*             The book provides an introduction to this broad, complex, and competitive field. It skillfully blends the contributions of a global array of scholars and practitioners into a single review of some of the most important topics in this area. The varied backgrounds of the contributors assure different perspectives and a rich interplay of ideas. The book also reflects the latest trends and research in a global context and discusses controversial issues as well the future outlook for this field.

*             While retaining the content and perspectives of the many contributors, the book follows an internally consistent approach in format and style. Similar to a choir that contains many voices, this book has many contributing authors with their separate voices. A goal of both a choir and this book is to have the many voices sing together harmoniously. Accomplishing this task for the book requires skilled editing by the co-editors to assure a seamless flow when moving from chapter to chapter. Hence, the book is collectively much more than a compilation of chapters from an array of different authors. 

*             The book presents theory without unnecessary abstraction, quantitative techniques using basic mathematics, and conventions at a useful level of detail. It also incorporates how investment professionals analyze and manage equity portfolios.

*             The book places a strong emphasis on empirical evidence involving equity markets, valuation, and analysis. When discussing the results of various studies, the objective is to distill them to their essential content and practical implications so they are understandable to a wide array of readers.