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Beardstown Ladies, move over. From the sassy, wisecracking wife of pro hockey player Phil Housley (and mother of four) comes an investment-club how-to for all those postboomer, pre-X women who not only bring home the bacon (in an SUV, most likely) and fry it up in a pan, but who want to find greater financial autonomy and profits than mutual funds can provide--and in the process do some "You go, girl!" bonding that would put those chatty gals of The View to shame. Granted, when you cut out all the schmoozing and gabbing in here, the actual take-home advice and guidelines on group online investing could be reduced to the size of a TV-listings blurb for Ally McBeal (to which Housley refers with near-obsessive frequency).

But having said that, it's admirably straightforward and explained in plain English, especially for a genre glutted with so-called "easy-to-follow" volumes that are nonetheless incomprehensible. And, since this is a guide to starting and maintaining a fun and social investment club as much as it is to mastering the stock market, it's got just as much kitchen-table advice on putting together a gang of gals, convening them via Internet bulletin boards, and keeping club communication and camaraderie alive as it does on picking the right stocks, finding a broker, following their progress against the S&P 500, and knowing when to buy, sell, and hold. Housley's writing style is caffeine-charged, bordering on insane, and the bulletin-board conventions and online meeting notes she shares from her own group are so full of references to maternity due dates, hectic suburban-mom itineraries, and free-floating cravings for everything from Quarter Pounders to Tom Cruise that you sometimes feel like you're trapped in a programming loop from the Lifetime Channel.

In truth, though, it's that very jotty, gabby style that actually makes the book as least as much fun to read as Housley makes starting up a club sound like. And lest you're thinking only the wives of NFL hockey players have the spare cash for such hijinks, Housley actually gears most of the book toward women who can only invest as little as $50 a month. If you can't set aside that much toward your future financial autonomy, you're probably putting it all in the hands of some man who's gonna stiff you anyway, girl, Housley seems to be saying. And it's that blend of sisters-doin'-it-for-themselves practicality and pop-level empowerment that makes Chicks the kind of smart, fun group-investment guide that even some of us NYSE-illiterate roosters out there would do well to read. --Timothy Murphy

Publishers Weekly

For women uneasy with finance, but eager to start or join an investment club, this excellent introduction boasts practical information that's entertainingly presented. Housley, wife of a pro hockey player and mother of four, started the Chicks Laying Nest Eggs Investment Club with a group of friends and relatives after she tried reading investment books but found them dull, and her financial planner told her she'd never "get it." Now the club steadily beats the S&P 500. No Beardstown Ladies, the smart, feisty and funny Chicks discuss everything from pregnancy, moving and illness to the stock market. The women communicate online and hold one annual retreat. Their investment philosophy consists of a dozen tried and true strategies, including buying a familiar company, looking for a leader in its field, checking a company's cash flow, etc. Investment club essentials tax issues, bookkeeping, etc. are helpful, but most memorable are the Chicks' e-mails: "I finally feel like I can do an S&P report without crying. Sheez, it's been a roller coaster here lately. Jana, give us some of your pregnancy stories to pick us up a bit!" However, sophisticated investors may find the presentation irritatingly cutesy. Housley says many husbands won't support their wives' financial initiative, so women shouldn't tell them much until the clubs are active. In today's dual-income era, such outmoded suggestions can rankle. Still, this book is a welcome addition to investment literature. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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