Anatomy of the bear: Lessons from Wall Street's Four Great Bottoms

• We are in a once in a lifetime bear market. Since 1825 this is the only second time market has fallen so much. You can look at it as a big problem or big opportunity. If you hold your nerves and preserve capital, you may have one of the biggest booms coming few years down the line. 
• I have been reading the book Anatomy of the Bear: Lessons from Wall Street's Four Great Bottoms. In 1931  the market dropped 43%. 1932 was a very interesting year with  stomach churning moves. 

• Year	Return
  1926	11.62%
  1927	37.49%
  1928	43.61%
  1929	-8.42%
  1930	-24.90%
  1931	-43.34%
  1932	-8.19%
  1933	53.99%
  1934	-1.44%
  1935	47.67%
  1936	33.92%
  1937	-35.03%
  1938	31.12%

• The 8 % drop in 1932 does not show you the drama behind the move. The market dropped 57% before recovering complete move. Everyone talks about the 1932 drop of 43%, but no one talks about the 33% plus gains in 1933, 1935 and 1936. It is human nature to focus on bearish periods and misery.