Rating: 
Summary: Give it up 1 star reviewers!
Review: First of all, it is so obvious that this is really just 1 person repeatly posting.But hey guy, the book is still selling. People love this book. If you took the time to read, you would too. This book turned my life around. I used to think that a college degree equalled success. But, I was willing to be corrected. RTK--Great book. I just purchased CASH Flow Quadrant and will do a review after I have finished reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: No useful information
Review: O.K., where to start? First of all this book doesn't provide any useful information on how to accumulate wealth that you probably didn't already know. Did you know that to become rich you need to invest your money into assets such as businesses, stocks, or real estate versus expenses such as cars and watches? Oh really? But I thought for sure that I was on the fast track after buying that new 35 foot sailboat. He basically tells us the economic lessons he learned in his life from his father and friend's father. He refers to his real father, an educated man who held prominent positions in the Hawaian school system and government as his "Poor Dad". He refers to his friend's father, who never finished high school but owned several businesses and real estate, as his "Rich Dad". His "Rich Dad" taught him to buy assets that made him money. His "Poor Dad" taught him to work hard in school so that he could get a good job. There were a couple of things that didn't seem consistent with his stories though. For instance, throughout the book he refers to stories of his youth where his "Rich Dad" would teach hime some kind of economic lesson. His economic training supposedly began at the age of 9. However, later he admits in the book that he didn't set out to be financially independent until he was bankrupt at the age of 37. If his "Rich Dad" gave him all of this great financial advice since the age of 9, why did he put off using it until he was bankrupt as an adult? Also, there was a line in the cover that said that some of his stories had been fictionalized to make a point. What do you mean fictionalized? It kind of reminds me of Mr. Peterson on Seinfeld paying Kramer for his stories to add to his own autobiography? Getting back to how the rich become rich. He repeatedly makes the point that to become rich you have to acquire assets such as paper securities, real estate, and businesses. He seems particularly fond of real estate himself. The way he presents real estate investment is that it is really simple and that it can be done for virtually nothing. His presentation is very reminiscent of some of these real estate informercials. Then sure enough after reading his book I caught his own informercial one day where (surprise) he had guests on who had made their fortune in real estate. He mentions other things that are borderline legal and most certainly unethical in most cases. Like if you are able to incorporate into a business, vacations to Hawaii become offsite business meetings. Also the lifestyle that he presents is in stark constrast to the lifestyles that have been documented in books such as The Millionare Next Door. I suppose a novice to the world of personal finance might obtain some information out of this book. But I think that would be a sad commentary on our collective knowledge of personal finances rather than Kiyosaki providing any real information.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for the the teachable
Review: I can really relate to this book; my parents were very much like RTK's "Poor Dad" in every way and I wasted a 1/3 of my life believing what success was in education and a job.This book came just in time. I also listen to the tapes in my care.I also strongly recommend the other Rich Dad, Poor Dad books especially Real Estate Riches, CASH Flow Quadrant and Rich Dad's Guide to Investing...Charles Schwab knew something a lot of other people didn't (read his biography) The most annoying thing about the book, for me, was the storytelling in the first two chapters. The same theme is repeated about 6 times, when once would have been enough for someone who is reasonably intelligent and doesn't have lots of time to spare. Eventually I started to skim. I'm sure Kiyosaki's second book could have been condensed into these two chapters instead, but his publisher saw an opportunity for extra profit. All of that having been said, everyone who's serious about making some money needs to start somewhere, and this is where I began. The book reviews the basics, points you toward more tools for learning (not all good - read the reviews on "Inc and Grow Rich"), and for me, started me thinking about real estate investing. But again, if you're serious, you'll need a lot more ammunition before you're ready to begin pulling the trigger. Happy hunting. --This text refers to the Paperback edition
Rating: 
Summary: Giving a higher score and here's why
Review: I wouldn't give Kiyosaki 5 stars for his writing skills...he's extremely repetitive and is not a strong writer. He beats the same concept into your head to a point where you can pretty much skip some paragraphs. He may make claims that aren't *totally* true, but what counted for me was that his book definitely motivated me, and also gave me good tips on how to be smarter with my money. It actually changed my path in life to some extent, I came up with several business ideas and plan to pursue them. I would say that for the [amount]I paid for this book, plus the 3 hours it took to read it, it was worth the investment.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it if you're tired your JOB (Just Over Broke) situation
Review: This book provides those with the entrepreneur spirit solid information about how their money can work for them, and how they should not live life working for money. Get out of the "rat race", and follow your dreams!!! Most people will procrastinate through life waiting for the "right time" to go into business for themselves. The time will never be right... you don't have that long to wait. Knowledge doesn't create activity, but activity does create knowledge (meaning you won't be able to figure everything out unless you just get started, learn along the way). If you have a burning desire to get more out of life, the only thing that is in the way of you and success is YOU.
Rating:
Summary: Complete Crap, has the workings of a cult franchise
Review: I know that I can't do the bashing of this... as well as I'd like, so I'll leave it to the people on these two webpages-there are other webpages, but two's enough for now.SAVE YOUR MONEY!
Rating:
Summary: Rubbish
Review: A friend gave me this book and I read most of it. The tone struck me as kind of odd and the book didn't seem to be saying very much. From the people I have grown up with, I have seen that rich people's kids are almost as likely as those of poor people to be bad with money. This goes against the hypothises of this not-very-convincing book. I have since found out that the author fictionalized much of his story (I should have read the fine print). If there was a rich dad, I suspect that his advise was to write self-help books and promote them like crazy.
