computer was still an expensive luxury stuff.

Then, we have some irrelevant stuff in the final few chapters. (In my humble opinions...) Even the author mentioned that he did not planned for that in the first place. Well, it was the sub-prime stuff. But, I honestly do not see any correlation with our topic here. Perhaps a little bit, but not necessary at all. End of the day, the author's view in regards to the said issue seems misleading too...

Ok, some bad stuff... What about the good stuff? Well... to be honest, a lot! In my humble opinion, this is a book that was arranged neatly in a way that tells the whole stories thoroughly. (Bear in mind that this is a collection of articles) End of the day; like I said above, it is a good start for those who are keen on Algo. In fact, I thought it is good refreshment for those who are familiar with Algo stuff. Hence, overall, despite some weaknesses, it is one of the very best investment book(articles?) in the market.

I personally love chapter 6 on the topic of "Stupid Data Miner Tricks". It serves as a good reminder for those who thought they can be a good miner. A few phrases are good enough to prove my point. "Whatever raw materials you choose, fooling yourself remains an occupational hazard in quantitative investing. The market has only one past, and constantly revisiting it until you find that magic formula for untold wealth will eventually produce something that looks great, in the past." Further to this... "When doing data mining, it is important to be very careful of what you ask for, because you will get it." Then, it is followed by "A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history- with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila." Finally, we got this very nice quote: "The easy access to data and tools to mine it gives new meaning to the admonition about lies, damn lies and statistics. The old adage caveat emptor, buyer beware, is still excellent advice. If it seems too good to be true, it is."

It was then followed by a very details description on manipulating via Chapter 11. Check out list of messages as below (a remarkable stuff published in year 2000 by someone named Tel212):
Message boards guidelines, used by shorters that short sell stocks:
1. Be anonymous, of course.
2. Use 10% fact and 90% suggestion... Facts give credibility, while suggestion does the "sell".
3. Let others "help" you learn about the stock thereby developing rapport and support base.
4. Use multiple handles, but develop a unique style for each.
5. Use multiple ISPs.
6. Start each new handle slowly to build acceptance.
7. Occasionally, use two handles to "discuss" an issue.
8. Do not show all your cards at once when slamming a stock. It's a war- it's ok to lose a battle as long as you save enough ammo to win a war.
9. Know your enemies - they will end up being your best weapons.
10. Only slam until the tide starts to turn. Let doubt carry the stock back with the tide.
11. Maintain an appearance of being open minded but slant in either direction is acceptable.
12. Don't appear meek. No one follows the meek.
13. Strike just as your opponent starts to gather momentum but not before or you lose your sting.
14. Don't worry if people beg you for a slammer. The doubt will remain and that's what you are after.
15. If pegged, put up a brief fight, then let them feel they've won. This puts their guard down within a few days and your other handles can take over from there.
16. When slamming a stock, the intent is to minimize its rise, not to create an instant plunge.
17. To slam a stock requires you only to kill the dream not the company.
18. Use questions to invoke critical thinking and use statements to reinforce. 
19. You can be liberal in your questions but be specific and precise in your statements.
20. Don't lie, but bend the truth.
21. When slamming, encourage research beyond calling the company. You know people are far too lazy and it's only doubt you are after, not confirmation.
22. When slamming, discourage people from taking the company's word- encourage them to seek outside proof. If the company's history is bad, point them there.
23. When slamming, refer to missed deadlines and weak financials.
24. When slamming, if the price rises, blame it on a temporary mass reaction to a press release rather than real interest in the stock. Point out low volume and emphasize the selling.
25. Pretend to share the same concerns by learning what they want to hear.
26. And above all else, be unpredictable.
Such "pump and dump" strategies sound frightening... The only thing I can comment: the author (the anonymous?) seems revealing too much through this "frightening" posting! LOL.

Final thoughts... Out of 10, I am going to rate it at 7. Overall, this is a very good book to explore. Although there are some weaknesses from my very own perspective, it is confirmed not a polluted stuff, LOL.

Despite some nice quotes above, I preserve few as below to serve as a soft reminder to myself. Enjoy it...

A computer does not substitute for judgement any more than a pencil substitutes for literacy. But writing without a pencil is no particular advantage. 

Life would be so much easier if we only had the source code. - Hacker Proverb

To err is human. To really screw up, you need a computer.

If you give someone a program, you will frustrate them for a day; if you teach them how to program, you will frustrate them for a lifetime.

Be careful what you ask for - you might get it.

In the real world, potential alpha is reduced, and sometimes eliminated by transaction costs. Trading is the implementation of investment ideas, and poor implementation can negate the potential value of any idea.

太监谈往录

刚看完港剧【大太监】，那么巧，上一轮订购的中国图书就包括这一本【太监谈往录]。看【大太监】看的是一头雾水。读这一本【太监谈往录]虽然文笔不太顺畅，内容一部分也挺沉闷的；但，至少真实性和准确率提高了许多。。。我还是不太明白香港连续剧怎么就不能如内地连续剧般好好的拍一套历史剧。。。

不谈连续剧了，谈一谈这本书吧。。。这是一本晚清太监回忆录的合集。由于是作者的亲历亲闻，很多细节还真的挺震撼的。至少，他们的身之亲历，目之亲睹和耳之亲闻肯定和我们对于宫廷和清朝的点点滴滴有着很大的不同见解。

老实说，我更喜欢后半段清宫太监回忆录的小故事。虽简单，但每一件事都有它惊心动魄的一面。一开始的“难忘的酷刑”就够难忘了。再来，西太后吃人奶的行径还真让人惊讶！或许是前半段（宫廷琐记）太沉闷了，因此后半段的小故事虽小，却趣味十足。。。

但，如以上所说；这一本回忆录的文笔还真的有点欠缺。整个感觉就是作者们的文化程度和思维定式个有局限。所以，沉闷的感觉充斥着正本书。看着，看着，有时还真的难以投入。因此，个人评分不会太高。满分10分最多也只值个4分。毕竟，当读者很难专心投入在一本书籍上，整个阅读的乐趣就不见了。不错的一本书。。。但，从读的机会应该是零吧。。。

先秦诸子百家争鸣

看完了费城风云，突然很想重温易中天教授的其它书籍。选了又选，最终选择这本我非常喜爱的经典之作。

上一轮阅读这本书时（大约两年前吧。。。），就觉得趣味十足。易中天老师解剖历史细节本来就有自己的一套。更何况，这不只是一本历史书，还是一本百家争鸣的哲学论。因此，从读的感觉还是觉得很有趣。怎么个有趣法？孔子的诞生产生了所谓的先秦诸子百家争鸣。根据易老师的分析，孔子不只是文化巨匠。他还是失意官员，模范教师，孤独长者和性情中人。那春秋和战国对易老师来说，又代表了什么呢？原来，相同的是天下无道。不同的是，战国时代社会更动荡，政治更黑暗，战争更频繁，人民更痛苦。换句话说。春秋时期，是客客气气，羞羞答答，遮遮掩掩的坏。这也就是为什么墨子和孔子虽表面上一致，但墨子更极端。。。有趣吧？这只是开端吧了。

再来，看一看孔子，墨子和孟子错综复杂的关系。。。易老师一开始的孔孟之别就已经够过瘾了。孔子温文尔雅，孟子心直口快；孔子为人低调，孟子个性张扬。。。所以，易老师说，孟子更像墨子。相同之处在于他们都是侠义之士。细微之处在于墨子行侠，孟子仗义；墨子反战，孟子爱民。然后，易老师又分析了墨子的三大方法：算账（利害的计算），恐吓（鬼神的吓唬）和集权（君主的专政）。正是由于这些方法，又造成了儒墨两家的三大分歧：功利还是仁义，鬼神还是天命，军权还是民权。有趣吧？哈。。。

还有一点。。。易老师的这本经典之作还不只是有趣罢了。其实，里面也包含了春秋时期和战国时期种种天下无道的事迹。个人其实蛮喜欢春秋战国这一段历史的。理由是，这是一段又有趣又有知识性的历史。诚如易老师最后的总结般：墨家关注社会，留下了社会理想～这就是平等，互利和博爱。道家关注人生，留下了人生追求～这就是真实，自由和宽容。法家关注国家，留下了治国理念～这就是公开，公平，公正。儒家关注文化，留下了核心价值～这就是仁爱，正义，自强。简单来说，墨家留下了建设家园的美好理想，道家留下了指导人生的智慧结晶，法家留下了应对变革的思想资源，儒家留下了凝聚民心的价值体系。。。够意思吧？

