FULL OF BULL, Stephen T. McClellan (FT Press; $22.77)

Last fall, an analyst downgraded Citigroup, sparking a sell-off and plunge in the stock's price. This episode shows the power that Wall Street analysts continue to wield, a power that Stephen T. McClellan thinks is largely misplaced.

In Full of Bull, the author, a former analyst himself, describes the many problems with Wall Street analysis, including its confusing terms. At Bear Stearns, for example, "outperform" implies that the stock will do better than the analyst's industry coverage. Whereas at Smith Barney, a "buy" connotes an expected total return of more than 15%. McClellan also questions the fact that many analysts' year-end evaluations are skewed toward earning a top slot in Institutional Investor's annual analyst ranking.

Wise investing involves disregarding brokerage-recommended stock lists, and avoiding selling the day of a dramatic downgrade or in reaction to media information, the author writes. And he calls hedge funds a credible source of investment ideas, since their managers' compensation is linked to performance.

Independent advisors who think they understand these concepts may learn something yet from a quick scan of this book.