Julian Robertson : A Tiger in the Land of Bulls and Bears

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre
Review: A reviewer inquires as to why there are so many negative reviews. The reason is that this is not a very good book. I found it fluffy and written in a stilted and amateurish fashion. It did not tell me anything about Julian Robertson that I did not already know.

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT!!!!
Review: A WASTE OF TIME. A WASTE OF MONEY. MANY TREES KILLED FOR NO GOOD REASON. AVOID THIS BOOK LIKE THE PLAGUE!!

Rating:
Summary: Skimpy
Review: Disappointed by this skimpy book, which does not give very much good or useful information about this noted investor. There are a lot of statistics but not much texture or a sense of being taken behind the scenes.

I think the Steinhardt book, No Bull, gives the reader a much better idea of what it is like to be on the hot seat and having the responsbility of managing so much money. Generally speaking, the very best of the genre from hedge funds is the Jim Cramer book, Confessions of a Street Adict, which was outstanding.

Rating:
Summary: The Tiger - Julian Robertson
Review: Having started my own hedge fund in 1985, I found the book more of a history of how this exceptional investor became interested in investments and how his career developed. The book would be very interesting for both the person learning about Hedge Funds as well as the more experienced investor seeking information about why Tiger was closed down and the Cubs are now flourishing. All in all I think it is a good book and worth reading for most serious individual investors.

Rating:
Summary: A bad, bad book
Review: I know I am going to get flamed for this, or maybe this review will be yanked completely for offending the tender sensibilities of the author, but the truth be told--this is an awful book. That is the truth, and the truth hurts sometimes. So be it.

I have nothing against either the author or the subject of this book. In fact, don't take my word for it, just search through this book as I didn't do before buying it. Then compare it to other books about hedge funds, such as the really great biography of George Soros by Michael Kaufmann. This one is not in that league.

My problem with the book is a bit like the old joke--the food was terrible, and the portions were so small! This book is really skimpy when it comes to detail. You don't get a feel for what it was like to be Julian Robertson, head of this massive fund organization. My other problem is that what there is in the book just isn't very good. It doesn't read well, it is awkward and sloppy. But the thing that put me off the most about this book was its constant flattery of Robertson, which undermined the book's credibility. Also he relies far too much on quotations from magazines as he wraps up the end of the Robertson funds in 2000.

This book was a terrible waste of money. I came away feeling cheated. Really really bad.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money on this pap
Review: I thought that no book could possibly have been worse than Strachman's truly awful Getting Started in Hedge Funds. My mistake. This book was far worse than I could have possibly expected, even from this author. It is a parody of a biography that makes magazine puff pieces seem hard-hitting by comparison. I will not waste any more words on this silly bit of wasted wood pulp except to say that it disgraces its author and its publisher while it covers its subject in wet kisses.

Rating:
Summary: Trash--ignore the shills
Review: Ignore the self-written, similarly worded reviews that the author and his pals have dumped onto this site. Note the misspellings of the word "hatchett" in two reviews, and how several reviews say that this book would be great if you want to "build a hedge fund business."

Strachman leaves out anything that would make Robertson look even slightly bad, and the book reads as if it were written over the weekend, with constant spelling errors and typos. He doesn't even mention Robertson's ill-fated stake in US Airways! That's one of the reasons Robertson went belly-up. This book is an embarassment to Wiley and actually doesn't do Robertson much good either. It is so shallow and one-sided that it is totally lacking in credibility.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Fast Read
Review: The interest in this book is really strange. I bought this book because I wanted to see first hand what all these people were writing about. I have been an investor in hedge funds for the last ten years - some good - some not so good - and have had an interest in Tiger and Julian for some time.

After spending the weekend with it, I found the book to be thoughtful and objective. I don't think it is one sided. It may leave some things out but for the most part it is a good meaty bio. It is a fast read that does not get bogged down in unnecessary details.


Rating:
Summary: Don't Pay Attention To The Other Reviews - It Is Good!
Review: There is something really strange about the number of negative reviews on this book. It seems that there are a lot people who have nothing to do but sit around and write bad things about the book, the author and its subject. It is really a shame that Amazon allows people to be so negative and put personal attacks about authors up on its website. They really need to do a better job at policing the wackos. It is clear that some of these reviewers simply are out to get Strachman and Robertson.

Dont be fooled. This is a good book that is worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This is a stilted and unsophisticated examination of the well-known money manager. Since this book has not been reviewed anywhere, I purchased it based on the glowing comments from Mr. Gaine and others that were found on the book jacket and are replicated on this web page. Unfortunately this praise is undeserved and I came away from the book deeply disappointed. I do not believe those people read the same book that I did.

The book relies excessively upon material published elsewhere and in the public domain, and at crucial junctures defers to lengthy excerpts, repeated with permission, from previous articles published about Julian Robertson. The book does not contain very much context and is somewhat passive in its approach. The author heaps praise on Robertson constantly, which I found troubling as a borderline diabetic because my sugar intake is rationed.

While I am sure Robertson and the hedge fund industry will enjoy this book, because of its lack of critical analysis it is unsatisfying for an informed reader. I await a better quality book on this subject.