Reviews (11)

A Better Way to Invest and Trade In Volatile Markets
After reading my fair share of investment and trading books, I have to say that this one stands out - Headley offers a lot of practical, detailed ways to trade successfully in various market environments. I'm not the only one who learned since 1999 that simply buying and holding stocks can actually be quite risky - the point of the book is to show the way that bullish and bearish market and sector cycles have accelerated tremendously. As a result, you can either get punished during the rough stretches or take some steps to take advantage of the market's directional moves along the way. Best of all, the book takes some traditional ways of spotting big trends in stocks and updates them with new methods I've never seen before.

A couple of areas really stand out: The well-researched explanation of conventional technical and relative strength indicators used by William O'Neil, John Murphy et al. with new tools like Headley's Acceleration Bands and Momentum Divergence signals. These are things I was able to use immediately, thanks to the indicator formulas he provides. I've been able to enter and exit positions profitably overall without being badly affected by big market swings. I think that's the big difference here. Too many other investing guides simply rehash existing knowledge (or advertise someone's service) without helping you be a smarter investor. The book also opened my eyes to several key option strategies to help generate income or protect profits in difficult markets. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to expand their trading knowledge and apply the concepts to real-world trading.

No Rehashes...Ideas Traders Can Use Immediatly
For everyone who reads this highly original book, there will probabably be a chapter or two that will be most significant that can add to ones bottom line. For me, it was the discussion of managing a straight put or call position once entered and how to exit that position. Exiting markets is critical to success...as those who have suffered through the 1999-2002 meltdown in the stock market now know. Hadley's ideas on trade management and exiting strategies have already made me money and helped solidify my approach to this important aspect of the market. I have had excellent entry point strategies, but just was really struggling with how to exit in a way that made sense to me. Hadley provided the missing piece.

Of course as already noted, there is some very highly original research on using VIX, put/call ratios, etc. to help time the stock market.

In short, this book is packed with outstanding information that will help any stock market trader turbocharge his/her trading results.

For those who had read over four trading books
As a trader who had read tens of trading books, I still found this one interesting and helpful. I like its variety of content (that the author introduced a lot sentiment indicators like CBOE Put/Call Parity + Volatility Index, RYDEX Mutual Fund Flows, Volume indicators for QQQ and S&P 500 Depository Receipts), plus the author's writing style and integrity (the author did quoted frequently from other writers). Some technical tools like MACD, ADX were discussed, but only briefly. In fact, I like Chapter 12 about trading psychology and money management, Appendix D favorite quotes the most.

To conclude, if you want to read an intermediate to advanced level trading book, and that you are appreciative of logical and contrarian trading, this one is for you.

p.s. I like Mark Douglas, Bernard Baruch and Jesse Livermore very much. As the author does appreciate these "gurus", I admit that my positive comment may be a little bit biased.

A True Contrarian
A common theme among all the fundamental and technical analyst books is that you need to become a Contrarian investor in order to consisitently make money trading stocks. This book provides a true blueprint for accomplishing that goal.

Finally someone else who says day trading doesn't work
The average investor is not made to be a daytrader. There money is not large enough to succeed, and when they use leverage to compensate they compound their problem by overleveraging. Mr. Headley points out all of these issues in his book. This book ... paves the way for a new generation of futures traders and stock traders.

The only drawback is this book doesn't discuss the new security futures. Other than that it is a fine primer and reference book for years to come. ... Read more

Book Description

Can a $10,000 investment yield $1,000,000 in a year? In five years? If so, what is the risk involved?

These are the kinds of questions to which this work is addressed. Such fantastic results are possible in the stock market. Individual issues fluctuate widely enough and often enough to permit this and more. Techniques are presented here that put an average yield on invested capital of 10% per month, well within the realm of possibility. Compounding profits at this rate, such a yield can return $1,000,000 on a $10,000 investment within 50 months.

An actual trading experiment will be described using these principles which produced an 8.9% yield per transaction--every 9.7 days. Such a yield, if continued, compounds $10,000 to $1,000,000 in 15 months. If such results can be attained in the market -- why isn't everyone doing it?

The answer is complex, but the elements are simple: effort, knowledge and psychological barriers. Any goal this worthwhile requires time and effort. Most investors, amateur and professional do not have the kind of analytical background needed to shear through rumor, opinion, and adage to get at the basis of why stock prices change. And finally, even with knowledge in hand, many investors lack training in the emotion-logic balance required for success.

Nevertheless, all of these obstacles can be overcome. It is the purpose of this book to provide you with the essentials. The results are yours if you care to apply yourself with sufficient intensity. Investment operations will be presented here in a deliberately unorthodox manner. We will turn our backs firmly on all cliches, adages, and market lore that will not withstand critical scrutiny. Where necessary, we will not hesitate to form new ones that do fit the facts.

You will find here that the big money in investing stems from the principle of "profit compounding:---of short-term trades. It is further shown that this potential cannot be exploited in an optimum manner without a large improvement in transaction-timing capability that cannot be achieved using tradional investment methods.

You will be exposed to: a concept of profit maximization; a model of stock price motion with prediction implications; an explanation of why chart patterns form---and how to use this knowledge to your profit; step-by-step methods for using the price-motion model to generate definite "wait," "buy," "hold," "sell," "sell short," "cover short," and "protect profit" signals; an explanation of why moving averages work and how to design your own for use in transaction timing; a complete trading method: how to select issues, how to analyze them for action signals, and how to improve your chances of turning and keeping a profit; the extent to which you should be concerned by chance factors, whether or not you should sell in case of war or financial crisis; the reasons why psychological considerations can affect your profits and what you can do about it; an introduction to numerical analysis and spectral analysis, upon which the results on the book are based.

The problems of trading techniques and methods are dealt with directly. Enough methods and references are included to permit further research if desired. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

J.M. Hurst Revisited
J.M. Hurst was the "father" of cycles in the market. This book, written in the late '60's by this mathematician, was based on research he did using a Fourier Transfomations/Spectral Analysis model. Putting it bluntly, it is not an easy read. Hurst is a terrific writer - the book is very well done - but the material is involved and complicated. However, for anyone interest in technical trading, I think this book is a must!

After finishing the book, he then wrote a "course" which he gave for a year... then dropped out of sight. I bought this "course", all 1200 pages of it +++; Now this is HARD to get through. It is far more detailed than the book and I also feel essential to learning cyclic trading. If someone asks "if this is so easy, why isn't everyone doing it?", this course answers that emphatically! It's a tough nut to crack. I would add that having digested his book first was of much help in doing the course.