易老师的大总结：“和谐” ～ 抽象地继承下来这些宝贵的遗产。。。既可以各取所需，但不必厚此薄彼。有道理吧？哈。。。试问，一本从头到尾都很有趣，很够意思，很有道理的书籍，我应该给几分呢？如果【中国的智慧】值满分，那这一本肯定也是10分满分之作。。。。

最后，这本书有意义和值得探讨以铭记于心的（诸子争鸣什么？为什么？怎么办？）还不只是以上所说。看一看下面的这几段吧。。。。满分的书籍就有它满分的道理（就是够牛！）：

孔子为儒指引的出路是读书做官，而且最好是在读书和做官之间游刃有余。墨子为侠指引的出路是平时自食其力，急时行侠仗义。但，自食其力没法出人头地，行侠仗义则不为官方所容。因此，最终儒家胜利，墨家失败。

所谓的隐士，就是“有本事”但“不做事”。不过，真正的隐士恐怕是连话也都不会多说的，更不会和别人辩论。所以，老子和庄子都顶多是“隐士哲学家”。

老庄的无为，可以概括为八个字：寡欲，愚民，反智，不德。

老子强调肉体生存和物质需求是必须满足的。精神生活和思想文化就免谈。老子一书，基本上是韵文。所以，我也把这个观点总结为一句押韵的话：虚其心，实其腹，弱其志，强其骨，舒舒服服变成动物。

老子说，要治国，就要愚民；要愚民，就要愚君；要愚君，就要反智。这就叫“以智治国，国之贼，不以智治国，国之福。”

仁义礼乐都是道德堕落以后才冒出来的东西。这样的东西，能是好东西吗？

这个时代的前提是：“大道既隐，天下为家”。大道既隐，就是“失道”。失道而后德，所以有周公的“以德治国”。到春秋时期，礼坏乐崩了，这就是“失德”。失德而后仁，所以孔子讲仁。到战国中期，孔子这一套也不行，这就是“失仁”。失仁而后义，所以孟子讲义。到战国后期，孟子这一套也没人听，这就是“失义”。失义而后礼，所以荀子讲礼。

如果说一个“兼”字，区别开儒家和墨家（儒家讲仁爱，墨家讲兼爱）；那么一个“无”字，就区别开儒家和道家（儒家讲有为，道家讲无为）。

老子多权谋，庄子多智慧。老子讲逻辑，庄子重感悟。所以，老子的道和庄子的道虽然都是“无为”，但老子的道是冷冰冰，庄子的道是生动鲜活和充满情感的。

最后的胜利往往属于柔弱的一面。。。所以老子说，善于当兵的，不英武；善于作战的，不愤怒；善于胜敌的，不与敌人交锋。

老子的“无为”，其实是“有为”，甚至是“大有作为”。。。按照老子的辩证法，矛盾对立的双方总是相互转换的。你越是想得到，就越是没有。越是不想，就越能得到。所以，老子假无为，庄子真无为。

我个人的态度，是欣赏道家，赞成儒家。或者说，做人学道家，做事学儒家。

儒墨可以互补，儒墨就难。法家是儒，墨，道三家的继承者，也是他们的批判者，还是新学说的主张者。

商鞅的悲剧不是他的“人”有问题，而是他的“法”有问题。有什么问题呢？只有维护君王统治的手段，没有保护人民的意思。

韩非其实是死于自己的学说。他叫大家如何计算别人，结果自己却被别人计算。

孔子周游列国，墨子奔走呼号，孟子游说诸侯，谁都不听他们的。老子和庄子原本自说自话，当然更没人听。唯独法家，不但其说被采纳，其人也被重用。

法家的成功：面对现实，与时并进，横行霸道，两面三刀 （两面就是二柄：即奖与惩，赏与罚。三刀就是势，术，法；即仗势欺人，阴谋诡计，严刑峻法。

荀子说，人，论力气不如牛，论述度不如马，可以说处处不如动物。然而，牛马却为人所用。因为人能组织社会，牛马不能。由此可见，人类之所以能够生存靠的不是天赋能力，而是社会力量。社会如果解体，人就牛马不如。

从理想层面讲，孔子有道理；从操作层面讲，韩非更可行。。。因为孔子的制度是按照圣贤的标准来设计的。韩非的制度，则是按照常人的标准来设计的。

孔子开了一个先例，就是以民间思想家的身份，对天下大事发表意见。此列一开，不可收拾。。。墨子说，孟子说，杨朱，庄子荀子，韩非都说。老子虽然好像面对着空气，也是说。这就是“争鸣”，即争着说，而且多半会提到孔子。

子路的话，孔子听不进去。。。看来，从孔子开始，中国人就不善于也不愿意反省自己。

当我们遇到问题时，是应该“反省”还是“自欺”。我的看法是反省肯定正确；自欺要看情况。因为自欺也不一定是不好。这里的关键是；第一：必须有意识，知道这是自欺。第二：只能自欺，不能欺人，除非需要集体的自欺。

你可以反对某种信仰，但不能没有信仰。在人类的早期，所有的民族都得靠它们来凝聚族群。显然，周人只能用某种信仰去取代另一种信仰。但，绝不能取消崇拜和信仰。因此，在把神位拉下神坛的同时，还必须把别的什么送上去。于是，人（圣人）就被当成神来拜。

社会剧变，士不着急；社会剧变，士最有用；社会剧变，士最受益。结果是什么？社会剧变，士人最牛！

士人为什么可以这样牛？三个原因：有本事，无负担，任自由。

道家主张“无为而治”其实是“不治”。墨家主张“贤人政治”其实是“人治”。儒家主张“以德治国”，其实是“礼治”。“不治”的结果是无政府状态。“人治”的结果是人亡政息。礼治的结果是礼坏乐崩。这才有了法家的“以法治国”。这是有道理的，也是应该抽象继承的。。。就是只取“制度比人可靠”这一点，不要法家设计的专制制度。

老子的思想其实有问题。按照老子这一套，人人装孙子，个个缩脑袋。咱们这个民族怎样才能实现“和平崛起”和“伟大复兴”？所以，老子的想法也只能抽象继承。就是做人低调一点，做事却必须高标准，严要求。

费城风云

老实说，很少会选择阅读中国作者关于外国事迹的书籍。但，对于外国学者揣摩中国内地的点点滴滴，我倒是挺喜欢的。因此，是时候对中国作者公平一些。更何况，作者还是我个人非常喜爱和敬佩的易中天易教授。

易老师这回不谈中国历史，反而研究了美国一段很重要的风云变幻。这一段变幻的重要性不用我多说。只是，从易老师的角度来分析应该蛮有趣吧。。。怎么说，易老师是有名的分析家。看待历史也比一般学者来的透彻。最牛的是，易老师诙谐有趣的语言，肯听能让读者读得乐趣十足。毕竟，美国的这一段历史还挺沉闷的，哈。。。

结果嘞？？？老实说，读了几本易老师的作品，这本应该是最差的一本。。。所谓的“差”并不是这本书不好。主要是，他其他的作品太好了！易老师一贯的作品都能让人追的爱不释手。但，这一本，稍微有点不专注，都很难啃掉整本书。或许，不是易老师的问题。可能，费城这一段大历史虽大，却是闷的发慌的一段风云录（哈！）。。。以往，易老师都能够把郁闷的历史故事说的动听十足。但，这一回很明显是失败了。

诚如易老师所说的。。。这只是一本民主政治的普及读物！所以，抛开以上的比较，它还是很称职的一本读物。至少，没读过美国宪法诞生的读者肯定能通过这本书了解整个宪法的点点滴滴。虽然少了一贯的诙谐幽默；但很严肃的去读一本书也不一定是坏事。。。

评分方面。。。始终认为易老师的其他作品更好，因此10分满分我只能给6分。不错的一本普及读物。但，吸引力还真的被其他作品给盖掉了。。。

郑裕彤传（鲨胆大亨）

对于香江的商业事迹，我从小就很着迷。理由是。。。这里是个自由的过度，这里有我最喜欢的金融投机，这里偏地是黄金，这里有太多太多如同鲨胆大亨的传奇事迹了。。。

和李嘉诚一样，郑裕彤也不是第一批涉足香港地产业的大亨。但，和李超人一样，他却是其中一位靠地产大富大贵的香港企业家之一。这里，牵涉到两个重点。第一，这些后知后觉的大亨其实并不贪恋赚足整个过程。只要能在整个趋势中稳赚里头的60-70%的利润，迟一些进场也不是什么大不了的事。相反，很多成功学刻意卖弄“饮头一啖汤”的哲学是不是更倾向于“不在乎天长地久，只在乎曾经拥有”境界？每个人都有个选择。只要是选择自己最认同的；其实也没有所谓的对错。。。第二，郑裕彤早期以黄金和珠宝踏足商场的背景还真帮了他许多。当年，炒卖黄金而大起大落的投机客让他看到稳扎稳打的重要性。（“我年轻时见过炒金就是这样。狂起暴跌，很多人跌得头破血流。做地产也是这样的道理。。。凡事不宜过头。结果博得太尽，也就一头跟着栽进去。”）就这两点，也足够读者好好的慎思了。。。。

