The Dao of Capital: Austrian Investing in a Distorted World Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Mark Spitznagel (Author), Ron Paul (Author), Jeremy Arthur (Narrator),

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As today's preeminent doomsday investor Mark Spitznagel describes his Daoist and roundabout investment approach, "one gains by losing and loses by gaining." This is Austrian Investing, an archetypal, counterintuitive, and proven approach, gleaned from the 150-year-old Austrian School of economics, that is both timeless and exceedingly timely.

In The Dao of Capital, hedge fund manager and tail-hedging pioneer Mark Spitznagel - with one of the top returns on capital of the financial crisis, as well as over a career - takes us on a gripping, circuitous journey from the Chicago trading pits, over the coniferous boreal forests and canonical strategists from Warring States China to Napoleonic Europe to burgeoning industrial America, to the great economic thinkers of late 19th century Austria. We arrive at his central investment methodology of Austrian Investing, where victory comes not from waging the immediate decisive battle, but rather from the roundabout approach of seeking the intermediate positional advantage (what he calls shi), of aiming at the indirect means rather than directly at the ends. The monumental challenge is in seeing time differently, in a whole new intertemporal dimension, one that is so contrary to our wiring.

Spitznagel is the first to condense the theories of Ludwig von Mises and his Austrian School of economics into a cohesive and - as Spitznagel has shown - highly effective investment methodology. From identifying the monetary distortions and non-randomness of stock market routs (Spitznagel's bread and butter) to scorned highly-productive assets, in Ron Paul's words from the foreword, Spitznagel "brings Austrian economics from the ivory tower to the investment portfolio."

The Dao of Capital provides a rare and accessible look through the lens of one of today's great investors to discover a profound harmony with the market process - a harmony that is so essential today.

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Listening Length

11 hours and 29 minutes
Author

Mark Spitznagel, see all
Narrator

Jeremy Arthur
Audible release date

July 27 2020
Language

English
Publisher

Gildan Media, LLC
ASIN

B08DHCPTLJ
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	11 hours and 29 minutes
Author	Mark Spitznagel, Ron Paul
Narrator	Jeremy Arthur
Audible.ca Release Date	July 27 2020
Publisher	Gildan Media, LLC
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B08DHCPTLJ
Best Sellers Rank	#53,611 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #256 in Money & Monetary Policy Economics #261 in Monetary Policy (Books) #374 in Investing & Trading

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

579 global ratings

5 star		66%
4 star		15%
3 star		10%
2 star		4%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from Canada

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Patrick Sullivan

A Good Introduction To Austrian Economics

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 23, 2013

Verified Purchase

I will start off, by saying this book is about changing perspectives. It is not, a one two three investment cookbook. Spitznagel attempts to explain his approach to investing. The author has immersed himself, in the school of Austrian economics. Spitznagel`s investment strategies, are all based on the lessons of Austrian economics.

The reader will be introduced, to all the leading proponents of Austrian economics. The list includes; Mises, Hazlitt, Carl Menger, Bohm-Bawerk, Bastiat, and Hayek. Austrian economics is based on human behavior. This is in complete contrast, to most modern economic models. The current models are based on mathematical principles. Spitznagel wants to be clear, that human behavior can not be graphed into a math equation. Spitznagel then compares and contrasts the two methods of economic thinking.

Spitznagel`s conclusion, is to invest in a round about fashion. Here is a straight forward example; avoid investing during euphoric periods.This sounds very simple. However, the human tendency is to get caught up in the euphoria. The round about approach, fights against our natural human instincts. The investor must understand the entire business cycle, in order to profit from human folly.

Spitznagel also dwells into other examples, to help understand the cyclical nature of the world. He lays out various military strategies. He sights lessons from Clausewitz and Sun Tzu. There is also a dendrology lesson, involving the life cycle of conifers. Spitznagel also explains how, forest fires play a role in the boreal forest ecosystem. The effect of forest fires, is also an analogy to the downturns in the business cycle.

Over all, this was a rather interesting read. There were times, when things got a little on the slow side. This is a great book, for anyone interested in understanding Austrian economics/investing.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

MIKALYN

Not sure yet

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 18, 2013

Verified Purchase

I am about 20% of the way through the book and I have to say I am underwhelmed. Many books give you the straight goods early on and then reinforce the key points as the book progresses. Now I am reading the book to see if it eventually goes anywhere. The comparison between Austrian Investing and Coniferous trees is trite. As a formely practicing professional forester, I think that its ludicrous to contrast specieis that have adapted and survived over millions of years to modern capital markets and their behavior over a few hundred years. I will post again later if the book redeems itself in the coming pages.

Helpful

Brett Weese

Thoroughly Enjoyable

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 15, 2020

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Like the ultimate investing strategy, the author takes a roundabout way, not a direct path. The journey was interesting and thought provoking.

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James S.

I fell off this roundabout

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 9, 2014

Verified Purchase

Spitznagel attempts to link some ancient Chinese theory from the Art of War to Austrian Economics and adds a couple of chapters on investing at the end. The Dao of Capital is rambling, repetative, meandering, annoying.

If I read the word "roundabout" again, I will scream. Any illumination of Austrian econmics is smothered by layer upon layer of psydo-academic piffle. Did I mention that the content is endlessly repetative? Roundabout. Roundabout. Roundabout. Where was the editor? A lumberjack with a chainsaw would have made great improvements. When Spitznagel gets around to investment thought, he comes up with two ideas: Return on invested capital and Price/Book. At least that's what I think he was trying to convey, but I'm not sure because he does not define his terms.