Eric Stephan

Tremendous Work, Eye-Opening
This is a very well written book that demonstrates the existence of underlying cycles in stock / index price movements. By knowing where the price is viz. which cycle (e.g., rising, topping, falling), a person can make better decisions re buy or sell leading to above average returns.
The book shows the reader how to identify key cycles and how to enter and exit trades. Since it was written pre-PCs, the methodology is illustrated very simply (thankfully). A good understanding of PCs and analytical techniques can only improve upon the work, but is not essential.
The book also shows how the summation of underlying cycles and trends create well-known technical analysis patterns, e.g., head and shoulders, triangles, elliot, etc.
An application of this methodology can be found [on the internet](look under Hurst). This is not intended to be an advertisment for the site (though I am a fan), but rather to help potential buyers of the book get several visual examples of the Hurst theory at work.

Must read for those who want to develop a TA system!
i'm glad that most who reviewed it here got it! it is a little mathematically beefy. i guess that's why our obtuse friend from jax didn't get it and will, unfortunately, be relegated to a roller coaster life of stock tips, hoping and praying. even if you can't grasp the heavy math of the last chapters, the layman can benefit from the graphical buy/sell/hold signals and easy offset moving average methodology. while this book doesn't provide the holy grail, it gives you "willie wonka's golden ticket" into the wall street candy factory...

It works
Reading this book gave me a real understanding of the stock market movement. Now, I look at indicators, patterns, etc. with a different pair of eyes. The book explains convicingly that stock market moves in cycles. I am now using it successfully in my trading. With it, I have the ability to estimate market tops and bottoms frequently. My analysis for Nasdaq is posted in http://www.geocities.com/zentex3/ if you want to see evidence of me putting this into practice. Overall, the book is enjoyable read. The mathematics can be difficult but I do not use Fourier Analysis or any advanced maths to put his method into practice. In fact, I actually used very basic maths and put it in my excel spreadsheet and the envelopes are plotted automatically. I just turned the logic he uses for visual analysis into basic rules.

This is a break through book
Many people still don't understand what J.M. did. They compare it to already beaten channel analysis or Moving average analysis. It isn't what Hurst used, it is how and why he used it is important. Hurst was the first to point the relation of proportionality of time/price swings with the periodicity of indicators as well as synchronicity of time cycles and he laid out mathematical foundation for computerized measurements. This requires some technical/programming skill and what's more important good sense of proportion.
But even you are a good programmer, but without good sense of proportion you'll go in circles and don't get it (I met many rocket scientists like that). So first of all you should be good observer of life with some mathematical skill to fully comprehend what J.M. Hurst introduced. His statement of 90% success isn't an exaggeration; it is rather conservative estimation assuming human error. His methods have potential to be 100%.
(And even you aren't a programmer, but understand Hurst ideas, you can tweak existing charting package to do the job for you, that would take some time, but possible)
What he discovered in stock analysis is comparable to a perpetual motion in physics.
After completing his work J.M. mysteriously disappeared. No he isn't dead, rather silenced. This book is already out of print and I wouldn't be surprised if it disappears again. Remember Wall Street doesn't want you to win; they reserve this right for themselves... ... Read more

Book Description

Harnessing the Power of Quantitative Techniques to Create a Winning Trading ProgramLars Kestner Quantitative Trading Strategies takes readers through the development and evaluation stages of today's most popular and market-proven technical trading strategies. Quantifying every subjective decision in the trading process, this analytical book evaluates the work of well-known "quants" from John Henry to Monroe Trout and introduces 12 all-new trading strategies. It debunks numerous popular misconceptions, and is certain to make waves--and change minds--in the world of technical analysis and trading.

Reviews (4)

Nice introduction to quantitative trading
Very easy reading. You will find this book quite useful if you are trading using a mechanized approach via a platform such as TradeStation. You will also find it useful if you are developing software like TradeStation that backtests trading strategies. This is why I read the book.

In part one, he describes his testing methodology and discusses the building blocks that make up the strategies that he discusses later. For example, moving averages, channel breakouts, momentum, etc. are discussed under trend following techniques and relative strength index stochastics, and MACD under price oscillators. Most importantly, he describes how to use statistical measurements to analyze the performance of a strategy.

In Part 2, he presents his results of testing the following strategies:

Channel Breakout
Dual Moving Average Crossover
Momentum
Volatility Breakout
Stochastics
Relative Strength Index
MACD

followed by some of his ideas and innovations that improve upon them. He uses 12 years of daily price data (1990 - 2001) and each strategy tests 29 different futures contracts along with 34 different stocks. He also discusses money management, which is must reading.

Although he does not provide any code (which I would have liked to have seen), he does give enough information so that you can implement any of these strategies in TradeStation or any other strategy back testing software, assuming that you have some knowledge of basic programming.

I would have liked to have seen some strategies dealing with pure price patterns. Other than that, a very well organized and thought out book. My rating for this book is 4.5 stars.

it's ok
I agree with the reviewer below. This book did not give many pure mathematical ideas. He gave some good examples that may be helpful to some but not to people who are looking for good solid mathematical strategies.

If you are just getting interested in quantitative strategy development I would suggest the book.

Easy to follow, but not much insight.
This is probably a book for ordinary investors, but certaily not for "Quant". The book is definitely very easy to follow. However, other than a few technical analysis tools, Kestner didn't really address quantitative investing. He just provided a few computer printouts for a few technical strategies - no fundamental data or "real" quantitative tools were ever used. If you don't have the math/statistics/finance backgroud, but want to learn how to systematically use technical analysis, buy this book. For serious Quants, don't worry about it.

Concise and intelligent
Worth the money, as the book provides an in-depth explanation about money management and risk. It is also very well written with good illustrative examples and easy to follow.

It also provides great ideas to trading systems and very insigthful information on how to analyze trading performance. The great advantage of this book is that it actually explains the assembling of a trading system from concept to an actual trading tool. However, it lacks explanation on real-trading, commission and slippage issues.

I like the book due to a defined and well ordered stream of information. Perry Kauffman's trading system book is the complete opposite of Kestner's work. Despite Kauffman's solid knowledge, his writing is so hard to follow to the point that some sentences provide a double meaning interpretation. The information is also shuffled and disorganized to the point of addressing some unnecessary issues.

