Rich Dad Poor Dad

Ironically, I got this book from my dad. I read it far too fast the first time, because I wanted to go up to him and say I'd finished it. It worked neither to impress him nor to learn anything. I had to reread it later.

Kiyosaki is good at explaining. The distinction between assets and liabilities, the idea of money working for you versus you working for money, the provocation about owning your own home. For someone who has never thought about finances, that's a game changer.

That simplicity bothers me. I find the book shallow on several points, with generic ideas that work as motivational quotes but don't help much. The contrast between the two dads is useful as a narrative, but it's a caricature. And the book barely talks about risk, which, after reading Taleb, became very obvious to me. I even felt sorry for the poor dad; without wanting to sound “too woke”, I sensed disdain for the fictional character.

I know his intention was literally to reach everyone and be understood by the general public. He nails that. It just didn't change my life the way a lot of people say it changed theirs. Good as a way in, for anyone who has never read anything about money.