Bulls, Bears and Other Beasts (5th Anniversary Edition): A Story of the Indian Stock Market

Bulls, Bears and Other Beasts.. is a stellar attempt by Santosh to encapsulate the evolution of the Indian Stock Markets until now, engagingly. What makes it even more commendable is its presentation - seen through the eyes of Lalchand Gupta, an endearing and cleverly sketched character who witnesses the peaks and troughs of the market, while taking the reader along with him in this thrilling journey as he grapples with the bulls, bears and well.. other (ruthless and greedy) beasts in the marketplace. Therefore, it isn't by any means some dull documented account filled with facts and figures of stock markets (as one may presume) . Far from it, the reader is breezily taken through the disorganized ways of the marketplace as was earlier, the infamous scams, listings of key blue chips and stocks, landmark policy developments and stock market achievements and much more in a thrilling way. It is a great read for students, novices who are attempting to understand the stock market and anyone who is remotely associated with trading or has an interest in it. It isn't to say that there aren't any glitches at all. Some situations needn't have been overplayed 'fictionally' to much of an extent or in contrast, some news-worthy developments seem a bit rushed without much 'story' added to it. But that is nitpicking when one looks at the brave and marvelous attempt by the debut author and the sheer ambition this book exudes. In fact, there is a lot of wisdom between these pages that will stand in good stead for decades to come! And the fun part is that it is so simply put that anybody can connect with it and understand it! Splendid all the way..!

Really teaches you a lot.

It is so insightful, easy to read and story like. I have never been more impressed by any other book on this kind of content and could not improve it an iota if i am asked to...a must read for everyone. Feel lucky to have stumbled upon and bought

Santosh’s book takes on the daunting task of chronicling the events in India’s stock markets from the go-go years of the nineties to now when it seems a well-regulated market. What makes it different from other books on markets is that it takes a semi-fictional approach to it, giving you a ringside view of events as they happened and not a dull recount of what happened. The setting may have changed, to shenanigans being plotted in glass-faced buildings in the new business districts, from offices around Dalal Street but the actors are the same—the intermediary, regulator and speculator/investor. This book is especially useful to understand how the market worked in the nineties. The excesses of those years are still responsible for the ‘casino’ tag that the stock market carries till date and has made retail investors shy away from equities. Santosh weaves a well-researched account of several complex and well-known events in this book, sprinkling clues about the identities of persons involved, so that you can nod knowingly or speculate about who they are. It is a book you would want to read in one go, so keep some time aside for it. Could have done with some tighter editing and some fictionalised parts were not necessary but these don't really detract from the massive effort that is visible in the making of this debut book. Disclosure: the author is a good friend.

This is a book about the experiences of a player in the Indian stock market. That in itself makes this a valuable book. Almost all books about investing originate from the USA. Investment literature outside of the USA is really tiny. The number of well written books on the Indian financial markets can be counted on the fingers of one hand. This book is a frank and truthful description of the Broking community in Mumbai with all the sweaty details. It is almost impossible for a retail investor to make a decent return in the financial markets of the developed world (USA, UK, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, JAPAN AND WESTERN EUROPE). The real action is now in Asia and India occupies prime position. Corporate India has very high standards of governance unlike China. Chinese companies are not investment worthy. In my humble opinion Corporate India has a higher level of corporate governance then Wall Street. USA GAAP rules only result in thicker annual reports which no reads anyway. Therefore well written books on the Indian financial markets are worth their weight in gold.

This book is a worth reading but they should do it's packaging in a more appropriate way. Front cover page is half torned.

Take a bow, Lala ji! Wow, what a ride! Those who have witnessed the times mentioned in the book will agree on how accurately the events/situations have been described. I have been a part of stock markets since 1999, although in a minuscule way but could very well relate to all the action that is described in the book, whether it was the dot com bubble, P-Notes, KP and his stocks, carry trades, IPO rigging and round tripping adventures. The book vindicates the point that there is nothing richer learning that being hands on and Lalaji is another use case that proves that point. Highly informative, educational and exceptionally well written book by Santosh Nair. There are very few books that do not let you sleep on time and this is definitely one of those! Worth reading again!

It's just blah blah blah ,nothing on investing, it's authors personal experience only ,I stop reading it by half

Bulls, bears and other beasts captures the key players in the Indian stock markets, the methods used by insiders to trade stocks and influence prices. I can’t think of many books that capture the inside story of the markets over the last 3 decades. The stories are rarely connected in mainstream media to give a integrated view of how most promoters, FIIs, brokers collude for their personal reasons and short term profits. The book fills in a key piece in understanding the behavior of stock prices of companies when it is disconnected from fundamentals. Very useful for serious investors in deciding portfolio strategies by sidestepping a lot of dubious companies. The book gives a ring-side view of market shaping events of the last decades.

Good read

Tries very hard to be like confession of a stock operator. The main thesis of the book is you have to be crooked to make money in the stock market and have an insider view. It is a history of all that is wrong with the investment thought process as it stands today.