The ideas are not annoying, just the way they have been presented.

For my $20, I'd rather buy some conifer seedlings and plant them in an Austrian meadow. Yes, that is a reference to the book. A whole chapter on conifers!

5 people found this helpful

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Ramanathan Premachandran

Four Stars

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

I gave this book to my son and he enjoys reading this book.

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Mark C

Mark Spitznagel is an intelligent, thoughtful investor

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 5, 2015

Verified Purchase

Mark Spitznagel is an intelligent, thoughtful investor. Success is one thing, how one achieves it is another. A leader succeeds like Mark. Outstanding book. If you are a portfolio manager or private investor I would recommend this book for your library.

Helpful

Luc Gosselin

Un livre de vision

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 22, 2014

Verified Purchase

Beaucoup, beaucoup plus qu'une vision de l'investissement. Pas trop difficile à comprendre pour quelqu'un qui n'a pas de connaissance de l'économie et du placement de capital.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Brad Mills

Must read for anyone who has only experienced the "stocks can only go up" market post 2008.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 29, 2021

This book was a great history lesson of the Austrian school of investing via sound money philosophy of capital allocation, patience & delayed gratification.

The book uses examples from the author's experience as a youngster in the Chicago trading pits, as well as from history to build a framework for how Austrian economics evolved.

From concepts observed in nature with conifers taking outlier paths to survive, as well as ancient philosophies of war and lessons of patience from different cultures.

The book describes the rise of bubbles and how a money printing fiat mindset brought us to where Keynsian / Monetarist economics is the dominant logic used in our broken money system.

Unfortunately the book does not have a prescription for the broken system we find ourselves in, it's more of a philosophy lesson than it is an investing guideline.

I've found myself holding most of my net worth in Bitcoin because of the principles taught in this book.

Since dollars are manipulated and printed like flyers for a furniture store that's going out of business, they are losing their value.

Bitcoin is a perfect form of Austrian sound money that holds it's value over long time frames like the conifers who use unconventional strategy to survive forest fires better than fast growing hardwood trees.

Definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for conviction on why they should not be all-in on our broken stock market & fiat system.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Hard going and not worth it

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 15, 2021

Verified Purchase

I was really looking forward to reading this and I so much wanted to like it, but in the end I never finished it. There are some interesting ideas, enough for a longish article in the Economist or the FT maybe. But there is nowhere near enough material for a book. It was an effort to read it without skipping big chunks. It feels padded out in the extreme. There is nothing to get hold of, nothing I can say I learned. The concept of Taoism is nice, you go forward in a roundabout way, and the Austrian economists had some good ideas - a bit like Taoism. And that's it, repeat for 290 pages.

2 people found this helpful

Smoke and Mirrors

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 24, 2020

Verified Purchase

Never have a read such utter twaddle in all my life. The author sounds like a silly undergraduate drunk on the latest idea he comes across when reading the history of economics. Not saying the Austrian School wasn't smart but its like all schools of economics. Its speculative philosophy. And its every libertarians well ....dream. As for the DOA of it it reminds me of Fritjof Capra's Toa of physics. Errant Nonsense. The only thing that's of any use in this book is some old school pit traders wisdom. But even that my granny could have come up with. Namely, "don't put all your eggs in one basket". Or " if it sounds too good to be true - it probably is!" The author sadly is a poor knock off version of his mate Taleb who at least makes a good fist of being a half baked intellectual.

2 people found this helpful

Benjamin Snow

A different view of investing and economics

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 13, 2013

Verified Purchase

Should you buy more equities or sell your existing equity holdings? What should you buy or sell? Is an S&P 500 Index fund worth buying or a selling? In a roundabout way this book can help you think about these questions. This is part investment book, part Chinese philosophy, part autobiography and part biology text book. At its heart is a very good introduction to the Austrian School of economics. Morevoer, it provides a really interesting insight into how a very successful investor thinks - the author has done exceedingly well in the world of investing. All the profits from the sale of the book go to charity so it appears he wrote this book as a labour of love.

A terrific book if you want to think about your investment strategy. Best thing was it made me think about when to sell equities. After reading it, one can quite straight forwardly tell when the market or a company are potentially overvalued. I enjoyed the biology, philosophy and economics that are described in the book. The author successfully uses the Austrian School method of keeping the use of equations to an absolute minimum. It is the ideas that matter rather than the maths or quantitative analysis.

What I don't know is how applicable his investment strategy could be used by small investors like myself. But don't let this put you off reading the book as even if you cannot implement his investment ideas to the letter the general ideas may well be beneficial to your portfolio.

15 people found this helpful

Andrew Bennett

This book converted my communist friend

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 15, 2019

Verified Purchase

In one of the proudest moments of my life, I reduced the number of communists in the world by sharing this book with a friend. The combination of economic theory and practical market understanding make this book a worthwhile read for both those with a general interest, and those looking to understand how to put the principles to use in the real world

3 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

More people should....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 3, 2013

Verified Purchase

... read this book.

Take a look at Investing (and life) in a different way.
How often does a really successful hedge fund manager share his view of the investment process for the cost of a book. Many people write about economics yet few (if any) risk their own real money in the markets.

I enjoyed following the thought process from Ancient China through Austria to Wall street. I really enjoyed Mark's book.

6 people found this helpful

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The Dao of Capital: Austrian Investing in a Distorted World Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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