The Richest Man in Babylon
by George S. Clason
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Book Reviews of The Richest Man in Babylon
Book Review: Power in your pocket.
Summary: 5 Stars
It often seems that the publishers are rather fond of sticking 'million best seller' on the front of their books, as if 'thousands' have now miraculously become 'millions' and every book is selling by the crate-load. Sometimes I read book with that claim and there ponder, 'Did XXmillion people REALLY read this literary effort?' I guess there must be a lot of bored people at airports with a poor judgement of cover-copy as I!
So, what of TRMIB, is that worthy of the 'more than two million sold' stuck on the front of my book? the answer is YES! Yes indeed it is! I discovered TRMIB by accident and decided to give it a look over, neither in debt having any problems in the financial department per se. I was still spurred on by the other Amazon reviews into giving it a glance over; and how glad I am. Though I say "having no financial problems per se." if the truth be told, I guess we could use a kick in the wallet and a 6 A.M. roll-call in that department. If you are in need of that then look no further. What this book offers you is a fool-proof formula to financial success, based not upon get-rich-quick-pull-rabbit-from-hat school of economics and good housekeeping. No, what Clanson has done is to develop pre-war spendthriftness into a simple yet effective Art. he has taken the basic principles of financial success and laid out clear rules towards that goal. What he has NOT done it to kid you that if you read this book you'll be an instant millionaire, or any such fictitious claims. Presented in the format of a series of fictitious conversations and tales Clanson time and time again relays the basic truths to financial security and financial success, based not upon external forces; rather based upon your own abilities to keep what you EARN (you have to work for your success) in your wallet, and not in someone else's. In the case you do find yourself in financial jam and have the desire to get yourself out Clanson offers a formula for that too.
What I thought was impressive about this text was the simplicity of the ideas, the logical and rational way they were laid out and presented and the sheer accuracy of his approach. Maybe in this age Clanson's views will find less receptive ears, but anyone who can walk the path he guides us too can shortly achieve financial independence and attain victory over their leaky wallet. A great book.
Book Review: Start Your Financial Library with The Richest Man in Babylon
Summary: 5 Stars
Walk into any better bookstore, make a beeline to the personal finance and investment section, pick up any of over two or three dozen books, rip off the cover and boil it down it's main points, and you'd be left with one book: The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. Name authors you will - Suze Orman, Ric Edelman, David Bach, Dave Ramsey - none, and I mean none, have improved on the simple and timeless principles laid out in these pages.
The book began in 1926 as a series of informational pamphlets written in parable form. The parables, set in ancient Babylon, follow the travails of Bansir, the journey of Arkad, and the lessons of Old Kalabab and offer a financial plan to put readers on the road to riches. The principles, repeated often throughout the book, make the promise that "A lean purse is easier to cure than to endure."
While that may, or may not be true, the book should resonate with readers regardless of their financial status. Most readers will recognize that they've been where the parables take us, on the downside and on the upside, and quickly realize what steps should be taken to move forward. In that sense, this book is a fantastic guide to the laws that govern money. For, as the book suggests, "Money is truly governed by the same laws which controlled it when prosperous men thronged the streets of Babylon, six thousand years ago.
Taken further, I view Clason as an ideological precursor of modern financial planners, who take a role similar to Old Kalabab and attempt to impress upon clients the very same principles Clason deftly weaves throughout the book. The terms are different, but the lessons identical. The importance of saving by paying yourself first, budgeting by controlling your expenses, intelligent investing with wise and experienced counsel, insuring yourself against catastrophic loss, and planning for your golden years are as sound for the time and place of the book's parables as they are today.
While newer books may have flashier covers and contain three times as many pages, for those seeking to improve their financial condition and, better yet, accumulate wealth, I don't know of a better investment. The Richest Man in Babylon is a book you should not only read, but study.
Book Review: As Relevant Today As The Day It Was Written -- Buy It, Apply It, and Prosper!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is especially relevant in this day of rampant consumerism and conspicuous spending. Few understand what it takes to create real wealth, which is a tragic shame, since the principles are surprisingly simple and easy to implement.
