“The first mistake people make when dealing with financial decisions is to confuse investment with speculation, and speculation with outright gambling. Read this book and you will understand what the terms really mean. A great read!”

--- Donald J. Trump

"The Big Gamble is an excellent option, not only for investors, but for professionals who may not be directly associated with the world of finance, but need further understanding of the risks inherent in the ups and downs of the global market.

The authors emphasize that when emotions and euphoria prevail over calculated risks, decisions made are almost always wrong. It’s an easy read, filled with fascinating anecdotes and historical background.”

"This book lifts up the true "fundamentals" of market dynamics - In The Big Gamble, the authors make a critical distinction between investing, speculating and gambling. They are adept at explaining their story with historical references; more importantly, they lift the veil on current events. This work provides a valuable perspective any serious market participant needs to know. I did not want the book to end."

--- Rudy Hokanson, CFA Investment Analyst since 1981.

"Timely investing advice - Given the current financial meltdown, with financial institution bankruptcy, government bailout plans, and citizens losing life savings, I find this book very timely - and useful. This financial climate has cautioned investors to understand not only the derivative nature of their investment vehicles, but also the relative risks. I've been a private investor for decades, with a portfolio ranging from would-be-secure real estate, to medium risk funds, to high risk options. This book realistically gauges risk, and provides sound advice for investing wisely, while ensuring the right level of diversification."

--- Douglas Steele

"A must-read for every investor! - I found the The Big Gamble insightful and thought-provoking. It shows the repercussions from 'following the herd' when investing. By using key historical financial crises and events, the authors illustrate the warning signs of financial bubbles, and how to keep from making mistakes. As a recent college graduate, I am sure this book will help me avoid "suicidal" financial moves, which is more important now than ever, considering what is happening with the economy. Unlike other investment books I've read, this is very enjoyable from beginning to end"

-- Niecy

"Worth a read... - They Couldn't have timed it better, Lehman Brothers sunk, Merill Lynch sold, AIG has been on the brink of disaster - these are household names for many of us ... not to mention GM!

Jose Roncal and Jose Abbo offered a great primer on the current crisis, and the underlying causes. The book starts off well back in the 1600's and walks the reader through the economic downturns, recoveries, and their underlying causes - hinting at the fact that the current crisis is anything but a new occurrence.

The authors go further to provide simple insight as to how to spot the next economic downturn. In addition, they spend a great deal of time through vivid examples on the difference between investment, speculation and gambling. Instead of hiding behind a curtain of mathematical complexity, Jose Roncal and Jose Abbo offer great explanations and the rationale that led us to the current crisis and to the so-called investment mindset we all have and hell that they succeed in making the reader rethink on whether a so called "investments" exists at all.

This is certainly a very timely and good read."

 -- Ola Ogun

"Timely, Timeless and Priceless - As an Institutional Financial Advisor I can only say that globalization has added tremendous speculation to our industry. Who can control the globe? Certainly not your financial advisor, when not even governments can control their own financial markets. Who can make a prediction as to the future of any investment when the information today is completely outdated by tomorrow? I truly think that this book is the beginning of a trend even in my industry. Investors have to look deeper into the knowledge of their financial advisors. Not all investment answers are in the stock market as current events are reflecting. We need to look directly into real businesses and perhaps private equity funds may be the answer. A must read for any level of investment experience and for the future of our new investing era."

-- Silvana C

"Before you invest your hard earned money do you think for a moment if you are actually investing, speculating or gambling? -  Do you really know their differences, particularly that we are now living through "the mother of all bubbles?"

According to authors José D. Roncal and José N. Abbo's of The Big Gamble: Are You Investing or Speculating, devastating financial bubbles do not occur because of some international conspiracy. Most bubbles occur due to a herd mentality wherein average folks witness their friends and neighbors getting rich and they don't want to miss the boat. Very often what happens is that people stop thinking realistically and cross the line from investing to speculating and finally to out-and-out gambling.

The Big Gamble provides readers with a significant insight and perspective on the differentiation between investing, speculating and gambling in order to be able to make informed and rational decisions about where to invest your hard earned money. You journey with the authors as they trek from the tulip fields of the late seventeenth century Holland and the South Seas to the twentieth century and the gambling casinos in Las Vegas. And if you are interested as to how a bubble begins and busts, Roncal and Abbo will point you in the right direction and even give you some clues as to how to avoid the next bubble or wisely capitalize on it.

The book divides itself into two sections, the first dealing with Investment, Speculation and Gambling and the second with Speculation: It's Good for you and for Our World.

In the first section the authors focus on financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds and commodities as they explore such topics as why you are not really playing it safe when you invest conservatively, even in U.S. treasury bills or mutual funds, the three most important elements you need to know in order to invest wisely, nine financial risks you need to be aware of when constructing or allocating investments in your retirement plan, twelve cardinal rules of speculating which are very easy to fail to notice, why you should think twice before investing in huge companies as GM or Wal-Mart, (look what is happening to GM), three reliable economic signs that will show you the next big thing and identify potential bubbles when they are beginning to form.

Among some of the authors' guidance that I found particularly enlightening was the need to pay attention to the needle on liquidity. As pointed out, problems surface when there is an excess of liquidity due to the fact that it can spill over and drive the value of investments way beyond their fundamental values, to irrational levels. Something we are probably very much aware of today. On the other hand and equally widespread today, too little liquidity can push investments well below their fundamental value. The authors inform us that the key to spotting the potential bubbles is to monitor the central banks and government action to see how tight or loose the two spigots are controlling money supply. We are counselled to try and anticipate where the liquidity is flowing. Is it moving from stocks to bonds, for example, or vice versa? Is all of the money going into real estate or into commodities? Succinctly, "an excess of liquidity creates excess demand of an asset, which push prices higher, reflecting lower return expectations among irrational participants (who think they are investors.)"

The second section delves into the risk of starting your own business and making it grow. This may be the riskiest speculative adventure of all. In this section, we are given a brief history of some of the most famous and successful business investors and visionaries such as the railroad tycoons and robber barons, Howard Hughes, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google fame, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, General Mills, Donald Trump and Sam Walton of Wal-Mart.

It is here where we learn what it takes to build a "household name" company from scratch and make it succeed. The authors also show us how to weigh the risks and rewards of speculating on new ideas while they are still in their embryo stages and the single most important ingredient for an innovating idea-the ability to turn it into cash.

The urgency of Ronco and Abbo's message cannot be underestimated in to-day's economic climate. Unfortunately, many of us read these books when it is too late to rectify our mistakes, however, perhaps we will remember it as a wake-up-call before the next bubble comes around. Yes, unfortunately, there will be another bubble, however for now, I hope we can soon get out of the present mess."