Kestner's work is much more enjoyable... ... Read more

Book Description

"Overall this book provides an excellent summary of the state of knowledge of term structure modelling. It combines a solid academic background with the practical experience of someone who works in the financial sector." Alan White and John Hull, A-J Financial Systems, Canada

The modelling of exotic interest-rate options is such an important and fast-moving area, that the updating of the extremely successful first edition has been eagerly awaited. This edition re-focuses the assessment of various models presented in the first edition, in light of the new developments of modelling imperfect correlation between financial quantities. It also presents a substantial new chapter devoted to this revolutionary modelling method. In this second edition, readers will also find important new data dealing with the securities markets and the probabilistic/stochastic calculus tools. Other changes include: a new chapter on the issues arising in the pricing of several classes of exotic interest-rate instruments; and insights from the BDT and the Brennan and Schwartz approaches which can be combined into a new class of "generalised models". Further details can be found on the links between mean-reversion and calibration for important classes of models. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Good on Several Levels
Rebonato covers the material on different levels, providing not only full mathematical formulations, but also the English version of the math along with explanations of significance of the topics covered. This book is excellent for those with the mathematical background to understand the math, and is easy to follow for those with less than rigorous mathematical background. I would recommend a good foundation in general option pricing (at least an introduction to Black-Scholes and lattice modeling) prior to reading this book. Futures, Options, and Swaps by Kolb and Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives by Hull would be good preliminary readings. Rebonato does a good job in discussing the various modeling techniques, along with the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Excellent introduction to interest rate option models
By restricting attention to interest-rate option models only, the author manages to give a thorough introduction to the subject, that goes way beyond the short chapters in standard textbooks such as Hull's or Wilmott's (I am not familiar with Miron and Swannell).

The first edition (the one that I'm familiar with) does indeed contain a number of irritating typos, many terms are first used then defined later, and the figures in particular can be greatly improved upon (I think they were produced by `Excel', which is not the best tool to produce high-quality figures for a serious technical book), however such glitches are typical of almost all books of such size and technical level.

The mathematics is not entirely trivial, but not too sophisticated either (a typical university science/engineering graduate should be able to handle it easily), and the author makes a valiant attempt to explain all relevant concepts from linear algebra to probability theory (I have to add that I didn't appreciate certain fast tricks like dropping the measure `dt' from the end of certain equations `to lighten the notation'. By doing that, one ends up with the wrong equation!)

As the author clearly indicates at the beginning, though reasonably self-contained, the book is by no means intended for a first course on option theory. However, for readers familiar with the basic facts of options and futures (at the level of Hull's book), this is a great book to read. I personally learnt an enormous lot from a first reading. I highly recommend it.

Great for intuitive understanding
The book places more emphasis on an intuitive grasp of the complex mathematics involved, though this must mean giving up rigour to an extent.

Essential Reference for Exotic Options
This book may be the best resource on exotic interest rate options. Riccardo Rebanato takes a difficult topic and gives it a thorough and clear treatment so that any professional can tackle the models for these products. Derivatives professionals will also want to know more about credit derivatives and will need an additional resource.

I highly recommend "Credit Derivatives" (2nd Edition) by Tavakoli. Tavakoli discusses this class of exotic options with clear product description illustrates both the the customer - including hedge funds - and professional applications.

Most comprehensive book wirtten on this topic
It is really a pleasure to read this book. While covering the most important topics it remains focused on the essentials. Whenever you have to deal with a concept in the literature about fixed income instruments you are not aware off Rebonato is always a good reference to start with, similar to Hull's or Wilmott's book.

Rebonato addresses consequently practical implementation issues (although not coevering the technical details of the implementation algorithms - read the original papers for that!) that are frequently missing in so many academic publications. This makes it to one of my favorit books on my book shelf. I am looking forward to his next book on intrest rate derivatives. ... Read more

Book Description

Wiley Online Trading For A Living

Beat Risk and Reap Rewards Like A Pro!

The Compelling True Story of Howa Top Market Maker Built a Successful Trading Business

Praise for How I Trade Options

"To much of the outside world, trading appears to be as incomprehensible as rocket science. What Jon Najarian has done in this engaging and very readable book is to 'demystify' the world of options for both the aspiring trader and the retail investor. How I Trade Options is a rare opportunity to look over the shoulder of this experienced options trader, teacher, and lecturer." –Lewis J. Borsellino, CEO/Founder, www.TeachTrade.Com; Author, The Day Trader: From the Pit to the PC

"How I Trade Options gives retail investors who have little or no prior knowledge the insight into how options work and how to use them effectively and responsibly. For those who want to learn about options, this is a rare opportunity to learn from a master trader. Najarian shows commitment to educating investors on the use of options to enhance their portfolios." –Rance Masheck, President, Quantum Vision Inc.

"Not only is Jon Najarian a Supertrader, he is a Superteacher. I owe much of my good fortune to Jon Najarian. I learned more from him than I had learned in an entire decade–plus it was fun! Jon’s abilities to make his profitable trading strategies understandable are sure to make How I Trade Options a must-have tool that every option trader will want to own." –Don Fishback, Developer of the Fishback Option Pricing Model

"Jon Najarian is a world-class options trader and a world class options educator. His crystal clear explanations of such strategies as vertical spreads empower the average investor to participate in attractive options approaches that, until now, have been dominated by professional traders." –Bernie Schaeffer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Schaeffer’s Investment Research, Inc.

Please visit our Web site at www.wileyfinance.com ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Friends,family only giving 5 stars.
Did you hear about when Amazon accidentally uncovered the identities of some of the reviewers and it was discovered that a lot of Authors were giving their own books numerous 5 stars reviews?This book in my opinion is a classical example of that,the book has no structure,no organisation.The author blows his trumpet a lot about his farcical NFL career (who cares).It is truly an awful book on options and I would be willing to give my copy away for free.I would give it 0 stars if Amazon would have given me that option,buyer beware.

Love me please .... honestly I am great
This book was a disappointment. Talk about an ego. All full of himself when he carried the water bucket for the Chicago Bears.

Seriously, there is no useful information in this book about option trading. There is no strategy that you can apply. I would give my book to charity but whats the point.

I see Mr. Najarian in Chicago trying to look like Steven Seagal with the pony tail.

Pass on this book. Stick with Mcmillan or Fontanills. Even Schaeffer hits the mark compare with Jon Najarian. PS Why the "dr" label either trying to copy his successful father or imply he is qualified. Well not qualified in options books

TO "A READER FROM INDIANA"
This is exactly why this man has made this book. Only people who don't understand how to trade options correctly would give a review like that. I have had the oppertunity to work with Dr. J and learn the real way to trade options and if anyone reads the book you don't buy options, OR stocks in that matter, last minute, you buy them for 3 to 6 months. I believe this book doesn't tell you all there is to tell, it wasn't written that way. It is to show you how he makes his money. People like that guy from Indiana makes me glad I make money off him. BOOK IS GREAT!

Save Your Time and Pass On This One.
There are 2 real option books: 1) Options: Perception Deception and 2) Option Volatility & Pricing by Natenberg. Maybe there are a few others; but the 50 I've read have been useless.

"How I Trade Options" I would re-title as "Why I Am Fabulous and A Couple Option Stories" There is not one method in this book that will put option profits in your pocket.