Wealth creation is a process; a process that can be learned just as surely as one can learn how to tie a shoe or ride a bike. And just as learning to tie a shoe, or ride a bike are daunting at first, creating wealth becomes second nature once its principles are finally understood and mastered. This book will help you to understand and master the principles of wealth creation.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I am a speaker, trainer, and author of another unique and highly valuable learning tool that can also be found here on Amazon: The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Personal Wealth Creation (Combo Audio/Data CD): Audio Seminar With Downloadable 40-Page Action Manual and Active Link Library. It is a straight-forward discussion of the art and science of personal wealth creation and should be considered by anyone serious about wanting to learn more about the right way to get started on the road to personal wealth creation and financial freedom!
Other "WealthLoop Series" tools of worth looking into include:
The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses: The Foolproof Roadmap to Real Estate Riches Without the Risks and Hassles of Landlording
and
The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses (Combo Audio/Data CD): Author's Audio Commentary Plus Downloadable 32-page Marketing Manual, Checklists, Spreadsheets, and Forms.
Book Review: This book saved me money even before I bought it
Summary: 4 Stars
"A part of what you earn is yours to keep", one of the simple laws of money that George Clason develops in his personal finance bestseller "The Richest Man In Babylon". <strong><em>This US Army soldier turned author...</em></strong> <span class="fullpost"> and publisher simplifies the distilled wisdom of centuries. Even a 10 year old will love and understand these beautifully written stories of the Babylonian wise men. This book saved me money even before I bought it. How did that happen?
At a book sale the other day, I wished I could find an interesting read. Since nothing caught my eye, I rather grudgingly picked up two rather uninteresting expensive books, ones I would normally avoid. Later as I wandered around my eyes lighted on this most unusual title. I like reading about ancient cities so I naturally picked this one up. It was a book on the basics of personal finance. A few minutes browsing through it were enough to convince me that I would be wasting my money on the first two books. So I put them back and returned home clutching a copy of "The Richest Man in Babylon".
On reading it, I understood a law which has transformed my thinking for ever. The law said " A part of what you earn is yours to keep." I now pay myself first each month when I get my salary. Each rupee I pay myself, I put in the growth scheme of a mutual fund. Each rupee is a slave which will work for me throughout my life. Each slave will have children and those children will work for me too. They in turn will have children who will also work for me. And the cycle goes on... This is an important lesson I have learnt from the Babylonian wise men.
You'll meet Bansir the chariot builder who can never make his ends meet and his wise friend Arkad, the richest man in Babylon. You will enjoy their life stories while you learn the simple laws that govern the acquisition of money. <em>A part of what you earn is yours to keep. Try it, you will never regret it.
Book Review: "Gold is reserved for those who know its laws and abide by them."
Summary: 5 Stars
The Richest Man in Babylon is an older book written by George Clason around 1926. To give you a real idea of the age of the book, its author served in the Spanish-American War (that was in 1898 for those of you wondering). The book is not written as one constant story; instead it is a collection of parables the author wrote over a period of time, all assembled into one collection. Each parable has a theme to it, such as seven cures for a lean purse and the five laws of gold.
The writing style is unique. Most of the story is told through character dialogue, in a language that I can only describe as Shakespeare without the rhyme. You will see the words "thou" and "thy" frequently throughout the book. It took me a few pages to get used to the style, but after that I hardly noticed it.
What I like most about this book is the length. My copy is only 155 pages, but those pages cover most of the major personal finance lessons with easy to understand stories that still manage to get the message across.
The Seven Cures for a Lean Purse is the first lesson. The 7 steps to accumulating money (in my own words):
1. Pay yourself first
2. Spend less than you make
3. Take advantage of compound interest
4. Exercise risk management and don't lose money
5. Own your own home
6. Create passive income so eventually you can stop working
7. Improve your ability to earn more money
The rest of book continues to build on these 7 ideas, as well as add a few new ones.
Recommendation:
If you are looking for a short but great lesson on personal finance this is the book to go too. The lessons in this book are timeless, and since it's such a quick read it's definitely worth a look. If you're just getting started on learning the basics of personal finance this is a great place to start.