Book Review: Insightful look at market history

Ken Fisher is founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Fisher Investments, an independent money management firm managing more than $35 billion (as of March 31, 2010) for institutions - large pension plans, endowments, foundations, and more - and more than 24,000 high-net-worth individuals across the US, UK and Canada. Ken has written six books on investing and wealth management, three of which are New York Times best sellers. Fisher has also written the monthly "Portfolio Strategy" column for Forbes magazine for more than 25 years, making him, so far, the fourth longest-running columnist in the magazine's history. During this time, he's seen everything from the stock market crash of 1987 and the great bull markets of the 1980s and 1990s to the tech bubble of 2000 and the global market meltdown of 2008.

Now, with The Making of a Market Guru: Forbes Presents 25 Years of Ken Fisher, readers get an insightful look at Fisher's prolific career over the years can and re-discover the high-profile market calls he's made in these monthly columns. The book is a sweeping look at a recent and eventful slice of stock market history. Readers will see how things have changed over the years and, amazingly, what hasn't. And they'll see investing wisdom that still applies, now and for the foreseeable future, from a quarter-century of Fisher's concise and witty market knowledge.

Preceding Fisher's columns for each year are a few pages of commentary, putting them in historical context, pointing out areas that are still salient, and others where Fisher's perspective has changed over the years. Key points that deserve extra attention are also highlighted.