Rating: 
Summary: Incisive, forward thinking fiscal philosophy with real punch
Review: The book was a gift. I probably wouldn't have bought it even though I am a cross contry motorcycle rider myself. After about 50 pages I put it down, but when I again picked it up weeks later, I was totally absorbed. Riding a motorcycle around the world is enough for a book, but throw in the wisdom of the seasoned international investor on the foreign markets he visited along with his personal observations of the curtural and economic aspects of these nations, and it is worthwhile reading. Building block by block he constructs the economic model for the collapse of the United States based on ancient and modern history.
Rating:
Summary: A smart mix of adventure-travelogue and world economics 101.
Review: The next time Jim Rogers goes on a round the world trip via motorcycle, I hope he'll give me a call. The book captures the adventure of such an undertaking and bears witness to the emergence of a truly "world" marketplace.
Rating: 
Summary: Great adventure, disappointing author...
Review: If you enjoy travel adventure and the conquering of adversity, this book is for you! Plenty of close calls to keep you interested!
If you're interested in international investment, you will find a fair amount of data here as well. Some of this data is already far out of date, as the world changes quickly.
Motorcyclists will find the tale rather amusing, as Rogers demonstrates that he was ill-prepared for a journey of this magnitude. His choice of machines for the trip was but the first error of many on his part.
One irritating theme throughout the book was Rogers' use of "dollar diplomacy." His solution to any on-the-road problem was the liberal application of US currency. He completely misses the likelihood that many of his problems with corrupt officials were the direct result of his flashy display of wealth! It was evident from the book that he expected everyone he encountered to play by American rules. Truly an "Ugly American" abroad.
Rating: 
Summary: A great adventure story and thoughtful economic analysis
Review: Jim and his girlfriend Tabitha's motorcycle ride rates
with adventures such as Around The World In Eighty Days,
only their Odyssey was real.
The book has a little of everything for the reader.
The ride is the central theme of course, and mixed in is
some very thoughtful economic analysis, all fun to read.
Jim introduces us to some very interesting folks that they
met along the way. This includes currupt officials in
Africa, a close call with the Shining Path Guerillas in Peru,
and numerous folks across Siberia and China.
I've never read a better story that was as factual yet so
entertaining. The book weaves Economics, Geography, Culture,
and Human nature in a very enlightening way. Let's not
forget biking either! My three drives across the US on my
motorcycle can't hold a candle to Jim and Tabitha's
journey on their BMW's. For myself, the description of
Tamarlane's capital Samarkand in Central Asia and the future
of the new Silk Roads was well worth the price of the book.
Get the Hardcover since you'll want to keep this one. It
would've been nice to have more background on Jim's
financial career but that will make a nice Autobiography
Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A "Must Read" for both New and Seasoned Global Investors
Review: This paperback is identical to the hardcover book by Jim
Rogers, "Investment Biker: On the Road with Jim Rogers".
Jim has been quoted as saying he did not need to do an
update as all his recommendations and observations were the
same as when he wrote the hardcover book earlier, which is consistent with his secular investment philosophy. See my
review of the hardcover edition, which I recommend over the
paperback because it is a classic primer on global investing
and travel. An enjoyable and informative read!
Rating:
Summary: Combination Travelogue & Global Investment Primer; Easy Read
Review: This book takes readers across all the continents over a two year period with Jim Rogers and his companion, Tabitha.
