I leaped at the opportunity to read and review WalletPop blogger Lita Epstein's new book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Value Investing" because I represent the target audience. For 'close your eyes and throw a dart' investors like me, this book is an excellent guide through the jungle of the investment world.

In our lifetimes, we've never needed a guide more than we do now. While most of us are wringing our hands and trying to duck the dark cloud hovering over our 401Ks, a savvy few are licking their lips at the share prices of one-storied companies. Mark my words- in five years, we'll be smacking ourselves in the forehead for missing the opportunity to buy stock in the next Microsoft or Google as it climbs to many times its 2009 sale price. Those stocks, we will then realize, were the value investing opportunities.

Epstein takes us, step by step, through the process of divining which companies have the potential to come through the current miasma and thrive. From reading financials to designing a balanced portfolio, from understanding market behavior to determining your own risk tolerance, the book covers the gamut of basic investment advice in terms that the typical idiot (i.e., me) can understand.

If you're one who embraces the notion that "Ignorance got us into this mess, and ignorance can get us out," this book will only burden you with accurate information. If, however, you are determined to control your investments, this is an excellent primer.