The author has an extremely realistic view of the investment world. He sees the real risk where speculators may imagine there are instant riches. For Benjamin Graham, safety of capital comes first. But at the same time, he makes it clear that safety is not guaranteed, even if you do have a properly selected and well balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds.

On page 25, Mr. Graham warns the reader that: "There is no certainty that a stock component will insure adequately against 'large-inflation' but it should carry more protection than the bond component." The author does recognize that: "The outright ownership of real estate has long been considered as a sound long-term investment, carrying with it a goodly amount of protection against inflation." With this statement, he seems to recognize that inclusion of real estate could make an investment portfolio stronger. But he does not analyze real estate extensively as an investment in his book because he says that it is not his field.

Too bad he did not broaden his scope and also become an expert in real estate. If income-producing real estate had been looked at as thoroughly as stocks and bonds in "The Intelligent Investor," I believe many readers, with most of their equity in real estate, would be calling Amazon.com about giving this book a sixth star.