The book's format is well thought out: each chapter explains the how and why of investing in one particular corporate event, and then utilizes case studies to ram the point home. The case studies are interesting, reading at times like a novel. The tone is lighthearted and endearing throughout, and the frequent jokes, although usually kitschy, hit the mark nonetheless. (One gem: "There are three types of people in the world--those who can count, and those who can't.")

This book is not for everyone, however. Beginners should first read Peter Lynch, Ben Graham, and Phillip Fisher before tackling this one. Greenblatt assumes a reasonable degree of comfort with financial statements and value investing strategies on the part of the reader. The use of LEAPS and options in special situations is covered, but should be avoided by all save for the most advanced investors (as per the author's advice). Also, professionals working in the field of event-driven investments would probably find little they did not already know. That being said, the book reads quickly, so a pro would be little disadvantaged for reading it.

Finally, it's nice to know that the author can walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Greenblatt publishes his firm's audited returns over a ten-year period at the end of the book, and they are out of this world. We're talking an average annual return of 50% for ten years. This book is not a case of "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach." Greenblatt can, and he does.

Highly recommended.

43 of 44 found the following review helpful:


Practical Advice for Sophisticated Special Situations Investing  Jan 17, 2006 By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!"
This book is for those who cannot resist the idea of wanting to outperform the market averages. For most people, that's dumb idea . . . and indexed mutual funds would be a better choice.

But if you are willing to roll up your sleeves, put on your green eyeshade and look at things differently, Mr. Greenblatt's approach is a very valid one.

If you read only one of Mr. Greenblatt's books about investing (the other one is The Little Book That Beats the Market), read this one. You'll make more money with this one.

You can be a Stock Market Genius has the simplest explanation for special situations investing involving unusual securities that I have seen for the lay person.

For most people, this book will be a lot to chew on. I suggest that you start by simply trying to understand and apply one idea in the book . . . such as finding under priced small spin-off stocks. After you get the handle on that one, go on to another approach that interests you.

I have worked for over three decades helping companies design these new securities that fascinate Mr. Greenblatt so much. From that experience, I'm constantly amazed at how stupidly most corporate finance departments and investment banks pursue these new structures. I suspect that the answer is that the heavy brainpower is saved for more profitable work like M&A.

As a result, you will almost always find a great investment opportunity if you look at unusual securities. I encourage you to begin by spending a half hour getting the background on any unusual transaction you read about.

You can also improve on this book by doing more precise measurements of securities values (if you have the background to do that), but for many severely undervalued securities Mr. Greenblatt's approach of taking guesses about what a reasonable value is will work just fine.

Although the examples are older, these kinds of opportunities still abound in most categories he discusses (stub stocks are the exception). Mr. Greenblatt has a real talent for putting his cases together to make them easier to understand.

Have a ball!

69 of 74 found the following review helpful:


Terrific Read Despite the Schleppy Title  May 05, 2000 By S. Schneider
This is an amazingly generous roadmap to lesser-known corners of the securities market. When I first picked it up about 2 years ago, I was terribly disappointed because all the strategies Greenblatt describes require a fair amount of WORK and careful thought --and it was my impression that "Stock Market Genius" entailed effortless wizardry! But the work is contagious and engaging (like digging for buried treasure, as aptly described by Joel Greenblatt).

Despite the book's schleppy and seemingly unrealistic title, Greenblatt's descriptions are wonderfully realistic and honest. In particular, although I've looked for other resources on spinoff investment strategies, everything you really need to know is in this book. The author's style is flippant but endearing, and the reader will get more than his/her money's worth from the ideas described in this book.

17 of 17 found the following review helpful:


A great read  Jun 28, 2006 By Befragt
The ONLY reason I read this book was that it was recommended by some trusted sources - as others have noticed, the title is horrendous and highlighted when coupled with the gaudy yellow cover. In particular, the title makes me think of late night informercials promising easy rewards in real estate with no money down. Fortunately, the content of the book more than makes up for the title.

Greenblatt's methods ultimately stem from the "intrinsic value" and "margin of safety" ideas developed by Benjamen Graham (see "Security Analysis" and "the Intelligent Investor"). However, in somewhat of a nod to adherents of the efficient market theory, Greenblatt focuses his energies on areas that are subject to less scrutiny, and hence, less likely to be efficiently priced by the stock market. He notes, for example, that many institutional investors are prohibited from owning certain kinds of securities (e.g., a stock index fund can't own bonds), and that investors that receive securities in some transactions may not desire to hold them. By researching companies that are involved in "special situations," Greenblatt theorizes that investors can uncover stocks that are worth more than their current market value. To this end, the book covers opportunities with spin-offs, bankruptcies, restructurings, rights offerings, re-capitalizations, merger securities and companies going private.

Although Greenblatt is clearly an intellectual heir to Benjamin Graham, one of the great things about this book is that is provides a theory, albeit a time-consuming one, whereby investors can uncover their own opportunities. IMHO, formulaic investing is unlikely to work over the long-haul, because a sucessful formula that is too simple to replicate will tend to draw competition. Rather than relying on formulas, Greenblatt tells readers how to identify situations that MAY present opportunities. It is up to the individual investor to research those potential opportunities and determine whether they are worth pursuing.

Although Greenblatt is a solid writer and the book is highly entertaining, I believe most readers would benefit from an understanding of value investing principles before trying to read this book. It might be a good idea to read Graham's "Intelligent Investor" at the very least (although this is a much tougher read than Greenblatt's book, and Graham's approach is not entirely compatible with Greenblatt's). Moreover, Greenblatt assumes that readers have a working familiarity of financial statements.

One last point of note - some of the ideas that Greenblatt sets forth are somewhat similar to those propounded by Marty Whitman in "the Aggressive Convervative Investor" and in "Value Investing - a Balanced Approach" (Greenblatt mentions Whitman's Third Avenue Value Fund as a possible source of investment ideas in the book). Both of these are good reads, particularly along with Greenblatt's book. Another good book to read is Dreman's "Contrarian Investing."

In all, this book is a great read, and I'd highly recommend it, but I would not recommend it for beginners.

19 of 20 found the following review helpful:


Best Stock Picking Book I've Read  Jan 26, 2002
I was in Joel Greenblatt's class at Columbia and he assigned this book. It is by far the most useful equity investing book I've ever read. You can't argue with the success of Special Situation investing or with his track record. He gives real life examples showing his thought process and by the end of the book you realize there is no "trick." It's just keeping your eyes open to these situations and realizing that in many cases the individual investor has a distinct advantage over the institutions that have size and style constraints regarding their investing.

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