While I wasn't expecting much, from reading the mediocre reviews posted here, I was surprised to find fairly decent amount of valuable information in the book, albeit for a novice in the hedge fund world.

For instance, the structure of a hedge fund was explained to me by one of the best lawyers who specializes in setting up hedge funds, here on the west coast. The charts that were used in the book mirrored the thoughts of the lawyer.

Within the last 2 years, the industry has changed drastically and quickly that some issues/rules/regulations are outdated. I would recommend this book for the reader who is looking at a hedge fund for the very first time.

I share the view that if you're searching for investing techniques you're really looking in the wrong place (and maybe you should learn to use the "search inside" feature on top of the page...); my point however is that I can't see who's this book targeted for: if you're an experienced professional looking to strike out on you're own you won't discover anything you didn't already know, if you're so naive that you'll be learning something new then, as another reviewer put it so well, you shouldn't be managing money in the first place.
I'd like to add however that it's nice to see an effort to write something about start-ups in the HF industry, given the massive amount of traders and managers hungry for information on how to get their piece of this 1 trillion dollars cake: maybe someone will fill the void in the future.

I'm not sure what Stuart was attempting to do with this book, but certainly the title was misleading. I found the book to be largely useless and I'm surprised he has authored another book on the topic.

For those readers interested in running money through a hedge fund this is an okay book. (Note: For those interested in running money through a mutual fund, I recommend Start a Successful Mutual Fund by Melinda Gerber.)

Mr. McCrary's book discusses broad topics about the industry but also covers some things that can be learned better from a specialty book about marketing or business plan writing. It does not mention how hedge funds are getting into private equity, prime brokers, Sarbanes-Oxley, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act. It is also weak on specific details about how to run a fund day-to-day.

In general the book reminded me of a college textbook. It is most valuable to anyone who wants a good beginning knowledge of hedge funds.

Dear, me. Imagine being able to coach a winning business plan in fewer than 20 pages. And marketing, my dears! Why, other people write book after book about marketing, and, viola, all is covered in only twenty pages. That is amazing, especially since all the evidence is that the single most important aspect of creating a successful hedge fund is the marketing side. I can't imagine why the book would deal with trading or corporate structures in the US sense. Most successful hedge funds are incorporated in other jurisdictions which often use different terminology. And, my dears, how useful is it to introduce an S-corp, a US IRS term and structure used primarily in real estate. Few hedge funds invest in real estate, and even fewer non-US jurisdictions recognize that peculiar tax creature.

On top of all that, you don't even get paper, binding or book covers for your money. Talk about 50 ways to leave your lover. Well, buy it if you must, but don't say I didn't warn you.