Joel Greenblatt's The Little Book That Beats the Market is pitched not to the swells of Wall Street but to the novice individual investor. Greenblatt, the founder of hedge fund firm Gotham Capital, has taken what he has learned about investing and written this skinny, pocket-size book. His goal: to explain how to make money in terms that even his five kids could understand. "I figured if I could teach them how to make money for themselves, then I would be giving them a great gift."

Greenblatt delivers admirably…it contains one of the clearest, most entertaining explanations you’ll ever see of the ideas underlying value investing.

Greenblatt, a Columbia Business School professor and an investor for 25 years, says, "I believe I can teach you (and each of my children) to be one of them" — meaning, a successful investor.
The Little Book That Beats the Market is simple and sincere; Andrew Tobias, author of The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need, writes the introduction.

The formula works if you have faith and are patient enough to follow his guidance — over time, Greenblatt says. Greenblatt's formula is based on Warren Buffett's investment principles: Invest in good companies when they are cheap.