In its latest issue, Fortune raves: "Investing history is filled with contrarians, the lonely figures in the woods. They buy when and where nobody else will. And the savvy ones know that as soon as their opinions grow popular, it's time to move on. For more than a generation, Jim Rogers has been one of the most successful and colorful practitioners of this art. He was the small-town boy turned Wall Street wunderkind, joining George Soros in the 1970s to form one of history's most storied investing teams, up 4,200% in a decade in which the S&P 500 rose just 47%. Then he became the showoff on the Barron's Roundtable, teasing readers with buys such as a Malaysian rubber-farm operator or "white pepper" when the familiar pitch was GE at 24 times earnings. Then he was reinvented as the "Indiana Jones of finance," taking his motorcycle around the world, occasionally risking life and limb, all the while making wildly profitable investments in the unlikeliest places-and writing a best-selling book about the journey to boot. Then, as the mature adventurer traveling around the world again, through even more Third World nations, landing himself in the Guinness Book of World Records for a second time, finding more improbable yet highly lucrative investments-and writing another bestseller. ...

Nobody has gotten it more right lately than Rogers. Just look at the Rogers International Commodities Index. Since Aug. 1, 1998, when Rogers launched a private futures fund to track the index he created, the RICI has produced a total return of 194%, making it the top-performing investment index in the world over the past six years, according to Barclay Trading Group. Not just of commodities-of anything. It has more than doubled the return of the Russell 2000 value stock index over the same period. It's been three times better than the Lehman Brothers Long-Term Treasury portfolio. The Nasdaq? Rogers's index has lapped it 35 times. After fees, Rogers's private fund has returned 153%. A public version of the index fund, launched in 2001, is up 75% since then.

And according to Rogers, the real money has yet to be made. ... The bulk of the [new book] is devoted to demystifying the process of investing in commodities and analyzing the supply-and-demand scenarios for raw materials such as lead and sugar. But the most compelling aspect of the book is its central thesis: For the next decade the value of basic materials will go sky-high. There is a bull market underway but not in the familiar terrain of U.S. stocks. If his record is any indicator, you should take note.

I bought a copy of Roger's book yesterday and read it until I fell asleep last night. Here's what he calls his Review Box: The Brief For Commodities (pages 30-31):

+ The 1980s and 1990s saw a bear market in commodities. ...

+ The long-term bear market in commodities has a created a sharp reduction in capacity -- and thus large supply and demand imbalances. Quite simply, demand is increasing and supply is extremely low and declining and it will take years for this imbalance to improve.

+ As economies in Asia continue to grow, there will be a strong worldwide demand for all commodities. China, in particular, has quickly moved from a major exporter to an importer of commodities, consuming iron ore, copper, oil, soybeans and other raw materials voraciously.

+ Historically, the prices of commodities show a negative correlation to the price moves of stocks, bonds and other financial instruments. When stocks are down, commodities are up, and vice versa. That means if you are not investing in commodities, you are not genuinely diversified.

+ Commodities are tangible assets that offer different characteristics -- and no credit risk. They are also liquid. Commodities are traded on open markets throughout the world, and their prices are listed in the press and other media.

+ Commodity prices can rise even when the economy is stuck in reverse.

+ Commodity returns outpace inflation.

+ Stock prices can go to zero. Commodities cannot. Unlike shares in a company, commodities are real things that are always likely to be worth something to somebody.

+ The U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks in the world have been pursuing a policy of debasing their paper currencies. Hard, tangible assets will once again, be the place where value and growth can be found -- the real money.

+ The U.S. Federal Reserve's policy of monetary stimulus and rapid credit expansion will continue to push up the prices of hard assets such as precious metals and other commodities -- as more and more money chases a diminishing supply of assets. And while central banks have the power to create money as quickly as they can warm up the printing presses, they cannot create new raw materials or foodstuffs out of thin air or speed up the customary procedures for bringing what is available to market.

+ History shows that war and political chaos only push commodity prices higher, unfortunately.

It isn't as easy as this excerpt suggests. Rogers believes the end of commodity boom is at least a decade away. To his credit, he ends his book, "Consider this book the beginning of your new expertise as a commodities investor. Do your homework and keep learning. Luck always follows the prepared mind." I like that. "Luck always follows the prepared mind."

Google Alerts are really good: My only short is AT&T (T). (So far, I'm losing a few pennies) It's good to know the latest scuttlebutt which may affect the price of the stock. The easiest way to keep up is through Google Alerts. Sign up and you get the main stories your stock, your basketball team, your favorite person, etc. is mentioned. Here's a copy of the memo I received late last night. I'm showing it to you to give you a decent view of this powerful, new, free tool.