But Wade Cook is more than just another investing guru. He's also a shining example of the speculative mania that long bull markets often give rise to, the foam that rises to the surface in disturbing times. Wade Cook's methods , which rely on the purchase of options on margin, emphasize the almost complete separation between American financial markets and American businesses. After wading through Wade Cook's texts, you begin to understand why it seems so natural to call speculators oily.

Whether or not this is really the best way to make money in the market, it is certainly the best way to ensure a steady stream of customers for Wade Cook's home-study materials and workshops. Of course, as Wade says more than once, what's $3,242 for a workshop next to the veritable millions you'll make as soon as you've learned the surefire techniques of buying options on margin?

But Wade Cook's entire strategy is built on the principle that it's possible to predict, when stocks will rise and fall. His strategy is also built on the assumption that, if you've got a sure thing, you should bet the farm on it, which is why you buy on margin. But he never clarifies that buying on margin means that you stand to lose a lot more when you make a mistake. And because you're buying options, you're left with zip, zilch, nada. There are no shares of a stock that might someday come back, just piles of options as worthless as those shares of his American Business Alliance.

In October of 1997, the stock of Wade's company Profit Financial had run up 650%, and investors looking for a get-rich-quick solution were flocking to Wade Cook seminars, and the state of Arizona had just dismissed 18 counts of fraud against Wade and his wife. These are facts.

Today, Wade Cook Financial (the company formerly known as Profit Financial) is a penny stock, Wade and his company are being sued by numerous entities, and numerous investors are still attending Wade Cook seminars desperately searching for the secret to making millions.