When I first looked a books to purchase to introduce me to the world of personal finance and investment, I found quite a few highly recommended books that looked to explain these subjects to a beginner. I ordered these books, but stopped by a local bookstore in the meantime. It was then that a large, straight-faced portrait caught my eye: That of Jim Cramer, starting out from under Confessions of a Street Addict.

This book is a chronicle of Cramer’s experiences as a hedge fund manager, starting with a brief history of how he became interested in the subject growing up and his short foray in law before realizing that the stock market was where wanted to be.

Overall, I found the book to be very inspiring - though I would never want to be in the position of a hedge fund manager. I also gained a lot of respect for Cramer, who portrays himself as a loud clownish figure on television, but who really knows his stuff behind the scenes.

The book is well written, humorous, and interesting, though it does suffer from a few dry spots. It’s also a great way to learn about the past few decades of stock market history in a narrative form. To see the way Cramer is able to handle the stock market serves as a motivation to learn the same fundamentals.

I would definitely recommend this book to:

• Anyone interested in hedge funds
• Fans of Jim Cramer
• Those looking for an insiders view of stock market history since the 1980s
• People interested in the behind-the-scenes action of stock trading

You won’t get much solid advice from this book, but you may come away from it with solid knowledge of the ups and downs of the market for the past two decades, as well as a portrait of the driven, ambitious, and smart Jim Cramer.