Adventure Capitalist: The Ultimate Road Trip

A bit of hyperbole in being the "only person ever to..." in some places, but very good. I wished he had focused a bit more on some places. Very illuminating and intriguing last chapter about the US and Greenspan.

It's interesting to see someone's real-life opinions of other countries, but while I usually agree with Jim Rogers about how to invest, I don't agree much with his political/economic analysis. I think he is far too quick to give Republicans (and their equivalents in other countries) the benefit of the doubt, believing their claims that what they are after is a better life for all rather than looting as much as possible as soon as possible.

I think he's also way too naive about how vicious and awful most people are.
In his world, war, deflation, corruption and so on are apparently imposed by external agents (the wicked "politicians") and have nothing to do with the honest, decent countryfolk that inhabit each nation.

I also have to show more wonder at the mechanisms of his plan for saving Africa, namely debt relief. As others have pointed out, the nations of Africa could repudiate their debt today and not be crippled by interest payments. They do not do so because they want to borrow more. Relieving their debt would allow them to take on a boat-load of new debt, with no obvious reason to believe that the newly acquired debt would be directed towards anything more productive than was the last round.

So what we have is a travel book, written from an unusual viewpoint, whose political musing should, IMHO, be completely ignored. show less

I read this book to get ideas on how to invest. It turned out to be a pretty fun travel book. Jim Rogers dubbed the “Indiana Jones of Investing” decided to drive around the world in a car after doing the same thing ten years ago. Last time he went along on a motorcycle; this time he took his fiancé, got married, and spent three years pursuing this idea.

This is a multi-millionaire and while investing was one of the major reasons to go on this trip, he wants to also experience life – life as the locals live it. The list of local delicacies he ate at each country is too long to list. Though I do wonder why he ate at Applebee’s in Tucson; Applebee’s is considered local cuisine.

He candidly describes the customs and the points out show more the bureaucracy and corruption of the world. Particularly he hates the idea of foreign aid to countries. Foreign aid in a country just creates a generation that learns how to live in a welfare state. Furthermore, besides the corruption of leaders of other countries, there is the sadly the corruption of our own officials in particular Africa. Our tax monies are being spent on their Mercedes, security guards, and flying in people for conferences – conferences to find ways to spend the money wisely and to get even more.

This is a man with money and a lot of connections but he still had lots of troubles with access to other countries. The guy is brave; he went through several war zones as well. If anyone decides to go to a Third World Country, here some advice: bring lots of Coca-Cola, Polaroid cameras, and cigarettes.

The book is rather fast paced but honestly humorous. Some of the best parts of the book are getting a ground eye view of other countries and selling me the idea of going somewhere bolder for my next vacation. show less

Like Peter Lynch, Rogers is of that rarest of breeds: a successful fund manger. Some would say they both had the sense to quit while they were ahead. Lynch chose to spend more time with his family and Rogers set off round the World, first on a motorbike and then in a yellow Mercedes sports car perched on the carcass of a Toyota Landcruiser. Since he likes to invest "where there is blood on the streets" you are assured of thrills. High adventure meets high finance. You could not make it up, which is why it is so good.

A bit of hyperbole in being the "only person ever to..." in some places, but very good. I wished he had focused a bit more on some places. Very illuminating and intriguing last chapter about the US and Greenspan.

Dated at this point, but a worthwhile read if one is interested in how badly dysfunctional the world we live in is.

Rogers is a surprisingly decent writer. Seems like a decent fellow also.

Jim Rogers might full of himself and slightly neo-classical in outlook but he seems to be full of life and would certainly make a fascinating travel companion. Don't forget, Jim Rogers may have more to due with George Soros' success than Soros himself. Definately worth the effort.