Book excerpt: Build a bulletproof portfolio with advice from a top market expert Doug Kass on the Market: A Life on TheStreetTM provides investment advice and guidance from one of the most renowned traders in the world. Author Doug Kass distills his years of experience as a hedge fund manager and infamous short seller to share the theory, technique, and intuition that built his reputation and his portfolio. Anecdotes about interactions with Wall Street's most famous names, including Buffett, Cramer, and Cooperman, highlight tricks of the trade, essential value investor insight, and the secrets to being a smart short. Doug Kass's reputation as a savvy investor is well-earned and widely recognized. His work on Wall Street gained him heavyweight status, and the friendship, the respect, and the ear of some of the biggest names in finance. As a CNBC regular and 2013 Buffet Bear, Kass is widely known as a trusted source of wisdom and profitable insight. In Doug Kass on the Market, readers learn valuable lessons that that will help them make smarter investment decisions. Kass lists the most important things to know when evaluating a possible long or short investment, and explains the things you're not doing to optimize your portfolio. Topics include: Going against the grain Data versus instinct Valuation, bubbles, and momentum Interest rates, inflation, and the Fed The book also describes how to short a stock properly without losing out and discusses the C-suite conversations that fund managers would never tell a lay shareholder. Kass's record proves the value of his acumen, and this book contains a comprehensive account of his talent and techniques. All investors deserve a chance at a more robust portfolio, and Doug Kass on the Market provides the information and guidance that can make that happen.