Cramer Book Takes Personal Finance Award

Jim Cramer's Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World was named best personal finance book of 2005 by Books for a Better Life.

Cramer, whose bestseller lays out his methods for comparing stock prices, spotting tops and bottoms, rotating a portfolio and other tips, received the award at an event in New York Monday night.

"Suze Orman, who presented the award, said the book was what people need to make a lot of money," said Cramer, who co-founded TheStreet.com(TSCM Quote) and remains a major holder. "She said that the book gives people hope to get rich. I'm excited that the Bob Cratchits can read the book and can buy their own turkeys and pay for their surgeries."

"The book is truly self-help. It's for people who have $500 and are trying to turn that it into $1,000. These people are trying to make money for the first time to augment their first paycheck," Cramer said.

The Books for a Better Life Awards are a 10-year-old program for best self-improvement books, whose proceeds go to multiple sclerosis research. Previous award recipients include Jimmy Carter, Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey.