Security Analysis
Written by Benjamin Graham and his Columbia colleague David Dodd after the 1929 crash, this is the heavier, more technical companion to The Intelligent Investor. It teaches investors how to read balance sheets and income statements and arrive at a sober estimate of what a company is actually worth. Graham's central idea, that price and value are not the same thing, runs through every chapter. Warren Buffett wrote the foreword to the sixth edition and points serious students toward this book. It is a demanding read, closer to a textbook than a popular guide, but it remains the document that built the discipline of value investing.
Also by Benjamin Graham
What you might want to know about Security Analysis
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
The dense, foundational textbook of value investing, in which Graham and Dodd teach how to value a business from its financial statements rather than its stock price.
Yes. Security Analysis is a detailed, technical textbook aimed at serious students, while The Intelligent Investor is written for a general audience.
Security Analysis was written by Benjamin Graham, published in 1934 by McGraw-Hill.
Security Analysis is 770 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Security Analysis takes most readers 12 to 17 hours to finish.
Security Analysis is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.