Book excerpt: This book is written for the beginning investor. It covers the important steps to follow to invest your own money by first understanding the value of saving, investing, and the miracle of compound interest. It introduces the reader to the mutual fund, one of the true wonders of the investment world. It stresses the important decision to diversify and allocate your assets in a manner appropriate to your needs, time-horizon, and risk tolerance. Reprints of the authors columns on investing that appeared in The Memphis Commercial Appeal from 1993 until 2003 cover these and many other subjects including indexing, market timing, selecting money managers, and the danger of fear and greed on market prices.