cover image Second Chance: For Your Money, Your Life, and Our World

Second Chance: For Your Money, Your Life, and Our World

Robert T. Kiyosaki. Plata, $17.95 (448p) ISBN 978-1-61268-046-0

Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad) gave self-publishing street cred when his first book hit the New York Times Bestseller List. As he recounts in this book, much of his success has been self-made, independent of employers or government. He has little respect for those who work for a paycheck as they are the most taxed and least secure in their wealth. He instructs people to gain financial independence by putting money into assets that produce cash flow%E2%80%94starting a business or investing in rental properties (the latter being his investment preference). Along the way, Kiyosaki delivers some doomsday prophecies such as another big financial crash in 2016); pats himself on the back (he predicted the 2007 crash), touts his amazing success; pitches for his company and products; and pays homage to his two heroes%E2%80%94Buckminster Fuller and his rich dad. He claims that anyone can benefit from his advice, but his track record as a teacher is thin, as he admits, "I haven't seen them since so I do not know what happened after our discussion." The book is long, repetitive, and disorganized. It alternates between rambling prose and a faux Q&A format, e.g. "Q: What are Ponzi schemes" .... "A: That might be a good word to look up..." There's no denying Kiyosaki's financial success. Whether or not his advice can help the rest of us is doubtful but for those interested, this is an addition to his extensive collection of writings. (Jan.)