再来，作者很有意思的透露鲨胆大亨其实隐藏着一些些儒家思想。看一看这一段：“笔者认为，在收购他人的公司上，郑裕彤都未摆脱传统商人的思维模式- 朋友妻，不可欺，朋友财，不可贪。。。在他的意识中，为商作恶，莫过于夺人饭碗，购人公司，断其生路。”很有意思吧？

不过，有一样东西我还是一头雾水。。。郑裕彤怎么会有鲨胆之称呢？从这本书，我看到的都是些稳扎稳打的手法。就如书中也提到郑裕彤的三句名言：1. 做什么投资都没有做地产更稳。2. 欠债就不是家财。我比较保守，不喜欢背太高的债。3. 我不喜欢投机，也不允许投机。因此，所谓的“鲨胆”还真的让人想不通。唯一的可能性只有两个：一，作者的资料不够齐全（欠缺鲨胆本色的事迹）。二,个人对鲨胆的定义和作者或整个香港人（鲨胆称号在香港是众所皆知的）都不一样。若要硬生生找出鲨胆之举，或许赌王何鸿燊对他的评语最能刻画出郑裕彤的鲨胆本色：“够胆色，决断神速，而去交易时绝对爽快。”

整体来说，这是本不错的自传。满分10分，我至少都打个8分。作者的手笔虽有少许的沉闷（太透彻了，哈！），但解析度还是挺高的。至少，作者会套用很多其它资料（如赌王何鸿燊的访问）来证实自己的观点。所以，对号入座的感觉就不常发生。再来，鲨胆大亨本身的事迹也是值得探讨的。从屡败屡战的精神，和赌王闯荡世界级赌场，失败于风险投资（丁谓案），与美国地产大亨耐人寻味的合作，豪门结怨，和接班人问题等等的多彩人生就足于显示这本自传的可读性。对于本地读者，还有一点可能会令大家都还蛮意外的。鲨胆大亨原来也曾被雪兰莪苏丹赐予DPMS拿督的头衔（1989年）。。。。

如果你厌倦了李超人的李氏致富人生，不如尝试一下鲨胆大亨平凡中带有传奇性的这一本书籍吧。。。

英保良二老板林道荣

阅读这本自传时，英保良二老板林道荣已经过世。。。其实，很意外会在书局看到这本书。曾几何时，“英保良”这个名称就相等于我小时候的欲望。当年，只要有机会去一趟英保良，简直就是会高兴到手足舞蹈。可想而知，英保良对我成长过程起到多么大的意义。。。

孩童时期，一直想不通好好的一间购物商场怎么说没有就没了。（好奇怪噢！哈！）长大后，开始知道一点一滴关于它的兴衰史。但，就是找不到太多细节。因此，这本书的出现总算解答了我一大半的疑问。

看完了整本书，还真的很心酸。。。原来，当年带给我无限欢乐的购物商场经历了那么多的酸甜苦辣。拿督林道荣还真的很本事。整个兴衰史虽比不上史玉柱的巨人事迹，但也堪称是本土非常值得探讨的一个个案。毕竟，商界里，能够东山再起的已经非常有限。更何况，我们看到的是一个临老才遇到人生危机的一个企业家！说实在，我是衷心佩服英保良二老板！他老人家不屈不饶的精神真的很可敬！

整体来说，这是本个人非常喜欢的一本书。但，我必须承认，个人非常崇拜书中的主人翁。因此，难免会爱屋及乌的喜欢上这本书。其实，整本书也不是没缺点。一般上自传有的罗嗦和重复性免不了还是会在书中出现。但，因个人偏好，所以以个人角度去打分肯定不低。10分满分，我给9分。对于一个传奇性钜子来说，过世前能够觉得自己是个快乐的人（林道荣说，他现在是一个最快乐的人，因为他没有欠银行一分钱，也有钱购物置地，比起过去更是轻松。从前生意很大，但是用别人的钱。一旦有难就兵败如山倒，这种危机今天不会在发生。若健康允许，他还要再冲刺。），我觉得，拿督林道荣应该也算不枉此生了！毕竟，得失他有过，大起大落他也有过。。。而，留给我们后人的除了回忆，还有一些值得我们学习，反思和借鉴的精神。

英保良二老板，一路走好。。。。。

创业教我的50件事

最近真的看了太多茶毒自己的书籍。。。因此，是时候回归一些文化素质比较高，又比较有文艺气息的书籍。。。最终，选了本又文艺又不失商业本质的书籍。。。

王文华一直是我挺喜欢的一个作家。。。他的文笔好应该是众所皆知。但，我不知道有几个人和我一样并不知道王文华开始涉足商业了。当初，看到这本书时，还真的很惊讶。毕竟，王文华书生的形象太深入民心了。。。

结果嘞？？？书生始终还是书生。就算有张明正护航，难免还是逃不开书生经营生意的格格不入。这也是这本书最终不怎么吸引我的地方。当初对这本书的期许或许是惊讶，好奇大于实际期许。因此，无形中还是会对他抱有太大的期望。结果。。。还真的挺失望的！

失望在于商业书不像商业书。。。文艺气质又好像不是那么文艺。。。总之，文艺气息好像一直很勉强的蔓延在他所谓的商业过度里。结果感觉就像不伦不类。看商业看的不够沸腾，看文化又好像很牵强。简单来说。。。就是个“乱”字！

当然，就像很多书籍一样，它还是有它可取的地方。以下就是一些我觉得还真的能让我慎思的一些观点：

“周哈理理论（Johari Window）。。。四格窗户的左上角是Social Ego （别人知道，我知道），一个符合社会期待的我；左下角称Hidden Area（别人不知道，我知道），隐藏着个人内心的阴影。右上角称Blind Area（别人知道，我不知道），也就是每个人自己没有察觉的盲点；最后右下角Unknown Area（别人和我都不知道），堪称人的潜意识。当我们试图减少盲点和内在阴影。。。我们会更加活在当下。” ～～～ 这其实是张明正的名言。。。很好的一个提醒！

“伟大的创业，起点都是：我有一个idea！。。。但，很多失败的 创业，起点也是：我有一个idea！” ～～～ 偶像史玉柱讲了好多次的言论。。。无论到哪里，都是那么实用和适用！

“我们已经花了半年的时间，与其说是在寻找『做什么』，不如说是在寻找『不做什么』。创业家都有雄心壮志，失败的原因通常不是因为没做什么，而是做了太多。” ～～～ 肥佬黎的那句经典名言早已深深烙印在我的慧根里。这么巧！王文华也在50个智慧里体会到了。。。赞！

“学习看事情的五层次～往高处看：事件（Event），模式（Pattern），结构（Structure），心态（Mental Model），愿景（Vision）。” ～～～ 这又是张明正的智慧！趋势科技当年能够脱颖而出肯定是这个model起到一定的作用。

“国父搞倒清朝，靠的不是慎密的计划或大规模的行动，而是一次又一次小规模的尝试.”～～～王文华的这个反省还真的很独特。他打开了不只是自己的盲点。其实，也打开了我的小小视野。所以，这一章我体会的最多，而我也最喜欢这一章。

“意见不同没关系，意义相同就好。看法不同没关系，看到的愿景一样就好。”～～～这个大道理说的坦然，但实行起来还真是个大学问！

“光环退了其实是好事，光灯灭了才能看清自己。”～～～王文华能在那么短的时间里就看透这一点，可见书生经营生意还是有他可取的地方。赞！

“没有筹钱的压力，没有赚钱的压力。。。也许没有压力，就没有能力。”～～～压力还真的是种推动力。难怪这么多的历史辉煌战绩都是源自于致之死地而后生！

整体来说，虽说“文化气息”+“商业铜臭味”的组合搞到这本书格格不入。。。但它的可取点（如以上所列出的）也不少。至少，我个人觉得这本书好过很多市面上的“成功”书籍。毕竟，有几个作者肯坦然然的分享自己的失败经验。而，往往这些失败经验却又是那么的中肯和实际。俗语说，成功的方法有很多种，失败的可能性就那几个。如果能够避过失败（就那几个嘛，哈！），成功的路程肯定就在不远处。。。

评分方面，不会太高，但也不会太低。10分满分，就给个6分吧。毕竟，里面有它的缺点，也包含了一些优点。。。蛮不错的一本书，但重读的机会应该会很低吧，哈。。。

Trade The Trader

I am open to new ideas. As such, I do not mind polluting myself with more investment stuff. After all, I know where to find solutions if I am over polluted. Hence, here I am with another highly pollutant stuff... LOL

Take a look at few statements as stated below and this is how I believe I was polluted when I started the first few chapters, LOL:

"Traders often believe that a set strategy should work in all environments, when in fact, the best traders alter their strategy to adjust to the environment." ~~~ In my humble opinion, I think a good trader hardly adjusting any major stuff along his trading career. Even when there is a need to adjust, the main concept will always be there. J.W.Henry is a good example on this...