An example of his trading: Way back when Yahoo was going up $20 each day for weeks, he finally saw this pattern and bought some shares and sold within minutes for a $2 profit. Can anyone tell me how that adds to my options or trading knowledge? I know people that made a fortune on those Yahoo runups - and they weren't professional traders; and all Dr. J got was $2.

Buy the real options books I mentioned and leave this celebrity puffery for Dr. J's personal library.

A Complete Insight Into How I Trade Options
Trade with the best. There are few better or faster ways to learn how to trade effectively than to seek out top traders and learn from them. An options pro for 20 years, Jon Najarian is quite simply one of the world's best options traders.

It is not just his storied career at the world's premier options exchange, extensive experience trading on and off the floor, gold-plate credentials or nationwide educational presentations that make him such a credible and effective teacher. Najarian possesses the genuine gift of clear communication: the ability to convey at times complex ideas in comprehensible, readily accessible, and memorable language.

Importantly, clear communication is one of the hallmarks of "Dr. J's" How I Trade Options, part of John Wiley & Sons publication's "Online Trading For A Living" book series. Jon has given me a personalized tour of the Chicago Board Options Exchange and I was present at his seminar at TradingMarkets2000 at the Venetian, so I am familiar with his communication style. Throughout the read, I felt like Jon was talking to me, articulating the basics, anticipating my questions, making a subject that can be perplexing, eye-opening, and even fun.

I don't trade options--yet--but this book had the mysterious quality of making me feel ready to do so. Mysterious because it sublimely entered my consciousness, unwittingly rendering me suddenly capable of understanding when and why to employ an Iron Butterfly strategy. Or why never to sell straddles. Or when and why bull call spreads--and bear put spreads--make sense (they get 90% of the profit potential of a naked call or put for half the investment and at only a fraction of the downside risk due to volatility and time decay). Prior to reading this book, questions loomed about options trading--How I Trade Options answered many of them.

How I Trade Options also provides a personal account of Dr. J's life (the initials on his trading badge were chosen in deference to his famous surgeon father, known by the same acronym). From his high school days with (the artist formerly known as) Prince, to Berkeley, to the Chicago Bears, to the big leagues of trading, to inventor, to his role as one of the de facto trading ambassadors at the CBOE, Jon shares with you an overview of his storied life.

There is something here for longer-term investors as well as traders with shorter time frames, as he shows you readily comprehendible strategies used by institutions on how to add value to existing portfolios, how to take out the equivalent of an insurance policy on your stocks, and how to "repair" or take steps to "make whole" a portfolio ravaged by an untoward move--remember 2000, the Nasdaq's worst year on record? Also of interest to longer-term stake holders are strategies involving LEAPS, long-term options.

Other things you'll learn from one of the best minds in the industry:

--The difference between American and European style options.
--What it takes to succeed in trading.
--Low-cost ways to speculate and take advantage of leverage.
--When to do what, and more importantly, why.
--How to play the broad market.
--How to play from the short side.
--How to get the right tools--quotes, software, brokers, and continuing education.
--Myriad details on the inner workings of stock, options, and the players that will enhance your overall comprehension of the broad market.

Barring personalized instruction and perhaps a personalized tour of the CBOE by one of its biggest players, this may be the next best thing. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

This is no beginner book, let alone for the comp. idiot
If you are brand new to the world of stocks and options (like me), this is NOT the book for you. This book is 180º from "easy". Reading this has been an exercise in massive frustration. Every other sentence was greek to me, even from the first chapter onwards.

I purchased this book based on the customer reviews below. All gave it high marks. The mistake I made was not recognizing that most of the reviewers were already well versed in not only trading, but the language of trading. Furthermore, all of the other editorial reviews and quotes that I found on this book are from people in the business of stocks. This is like asking a Unix coder if a piece of software is "easy to use." They will not be able to give a true answer because they no longer remember what a beginner's mind is.

This actually may be a very, very well written book. The only error may be the incorrect cover and title, saying that it was written for the complete beginner, the complete and utter idiot. That is just not true. Scott Barrie may be the best options trader in the world, he may also be a brilliant writer. Neither of these qualify him to write a beginner's book. It takes extraordinary skills to take a complex topic and describe it so that anyone can understand.

Nice book
If you have to start somewhere it might as well be here. This book is one of a kind. It opens up the world of futures and options perfectly. The author, Mr.Barrie, doesn't hesitate to tell you about your risks potential. He emphasizes it over and over in fact. The only thing he doesn't develop fully is why futures and options are so risky.

In my 11 years as a futures investor, broker, and author, I have come to discover that leverage is the criminal that makes futures so risky. If Mr.Barrie had spent more time developing that along with some solidly proven money management techniques I would have given him a 5 star rating.

I don't advise options but if you do try them buy this book
I personally prefer stock, bonds, and mutual funds, but you can make a ton of money trading futures and options. As the author says "People can reap huge profits, or lose their shirts".

The book gives a very good overview of all the major markets, including history of futures trading as well as how large an order should be, the typical margin put up, and how volitle of and investment a particular futures market can be, like advising corn as a good starting point and staying away from metals. I also agree with that philosophy. Another thing the author does in explaing the markets that i like is that he informs the reader of all the factors that can influence price fluctuations and how to try to time your movements into and out of the markets based on these trends. I also like that he does admit that there is a time to sell a winner and to sell a loser to cut your loses instead of going deeper in debt. sometimes it is best to get out after your first margin call.

The thing that I think makes the book most valuable are the options strategies. These also work very well with stocks and some index funds. As the author states these are very limited profit potential, but there is also very little risk. If you guess the market pretty well then there is almost no risk. My favorite of these is also the most basic the straddle option. Here you can make money if prices go up on down, but not if they remain fairly consistent. You typically purchase and at the money call ( right to buy) option and an at the money put option ( right to sell)the only risk involved is the money that is initially paid for the option. Both are purchase at roughly the same strike price so if a price swing up or down will net the option holder some money. Their are other strategies such as the bear put spread, and bull call spread as well as married options were you are actually buying futures. I personally do not like the three becasue all involve selling an options contract which theoretically can have unlimited loss potential. Unless you are very experienced and have a good track record stay away from them.

In conclusion options and futures are very risky intruments. I would advise simply playing the stocks and funds, but if you like this market i would advise buying optiosn, the most you risk there is the amount you paid for the options, and there are no margin calls, I persoanlly know someone who was almost driven to bankruptcy becasue he did not know what he was doing and got into the futures market. I must admit though that the futures market intrests me more than and other area of finance and investing.