Crossing the former Soviet Union before dissolution, Jim chronicled the problems now emerging daily in the news. He gives
us insight on evaluating countries for investment potential,
and some wise considerations for the US government. Economic books are usually boring. This one is both informative and entertaining, as Jim has included all the interesting stories you might expect to come out of a motorcycle journey of such a epic proportions, which is listed in the Guiness Book of Records. Even seasoned
and new global investors will learn about the great rewards
and pitfalls of investing globally. Recommended, and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Investment Guidance and Travel Sketch
Review: The author, Jim Rogers, is a international investor and bike adventurer. By reading this book, through the author's eyes you can experience a graet world bike adventure. In this tour, you are going to see natives' lives and cultures in those countries, even to understand those and world economics, for as a investor on the bike the author observes those areas in detail from many viewpoints. It's interesting and useful to read this book, by which you can enjoy a world bike adventure and study economics.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written rant by a "Master of the Universe"
Review: This is a book about what a Tom Wolfe-style Master of the Universe does on holiday. It's nearly impossible to have an "adventure" when you are carrying 10(!) platinum credit cards. He got cold and wet a few times, worried about finding gas, didn't always have hotel rooms up to his standards, and had delays at some borders. Maybe the adventure was resisting the urge to buy an air-ticket to New York on his Visa card. Mr. Rogers' writing is very poor. It is loaded with clichés. He and Tabitha are always zooming on powerful steeds into gorgeous scenery, or steep, craggy mountains into glitzy, glamorous hotspots or delightful, cozy hostels, or across hot, empty, flat deserts into dumps that are not up to American standards. He'll "describe" the Andes as "the top of the world" (p. 315) for five short sentences and then move on to more important matters like further adventures with border guards and investing. Mr. Rogers is woefully ignorant about the places he goes. He views the world through the tiny keyhole of economics. Most of the "interesting facts" he mentions about theses places are just wrong. One indicative example: He describes the Moreno Glacier in Argentina as, "one of the few in the world still moving." (p. 294) I found myself laughing out loud many times. I rode a bicycle around the world for 19 months at about the same time Mr. Rogers was having his "adventure." I am stunned that he perceived so little in his long travels. He appears to have been completely unchanged by the experience. Considering his mode of travel (making time) and attitude towards the local people, I'm not surprised he didn't connect well. This is not a travel book: Mr. Rogers uses his trip as a way to sell a long economic rant. You can save yourself a lot of time by just reading his final chapter, "Afterword." I will summarize his position: governments are bad; smart, rich guys like me are good. Many of his predictions are laughably wrong. He advocated selling the US economy short in 1993. Check the plots for the S&P 500 for the last 7 years ... If you want to understand the distribution of goods in the world, read "Guns, Germs, and Steel," by Jared Diamond. If you want to read about a real motorcycle trip, read Ted Simon's "Jupiter's Travels." "Investment Biker," a classic? Ridiculous. I rated it two stars instead of the minimum of one because there must be some good investing advice in there somewhere, based on what I have heard and read. Also, he helpfully breaks up the text into obvious sections. When he spins off into another (identical) rant against the local, benighted government, you can just skip to the end of that section and get on with the trip.
Rating:
Summary: An absolute classic!
Review: This is easily one of the top 10 best investing/finance books that I've ever read. I would rank it right up there with other classics such as Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, the Market Wizards series by Schwager, etc.
Rogers gives you a historical, social, financial and political perspective on the world that you won't get elsewhere. He lives in the world of how things are, rather than how we hope they should be. He has the ability to step back from the crowd, analyze a situation, compare it to historical tendencies and make logical investment decisions.
For example, when the Japanese market in the early 90's went from 40,000 to 30,000 he was asked if now is the time to buy. He saw on the front page of a newspaper that golf memberships were still selling for a million dollars. It didn't sound like much of a bottom to him (the market now is at 11,000).
(Similar comparisons could be made about the US market now)
I also really enjoyed the travel stories (border crossings, bribing guards, adventures in Africa, romance in the Sahara, the famous bird market in China).
The book has everything. High finance, intrigue, romance, history, remote and distant lands, ancient cultures. Truely, a trip of a lifetime!
Rating:
Summary: Economics Lecture Disguised as a Travelogue
Review: It's lot of fun to travel around the world with Jim Rogers and listen to him describe the world and fulminate against the folly of governments.
It's also fun to think about the things he got right and the things he got wrong (US exchange controls by 2000, for instance) and consider why he thought what he did and how things actually unfolded.
He advocates getting out and living your dream; sound advice, that. He also predicts that Clinton will be the last Democrat ever elected an American president because of irresponsible policies pursued for eight decades, and the collapse of our society because the Republicans aren't fundamentally any better. Certainly with that hanging over your head, you'd be much better off going for a bike ride.
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