this book was an interesting read, and tripped me out at some points. The guy definitely did his research.

Alex Berenson has done the public a huge public service with this book. He clearly and logically describes serious problems with the US Stock markets, based on corporate avarice, greed and cowardly, dishonest politicians. His sections on the creation then the gutting of the SEC are perceptive and insightful. His overview of the decline of corporate accounting standards, led by the big US accounting firms, including, of course Arthur Anderson give a clear picture of the problems and what needs to be done.
We need transparent and honest markets. We don't have them.
A great book for experienced investors and for novices.

A book about accounting written by a nonaccountant. A waste of your time and money. My copy went into the trash.

Concise and crisply written. Shows in a way how the 1990s were an inevitable outcome of prior history

New York Times business reporter Alex Berenson has written a book that every investor should read. "The Number" traces the history of Wall Street trends, bubbles, busts, and the accounting fashions that accompanied them from the 1920s to the present day. He explains how the cult of The Number was born, making quarterly earnings reports the last word on any company's health, and how this facilitated the chicanery at Enron, Tyco, and the scandalously large paydays for incompetent corporate executives that have made headlines across the nation in recent years. "The Number"'s primary focus is actually on the evolution of accounting practices over the past 80 years. Berenson asserts that a disintegration of standards and an increase in conflicts of interest in the accounting profession prevent potential and current shareholders from understanding any company's health or its stock's true value. In other words, accounting slight of hand is such that it would take a detective to figure out if a company is making money or losing it. In explaining how and why, "The Number" gives us a fascinating, very readable history of the numbers and the people behind the trends since this nation first went crazy over the stock market in the 1920s. Mr. Berenson definitely has a viewpoint. He is in favor of stricter regulation for the accounting industry, perhaps more than is necessary or practical. But he makes some good points. And "The Number"'s chronicle of how things are on Wall Street and how they got that way is invaluable for any investor. Alex Berenson's writing is interesting, easy for anyone to understand, and his insights are essential to understanding what quarterly earnings reports do and don't mean, whether they be for big corporations that are the backbone of our economy, or little ones that may make or break your nest egg.