 101
Extraordinary Investments: Curious, Unusual and
Bizarre Ways to Make Money
By Toby Walne
A book review by Richard Gill of the
AIM
& PLUS Newsletter
101 Extraordinary Investments
costs GBP12.99 in the Square Mile Bookstore and
can be bought by clicking
here
Tired
of earning next to no interest on your bank
savings account? Sick of seeing your shares
going down in value? Spread betting just too
risky? Then 101 Extraordinary Investments is
the book for you!
Written
by the Mail on Sunday's alternative investments
expert, Toby Walne, this book takes a look at
some of the most successful and strange ways
that people have made money over the years.
Each individual investment is given a page or
two on what kind of money people have made and
suggestions on how you too can make money from
weird and wonderful objects. Did you know for
example that fragments of moon rock can fetch
up to £40,000 a gram and vintage teddy
bears have sold for well over six figures? I
hear a piano owned by Elvis Presley is shortly
expected to sell for more than $1 million at
auction.
It
is hard to know at times whether to take this
book seriously. Some of the items described by
Walne - toilets seats, celebrity hair, stuffed
animals and so on - suggest that the author has
a wry sense of humour. But some of the more
traditional alternative investments - stamps,
wine and books - are also covered. And a dull
economics based book it is not. Walne has a
highly entertaining and witty writing style,
with the main text complimented by quick facts
and nostalgic black and white
illustrations.
I
have a certain soft spot for this book as my
greatest ever investment return was made from
an alternative asset. In round about 2001 I was
sent a promotional copy of a Christmas CD by
the band Coldplay for no more the time spent
signing up for a mailing list. A few years
later, after the band had risen from obscurity
to one of the most successful in the world, I
sold it on ebay for over £100. An
infinite percent return!
All
in all this is a fun and fascinating read which
stands out from other books currently on the
market and which make an ideal gift for any
investor whose collection is filled with the
more traditional type of investment title. And
by reading it you may just find out that those
vases you bought at a car boot sale for 50p are
really worth a million!
101 Extraordinary Investments
costs GBP12.99 in the Square Mile Bookstore and
can be bought by clicking
here
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