Security analysis is the field of identifying the relative merits of different assets. In this masterpiece of philosophical writing and piercing observation, the world–acclaimed polymath, J. Cochran, explains how the true investor must struggle to overcome the ever–present strong forces of the crowd. The author details the fundamental techniques for effective security analysis, and unravels the invention of an empirical and breathtakingly insightful roadmap to step over the market, revealing how to pick up the fruit years before the rest are even able to see it. Not pretending there are any shortcuts, lambasting self–help books, and aimed squarely at the enterprising investor, Cochran writes with power, style and stunning conviction, and nurtures the reader to foster an indispensable mental independence.