As an entrepreneur and a person passionate for knowledge, I'm always looking to learn more about wealth building. After receiving a few iTunes gift cards for Christmas, I went to buy an audiobook to listen to while driving. After reading reviews of several business and money books, I went with The Richest Man in Babylon because of the overwhelming positive reviews. Although it was only $4.95, I regret making the purchase.
The audiobook is voiced in an old English tongue that I didn't have a problem with, but could grow old on some people. The total length is a little over four hours of listening.
This book is best fit for a beginner to growing wealth who is eager to learn new principals and has the ability to extract meanings from easy to decode stories. Most of the principals in the book are stated openly, but some are understated within the tales.
The Richest Man in Babylon has a handful of tales compiled with one following another. I had trouble keeping track of which character was who, but the messages from the stories were easy to grasp. Basically, the book preaches to save 10% of your money in sound investments, spend 20% on any debts, and use 70% of your income to spend on what you need to live.
There are a bevvy of other lessons teaching sage ways to live and not to live. For example, it discourages against heavy gambling and taking advice on investments from those who are not experts in the field. The basic teachings give solid wisdom and common sense that most people do not possess. This is where I disconnected from the book.
Unfortunately for me, I was looking for a book with more insight and energy. Stated in other ways, I was looking for thinking on the edge, wisdom to a higher level, and something I didn't know. While these tales did reinforce my knowledge, there wasn't much in the way of extra information for me.
To be sure, I don't deny the value in ageless wisdom but if you have already studied on the foundations of building wealth, then seek another book. However, if you're still trying to put the pieces together on the building blocks to getting rich, then this book will be an excellent choice for you. I recommend the audiobook over the print version if you have a media player so you can listen while you drive. At times you will be entertained and interested, but I found myself getting bored as the book waned on.