Greed Is Good: The Capitalist Pig Guide to Investing

Money is important. Money is a catalyst. Money makes things happen.

Am I right? What is more powerful than money? Love? Food? Not a chance: With cash in hand, one can simply order out. For both.

I grew up in the 1980s, so I take the utmost pride in having lived in what I honestly believe to be the greatest decade of the twentieth century. Why? From the Police to Perestroika, the `80s had it all. It's obvious that as a generation, most of our feelings about money were formed at a time when Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Michael Milken, and Yuppie culture reigned supreme.

Enter the `90s--and once again the stock market is booming. Now older, most of us have amassed some cash for the very first time. You want to get in on the action, but haven't got a clue where to start. More than anything, you are unique--the last thing you need is a middle-aged money manager telling you where to stow your stash.

So here's the deal: I'm twenty-three years old, obsessed with money and the stock market, a radio talk-show host, and a commodities trader. I've made money in everything from mutual funds to stocks--even options and futures. I've penned this little...shall we say, manifesto, for those of you out there who want something more out of life then two-for-one night at the Toss `n Sauce. Greed Is Good will tell you everything you need to know about the major financial "products" out there: from mutual funds to money markets, even the sexy stuff like options and futures.

Money is important, but I think this book makes an oftentimes dry subject a mite more palatable. I had to sit through the boring stuff, no reason you should too. Bottom line? This book is a practical but punchy ride through the money maze. And if I found my way out--so can you.

Before Jonathan Hoenig could drive, he was trading stocks and options. By the time he could buy alcohol, he was advising fellow students on achieving financial success. Today, he is the host and producer of "Capitalist Pig," the first radio program dedicated to the financial needs of eighteen- to thirty-five-year-olds. A trader on the Chicago Board of Trade, he also writes a monthly financial column for P.O.V. magazine and serves as a regular commentator on PRI's "Marketplace." Hoenig has consulted with companies such as Visa and Van Kampen Funds and has been profiled on MTV, CNN, Fox News, and in the pages of such publications as Institutional Investor and the Wall Street Journal.