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This is a welcome work in many ways. For the millions who know Graham only through his seminal work, The Intelligent Investor, the story of the man behind the Bible of value investing adds depth and camaraderie to the shrewd calculus of the spread sheet. For the more casual reader with an interest in history or business there is plenty here too, spanning the bulk of the 20th century. And for the investor keen for an edge but not quite willing to undertake Graham's original tome at a solid 600 pages, this volume, half the volume, serves as sufficient summary.
Carlen takes a casual, even chatty tone. For the most part that helps take the edge offthe drearier aspects of the dismal science. Occasionally it seems a bit gratuitous, as if the author were just gossiping with the reader about a mutual friend. Perhaps that is the peril of every biographer, to resist being enthralled by the subject.
The interesting and effective technique that Carlen takes is alternating chapters between one that is mostly biography followed by another that is mostly a synopsis of a key...