Either publishers are out of touch with the market, or the market doesn't know what a good business book is. I suspect it's the latter but, either way, I've been coming across a lot of really amazing, but tragically out-of-print books lately. This is in addition to the myriad terrible bestsellers -- chief among them Donald Trump/Robert Kiyosaki's Why We Want You to Be Rich. And I won't tempt you with a link to the Amazon page.

Anyway, the latest, greatest out-of-print business book I've come across is The Funny Money Game, written by a very young Andrew Tobias, who later became famous for The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need. The Funny Money Game tells the story of Tobias's time as a an executive at National Student Marketing, a high-flying momentum stock during the 1960s. The company crashed quickly, mired in overly-aggressive expansion, mindless acquisitions, and fraudulent accounting. Tobias's options were left worthless. Seems an option to buy a $6 stock for $38 is of little value.

But what emerges from the damage is a delightful story of a chaotic corporation, more stock promotion than business venture. There is even a reference to options-backdating at the company -- a scandal that would grab headlines about 35 years after the publication of Tobias's first book. The company's efforts to portray itself as a cutting-edge, youth-oriented company when its profits, such as they were, came from old-line businesses like insurance are reminiscent of a more famous financial fiasco: Enron. We also learn about the most dangerous word in the history of mergers and acquisitions: synergy.

If you've read Tobias's work before, you know what to expect: The writing is breezy and often funny, and definitely the most enjoyable, light-hearted book ever written about a corporate train-wreck. And while it's out of print, you can get a copy used on Amazon for 41 cents.

Book review: Andrew Tobias's The Funny Money Game originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Sep 2007 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.