The year ahead in books and DVD.

Our recommended reading for 2005 will enrich your mind and possibly fatten your wallet. Among the topics covered on money issues: How to take advantage of a weaker dollar, Wall Street's 10 greatest myths and an analysis of the credit-card industry. Read more to find out how, according to the authors, to turn good ideas into money.

The always-controversial filmmaker Michael Moore (whose Fahrenheit 9/11 stirred up recent U.S. election debate), gives us a personal look at the experiences, trials and tribulations of being a U.S. soldier in Iraq; a renowned psychiatrist explains how runaway consumer demand in the United States has become a health hazard and a threat to the very pillars of society there; and an international investigator attests that Russia can become a superpower again by 2010. Lastly, we review the work of a scientist who believes that a mathematical equation proves that God exists.

We also took a look at a variety of movies to consider. Conspiracy and psychological manipulation puts power over politics in the 2004 version of the classic thriller The Manchurian Candidate; Jet Li is back with Hero, an epic adventure of martial arts that delves into the Chinese notion of heroism; Spider-Man spins a web in a second installment where he faces new enemies.