"If you come into the day holding positions, you will already be biased as to the direction you desire... Holding positions overnight means that you are more than likely positioned for the previous day's trend, when the next day may be different." ~~~ By holding it means you are bias towards a certain direction? Hmm... this is a statement for those who think they can predict like a crystal ball. For those who know they cannot predict, there is no bias at all even though they are holding for certain direction.

Then, we got this lateral and angular trend line... which I think is the ultimate trend line that most technical fellows are arguing about. The author is smart... by changing or added up a certain new name, something common seems to becomes a real mystery overnight. So, if a trader digs further, I humbly believe that he or she will end up looking for just another Holy Grail.

"Blessed is the man who cannot tell the difference between his work and his passions." ~~~ This I agreed and very much on the same planet as the author. Fortunately, this is not the only statement that I agreed with him. (Otherwise, I could have problem to finish this book, LOL) The next good stuff: Ever since the author started reviewing his trade record, he always comes with same realization: He sold too early! This I am with him again as I know how important not to sell too early. Yet, I am not really in the same thinking with him in regards to his solution. Well, I went through the similar situation during my earlier part of career. As such, I know there are better alternatives than what suggested by the author.

Frankly, despite some polluted stuff, I think there are still some positive points on this book. I personally love chapter 10 on "Developing Your Plan" and chapter 12 on "Setting Stops". The ideas presented in chapter 10 were very much the problems that most traders are thinking about. Although the solution was not the best, at least the author presented a well-planned strategy. As for stops, I thought the idea of setting stops at the point where the pattern established is so practical. In fact, the author did pointed out the weakness in using a fixated stops. So, overall, this is the chapter where I very much agreed with him.

As a summary, I think this is actually not a real pollutant book as mentioned above. I thought the ideas were well presented and the author did point out enough problems for readers to think about.... However, I personally do not feel like reading an investment trading book. End of the day, it is more like sitting in a discussion room with the author, where each one of us trying to figure out the best alternatives to all the mentioned problems. At the end, I thought the author creates too much of question marks for readers to ponder about... The worse is, some question marks do not seem to bother me at all. Even if it bothers me, the author failed to provides precise answers that I am looking for. Having said that, I am not going to give high rating on this book... For a full rating of 10, I thought this book at most deserved 5 out of 10. I enjoyed reading this book. However, I just do not benefit much from reading this book... 

Trend Following

After some "animal" stuff, time to get back to human beings, LOL.... Well, same author... and same old book... except this time around, it is the third updated edition where it includes the latest 2008 sub-prime crisis...

I read this book once and this is my second visit... After went through the turtles stuff, this book suddenly crossed my mind. Coincidentally, a buddy bought me this third edition recently. As such, here I am with the refreshment on trend following.

I thought Michael Covel did well in this third edition. Latest info was added in and it makes the whole trend following more complete than ever. In fact, I remember I was still quite "amateur" during my first read on this book. Those were the days where I was busy writing codes for others. Those were the days where I was so bold that I will always search for absolute return regardless of market situation and capital in hand. Those were also the days where I enjoyed most in searching for holy grail, LOL. As such, this time around (not so "amateur", LOL), I thought I really enjoy reading this book. At the end, it is like reading my own diary. A lot of great stuff presented in the book was actually part and parcel of my career. Of course, bad stuff was there to help me grow along the way too... Hence, this book not only serves as refreshment... in fact, I think I need to fork out more time to read it more often in order to capitalize and further strengthen my good traits.

In summary; after a second read, this is still an excellent book to explore. The author did gathered as much information as possible to present the depth in examining trend following. The only setback perhaps lies with the fact that it is more like an "academically" book. At the end, it is not as interesting as the animal stuff (The Swan and The Turtles), LOL. In view of the minor setback as mentioned, I am going to rate 9/10 for this book. An excellent book to read... except that it is less attractive compares to the two animals, LOL.

Here are some nice quotes to ponder about...

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.

The wisest trend follower I know has said that every 5 years some famous trader blows up and everyone declares trend following to be dead. Then, 5 years later, some famous trader blows up and everyone declares trend following to be dead. Well, was the problem trend following or the trader?

If you can't predict the end or top of the trend, why get out early and risk leaving profits on the table? ... in trying to protect every penny of your profits, you actually prevent yourself from making the big profits.

You want no losses and positive returns every month? Well, you could have had your money with the Ponzi-scheme of Bernard Madoff... You can't make money if you are not willing to lose. It's like breathing in, but not being willing to breath out.

In hindsight, you might ask yourself why he was trading the British pound if he was losing. The simple answer is that neither he nor anyone else could have predicted whether or not the British pound would be the next great home run.

When you stop trying to please others and concentrate on pleasing yourself, you gradually become aware of what you are passionate about in life. And when that happens, all sort of people come out of the woodwork to help you achieve your goal.

The major strategic elements have never changed in almost 30 years... The market are just the markets... I know in the past 5 years a lot of competitors have purposely lowered the risk on their model i.e. deleveraging or trying to mix with other things to reduce volatility. Of course, they have also reduced their returns. ~~~ Dunn

We don't predict the future, but we do know that the next five years will not look like the last five years.. Markets change. And our results over the next three years will not replicate the last three... ~ John W. Henry

In taking a position, price orders are allowable. In closing a position, use market orders. ~ Richard Donchian.

Giving back a profit probably seems like real risk, to us it seems like volatility. ~ John W. Henry

Obviously you don't want to overhaul a program in response to one year just because something didn't work. That's when you are almost guaranteed that it would have worked the next year had you kept it in there.

Trend following appears to be too simple... Indeed, simple ideas can take a very long time to be accepted; think of the concept of a negative number, or of zero: simple to us, but problematic to our ancestors.

The illiterate of the twenty-first century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn. ~ Alvin Toffler

To be uncertain is to be uncomfortable, but to be certain is to be ridiculous.

There are a lot of misperceptions about chess... Chess players look only as far into the future as they need to, and that usually means just a few moves ahead. Thinking too far is a waste of time. The information is uncertain. Chess is about controlling the situation at hand.

The best long-term performers in any probabilistic field such as investing, sports team management and pari-mutual betting- all emphasize process over outcome.

Winning a bad bet can be the most dangerous outcome of all, become a success of that kind can encourage you to take more bad bets in the future, when the odds will be running against you. You can also lose a good bet, no matter how sound the underlying propositions, but if you keep placing good bets, over time, the law of averages will be working for you.

There is little point in exploring Elliot Wave Theory because it is not a theory at all, but rather the banal observation that a price chart comprises a series of peaks and troughs. Depending on the time scale you use, there can be as many peaks and troughs as you care to imagine.

A robust trading system, one that is not curve fit, must ideally trade all markets at all times in all conditions. If the parameter of a system are slightly changed and the performance adjusts drastically, beware.

No matter how complex and subtle a strategy is and no matter how sophisticated it might be, it has to be possible to describe that strategy in relatively simple and intuitive terms to a sophisticated investor.

The Complete Turtle Trader

After the ‘Swan', I guess it is time to revisit another favorite animal of mine.. The 'Turtles', LOL. Previously, I had read this book twice. Precisely, it was actually once with English version while another round with simplified Chinese version. Well, both versions are good. But, I think I prefer the origin work from Michael Covel. Like I mentioned in the 'Swan', I think I am "polluted". As such, revisit turtles seems to be a good choice.

This time around, I thought I really enjoy reading it. First of all, I am having a holiday with wifey and kid. Hence, I am relaxed enough to enjoy an amazing story from the author. Those days, I think I am too serious in studying this book. At the end, the joy of reading sometimes lies with relax minded and enough of understandably stuff. With my current resources, I think I understand enough the logic and senses behind the turtles. As such, the pressure in regards to academic was totally removed during this visit. Frankly, I really enjoy it!

So, after a third time reading, what is my rating for this book? Honestly, I thought the author did well in collecting all the facts about the turtles. This is not the usual investment book where author seems to promote certain stuff to attract readers. At least, I think I saw the positive side of turtles as well as the negative side of the said group. As a conclusion, I find no reason not to rate this book at 10/10. This book was published in year end of 2007 and I grab my copy in year 2008. The facts that I already went through the whole book three times proved that I really love this book. A thoroughly great read and I highly recommend this book to any traders and book lovers.