Simple clear and thorough
I have read a few books on futures and find many gaps in basic information. As I struggle to put the pieces together, this book was a breath of fresh air. Comprehensive, including interesting history of the beginnings of these markets. Thorough, including pricing, quote info, basic info on each commodity, financial, index, etc. You need other readings about options, but the BEST basic book on commodities and futures

At last a book that teaches someone how to use Seasonals
As a CTA, I'm always on the lookout for books that will help people learn to be better traders. Even though I'm a big believer in using the technicals, incorporating these seasonal strategies can only help one to have more winning trades and fewer losses.

This book was a real eye-opener for me and I recommend it to anyone who trades for a living or wants to learn to trade... ... Read more

Book Description

This concluding volume of Larry Williams' revolutionary work. Includes over 50 pages of Larry's personal day trading knowledge.A money management technique to give you a 99% probability of doubling your money.The Ultimate Oscillator, the Zero Balance Method, loads more.This book is filled from cover to cover with usable hands-on trading strategies and tools. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Great guide!
Mr.Williams never ceases to amaze me. He has done a phenomenal job of putting this compendium together. He doesn't get bogged down in trivial mathematics. He makes futues accessible to the lay person. I have been trading futures as an investor and broker for the past 11 years. ... With my experience I find it is very important that new investors feel like futures is accessible. Mr.Williams does that in all of his books. The is definitely a great reference guide.

no meat
i feel larry is giving a morsel here and a morsel there and not giving away the real meat! Disappointed.

besides it a dated book, needs an upgrade

satish paul

no meet
i feel larry is giving a morsel here and a morsel there and not giving away the real meat! Disappointed.

besides it a dated book, needs an upgrade

satish paul

not much meat
i feel larry is giving a morsel here and a morsel there and not giving away the real meat! Disappointed.

besides it a dated book, needs an upgrade

satish paul

holding back a lot
i feel larry is giving a morsel here and a morsel there and not giving away the real meat! Disappointed.

besides it a dated book, needs an upgrade

satish paul ... Read more

Book Description

In today’s changing political and economic environment, it is increasingly important that companies learn to properly use various trading instruments to protect themselves against price volatility. Since the first successful energy futures contract was introduced almost a quarter century ago, trading in energy futures and options has played an important role in hedging against fluctuations in the price of petroleum products, crude oil, natural gas, propane, electricity, and most recently, coal.

In this 2nd edition of their best-selling primer, authors Steven Errera and Stewart L. Brown explain how exchange traded futures and options markets work, and how companies can successfully use the markets in their overall strategy to increase profitability. They cover everything from market mechanics, hedging, spread trading, and technical trading to the history and growth of the markets.Also included in an extensive appendix detailing contract specifications for thirteen energy futures/options contracts. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Very Good Primer
This is an excellent and invaluable learning tool. It is helpful to have some financial experience, namely understanding some of the terms like call and put,etc, so that you may spend more time focusing on the concepts, but not absolutely necessary.
The book is logically organized to start with an overview of the futures market,followed by an overview of futures, generalized hedging, and options. All topics are related to energy commodities with easy to understand explanations. Relevant details relating to the energy market (definitions of spark spreads, inter-exchange hedging strategies, etc) are included.
Although I could not go into the market and trade commodities after reading this book, I could understand the overall concept of hedging energy futures and options and this serves as an excellent primer to the next level.
I would say that this book is at about the college senior level, easy on the math and not heavy on modeling. I would recommend it for the beginning MBA student but not at a PHD level.

Outstanding material on trading energy futures and options
Thanks to the authors for presenting this information in language that is understandable to the masses. You have demystified a topic that is often encrypted.

Many people in the energy business would benefit greatly in their overall understanding by reading this book! It is well-organized and makes the complex business of hedging futures contracts seem logical.

I have worked with wholesale energy traders and seen the trading floor with it's live weather maps, analytical systems, and 100 or so traders and I thought it was an exciting environment. Understanding P/(L) positions, mark to market, and familiarizing with the multitude of hedging strategies has made this intriguing business all the more interesting to me.

The book delivers exactly what its title implies. Thank you, again!

easy to understand
The Fundamentals of Trading Energy Futures & Options was one the best business books I've read. It was easy to read and understand. The book is well written and earned its cost in my first hour of trading. I highly recommend this book.

Extremely disappointed
If you're looking for a book to teach the basics of trading options and futures, this one might do you. Of course, for that purpose, it's about $50 overpriced. If you're wanting to learn more about the fundamentals of evaluating energy markets, this book really has absolutely nothing to say. Don't be fooled by the title.

A Clear Description of (Energy) Futures Markets
Mr Errera and Mr Brown are drowing a clear picture of energy futures markets. Many complex subjects are turned into a readable and comprehensible form. In my opinion, this book sould be your own book! ... Read more

Book Description

This guide covers everything from calls and puts to collars and rolling up, over, or out. It takes the mystery out of options contracts, explains the language of options trading, and lays out some popular options strategies that may suit various portfolios and market forecasts. If you're curious about options, this guide provides the answers to your questions. ... Read more

Book Description

Ed's new trading booklet is an outstanding collection of perfectly illustrated classic chart patterns that will serve as a great reference for any trader. This booklet contains the essential techniques that Ed uses everyday in his market analysis.

Some of the topics covered include: - How to Determine Market Direction
- Basic Money Management
- Setting Profit Targets and Stop Loss Points
- The 7 Most Profitable Charts
... all condensed into just 42 pages!

After some 20 years of study including more than 100 books on technical analysis, Ed Downs has now condensed his most successful techniques into a practical, easy to read desk top reference that will help traders become experts at reading charts. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A Joke
I worked for the author. I think the most telling point is he does not trade. He sells software and writes books for you to trade but very rarely executes trades himself. That should tell you a LOT.

Simple but Sublime
I agree whole-heartedly with the writer above who stated that this book is simple but gets right to the point. These are the basics, of course you want to build on it by reading other books, but you will rarely find this much helpful imforation in so few pages. (While curious about his software (Omni-trader) I don't think I would leave Tradstation for anything else.)I've read hundreds of books on trading and sometimes I have to put everything aside and review the basics and this book is quick at hand. If you master his simple techniques and use good money management you will be a successful trader. I'm sure many traders want to feel what we do is far more sophisticated but it doesn't have to be. That's the point. Don't stray far from the basics taught here.

