The Little Book: That Still Beats the Market

Introduction to the 2010 edition

WELL, IT'S BEEN MORE THAN FIVE YEARS since I wrote the original edition of The Little Book That Beats the Market. While I very much enjoyed writing the book, I wasn't expecting much. My first book, written in the 90s, was only a modest success (which is to say it bombed pretty badly). Only one publisher (thank you, David Pugh at Wiley!) was willing to publish my next attempt, which turned out to be the first edition of The Little Book. With a microscopic advance payment (darn you, David Pugh at Wiley!), and after factoring in agent fees, taxes, and the usual shipping and handling charges, I didn't expect to lose too much on the effort. To my happy surprise, the book ended up selling 300,000 copies worldwide and has now been translated into 16 different languages (15½ of which, unfortunately, I do not understand).

My goal in writing the book was fairly straightforward. The world of finance, particularly the stock market part, is intimidating to many people. Yet, investment decisions obviously play a huge role in determining future security, retirement options, and the ability to provide for loved ones. Since the stock market is such an important component in most people's investment portfolios, I wanted to write a short, accessible guide that not only explained things in language that even my kids could understand but also provided a great option for many investors.

Shortly after finishing the first edition of The Little Book, though, I had a bit of ...