Last but not least, some nice quotes to ponder about...

Many outstanding intelligent people are horrible traders. Average intelligence is enough. Beyond that, emotional makeup is more important.

The thing that worked best were rules. The majority of the other things that didn't work were judgments.

A good friend of mine was employed as a reporter by the largest commodity news service... One day, his major story is about the sugar... I asked, 'how do you know all of this?' I will never forget his answer; he said, 'I made it up.'

A bad month, a bad quarter, or even a bad year does not mean much in the grand scheme. The most important thing was to have a sound trading approach tested in the real world.

To add to a losing position was like being the kid who's been burned on a hot stove once already but puts his hand back on the stove just to prove it was the stove that was wrong.

It's not about the frequency of how correct you are; it's about the magnitude of how correct you are.

The market 'gurus' who pretend that a complex approach must be used to make money want the equivalent of quantum physics for trading rules. That kind of thinking is mental masturbation, or as trader Ed Seykota calls, it "math-turbation".

No matter how good you get you can always be better and that's the exciting part. ~~~ Tiger Woods

It's possible to train people to perform to a certain level... but if this training does not promote self-education and a philosophical attitude, then the trainees will be little more than performing seals.

He was always worried about 'skid'... and for a man who taught logic and the scientific method to his students, it was amazing to hear that he worried too much about arguably inconsequential issues.

Some investors probably walked away from what could be perceived as his arrogance, but many were smitten by Rabar's "take it or leave it" attitude. There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance and Rabar walked it with great success.

"Rich always said that you can't pay attention to books, articles or papers. If it was worth knowing, the people will keep it for themselves and trade." ~ Jerry Parker

Just because I don't understand it doesn't mean I'm not going to bet on it.

The Black Swan

I have this habit... whenever I feel I had been polluted by tons of investment books, I know I need to reread two books... namely, "Fooled By Randomness" or "The Black Swan". This time around, I choose to go for the extraordinary swan. Reason? Well; I always thought Nassim Nicholas Taleb produced a better book in "Fooled By Randomness". To me, both books are equally good. However, relatively... I still think the first book beats easily the second book. As such, I am always looking forward to challenge my very own "black swan", LOL. Furthermore, I think I had enough with his first book. Meanwhile, this is only my second read on the swan.

So, after another round of scratching head on the swan; do I still insist that first book is better? Honestly... YES, LOL! Ok, the swan was still too prolixity to me. End of the day, I still think there are a better way to express the swan. After all, I think some readers may not want to dig that further into the swan... especially when "Fooled By Randomness" had showed its randomness with simple yet understandably wordings...

Well, please do not get me wrong... I actually love this book. After a second read, I still think this book deserved a rating of 9/10. The only point being deducted was due to its complexity (which I think can be avoided) when compares with the first book. Every reread on this book serves as a good reminder as well as some refreshment to my career. After all, I deal with black swan now and then...

Here we are with some of the quotes that I found useful... Obviously, there is a lot of differences compares to last read. Maybe I had improved... or maybe, I had accepted that I am actually one of the extraordinary black swans too... LOL.

"One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic." Statistic stay silent in us.

Readers would not pay $26.95 for a story of failure, even if you convinced them that it had more useful tricks than a story of success.

It is why we do not see Black Swan: We worry about those that had happened, not those that may happen but did not.

The more detailed knowledge one gets of empirical reality the more one will see the noise and mistake it for actual information... listening to the news on radio every hour is far worse than reading a weekly magazine, because the longer interval allows information to be filtered a bit.

These "experts" were lopsided: on the occasions when they were right, they attributed it to their own depth of understanding and expertise; when wrong, it was either the situation that was to blame, since it was unusual, or, worse, they did not recognize that they were wrong. 

We attribute our successes to our skills, and our failures to our external events outside our control, namely to randomness... this causes us to think that we are better than others at whatever we do for a living.

Perhaps the wise one is the one who knows that he cannot see things far away.

So, why on earth do we plan? Some people do it for monetary gains, others because it's their job. But, we also do it without such intentions - spontaneously.

We have a natural tendency to listen to the expert, even in fields where there may be no experts.

We are made to follow leaders who can gather peoples together because the advantages of being in a group trump the disadvantages of being alone. It has been more profitable for us to bind together in the wrong direction than to be alone in the right one. 

We grossly overestimate the length of the effect of misfortune on our lives... More likely, you will adapt to anything, as you probably did after past misfortunes. 

Our problem is not just that we do not know the future, we do not know much of the past either.

Avoid the big subjects that may hurt your future: be fooled in small matters, not in the large. Do not listen to economic forecasters or to predictors in social science (they are mere entertainers), but do make your own forecast for the picnic.

American culture encourages the process of failure... America's specialty is to take these small risks for the rest of the world. Once established, an idea is later "perfected" over there.

People are often ashamed of losses, so they engage in strategies that produce very little volatility but contain the risk of large loss... People hate volatility, thus engage in strategies exposed to blowups.

If you know that you are vulnerable to predictions errors because of the black swan, then your strategy is to be as hyper-conservative and hyper-aggressive as you can be instead of being mildly aggressive or conservative. 

If venture capital firms are profitable, it is not because of the stories they have in their heads, but because they are exposed to unplanned rare events.

You have high risk on one side and no risk on the other... the average will be medium risk but constitutes a positive exposure to the black swan. 

Invest in preparedness, not in prediction.

Trading may have princess, but nobody stays as a king.

The people you meet on the way up, you will meet again on the way down.

We are quick to forget that just being alive is an extraordinary piece of good luck... So, stop sweating the small stuff... Remember that you are a Black Swan.

The Profit Magic Of Stock Transaction Timing

Some said this is a true held in high esteem by serious technician that gives valuable guidance on the use of cycles... Some said this is the original source of research on various technical analyses such as moving average, envelopes, etc... Some said J.M. Hurst is simply the genius in cycle calculation... After reading through the whole book, I think I am not right one to comment on this. Reason? I actually did not absorb well on the knowledge of the said "magic", LOL.

To me, this is a tough book to digest. After all, it is a "magic" as according to the author. As such, I found myself understand some, yet confusing at some... End of the day, the most difficult thing is; I cannot verify the validity of the said "magic". Well, it could turn out to be one of those technical analysis stuff; where it works at times, but surely not all the times... Even when I browse through the said information via google, I found very little details on it. In fact, I think there was a course being presented by the author many years ago. With that course, perhaps I can have a clearer understanding on what I read.

Since I mentioned that I understand some, while completely confuse on some; I think I am not the right person to rate this book. However, I do not see myself wasting time on reading this. At least I know something new.. and at least, I know there is still something for me to explore further... End of the day, raising right question is awakening; getting its answer is stimulating... But, nothing better than the best is finding the right answer to the right question. 

Techniques Of Tape Reading

Vadym Garifer, a Russian (Soviet Union) who migrated to Canada and... choose to become a trader since he could not find better alternatives in a new country. Hence, this is not only a book about trading. It is somehow part and parcel of biography for Vadym Graifer too...

Well, I actually remember reading this book few years back when a friend borrowed me. However, a buddy mentioned to me recently and I just could not recall what I read before, LOL. As a result of this, I decided to reread this book. Sometimes, a second read can deliver different perspectives. Furthermore, we tend to appreciate more on what the author wanted to present in the first place.

This time around, I thought I have a better understanding on this book. Well, like I said above; there is a biography part at the beginning of the book. The reason why the author was "forced" to venture into trading serves as a good reminder to us. How lucky we are compares to immigrant like this. Take myself as example; I was lucky enough to choose what I want to do. I love my job and I was so fortunate to be able to stay in this job for more than 10 years! Overall, the biography part was simply awesome. I like biography.. especially biography about a trader. That is also why I enjoyed so much with "Reminiscences of Stock Operator".

But.. Ah-ha, the "but" part, LOL...Apart from the beginning part about a trader's journey, the rest of the contents failed to attracts me once again. Well, I do not belong to the author's school of thought. As such, I have problem adjusting myself to enjoy what he wrote. End of the day, those are the things that I rejected for so many years. Hence, I find no reason to enjoy it now... Having said that, I must clarify that this is all due to my very personal acceptance on certain school of thoughts. I am not complaining about the writing skill and any pieces of information that was revealed by the author. Put my personal preferences aside, I thought this is a nice book to explore. After all, I can see how the author sharing his thoughts without hiding... But, since it is not my cup of tea, my personal rating for this book is not going to be high. Out of 10, I am going to give a rating of 6. The truth is: I ONLY enjoyed the beginning part (biographical stuff) of this book.

