Our wide-eyed, skies-the-limit dreams of unlimited wealth and ownership have collided against the hard realities of today's economy. Financial guru and bestselling author Suze Orman is here to tell women and men how they can retool the American Dream to fit realistic expectations. In her view, our goal should not be accumulating the property and possessions that buffered us from our true needs: The need to take control of our present in order to protect and ensure our future. Like Orman's other books, The Money Class deals with both personal finance specifics and the mindsets behind our decisions. Invaluable advice. (P.S. Orman was a hit at last month's District Managers' Conference.)

With a clarion call to "stand in your truth," Orman (The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke) re-engineers much of the advice given in her previous works for her latest volume. Chock full of financial advice pertinent to the post-2008 economic landscape, the book addresses every age and stage of life. Organized into nine "classes," with each class/chapter further divided into related lessons, Orman's effort is characteristically upbeat and no-nonsense, offering lessons on family matters, homeownership, saving for college, emergencies, retirement, and more. Orman firmly guides readers when dealing with parenting issues or underwater mortgages. Orman declares herself "vehemently anti-allowance," opting instead for paying children to do household chores, and she explains how to implement such a policy. A class on careers gives honest advice for anyone facing continued unemployment or thinking of taking a lower paying position. And three of her classes focus on financial planning for the future and how readers as young as 20 can begin saving for retirement. After finishing Orman's book, and completing her exercises, readers will have a very clear sense of how they can achieve what she has rechristened the "New American Dream."
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Suze teaches readers how to transform their thinking and reimagine the American dream.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

Suze Orman has such a familiar persona that narrating a book by her would be a difficult task for anyone. Nancy Linari succeeds at evoking the tough-love sensibility that Orman made famous on her television show. But Linari’s tone, pitch, and volume are slightly gentler than Orman’s own and are perhaps more suited to the audio format. The listener will appreciate her periodic pauses and soft delivery since Orman’s biting Northeastern accent could become grating over the 11 hours of this volume. This is an intimate lesson on personal finance, and Linari makes it sound as if one were listening to a friend’s well-delivered advice. M.R. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine