Trading Books

Like some of the others had mentioned, this book is more targeted towards students with degrees from elite schools. This book actually gave me further insight into how discriminating the hiring processes are. Basically, everything in your life that happens between the youthful ages of 18-22 will determine whether or not you can get into investment banking.

This industry ignorantly rewards people who succeeded during an age when they were barely out of their parents' watchful eye. Certainly, such Ivy Leaguers deserve credit for their achievements; but why must such ignorance exist? What about someone with a 4.0 from an above-average university (ie. Univ. of Wisconsin, UCLA, Miami of Ohio) who didn't attend an Ivy League school merely because they didn't exceed a 1300 on an SAT AT THE AGE OF 17????

In short, this book reaches a limited audience, and reveals how narrow-minded the recruiting processes of the industry are. After reading this book, I learned that if you haven't been perfect (or close to perfect) in your academics by the age of 18 or so, you can kiss a career in investment banking good-bye...

This book gives a good overview of the different facets of management consulting and investment banking. For those considering a MBA as a transition to these two career paths, this is a good place to start your research. As my personal interest is Management Consulting . . .

1) The culture requires teamwork, high quality and constant change. "You are only as good as your last project." (pg 44)

2) "Most people at McKinsey don't need to be managed. It is a different dynamic - we are coached. . . managers are graded on how well they coach." (pg 57)

3) Critical skills: analytical skills, individualism, interpersonal skills and intellectual curiosity. (pg 145)

4) For interview questions concerning resume, use CAR approach:
Context: Set the stage
Action: What did you do?
Results: What was the impact?

5) Good list of interview questions (pg 199 - 200). The most interesting one I saw: "Where do you think the consulting industry is headed?"

6) Five qualities that distinguish a great case interview:
- structured response, shows you think clearly
- broad perspective, shows that you cover all the angles
- concise and linear manner of thinking and communicating
- business judgment, shows you can find the high-impact areas
- creative insights, shows that you can come up with ideas on your own

Another good resource for basics of management consulting:
...

Naficy's work is helpful for building a general understanding of these industries, the attributes sought in potential hires, and how to demonstrate these attributes.

Those serious about fast track careers should supplement their reading. This book was published in 1997 and is sorely in need of an update. To address your coverletters to Andersen Consulting would be a serious blooper (they are now Accenture). Although expensive, WetFeet and Vault publish some phenomenal in-depth reports that are more candid and current.

This is an amazinglingly helpful book for college student of all years who want to do Investment Banking and/or Consulting.

Started looking into similar stuff more than a year ago. Bought this book 3 month ago, just read it yesterday.

Reading the book is like hearing your bigger bro/sis telling you about the walks they have walked, about challegens you feel very uncertain/frustrated, and about what things REALLY are and how they could be done the BEST. Those experiecens are not told in a cold tone like in Vault or in some drab books by professionals who write resum/cover letter for a living. It is rather put together in a knowledgable, guiding, rich-in-"meaningful"-example and willing-to-help way. Author's intention and effort in basing the knowledge of job-hunting process on what you may feel about certain things and what you may want to know the most are evident too.

Author's own experience where she "battled through grueling recrueting season, totaling about seventy-five intervews..." and getting into Goldman Sachs, and later into Gemini is curcial in above regards.

I came from an Ivy school and got offers from Goldman and Morgan Stanley coming out. My junior year I was recommended this book by a college career counselor as the one indispensable book to own. I agree and have recommended the same to others asking me for advice. It won't get you the job on its own (internet research and calls with former/current employees are a must), but its explanations of management consulting and investment banking are hugely helpful for approaching the interview process. Vault and Wetfeet are fine but too specific -- an applicant who has read this book and understands the overall shape of these two career paths and the goals behind the recruiting process for each will be much better prepared for the rigorous post-college interview process.

At the time this book was published, the Wall Street Journal noted that things had changed since the time of the "problems" Bookstaber wrote about and that they were extremely unlikely to occur again. Rick Bookstaber has proved to be remarkably prescient. "A Demon of Our Own Design" provides the best perspective to date (06/08) on the credit crisis. The book's gossipy style doesn't detract from it. What does is Bookstabler's lack of imagination in prescribing the cure of blocking innovation. Yet, here too, he may be prescient as the regulators seem to be moving very much in that direction. Much better on this point is Steinherr's "Derivatives: The Wild Beast of Finance". In the end, though, one need look no further than simple hubris (as to which see Lowenstien's "When Genius Failed", the story of Long-Term Capital Management), and no regulatory structure can prevent hubris --- at least none that we'd want to live under.

This is one of the few books that explains the reasons for much of today's financial crises (as it relates to the banks, anyways), in a way that transcends sanctimony and overgeneralizations. Bookstaber has seen how the incentives to take risks permeate in an organization, and why that's generally acceptable. He is one of the few that highlights the importance of the tight interconnectedness of financial counterparties that spreads financial infection.

This is an excellent book for understanding the nature of and pitfalls in financial innovation. It is the first coherent account of I have read of the nature, the purpose, and the inherent risks of hedge funds. Anyone risking their money in financial markets should read it.

The main point of this book is that as long as we have growing complexity in financial markets we are always going to have "accidents". Complex new rules and laws are not the answer, because "... trying to regulate a market entangled in complexity can lead to unintended consequences new safeguards add more complexity." On the final page Mr. Bookstaber recommends a solution to this problem: "... simpler financial instruments and less leverage will create a market that is more robust and survivable." And the book ends there. The author does not go on to discuss the inevitable problems implementation of his idea would encounter. How do you enforce the use of simpler financial instrument in a free market? Would not laws and rules written to require the use of simpler financial instruments and on the other hand forbid the use of those that are "too complex" become too complex themselves? Look at the results of our efforts to simplify our tax code. The question of how do we actually create the desirable coarse response mechanism of the cockroach in society of non-cockroaches is not addressed.
But the author deserves four stars for great job of describing the problem.

This book will be a great read if you want to know someone's way into the Wall Street's biggest companies and his experiences working in those companies, but you will not find anywhere in the book practical recommendations on how to manage risk of a fund. The author says that he was behind the October 1987 crash, because it's him who started the program trading at Morgan Stanley and then other firms started doing the same thing. By accumulating the hedge from the short side in S&P 500 futures they caused a crash. It sounds to me like Dr. Richard Bookstaber is proud that he was the one who was somehow connected to the crash of 1987. The most interesting part of the book was about Bookstaber's career at Salomon Brothers. The chapters about Salomon's arbitrage team in Japan are exciting. Rob Stavis and Andy Fisher brought a lot of dough to the firm and then left it. The money making technique is explained in the book as well, but then again, how did they manage the risk when they got into troubles? The trade of 1993 by Larry Hilibrand at Salomon is an amazing example of the real TRADER, someone who doesn't fear the risk and in the end takes it all. The position was in a loss of 300 millions dollars and ended up with a nice 1 billion $ profit for the company. But again, no strict money management rules were mentioned here. It was the board of directors of Salomon that let Hilibrand stick to the position and even increase it, why Dr. Bookstaber, the company's risk manager, didn't manage the situation remains unclear to me. The chapters of Complexity, Tight Coupling, and Normal Accidents contain too much explanation of the workings of a nuclear plant. Why a trader needs to know that? Why couldn't you simply bring examples instead of going into details like: " The operators resorted to what is termed high pressure injection to force cool water into the core. This raised issues of its own, as the sudden injection of cold water into the superheated core could crack the structure." (Page 150). Why do you think it's important for a reader to know the details of a nuclear plant structure and its functionality? The most boring part would be "Liquidity in Three Easy Lessons". Here you'd read something like:" The implications of primogeniture were most evident in the social organization of the countryside" (Page 216). Why should someone who is reading a book on risk management and trading read about countryside of medieval England? Eventually Bookstaber - Langsam paper "On The Optimality of Coarse Behavior Rules" was interesting and you could learn some surviving principles from this chapter. In the end of the book the author talks about reducing the complexity of the financial instrument and minimizing leverage as a way to prevent the crashes and make the markets robust. I doubt that reducing the leverage will help the markets become more robust, reduced complexity could do that. Is it a good read? Yes. Is it a practical book? No.

I bought this as a gift for someone who dabbles heavily at the suggestion of someone who is a serious investor.

Siegel presents a compelling case for investing in value stocks (shares of companies with lower price-to-earning ratios that use profits to pay dividends to shareholders rather than fund rapid growth). The author backs up his conclusions with lots of data, and his treatment of the historical context and tax implications of value investing is straightforward and thorough.

So much stock picking advice focuses on growth, sector analysis, and territoriality; in addition to all the hype, adherence to those theories requires a lot of research and trading. More importantly, much of that advice cuts against the lessons from my own experience regarding personal and professional development, and my experience regarding the way in which you grow anything - namely, an intuitive sense that discipline and long-term perspective are far more important than the latest thing, or getting lost in the details of something that seems appealing, but that you don't fully understand. If you've got a similar mindset, you'll find this a book to be a great resource.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/creativelawtalent

The research presented in this book is incredibly useful even if one doesn't agree with Dr. Siegel's recommended strategies.

I'm buying this book for several friends of mine as gifts.

This is a very good book. Highly recommended and well worth the time. It is normally tough to decide among the many competing books which one to read. As usually time available is the limiting factor. The author explains some very importants concepts to value investing with simplicity. At times it appears that the Author may be going too far to prove how he sounded the warning bells before the 2000 market crash, but overall I really enjoyed reading the book and had many take aways.

