John Neff

For millennia, Mount Katahdin has loomed over the changing landscape we now call Maine's North Woods, inspiring and challenging people, from the Native Americans whose trade routes rounded its base; to Henry David Thoreau and Governor Percival P. Baxter, who forged new approaches to nature and conservation; to the hundreds of outdoorspeople who enjoy its trails and waterways each year. Superbly researched and written, this new book by Maine historian John Neff draws together rare sources and takes readers on a journey through the mountain's history, legend, and legacy. The narrative retraces the steps of Native Americans, whose spiritual approach to the mountain still resonates today; recounts colonials' first glimpses of the dramatic mountain; and accompanies Thoreau as he soaks up the landscape's majesty. Neff's analysis of the region's development through the advent of railroading and logging, sporting, and trailbuilding illustrates the history of its pathways, including the Appalachian Trail. The voices of today's Native American, conservation, and community members infuse this historical narrative with the life of the people who are intricately connected with the mountain. Neff, an authority on Baxter State Park, gives the reader a unique perspective on Baxter's legacy of protection and conservation. He also explores the mountain's more sinister legacy--that of misadventure and tragedy in the wilderness. Neff's compelling narrative bridges the mountain's past and today's continuing opportunities for conservation and recreation in Maine's spectacular North Woods--a story that will fascinate historians, outdoor enthusiasts, and armchair adventurers alike.

Praise for JOHN NEFF on investing "This book offers important insights into the methods and long-term rewards of ‘value’ investing. The serious investor will not want to miss this clear exposition of the successful Neff technique."–BURTON G. MALKIEL, Author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street "A must read for anyone who is serious about investing."–JOHN REED, Chairman and Co-CEO, Citigroup Inc. During his thirty-one years as portfolio manager of Vanguard’s Windsor and Gemini Funds, John Neff beat the market twenty-two times while posting a fifty-seven-fold increase in an initial stake–making Windsor the largest mutual fund in the United States in the process. Now, the "investor’s investor" is ready to share the strategies that earned him international recognition. He delineates, for the first time, the principles of his phenomenally successful low p/e approach to investing, and describes the strategies, techniques, and decisions that earned him a place alongside Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch in the pantheon of modern investment wizards. Packed with advice, guidance, and invaluable lessons in investing, John Neff on Investing reveals for the first time the long-heralded investment strategies of a Wall Street genius.

John Neff has proven time and again over the past three decades that bucking the system can pay off big. During his illustrious career as a money manager, Neff flew in the face of conventional wisdom by consistently passing over the big growth stocks of the moment in favor of inexpensive, underperforming ones-and he usually won. During his thirty-one years as portfolio manager for Vanguard's Windsor and Gemini Funds, he beat the market twenty-two times, through every imaginable stock market climate, while posting a fifty-seven-fold increase in an initial stake. When Windsor closed its doors to new investors in 1985, it was the largest mutual fund in the United States. * Now retired from mutual fund management, Neff is ready to share the investment strategies thatearned him international recognition as the "investor's investor." In John Neff on Investing, Neff delineates, for the first time, the principles of his phenomenally successful low p/e approach to investing, and describes the strategies, techniques, and investment decisions that earned him a place alongside Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch in the pantheon of modern investment wizards. * Packed with solid advice and guidance for anyone who aspires to using Neff's unique brand of value investing, John Neff on Investing offers invaluable lessons on using price-earnings ratios as a yardstick, zeroing in on undervalued stocks, interpreting earnings histories, and anticipating new market climates. A narrative of Neff's early days-"My Road to Windsor"-reveals the extraordinary mindset and humble circumstances that shaped hiswinning investment philosophy. * John Neff on Investing offers a unique opportunity to watch Neff in action over the years through excerpts from his personal investing journals. A faithful quarter-in-quarter-out chronicle of a life on Wall Street, the journals provide unprecedented insight into the thinking behind some of Neff's best (and worst) investment decisions, while tracing the evolution of his innovative investment style. * The first book to reveal fully the long-heralded investment strategies of a Wall Street genius, John Neff on Investing is must reading for investors of every stripe. Advance Praise for JOHN NEFF ON INVESTING "You can count on your fingers the number of investment managers that have been able to beat the market over long periods of time. John Neff is one of those extraordinary professionals. Written with grace, humor, and irrepressible Neffian style, this book offers important insights into the methods and long-term rewards of 'value' investing. The serious investor will not want to miss this clear exposition of the successful Neff technique." - Burton G. Malkiel Author, A Random Walk Down Wall Street,7th edition "This book is a must read for anyone who is serious about investing. John Neff's record is well known, and these pages make clear how and why he accomplished what he did. I also recommend it to corporate CEOs who see the same world from the other side of the fence." - John Reed Chairman and Co-CEO, Citigroup Inc. "John Neff is the investment profession's investment professional. Nobody has ever managed a large mutual fund so very well for so very long a time. And no one is likely to do so ever again." - Charles Ellis Author of Winning the Loser's Game, From the Foreword to John Neff on Investing