Monday, May 10, 2010

Tales of Keeping Your Mind and Protecting Your Money

I skimmed through two books. One book was to help me keep my mind sharp, the second was a lesson in keeping my money, away from greedy bankers, financial advisors and brokers.

As an aging baby boomer I was interested in The Secret Life of the Grown Up Brain by Barbara Strauch. My memory is not what it used to be and my attention to detail, particularly at work, has slipped. Strauch offers an optimistic outlook generally for how well our minds will function as we get older. Her contention is that older people tend to be more content and happier. She offers science and personal stories to support her rosy outlook. She also suggests that we may become more distracted and I can attest to that argument. Amazon readers rate this book very highly. It's not exactly a page turner but as I just said, I get easily distracted.

This may be about the tenth book I have read on the collapse of out financial system. I found parts of The Big Short by Michael Lewis a bit hard to read. Even though I am in banking, I got lost in the details and nuances of some of the transactions and products that Lewis was writing about. This is not a book about the major players who were involved in the financial meltdown of our banks and institutions. However the themes are the same: greed, stupidity and the pillaging of investors who were denied the information and candor to avoid huge personal financial losses.

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