Lee Eisenberg (1) (1946–)

I have abandoned this book. The author is well intentioned, but he is also disconnected from the reality of day-to-day life for the majority of Americans. One of the foundations of writing is to ask the question "Who is my audience?" This was not a question that the author asked himself in any way at all. He essentially decided to write a book about retirement saving and investing based purely on his own experience and his friendships with people in the minority of earnings and positions. Nowhere is this more obvious than when he must resort to making up "regular people" as examples to use for illustrative purposes. His friendships which he discusses are all with people in very high corporate positions with concerns such as how they will maintain their "lifestyle" as opposed to concerns about how they will pay for their small 2BR ranch house before they die and also be able to eat healthy and no go broke from America's failing health care system. Yes, wealthy people have these concerns as well, but when someone's "number" is $15 million to live a life that they feel isn't horrible, well, it's difficult to believe that the author knowns a single real person in the country that has lost their job and sold their house and moved into an apartment with a family of four just to survive.

In addition to his bizarre disconnect from normal people, he also is unable to stick to a metaphor or any other writing convention for more than half a page. The metaphors are mixed throughout. These mixed metaphors lead to enormous confusion throughout the book. A particular topic may be started with one metaphor and then mid chapter the metaphor is switched but the topic is still the same, then the point he is trying to make is severely weakened by his lack of follow through from where he started. Every chapter in the book could have been cut 3/4 in length and stated in a short, simple paragraph with clarity and succinct precision. Instead, he picks a topic and rehashes it repeatedly using metaphor after metaphor. Real-world examples are few and far between (see my mention of his need to make up example cases), and when they do show up, again, they are so far out of line with real world struggling Americans that they seem outlandish and essentially themselves like fantasy cases.

That is only the FIRST half of the book, sadly. I had to abandon it half way through. Good intentions alone do not lead to a clear picture of what he is attempting to address and help people resolve. Good writing is essential in keeping the reader's interest. In the case of making suggestions for how regular people should plan and save for their upcoming retirements, a book should engender confidence that that the writer knows what he is talking about. This book fails to do that because of its inability to state its message in a coherent, meaningful way.

My wife suggested reading A Random Walk Down Wall Street instead as a well written, educational statement about investing serving the average person in a reasonable way, and she was absolutely correct. A Random Walk Down Wall Street is practically the polar opposite of The Number. Well written and thoughtfully constructed, it educates and entertains all at once. Reading it is a joy because the author sticks on topic and rarely uses metaphors, instead opting for clear explanations in the most simple language he can and defining his terms along the way and building on them.… (mehr)

This is a book that most should read because it will force you to think about your looming future. The Number refers to the number each of us believes we'll need to have upon the day of our retirement. It differs completely for each of us. Have modest needs? it could be small. Lead a great, costly life now and wish to maintain it? It could be much, much higher. The book address how the number changes with life events like more toys, the arrival of children, the return of college children, etc. it will also point out items most do not really dwell on. We're living much longer, which means we'll need more money, health care is much better and much more costly. So, be prepared, if you hate thinking of your financial future, to be very uncomfortable, but don't say you weren't warned.… (mehr)