Rating:
Summary: Good basics
Review: This book is not as detailed as I had hoped, not surprising though since it would give away too many secrets and not allow for future books to be sold. I mean really, the guy is making his "millions" off of all of us buying his books on how to get rich!
Rating:
Summary: The worst financial advice book I've ever read
Review: I could write a book on all that's wrong with this book. But, given the limited space here, I'll boil it down to just a few basic points: 1. The notion that you don't need a formal education to be successful is nonsense. Being successful with limited formal education is the exception rather than the rule. Knowledge is power, and the first, most logical place to gain that knowledge is in school. The need to hand down this knowledge from generation to generation is the reason schools exist in the first place. This is not to say that school teaches you everything you need to know to be successful, but it does lay the foundation for further learning. Kiyosaki misses this entirely and does a disservice to his readers by deemphasizing (even eschewing) formal education. 2. The obvious contempt Kiyosaki has for his natural father (Poor Dad) simply because he was not materialistic enough leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The ultimate goal of a self-help book -- and that's what this book is -- should be to help people attain greater happiness in their lives. In the case of financial self-help books, this should manifest itself in the form of balanced financial advice, not disdain for those who refuse to kneel at the golden altar of capitalism. You can be rich without being consumed with money. You can be wealthy without selling your soul. Part of being successful - at anything - is learning balance. I had to learn the hard way that it's difficult to accomplish great things in one area of your life when the platform on which it stands (the rest of your life) is collapsing as you work. Not only is Kiyosaki's advice bad from a personal happiness perspective (being consumed by money tends to alienate people with souls, and being alone is no fast ticket to being happy), but it will leave you unable to accomplish its purported singular aim - that of getting rich - because most people need balance in their lives to be truly successful at anything, including making money. 3. Kiyosaki is without standing. He is without credentials. There is nothing in his background to suggest that he is qualified to tell other people how to acquire wealth. Note that I don't subscribe to the notion that one must be wealthy in order to advise others on how to acquire wealth, but it certainly helps. Just as a fat doctor can give his patients sound advice on how to lose weight ("Exercise more, eat less"), so can people who've not yet attained great wealth advise others on financial matters. But, there's one important qualification here: _they should disclose their own background and level of success -- their qualifications -- so that people can properly evaluate it for what it is_. Kiyosaki doesn't do this. In fact, he does just the opposite. He claims to have amassed great wealth, but speaks in such generalities that we have no idea just how much he's made or how he made it. Perhaps he never really made any money at either investing or real estate -- perhaps what wealth he has came from selling books and conducting seminars telling people how to become wealthy. 4. The advice Kiyosaki proffers is unsound financially and often borders on illegality. Much of what he says betrays an obvious lack of financial acumen and basic understanding about the world of investing. His recommendations about investment-related matters such as tax law and general property management principles are frequently wrong and will bankrupt you or land you in jail if you follow them. For example, he throws in a good dose of the old "inc yourself" mindset, emphasizing, over and over, the many benefits of incorporating over remaining a sole proprietorship. This type of thinking was proven wrongheaded many years ago, and there's very little advantage (and many disadvantages) to incorporating as an individual investor. I would say it is, at best, a wash for the average investor. Deducting personal expenditures simply because you have incorporated is not only unethical, it is illegal - the IRS requires that the expenses you deduct be both reasonable and business-related, regardless of whether you incorporate. And keep in mind that deducting an expensive "business" trip to Vegas may save you the tax on that money, but it won't give you back the money itself, which -- given that you're merely a shell of a corporation - was your money to start with. IOW, you'd be cutting off your finances to spite the IRS - not the most direct route to financial independence. And one last thing: true to form, even Kiyosaki's attempt to swindle us is astonishingly simplistic. That is, the tactics he uses to try to sell his wares - generalities, anecdotes, unverifiable claims, platitudes and the like - are the crude tools of the charlatan. If you're going to try to swindle me, the least you could do is try something new, something more sophisticated than the average street hustler. It reminds me of the disgust I felt as a kid when I paid a dollar to see the mermaid behind the curtain at a carnival sideshow and got back there only to find that they didn't even have a real girl in costume - they had used a manikin! I didn't expect to find a real mermaid, but I was aghast that they didn't even have the decency to use a real girl. The book is a crude piece of unsophisticated drivel that plays on the financial ignorance and greed of the masses. And please don't give me the "it made me think about my finances" argument. The IRS does that for you every April 15th - that doesn't mean they have any concern for your financial wellbeing. Kiyosaki has about as much interest in making you rich as the IRS does. If you think the IRS exists to make you wealthy, go ahead and buy this book. If not, run - don't walk - the other way.
Rating:
Summary: To Be Avoided At All Costs
Review: I will not waste more space on this work except to say that the review by John Reed at http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html sums up everything I might have said. Vague or false statements, espousing the view that the chief goal of education is the amassing of wealth, advocating possibly illegal practices such as insider trading, and contradictory statements sometimes on the same page all point to one conclusion: do not bother with this book or this man's views in any way, shape, or form. There is very sound and intelligent real estate investment advice to be had.....elsewhere.
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