GAD

GAD

DANGER: AVOID
... I wasn't happy with the software design or signals, but when the data download software stopped working only months after I bought the product making it useless, they told me they didn't know how to fix it? and I would have to "upgrade" for more money, eventually they kept all the product cost without resolving the problems and ignored all my correspondence. I am a Tradestation Easy Language expert, I have been trading and investing now for over ten years including consulting with online sites, and I know for myself how important it is from the very start to cut losses, but just as importantly to cut costs, because reality check, I never found any "system" in my own exhaustive testing that works consistently well. So if I could do it all over, as Trader Vic Sperandeo points out, capital preservation is bottomline crucial for success, I would buy absolutely nothing except a few good inexpensive books with all of the core technicals and fundamentals thoroughly covered. A somewhat useful free book is Charlie Wright's "Trading as a Business" from Omega Research, customer support has always been acceptable to me, and my brother likes his Supercharts software, a relatively inexpensive way to test ideas and find out there is no "system." This "Seven Chart Patterns.." book was mailed to us free of charge by the way and I think it is worth reading for free, probably by contacting Nirvana Systems, but I will personally never do business with them again. "Piranha" Systems demonstrated to me through their business character and my bad experience just how much they support, value, and respect me the customer.

Quality not quantity
This book doesn't ramble, and instead cuts right to the chase. It features basic, straightforward rules for watching chart patterns. No frills, no bs, just the basics. I gave it 5 stars because this is what investment books should be like. I've seen other financial books with tens times the number of pages, but only one-tenth the info.

If you track charts, this book is a must.

Don't read too much into the title
This book covers only the basic of basics. It does not even begin to teach you how to recognise the patterns that the author skims over.

Be prepared also to read about the virtues of the trading system that the author is subtly marketing - they are not unique! For the price you pay for this 'brochure', you will gain much more from one of John Murphy's or Vic Sperandeo's books. ... Read more

Book Description

Reflecting today’s market realities and the new innovative options products available, this fourth edition features an in-depth analysis of volatility and volatility trading; updated information on all stock option strategies, reflecting recent market conditions; buy and sell strategies for Long Term Equity Anticipation Securities (LEAPs); detailed guidance for investing in the growing field of structured products; the latest developments in futures and futures options; and the market impact of the most recent changes in the margin rules.

Packed with graphs and charts to clarify profit and loss potential, margin requirements, and criteria for selection of a position, this classic remains an indispensable resource for investors determined to master the world of options--and profit. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

The CBOE should require ALL traders to read it!
Most people who trade either stocks, options, or futures lose money. This is because they 1) are undercapitalized, 2) have no system or 3) don't understand the instrument they trade. 4) some combination of 1, 2, and 3. This book won't help you if you don't go into the market with enough money, but it will help you develop your own system (after a lot more research) and figure out how to use options to increase returns or limit risk.

This book describes just about every fundamental strategy you could try with options. It covers the total return concept of covered call writing, the pros and cons of option buying, examines various types of spreads (vertical, calendar, and diagonal) and the various delta (price) neutral strategies.

There is some advanced math here (in an appendix), but anyone of average intelligence and stock market knowledge could follow it.

Don't pay attention to those reviewers who trash the book--they have no clue. I constantly refer to this book in order to gain a better understanding of different option strategies. No matter which direction option markets evolve, the information of this book will still apply.

The Best Reference Book on Options
I won't say I've read every book on Options out there, but I've looked at a range, from the very complex, full of calculus equations and whatnot, to the very simple, and to my mind, this is the best out there. First of all, it is very thorough and well organized. It goes step by step through virtually every option strategy, analyzing the various payoffs, follow-up actions if the market goes against you, etc. It is written clearly and concisely, with lots of examples. One reviewer says it's too complicated. If you think this book is too complicated, then you simply should not be trading options. Period. Another critic says there are too many examples. Yes, there are a lot of examples, and if you find you understand the concepts the author describes just fine without the example, then you'll probably just skip them. However, if there is something you don't quite get, the examples are a real help. I think some reviewers were hoping for a book that would tell them how to get rich in a few months trading options. Well, good luck, and let me know when you find it. But for a terrific reference that every serious amateur will go back to time and again, then this book should be the first on your Options bookshelf.

Anything you want to know about Options is here
This is the most comprehensive book written on options and its strategies. There is nothing missing in here. The book covers all the strategies and each includes all the calculations needed to figure out what you have at risk. After reading this book I was able to calculate margin requirements, profit, loss, and risk.

Paperback version is ONLY a workbook
Please note, if you order paperback, it is not the text of the hardback version, but only problems to work on.

This is THE book.
Try as I might, I cannot understand the negative reviews here. This is THE book on options. McMillan writes clearly and well. There is nothing glib here -- no promises of great wealth, no hype, no pandering to fools. What is here is solid information presented well and thoroughly.

A criticism that came up more than once (copy cat reviews?) is that the book doesn't show practical stuff. What! It provides all the information that any reasonably intelligent person needs to UNDERSTAND exactly what the strategies are and when to apply them. To ask for more is to ask for easy and oversimplified answers that will part you from your money.

The book is thick. True. You don't need all that is in it. True. The book is frightening or dull or not as useful as (gimme a break!) Wade Cook!!!

Hey! It's a text book, not a novel. Wake up! You can use it to find what YOU want to know.

There is more useful information in this book than in any hustler's high-priced and hype-filled seminar. It's all you need and it's currently selling for less $. Don't get scared off by the negative reviews or you'll miss out on the most respected and best of all the many books written on options.

If you're not willing to spend $ and a little effort to learn about options, you're not likely to profit from them. Buy the book. Then, sit down and read in it to find the definitive answers to your option questions. It simply doesn't get any more accurate, any clearer, or any better.

(Oh yes, one or two reviewers suggested that the book is out of date. ... Read more

Book Description

The latest developments in chaos theory — from an industry expert

Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets was the first book to introduce and popularize chaos as it applies to finance. It has since become the classic source on the topic. This new edition is completely updated to include the latest ripples in chaos theory with new chapters that tie in today's hot innovations, such as fuzzy logic, neural nets, and artificial intelligence.

Critical praise for Peters and the first edition of Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets

"The bible of market chaologists." — BusinessWeek

"Ed Peters has written a first-class summary suitable for any investment professional or skilled investor." — Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities

"It ranks among the most provocative financial books of the past few years. Reading this book will provide a generous payback for the time and mental energy expended." — Financial Analysts Journal

This second edition of Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets brings the topic completely up to date with timely examples from today's markets and descriptions of the latest wave of technology, including genetic algorithms, wavelets, and complexity theory.

Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets was the very first book to explore and popularize chaos theory as it applies to finance. It has since become the industry standard, and is regarded as the definitive source to which analysts, investors, and traders turn for a comprehensive overview of chaos theory. Now, this invaluable reference — touted by BusinessWeek as "the bible of market chaologists" — has been updated and revised to bring you the latest developments in the field.

Mainstream capital market theory is based on efficient market assumptions, even though the markets themselves exhibit characteristics that are symptomatic of nonlinear dynamic systems. As it explores — and validates — this nonlinear nature, Chaos and Order repudiates the "random walk" theory and econometrics. It shifts the focus away from the concept of efficient markets toward a more general view of the forces underlying the capital market system.