Listed below are some of my favorite quotes ... Thumbs up to the author for sharing this piece of valuable advice!

It's easy to relax when you watch someone else trade... I found my way: I detached myself from my emotions enough to not act under their influence... Does this all sounds crazy? Sure, it does, but trading is a crazy business. It requires an unusual state of mind, so that unusual tricks are justified. 

Trading what I saw, not what I thought...

"If I can't make money using it, I can make money selling it."...Fortunately, I learned to trade without having to pay for something from someone that wasn't proven reliable. I paid the market for my education instead, and what a great teacher it was!

The most successful students are those who find their own slant on the approach they are being taught. They apply their personality to the system they study and produce their own version of the system. That's their edge and comfort zone.

Does TA work? The answer depends on what you expect TA to do for you? If you want TA to tell you what the future will bring, then no, it does not...TA has no predicting value. 

TA doesn't offer predicting value... but, it provides structure and favorable odds.. TA works as long as you read them to your advantage and do not expect them to tell you what to do. They are your tools. Tools does not work by themselves. 

Traders who expect TA to do their trading are similar to musicians who expect their pianos to play music. 

Trader Vic On Commodities

"As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. There are also unknown knowns, the ones we did not know we know." 

"More importantly, you should find yourself able to lose more than win and still remain profitable overall. Learning to accept, deal with, and minimize losses is the most important factor.."

"So, you lost because something changed - an unknown... In effect, your lack of emotional discipline was itself an unknown unknown... The market are strong or weak for a reason, but you may not know why - a known unknown..."

Well... The known and unknown stuff as mentioned above did enough to attract me to continue with this book... After all, I thought the author, Master Vic talked sense and there is certain logical to the theories as mentioned.

However, the attractive part did not last long... In fact, there is only about 20% (perhaps less than that) of logical and senses... Eventually, it was followed by 80% (perhaps more) of promotional tool for the commodity index that Mr. Sperandeo devised! End of the day, the title itself is misleading... I just did not get what I want and what I expected!

Frankly, I thought publisher need to stop doing this... To me, this is not a proper way to market something... Having said that, my rating for this book definitely would not be high. The fact that I spend only less than 24 hours (perhaps less than that) to finish this book did enough to justify my rating. Well, I gain something... perhaps 20% of excellent information. Other than that, I really do not find anything interesting. Rating wise, I am going to rate 2/10... Exactly the 20% that I gained for the past 24 hours... LOL

The Greatest Trades Of All Time

This is a collection of so called "the greatest trade" by Vince Veneziani... I said "so called" as I think the author missed out some of the real "greatest" trades that are not mention in the book. In my humble opinion, since it is a about greatest trades, legend like Warren Buffet should not be miss out. I honestly think the world richest trader should have more than one greatest trade throughout his career. At the same time, I sincerely do not think some of the player as mentioned in the book deserved to be classify into the category of "Greatest Trades". End of the day, what is so special when the so called "Greatest Trades" happen only once in a lifetime?

Further to this, I thought the author's opinion in regards to each case as discussed seems too general for readers to digest. To make the thing worse, the author seems to get confused on whether he is profiling various well-known traders or whether he is writing about their trades. In fact, I am very familiar with stories about James Chanos, Paul Tudor Jones II, John Templeton, Jesse Livermore (Still my all-time favorite), John Paulson, George Soros and Martin Schwartz (My Idol... LOL). As such, I thought the "Top Traits" as pointed out by the author seems inadequate and very much misleading. I understand the technique of writing a book. After all, it is pretty safe to do so... especially when a writer needs to write something unfamiliar...

Having said that... I actually love the idea of "recreating trading strategy" at the end of each story. The author did his best to connect the said trade to current situation. Well, although some of his opinions seem not practical; at least the author did put some effort to conclude each trade. As such, this is actually a well-planned book. At least the structure in building up the stories and the summary to end each stories are good enough.

Overall, this is an average book in my humble opinion. . Detailing wise; well, it is so inadequate! Educational wise; since I personally do not agreed with some of the advice given by the author, I could not comment much! In fact, I think the author does not really understand the world of trading (No offence though)...Perhaps, that is the reason why some of his personal opinion does not seems appealing to me at all.

Well, please bear in mind that this is a book of "Collections" (Collections of greatest trades). As such, it is more like a summary rather than details digging... As I am quite familiar with 80% of the trades as mentioned, this book at least serves as a good refresher. Rating wise, I am going to rate 3/10 for this book. Although incomplete in details, I do really need this kind of book on my shelf... 

Hitler (An Illustrated Life)

Hitler... as according to Gregor Strasser: "He doesn't smoke, he doesn't drink, he eats almost nothing but green stuff, he doesn't touch any women! How are we supposed to understand him across to other people?"...

At times, I hate to read historical biography... Most of the time, this kind of books might end up as half histories plus half biographical stuff. "Hitler, an illustrated life" is more than that.. perhaps 60% of history stuff plus 40% of biography stuff, LOL. Well, I understand the difficulties in writing historical biography. The author needs to be precise about historical facts. At the same time, he/ she needs to give his / her opinion in regards to biographical stuff! Tough? Of course...

In terms of facts, I thought this book reveals a lot of great stuff. However, a book with only 224 pages surely has its limitation. In fact, I think the author over-emphasize the historical parts. At the end, readers may find it boring (Well, history itself is boring enough, isn't it? LOL) and find it hard to pick up any interest part. For myself, I was initially looking forward to know more about the personality of the said fanatical dictator. Unfortunately, I found very little of that.

Overall, I love and hate this book... I love the "simplicity" by the author (simple yet precise!). A small book (with only 224 pages) to tell the story of a dictator did enough to proved my point! I hate it as I am a reader who prefers more biography stuff. After all, Europe histories no longer attract me these days.

Having said that, I am not going to rate highly on this book. Out of 10, I am giving 4 points based on my personal expectations in exploring this book. Like I said above, I do not hate this book. But, I do not like it too... 

The Fundamentals Of Hedge Fund Management

A friend of mine recommended this book... and I thought since I am so "academical" lately, why not? LOL..

Ok, this is basically a simple book on the fundamentals of hedge fund. For those who know nothing about managing hedge fund, this book serves as a good introduction. It gives you a basic outline of everything you need to do to start and run a hedge fund.

I personally love the chapter of "Marketing" and the chapter of "Perception versus Reality". One statement in that chapter of "Marketing" clearly pointed out the real situation in real life: "In terms of getting assets, 1. the people you think will give you likely won't. 2. the people who you will never imagine in a million years giving you money might be where you get the money from." Interesting fact, right?  On the chapter of "Perception versus Reality", the case studies provided are really some great stuff to ponder about... After all, managing a fund is not really as easier as many peoples think...

My only criticism of the book is that it is slightly out-dated. Those who follow hedge fund regularly will realize that certain rules were changed ever since this book was published. As such, readers might be confused with certain regulations as mentioned in the book. My advice is... check through with respective parties if you have doubts. After all, this is a book published in year 2007. Hence, out-dated issues are something unavoidable.

Overall, this is a nice book to explore. Although simple... but details enough for newbies. I will recommend this book for beginners. However, for those intermediate or advance levels, perhaps this is not the best choice of resources. As such, "intermediate" reader like me only rates this book at 5/10. Nice book, easy to digest but too simple in my humble opinion... 

The Ten Day MBA

I hardly go into this... I mean, academically books.. To be frank, since I graduated from university, my focus was more on books that I failed to read during my university time. After all, a three straight years of degree life did just enough for me to find excuses into exploring non-academic books, LOL. So, I guess it is time to refresh a bit into what I studied 15 years ago, LOL.

MBA is something attractive to me all the while. I know I may not have the chance to further my studies into this (at least in short term) . As such, I am very curious with this book... Well, a MBA to complete in 10 days' time.. Why not? LOL...

At the end, this is the only book for me for the past 10 days. To be honest, I really enjoyed it. The past 10 days proved to be educational (although academically too, LOL). My curiosity was satisfied with the author's creativity in writing this book. After all, we are talking about the "secrets" taught at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, Northwestern and Virginia. So, what is there to complain about?

The only setback perhaps lies with the simplicity. MBA holder and prospective MBA holder may not like it... The fact is, the author needs to fit in 9 major courses plus a series of MBA minicourses in a book! As such, certain details may not be adequate and readers need to read further in other resources. However, if a local university degree holder like me can understand and appreciate the whole book, I guess the so called "simplicity" is not an issue to any other readers.  After all, I am not reading for academic purpose. I am reading it to sharpen my competitive edge, expertise and performances in certain area. In fact, most of the topics were covered (although not 100%) in my university time. Hence, the said book also acts as a good "refresher" course to a busy man (ahem!!!LOL) like me.

