About 10 years ago a friend told me to buy a recent book bullish on gold. He was pumped up and had invested in various gold venues. Before I could finish the second chapter gold headed south. A couple years ago I was cleaning up our library and hauled it off to a thrift store. Glad to know the author was right.
Over time, gold (the very metal, not stocks or futures) retains value very well.
It is not a speculative investment. You won't make a killing profit off of gold except in rare circumstances.
It is a good store of value (value=work hours).