Presenting new analytical techniques, as well as reexamining methods that have been in use for the past forty years, Chaos and Order offers a thorough examination of chaos theory and fractals as applied to investments and economics. This new edition includes timely examples from today's markets and descriptions of cutting-edge technologies-genetic algorithms, wavelets, complexity theory-and hot innovations, such as fuzzy logic and artificial intelligence.

Beyond the history of current capital market theory, Chaos and Order covers the crucial characteristics of fractals, the analysis of fractal time series through rescaled range analysis (R/S), the specifics of fractal statistics, and the definition and analysis of chaotic systems. It offers an in-depth exploration of:

• Random walks and efficient markets — the development of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) and modern portfolio theory
• The linear paradigm — why it has failed
• Nonlinear dynamic systems — phase space, the Henon Map, Lyapunov exponents
• Applying chaos and nonlinear methods — neural networks, genetic algorithms
• Dynamical analysis of time series — reconstructing a phase space, the fractal dimension

Tonis Vaga's Coherent Market Hypothesis — the theory of social imitation, control parameters, Vaga's implementations

Plus, Chaos and Order now contains a Windows-compatible disk including data sets for running analyses described in the appendices.

Written by a leading expert in the field, Chaos and Order in the Capital Markets has all the information you need for a complete, up-to-date look at chaos theory. This latest edition will undoubtedly prove to be as invaluable as the first. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Poorly explained
I have a university maths degree and found the book very obvious and drawn out for the first few chapters. In spite of this I looked forward to what was going to be explained later. Suddenly from a very simple and easy to understand explanation on the EMH he starts to use mathematics in his equations that I had a lot of difficulty following. There was very little or no explanation of how these equations were arrived at and a lot of mathematics and statisics is assumed. This book does not apply the theory in ny meaningful way to the markets let alone the capital markets in my opinion. I found that I took very little away from this book and would not recommend it to anyone who has basic mathematics like myself or is looking for some deeper insight into the markets. I would hate to have Mr Peters as a teacher based on his book.

A very good introduction
I read this book, the 1991 version, years ago. Around 1980 my own attempts to crack share prices statistically convinced me that all share prices behaved like a Gaussian random walk meaning that all speculation was comparable with playing roulette and I am not one of those guys who usually wins when gambling. This view was strengthened when the option pricing model came up, meaning that even the real pro's in the field assume that share prices are nothing but a random walk. This book has opened my eyes to the fact that there is much more to randomness than just the Gaussian curve. Share prices are not fully random. Impressive is the demonstration that an RS analysis on the real data is different when applying the same RS analysis on scrambled data. So there is information hidden in these time series, somewhere. Since then I have picked up the subject of cracking time series again with great pleasure. I think this book is exceptionally well written and without it I doubt if I would have been able to follow Mandelbrot's book "scaling and fractals in finance" that I bought later. The book is about understanding a subject, not about learning a simple formula to apply on a time series.

A dated overview, with little real meat
The second edition of this book was published in 1996. The book
seems to be largely based on Feder's 1988 book "Fractals". The
dated nature of this book means that it is missing later work
on long memory processes, which Peters estimates using the Hurst
exponent.

As one reviewer already noted, don't assume that this book will
provide much in the way of useful equations. For anyone who wants
more than an overview, this book is a disappointment. Peters does
a poor job of explaining the equations and I did not find enough
detail to implement the algorithms discussed (I turned to Feder's
book and various journal articles). The book does come with a
"floppy" disk containing the Visual Basic algorithms. This is
a poor choice, since C is pretty much the lingua franca for
algorithms.

The various chaos and fractal techniques are applied to a handful
of financial data sets, but this is far from even a solid
suggestion that these techniques might be useful to anyone
developing real market models.

Some of the conclusions that Peters draws (cycles in financial
data) do not seem to be supported the evidence he presents.

In summary, if you are looking for something beyond an overview,
save your money. Feder ("Fractals") has a better description of
RS calculation. "A Non-Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Lo
and MacKinlay has a chapeter on the application of the RS
statistic and long-memory processes which is much better than
Peters. For those who need to simulate fractal brownian motion
(data sets with a particular Hurst exponent) "The Science of
Fractal Images" by Barnsley et all is a good reference.

Good overview, bad balance
If you're looking for a purely conceptual introduction to how chaos theory can be applied to financial markets, this book is as good a source as any. Peters's discussion of R/S statistics and the graphical examples drawn from the markets are clear and intuitive (Ch. 7-8). The key point demonstrating long-term memory effects in the market is well made.

However he spends an inordinate amount of time attacking the foundations of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) to the point of being boring, yet the argument boils down to "it has errors when compared to reality". Duh, so does every other theory, including fractal. The real issue is "for the error in theory A, how bad are the results X, and is theory B much better at it?" If you're not going to do that, don't spend 40 pages (Ch. 1-4) on it. This is misleading to those not familiar with EMH, and boring to those who are.

Don't look to this book for good math. In my edition (1991), careless and erroneous notations abound. Also, the equations are written in BASIC notation which is notoriously hard to visualize, but this is probably the fault of the editor/publisher. Peters makes frequent and unannounced jumps between the apparent rigor of math and loose conjectures. The math is distracting to a qualitative reader, and the conjectures irritating to the quantitative one. Better to cater to one audience, and do it well.

Still, I would recommend this book as a good conceptual introduction to the subject. But if you're planning to go deeper, use the equations in this book at your own perils. Go to the source.

Commit it to the flames
For those of you intrigued by chaos versus the financial markets, I would suggest you get the basic knowledge in Garnett P. Williams "Chaos Theory Tamed" (if you don't mind being explained in the first twenty chapters things like the laws of exponents and logarithms), or the Devaney books, for people with some maths. By the time you finish these honest, carefully and painstakingly written books, you will have a fair understanding of what chaos theory is about, and you will also see that while it is interesting stuff, it is hard to imagine it having any practical relevance to finance, since finance is the realm of stochastic, not deterministic phenomena.

Mr. Peters' readers will not have the chance of gaining such a perspective on chaos or on finance, alas. Mr. Peters hasn't produced a clear, comprehensible text, but rather a imprecise and frustrating piece, presumably written in a very short time, filled with a huge number of graphs having epsilon informational content. It is also full of conceptual mistakes - Mr. Peters most probably doesn't have a good grasp of what he's speaking about, but to be fair, it is hard to tell since the implicit message of the book is: "Hey, like I'm going to give out all my secrets...! Forget it, baby!", so the readers are never given all of the story. Readers therefore have to decide whether they believe that the author has found a meaningful and secret way to use chaos, that unfortunately will not be revealed, or whether the author should be put in the same category as those who write about Crystals or Financial Astrology.