Overall, I love this book so much. In view of that, I am going to rate 9/10 for this book. An excellent academically book and an excellent "refresher"... no doubt!

Contents:

Day 1: Marketing

Day 2: Ethics

Day 3: Accounting

Day 4: Organizational Behavior

Day 5: Quantitative Analysis

Day 6: Finance

Day 7: Operations

Day 8: Economics

Day 9: Strategies

Day 10 MBA Minicourses

MYDIN The Untold Story

MYDIN, a very popular household name these days... I know this book was in the market since last year (if I am not mistaken). However, similar to the case of SENHENG, Corporate Culture the Engine of Growth; I initially quite reluctant to buy this book. The reason is simple: I do not want to read another "marketing" book to promote the brand, the company and the director!

Well, if SENHENG at the end manage to change my initial perception, what about this book? Unfortunately, this book is exactly the "marketing" book as mentioned above... The first few chapters (about the founder) at least interesting enough. The middle part (especially the last part) is all about photos and articles being published via the local media. At the end, it took me ONLY a short two hours to finish the whole book!

So, do I gain anything from it? Of course! As usual, there is always some gold in a book for readers to dig in. With due respect to the founder and current Managing Director of Mydin, I really found this book was too simple to digest. So, it is the problem with the author or perhaps the problem with the publisher. End of the day, I believe they have their intention of doing so and the author are targeting certain group of readers. (unfortunately, myself excluded!) Having said that, there is still some great stuff to learn...being frugal, hard work (simply hard work!!!), right attitude, integrity and focus are some of the great traits seen in the book! I personally love the answers below: "I have no properties, no land, no big bungalows, or many luxurious cars. What I do have and what are my greatest wealth are my four sons. They are my precious diamonds!"

Since it is a "simple" book, rating definitely would not be high at my side. Out of 10, I am giving 4! Thought of giving 2, but I do admire the founder and Dato' Haji Ameer Ali Bin Mydin... Overall, a leisure book for me... not so bad, but surely not worth of reading repetition in the future (in my humble opinion)... 

Zhou Enlai

If Madame Chiang Kai-Shek is a pure historical book, Zhou Enlai goes beyond this... It is a good combination between historical and biographical stuff... 

I thought the coverage is in real details, range from his origins in a mined bourgeois family through his schooling in Japan and France, his involvement with communist organizing in Europe and in the Chinese Revolution at home, and his Steady guidance of the Communist administration. 

Zhou Enlai has always held a charmed place in western assessments. Wilson, the author does nothing to alter this picture...Wilson puts a lot of emphasis on Zhou's family. Zhou was actually given over for adoption by his natural parents to his father's brother--which has created a lot of confusion, especially since Zhou used to refer to his natural and his adoptive mother interchangeably. His adoptive father and both of his mothers died early in his life. In fact, there is a "story" that he was stingy toward his surviving natural father in later years.  The author also pointed out his tireless capacity for work and his studied reluctance to assume a position as leader, preferring the secondary role for which he seems to have been so well suited. In the book, Zhou obviously did not always give in to Mao--particularly during the rapid development phase of the Great Leap.  

I always prefer a western view biography for China and Asia leaders. In my opinion, a third party view is more attractive...  End of the day, I am not learning histories (In fact, I am pretty much familiar with it). As such, this book meets my objective and I actually love it. Since it is a biography of choice (at least for my choice, LOL), I rated it at 9/10. The reason for not rating it at 10/10 is due to the fact that Zhou Enlai's stories can be boring at times. So, nothing concern the author and the book. Overall, it is a great book to explore for those history and biography lovers...

Madame Chiang Kai-shek: China's Eternal First Lady

"Mayling's peculiar mettle was smelted in America and forged in Shanghai. The woman she became was a seamless alloy of Southern Belle, New England bluestocking, and Chinese tai-tai, or matron," Laura Tyson Li writes in her superb biography of Mayling Soong, whose life spanned the 20th century... What a biography! Simply a breath-taking one...

 To be frank, I am very much familiar with histories in regards to China, Taiwan, Mao Tze Tung and the mighty Chiang Kai-Shek. However, this book serves as something indifferent as the author seems to see everything from the perspective of Madame Chiang Kai-Shek. The matter of fact is: Soong's three daughters are well known for three different meaning. The eldest loves money, the second loves country while the youngest simply loves power and authorities. As such, among the three, I am always looking forward to know more about Mayling Soong since the other two were not as controversial as Madame Chiang.

I thought the author did well in this book. The only weak point perhaps lies with the fact that it is more like a historical book rather than a biography. After all, Madame Chiang's whole life was tied together with Chiang Kai-Shek... Since Chiang Kai-Shek's whole life was tied together with China's revolution, the biography of Madam Chiang will automatically become a boring historical book! Perhaps the author should concentrate more on the personal side of Madame Chiang... I was particularly looking forward to know more about how she falls in loves with a general who never knows how to love a woman! LOL...

Having said that, I am still quite satisfy with what I read. At least it was a good revision on my side... Furthermore, for the first time ever I am reading China history from a different perspective (a third party perspective). As a result, I am going to rate 7/10 for this book.  To sum it up, it is a "must read" book for historical lovers!

大话方言

找了好久的一本书（市面上还真难订到的一本书）。。。据说，当年易老师还不是那么出名。（百家讲坛还没发觉到有那么一个重要人物！哈！）因此，他的书籍肯定也不太引人注意。。。我只能说，谁因此而错过它的旧作肯定是走宝了。。。易老师的书绝对不会让你失望的！！！

这是本非常轻松有趣的书籍。整个阅读过程完全不需要消耗任何脑力和专注力。。。内容幽默诙谐，很容易引起读者会心一笑。。。不得不佩服易老师的知识。。。虽只是个方言，却能“南腔北调”，“朝秦暮楚”，“东拉西扯”，“死去活来”，“张冠李戴”，“指桑骂槐”（引号里是整本书的章节主题）的讨论。。。你能说这本书不精彩吗？

评分方面，还真有点难。。。说实在，这其实是个人最不喜欢的易老师作品。最不喜欢的原因并不在于这本书，而是个人太喜欢听易老师讲史讲哲学了。。。纯粹以书的角度去评分，这本书少说也值8分（满分10分）。。。但，以个人因素去衡量，我最多减半给个4分。。。书肯定是精彩；只是本人的慧根太有限了。。。哈！

Facebook之父马克•扎克伯格

哎哟，被骗了。。。被那吸引人的书名和封面上那娃娃脸的马克•扎克伯格给骗了。。。这根本不是马克•扎克伯格的自传。。。这是本彻彻底底关于面子书，FACEBOOK的自传！！！

正因为它其实是本面子书自传，理论上，应该更偏向Facebook整个企业的发展史。但，读完后又不是那么一回事！整体上整本书更倾向于推广面子书。简单来说，就是不断的在分析面子书如何成功脱颖而出，然后又如何在市场中站稳脚步，最后打败对手的一些事迹。。。

如果抛开误以为这是本马克•扎克伯格自传的因素，这整本书还是有它可取之处。但，个人还真的不太认同作者在里面不断的攻击Google的言论。感觉上，整个攻势就稍微有点过火。。。再来，书后面还附上马克•扎克伯格关于Facebook招股的公开信。这简直就是本“招股”书呗！！！！哈。。。

当然，如果你想更多的了解面子书，这肯定是本不错的书籍。。。作者虽然偶尔免不了会对号入座（自传的普遍问题），但整体上对于面子书的评语还算中肯。。。

相对于陈士骏自传，我觉得这本自传也太不“自传”了（哈哈）。。。满分10分，最多也只值得3分吧。。。这一类的书籍通常不会有资格逗留在我的书架上。因此，也不大可能会有从看的可能性。还是那一句，好书坏书始终是书。里面还是有它的黄金屋。至少我的抗拒就是我心灵上的黄金屋了。。。

20个月赚130亿（YouTube创始人陈士骏自传）

好久没看传记了。。。陈士骏自传老早就在我的书架上。。。当年看了面子书自传电影后，就一口气买下了面子书（扎克伯格）和陈士骏的自传。一直很想啃掉这两本书。。。但，好书坏书陆续有来，排山倒海得就是轮不到。。。哈，终于等到了。。。

看完整本书，感觉还蛮不错的。。。虽是关于科技的自传，但也不会有太多我看不懂的词语（我对IT是有一定的了解噢，哈）。整体上，就是个很简单的创业故事。。。简单到很难想象130亿就这样产生了。。。

对于陈士骏，整本书的感觉真的有如他所说的：就是不那么ABC！我不太肯定这是不是作者张黎明的功力。总之，整体就是很顺畅。完全感觉不到洋派的气息。。。而事实上陈士骏本人也不ABC；所以亲和力的感觉是有的。。。（我不知道这本书有没有英文版，可能英文版的感觉会不一样吧！）

