About the Book

The above book is my copy of Same as Ever written by Morgan Housel. Just a note I did read his first book The Psychology of Money. It has been a while since writing my last book review on the Tipping Point. I haven’t been hiding but was instead involved in somewhat of a death march project at work. Well, all of that is over now and I retired so you will have to hear from me from time to time as I get back to the important things. Hopefully by providing some reading options for you and my insights into the books.

I read the hardcopy version of Same as Ever that I purchased for $18.75. I prefer to buy the hardcover version because it is more durable than a paperback book. The type is above average and I would say about 10-point font making it very readable. The actual length of the book excluding the acknowledgements and notes is 203 pages and can easily be read in 2 or 3 days.

If you have read any of my other book reviews you know that I don’t go into excruciating detail regarding the contents of the book, but instead focus on summarizing the book, what I liked and disliked, my recommendation, and some information about the author. My goal is to help you decide if the book is something you should invest your time reading. “I’m here to enhance your experience, but remember, 90% of the fun is in reading the book yourself.”

Summary

In a sentence what this book is really about is what doesn’t change in a world that is changing all the time. Most of these stories provide insights into human behavior that is the same today as it was a hundred years ago. So the author has really put together a series of stories that focus on universal truths that can help guide your decisions. Some of the themes regarding these universal truths include:

• The world hangs on a thread. You and I are a decision away from safety or oblivion.
• Risk is what you don’t see coming. Think of the Great Depression starting in 1929 or September 11th, 2001.
• We all have unrealistic expectations and they tend to be relative to someone else. “Investor Charlie Munger once noted that the world isn’t driven by greed; it’s driven by envy.” p. 26
• There are some very unique people that we admire, but like us they are flawed in some way that we don’t like. The lesson is you kind of have to accept the whole person, not just their admirable traits.
• The best story always wins, not the best idea, but the best story and storyteller. Dr. King’s famous speech “I have a dream”. The funny thing is that he went off script that day and began ad-libbing and the rest is history.
• Growth happens over time kind of like compound interest, but a catastrophe can occur in the blink of an eye. Think Pearl Harbor, September 11th, or Covid-19.
• The author called this chapter The Casualties of Perfection, but the philosophy outlined is more about not over scheduling yourself and leaving free time to really think about things instead of worrying that you are productive every hour of every day.

I’m only including a sampling of some of the themes you get from the book there are many more to explore.

Recommendation

The book is easy to read, and it contains some great quotes and supporting information for his theories on what he calls universal truths. Just like his first book The Psychology of Money, it left me without anything actionable to take away from it. The stories he told were interesting, but lacked any great insights. If I took anything away from reading the book is that life is much more precarious than one might think. While this is an entertaining read it is not something I would recommend as an inspirational book.

About the Author

I couldn’t find a lot of information about the author. The information below came from Audible.com.

Morgan Housel is a partner at The Collaborative Fund. He is a two-time winner of the Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, winner of the New York Times Sidney Award, and a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. He lives in Seattle with his wife and two kids.

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