Can smart people make profit with chaos theory? Certainly! However, the only way to do so is by writing books about it...

Profit which seems interesting, since Wiley accepted to publish a second product from Mr. Peters, thereby losing all credibility as an editor of financial books. ... Read more

Book Description

A classic book that was updated and revised in 1994, now with a new foreword written by the author.A meaningful analysis, a few rules to follow, how to choose good charts, and numerous case histories.Guidelines to follow which help you to be self-reliant. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Why five stars ??
When I started reading this book I was disappointed. The background chapters that attempt to teach Technical Analysis for example are covered somewhat better in other books (see John Murphy).

But the treasure of this awesome book is in the examples and stories in the later chapters. I wish I had read this book a couple of years ago. From a number of books that I have read, it talks quite a bit about short selling and risk. In my opinion .. it is a five star book ..

Best trading book I've ever read
I have been an investment professional for over 20 years. I have read dozens of books--most long before the flood of "you to can be a super trader" trash of the 1990s. This is the best one. Mamis is an original and independent thinker. The book deals with psychology, tactics, technical indicators. His "How to Buy" is not nearly as good.

If you don't have a real-life mentor...
If you invest, wish you had a mentor on the trading floor, but don't know anyone who works on the exchange, you should read this book. Mamis discusses not only market indicators so you can better time buys and sells, but explains what happens on the trading floor and how the professionals -- the "they" many investors refer to grudgingly -- benefit from herd psychology. After reading this you will better understand why the "average investor" is more likely to lose than win, and why many people, in fact, subconsciously prefer to lose. Mamis has an easy style which reflects his many years of investing experience -- it is not a dry, academic discusson of the market.

Along with "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" and a couple of others, this is one of the best and most informative books I've read about the market.

Great info. Still totally relevant
This book has a lot of good information. Should have bought it some years ago and saved myself a lot of money and worry at the market.

Even though it was written some time ago, the methodology and tools it helps one creates are very current. For example, the Overbought/Oversold oscillator it helps one develop is the exactly the same as Helene Meisler from Realmoney.com uses to help readers out at that subscription site.

Easily worth the money and will make anyone a better participant in the market.

best of the best
I've read many investment books, both on technical and fundamental anaylsis. This is by far the best. Most books if followed will cause you to lose significant money; not this book. I highly recommend this book. Also Justin's book "The Nature is Risk" is the seconded best investment book I've read. ... Read more

Book Description

In January of 1994, Nicholas Maier hopped on a train that took him from Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he lived with his parents, to New York's Penn Station. With his wallet stuck in his sock, he headed down to the heart of the Wall Street district for a meeting with Jim Cramer that would change his life forever. For the next five years, Maier would work like a slave inside Jim Cramer's hedge fund, a limited partnership that included only the wealthiest investors, where rules were scarce and where, in his glory days, Jim Cramer managed almost a half a billion dollars, raking in phenomenal returns.

Entranced by the game, Maier quickly rose from the office assistant fetching sandwiches from the deli downstairs to a trader playing with a fifty-million-dollar portfolio. But under the pressure of Jim's constant war, Maier's adrenaline rush wore off, and the dark side of Wall Street was revealed: Maier had become exhausted and money driven -- at his worst moments swapping tranquilizers with his coworkers and passing out on a New York subway.

This is a true insider's story -- an honest, raw, page-turning account that takes us on a journey through the volatile, anything-goes world of hedge funds. From Cramer & Company to the brokerage houses and analysts to the reporters who cover the market action, we are shown a Wall Street where almost everyone is dirty -- a world where even the SEC fails to maintain order.

At the heart of this narrative is an incredible character study of Jim Cramer, one of Wall Street's brightest stars. Employing any means possible to make money, Cramer engaged in brilliant but questionable strategies that danced on the edge of ethics and legality. A typical day inside the fund would begin with Cramer's declaration, "I love the smell of money in the morning," followed by a boom-box serenade of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise." At the first sign of trouble, however, Cramer would turn paranoid and vicious, smashing phones and computer monitors and screaming insults that would leave even the toughest employees in tears.

In the tradition of Liar's Poker, this fascinating account of greed and excess on Wall Street will inevitably force the business world to reassess itself through the story of one young man who walked away from it all. ... Read more

Reviews (74)

Captures the man!
As the pages turn, I get a perfect visual of Jim Cramer screaming and waving his arms as he exhorts his team to maximize the profits in their hedge fund. It's a hedge fund as any viewer of Kudlow and Cramer would expect, with Cramer waving his arms, pulling at his tie, and screaming at the top of his lungs.

It is easy to visualize the temper tantrums and computer terminals getting smashed. The book also describes Maier's descent into the madness of a hyperactive "blame the enemy" day trader. The personalities are clearly spelled out, and it's easy to understand the motivations of the key players.

The book is easily accessible to the layman. The trading methodologies used are easily explained, as are the alleged improprieties commited by Jim Cramer. The book reads quickly, and is easily digested over a 3 hour flight.

The one thing I struggle with is, "Is it true?" In the end, none of the formal charges against Cramer stuck, and no hard evidence was produced. To Maier's credit, he ends with a favorable review of Cramer's long term returns.

Required Reading for Everyone in the Business World!
I read this book in a day -- I could not put it down. Besides being extremely well written and at times down right hysterical (I had to set it down twice while I could not stop laughing!), it drives home a major point that too many people in the business world have only started thinking about since September 11 -- is it worth it? I hardly knew who Jim Cramer was and it doesn't matter. There are a million other business executives that "model" the kind of behavior Jim Cramer exhibited in this book. I know firsthand after 20+ years in Fortune 500 companies. But why do we sit back and tolerate, promote and enrich people who scream at their secretaries and copier repairmen, turn the air blue with their foul language, entertain themselves by belittling others and value money far above fundamental ethics or concern for fellow human beings? Maier's book is the perfect reading material for those who need a laugh over the ridiculous corporate cultures we've come to rationalize as acceptable -- and who may need the courage to walk away.

Inside Wall Street "laid bare"...
To say that Jim Cramer is "intense" masks the true nature of this man's character...if what Nicholas Maier tells us is true, the general public should be very worried that people like Cramer are handling billions of dollars of assets and have an important say in the country's financial security. I was literally appalled at the nature of the day trading depicted in the fast-moving world of hedge funds and can think of no reason why the SEC let this continue when they had a chance to stop it. This is the type of emotion, I'd wager, that Maier solicited when he wrote this otherwise fine account of life on Wall Street. "Trading with the Enemy" is a fast-paced and wide-open telling of what it was like to work at Wall Street