其实，我真的很佩服这位年轻人。。。就那么简单的一个概念，结果成就了改变世界的一个创举。或许，就如他在书中所说的那样：“创业者的激情在哪里都是一样。不管他们是住在带泳池的大房子里，还是睡在公司的地板上。。。反正他们永远会站在无聊的对立面，永远那么折腾，绝不让自己虚度光阴。” 最近看到身边的一个年轻人也在坚持的走在这条路上。我终于明白了是什么动力在背后支撑这他。。。老弟，加油！！！

最后，评分方面。。。对于这本书，我基本上是认可的。我认可陈士骏的贡献，也认可作者毫无保留的揭露（比方说，公关如何逼迫创办人交出所谓的“故事”！）。。。我更认可美国的自由度所带来的无限创意。。。满分10分，我打个7分吧。为什么扣了3分？就。。。经典语录不太多（或许是惯性铜臭味的我始终跟创意是有一定的距离吧，哈。。。）而，故事的朴实真的朴实到你不敢相信。哈！是时候回归朴实了，朴实万岁！！！

下一本，轮到面子书了。。。期待，期待。。。。

老谋子司马懿

第一次看秦涛的书。。。和易中天老师比，简直就是有过之而无不及。。。整体上是有点易老师的影子（也有可能是易中天老师品三国也带有点秦涛的影子）。反正，读着，读着，就很容易联想到易老师的观点。。。但，以我个人而言，这是我读过最好的一本三国书籍！

好在哪里呢？好在作者的创意—— 名义上是本司马懿书籍，但更多的是三国与司马懿的机遇。。。好在够详细—— 易中天品三国所采用的“观其大略”很明显的被比下去了。。。好在作者的独到分析—— 认同或不认同是一回事。但，胜在作者一直秉承着自己的见解，总好过抄袭抄上瘾的一般媒体吧。。。好在考证得够详细—— 《三国志》，《三国演义》，《晋书》，《资治通鉴》够了吧？不够，作者还引用《后汉书》，《华阳国志》，《七家后汉书》以及南北朝的八书二史为据。。。好在作者的写作能力—— 正所谓，盖棺论未定，功过后人评。这一点，作者是做到了；评的精彩，又不失幽默。。。总之，一句话：就是好！！！

太喜欢这本书了。。。所以，评分十分满分，我还真的给足满分！之前看了几本不太像书的书，终于来了本精彩又值得深思的书籍。爱因斯坦说过：“世界上最珍贵的莫过于有几个头脑聪明与心底正直的朋友。” 人生得一知己足矣，得一好书也就如同得一好友也。。。怎能不高兴呢？

以下是个人十分喜欢的一些点评。看一看秦涛老师那幽默的手笔吧。。。历史原来真的可以读得既轻松又开心的。。。

可口可乐总裁说过，如果我的厂房一夜之间全被烧毁，我可以在第二天就让公司重建～靠的是品牌！司马朗同样可以说，如果我的家财一夜散尽，只要能回到家乡，我可以在第二天就让它们全部回来～靠的是世家的号召力。枝叶虽芟，树大根深。这就是汉末的世家。

三国英雄之所以成百上千，如果要总结一个共同的成功经验，无疑就是读书，阅读经典。

我们读史，后见之名（别称马后炮，事后诸葛亮），不应该是历史的思维模式。历史的思维模式应该使用“移情”的思考方式（英国历史学家柯林武德的观点），将过去的事情在你的心灵中重演。说白了，就是角色代入。

没有我曹操猜得对不对的问题，只有他司马懿装的像不像的问题。

日本的一个段子，放到三国仍然适用：一只鸟不肯叫，怎么办？曹操会逼它叫，刘备会求它叫，司马懿会等它叫。

如果司马懿参与了赤壁之战，为什么不出谋划策呢？如果你刚到新公司，三年之内最后不要提任何建议，踏实的做事就行了。。。

他就是曹植，一个彻底的浪漫主义者，一个与世间格格不入的性情中人。。。天才曹植在这个时代是孤独的。

杨修现在要赶在曹操之前去死。而司马懿则将在曹操死后飞黄腾达。不是命运作弄人，而是

性格决定命运。

历史上真正“安居平五路”的是曹丕，而非演义中装神弄鬼的诸葛亮。

司马懿一向如此：别人交给我什么事，我就办什么事。办精，办细，办妥。不要去争与地位不符的权力。有权就有责，责任与能力不符，是一切政治灾难的源头。

有些人身份卑微时能谦虚谨慎。一旦到了高位，得志便猖狂。不过，这样的人物尽可以好好利用；因为他们的眼界实在狭窄。这等人过了人生上升的黄金期，他们的眼里没有理想与追求，只剩虚荣和利益。

谁再说中国古代只有一种政体（君主集权专制政体），那只能说明他的无知和武断。仅仅三国，就向我们呈现三种政治统治的模式。这才叫三国。

司马懿清楚，献策的目的不能太大公无私；献策并不是为了让采纳者成功，而是为了让自己成功。

周易六十四卦，唯有一个挂，六爻皆吉 — 谦卦。司马懿走到今天，正是靠了“谦”之道。

诸葛亮一生成败功过，有两点是没有疑问的：这是一个复杂的人物，他有着伟大的人格。

司马懿一大特点：擅长学习他人的长处。。。曹操的雄猜多疑，曹丕的机诈善变，孙权的隐忍务实，贾诩的自保，甚至于诸葛亮的攻占之具和行军阵法。

这样一个好色狂，建筑狂和工作狂，又长期生活在宫殿之中，不怎么锻炼身体，得场急病死去乃是合情合理的事情。但是没人料到曹睿会这么早死，毕竟他才三十四岁。

最高层的政治斗争进行到白热化的程度，拼的就是谁少犯错误了。

改革越猛，怨气越重；干材烈火，一点既然。点火人当然是司马懿。不过火候尚未到。司马懿现在要做的，就是既要远离权力中心，又要保证自己大权在握。他祭出了老办法：军事出征。

司马昭有点儿领悟父亲的哲学了：首先要修炼好内功，不给敌人以可乘之机；其次要知己知彼，摸清对手的能耐和动向；第三敌不动我不动，积累力量，后发制人。

司马懿装病：第一次让曹操另眼相看，第二次让曹爽死光光。

我司马懿乃是天底下最不能忍耐之人。别人说我能忍，是见其表而不见其理。我司马懿能忍人所不能忍，挑衅辱骂打压都不能奈我何。但我司马懿并不能忍人之所能忍。让一黄口孺子骑在头上作威作福，尊严尽失一败涂地，是可忍孰不可忍？

桓范现在终于明白了。不怕遇到神一样的对手，就怕遇到猪一样的队友。

司马懿有点后悔。当初不应该派人给天子送去那封揭露曹爽罪行的上书。这封上书只会加深他们的恐惧。是时候安抚他们一下了。大棒加萝卜，才是最有效的。

这一夜，无数人的性命，甚至中国的国运，都要有曹爽来决定。而曹爽却以为他的命运早已经掌握在司马懿的手中。

七十一岁的老人也不过是打打麻将，晒晒太阳而已。而司马懿以超乎常人的坚忍斗志和傲视群论的无敌智谋，度过了人生最风险的一关。。。七十一岁，老人创造了奇迹。

一百多年后，桓范的后裔桓温将司马懿的后裔——当时东晋的皇帝玩弄于股掌之中，也算为祖先报仇雪恨了。

何晏调查曹爽案格外卖力。司马懿知道除了他，还有谁对曹爽的底细了解的更清楚？这叫以毒攻毒。

司马懿从来不怕跟敌人对打。他只怕敌人逃跑。辽东之战，他怕公孙渊跑到境外。洛阳政变，他怕曹爽跑到许昌。这一次，他最怕王陵跑到东吴。

我王陵所反对的不仅仅是他司马懿，而且是个国家。因为，现在司马懿就是国家。

司马懿最后一个要求：日后司马家族的任何死者都不得与自己合葬。孤独是王者的品格，寂寞是枭雄的做派。千秋万世名，寂寞身后事。

司马懿生前似乎没有走错任何一步棋，而他的子孙却满盘皆输。司马懿生前飞龙在天，死后亢龙有悔。盖棺论未定，功过后人评。

司马懿本人并没有篡位之心。有人说，这是在装。但是如果这个人能够装好人装一辈子，装到死为止，那我们客观来讲，这个人不正是一个好人吗？孔子的六世孙子顺有句名言：“人都是装出来的。装一辈子，就是君子；坚持不懈的装，就习惯成自然了。”