Book Review: The Richest Man in Babylon

Many books on the art of personal finance are difficult for the average person to ingest. They are either too technical or take too much effort to implement the advice they provide. "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George S. Clayson deviates from the norm by providing practical wealth building and financial advice in a manner that's easy to understand and to put to use.

"The Richest Man in Babylon" is a classic along the lines of popular titles such as "Think and Grow Rich" and "The Power of Positive Thinking." Many experts in the realm of wealth building credit this book to the creation of their fortunes. Written in the 1930's and based on actual tablets found from the ancient works, this book has been translated into dozens of languages and reprinted and revised several times.

The book is set in the ancient city of Babylon and is a collection of short stories, or parables, about people who have mastered personal finance resulting in great wealth. Clayson's writing style makes it a pleasurable read which is concise and to the point.

One of the biggest strengths of the book is its simplicity. You don't need an MBA to understand the principles and the stories are written in a way that laypeople can easily understand the lessons.

Much of the advice appears to be common sense, but the way it's packaged within the stories reinforces the principles in the mind of the reader. The book encourages readers to save 10% of their earnings and invest these earnings so they make even more money. Many of us already do this through 401K or other savings plans, which is a great start, but the book also advises to protect your assets and not invest them foolishly. In one tale in the book, a wealthy individual illustrates this mistake through a tale of giving his savings to a blacksmith to purchase jewels from a far away land. Since the blacksmith doesn't have expertise with jewelry, he purchases worthless stones and the investment is lost. This is the modern day equivalent of taking financial advice from a family member with no expertise in the area of finance.

If you find yourself struggling to keep yourself afloat financially, much of the common sense advice of this book will help you. The only thing this book lacks is detailed ways to increase your income. But this is understandable as that is not the intention of the book. Overall, the book is a worthwhile read which is also available in various audio formats (including unabridged).