Book Review: Blockchain - by Samuel Rees

Another book I’ve read recently while sitting on a few planes is Blockchain - by Samuel Rees.

I’ve seen some big claims in the titles of books but this one had me intrigued:

The Ultimate Beginner Through Advanced Guide on Everything You Need to Know About Investing in Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Ethereum and the Future of Finance

That’s quite a claim. I was really hoping this book would provide a great amount of detail given it’s ‘beginner through advanced’ guide claim.

That’s not what I found though. While it might be a useful book if you’d never learned anything at all about Blockchain, I thought the overall discussion was pretty shallow and there was a whole lot of “gee whiz how amazing is this” types of messaging that I really didn’t enjoy.

I did persevere to the end though, as I was hoping there was more coming. What I did find was a bunch of info on the author’s views on investing in cryptocurrencies. While he’s careful to avoid straight-out telling you to invest, the tone is certainly that you should do so.

While Blockchain as a technology is still a strong option, when I read the book, I’d have to say I wasn’t in love with the idea of investing in cryptocurrencies. Given how the majority have now tumbled and/or become extinct, and the way that even Bitcoin and Ethereum have plummeted lately, I’m glad I thought that way.

Greg’s rating: 4 out of 10

2018-07-20