Never before have average people greater access to the stock market. The investor is literally drowning in financial information, loaded with financial techno-babble. This book teaches people how to invest without being dependent on a broker, financial institutions and banks. It allows people to make their own decisions without being stampeded by market trends. This is a book for people who only have a few hundred dollars or a few hundred thousand dollars to invest. The Uncommon Investor explains in detail the methodology used in the investment letter, which is arguably number one in North America, with five year annualized return of 33.9% and 53.2% return in 1997. The techniques are outlined in an entertaining format, as a group of family and friends gather to watch the seventh game of the World Series. Each section is divided into innings, with baseball used as the backbone analogy throughout the book. The Uncommon Investor takes the reader from the initial stages of choosing the stock, through to the buy and sell decisions; focussing on how to identify companies which are turningaround or under valued. The techniques start from basic stock market methodologies, and gradually move to a more intricate methodology. Care is taken to ensure that readers will not only be learning a process, but remain entertained. In addition, The Uncommon Investor explores other investment opportunities. Mutual funds, bonds, gold, commodities, real estate, and government paper are all highlighted as investment options. The pros and cons of each of these areas are looked at.

The book is a collection of nine papers on disparate topics in finance and economics. Topics range from the development of a supply and demand model for common stocks to the centuries old conflict between mercantilism and liberal trade regimes. One essay goes to great length in critiquing the conventional notion that inflation solely derives from monetary policy using the past 30 years as an illustrative example. Throughout the text, the author continually attempts to merge the world of finance with that of economics, while coupling both with historical experience. The author additionally brings his own long-standing practical experience in the financial markets to point out where academic wisdom doesn't quite mesh with market realities. The collective contents, in conjunction with other work, resulted in the author being elected to Beta Gamma Sigma: the business school equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa. Since the author is first and foremost a pragmatic investor, his perspective on financial and economic theory is generally focused on their practical application which was the genesis behind the approach taken in writing this book's contents.

The Contrarian Investor's Thirteen focuses on the basics of how people can improve their financial returns by themselves, reducing their dependence of costly brokers and advisors.