The professor touts stocks and funds that feature dividends.Up until 1958 dividend income on stocks exceeded the interest income on long term bonds. For this reason it is difficult to assume that the good professors recommendation to go for dividend income is a prudent strategy when his data is biased by a condition that does not exist in today's market. I would prefer to use index funds that provide excellent diversification and insure that you are being compensated for the risks taken. To explore this strategy I can recommend a book titled How to Make Money in the Stock Market Buy 2500 different stocks Pay no commission. It takes off where this book ends.

Investing does not take a lot of work, in fact, the more you read of the wrong material of which there is an abundant supply, the more you will trade, and the less you will make in the market.

Active buying and selling of stocks by individuals will only run up brokerage commissions and waste your time and money. Turning your money over to a professionally managed mutual fund is even worse because of the fees you are required to pay well compensated `experts' to waste their time. This book shows you how to invest using index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.


This book can be read and understood in 45 minutes to an hour.

The author follows the strategy promoted here. His portfolio contains over 8,200 different stocks and bonds all through index mutual funds and exchange traded funds. How to Make Money in the Stock Market-Buy 2,500 Different Stocks-Pay no Commission

I love this book. It is accurate and an easy read. I finished it in about a day. In addition to the the play, there are other related readings enclosed which give more insight to historical events and other perspectives. Out of all the copies I own, this is one of the better ones. A great deal, ships quickly and reasonably priced.

I have to admit that I was a big fan of L.A. Theatre Works long before I purchased The Crucible. L.A. Theatre Works has a weekly presentation of its performances on Sonic Theater, a XM Radio station.

This particular production is pretty much an all-star cast with the likes of Michael York and Richard Dreyfus. I purchased it as a tool for teaching The Crucible in my American literature class.

I used this as a review of the play for my students and was very pleased with the performances. A little disappointed with some of the cuts they made, but do realize the necessity for cuts.

I find that books on CD help my 17 year old get an edge on his English projects. He has a reading disability that makes conventional book reading difficult so books on tape or CD are an answer to his problems.

The L.A. Theatre Works' rendition of Miller's _The Crucible_ is an excellent demonstration of the actor's craft, as the tenor, pitch and emotive power of the play bring the characters to life. On the recommendation of Amazon reviewers, I used this for my English class (in addition to the Daniel Day-Lewis / Winona Rider DVD and a class read-around) to get a feel for the play and the various theatrical interpretations of the work.

As a previous reviewer noted, there are some differences between the audio version and Miller's script, but they are minor, and if one is not using the entire CD, a moot point. The performances are fantastic, and, as others have mentioned, it certainly gives life to the written word. Outside of a classroom, I couldn't recommend it, but as a teaching tool, it is first-rate.

Taleb once again. Although you may require some knowledge on futures and option trading to understand the bottom of the story, it is nice book, light to read and usefull. If you trade on futures and options you should take a look inside, not becuase of the technical content but to have a close look at the man's ideas.

Before starting as a trader I had studied Hull in college and took some 'advanced' investments classes. On the first day of work I was told to read 'Dynamic Hedging'.
My impression: Hull teaches you the (very) basics and Taleb gives you insight in the concepts that are truly relevant. However, do not expect to read it and get everything he writes. As it is written from a practicioner's point of view, things will probably only become cristal clear when you re-read it after spending a considerable amount of time in the dealing room.

Great book, very easy read as it is written in a conversational tone. Covers all the issues associated with derivative trading in an intuitive manner.

This isn't so much a review as an inquiry -

I'm still working through this book, but I've noticed that it is replete with algebraic errors. Taleb doesn't always go through every step of his calculations, so they're difficult to follow.

Does anyone else notice these errors or am I getting caught in the algebra? An example is on page 38 towards the top:

He says that 12,500,000/.985 is 1,269,000. Even with the rounding (shaving off the 355), I'd say he's off by a factor of 10. Shouldn't the answer by 12,690,000? To confirm this, in the next paragraph he writes that a 1 cent rise in the futures price will yield $125,000 in profits on the future (12,500,000*.01) or $126,900 on the forward hedge. Intuitively, it seems that to get $126,900, you could divide $125,000 by .985 or multiply 12,690,000 (the answer you should've previously arrived at) by .01.

There are other errors like this throughout the book - anyone else notice them?

Books-A_Million lists a revised edition, ISBN: 0471353477, with December, 2008, as a publication date. Their advance order price is $76.95.

Electronic Day Trading To Win is a must read not only because it explains the necessary theories behing day trading, but it also shows you the road map to getting started in a very practical way. This book is both informative and enjoyable to read combining the most pertinent information with some profound and humurous commmentary. I give this book a strong buy recommendation!!!

I am not only a Direct Access Trader, utilizing the strategy of Day Trading; I also own a Branch office where customers come to trade. I highly recommend this book for new traders, or people who are just beginning to be interested in the strategy of day trading. We have a short list of books, which we recommend to clients, and this is on my top 10 list for new clients.

This book good for an intermediate trader, or someone shopping around, it explains general terms and how the market works.

This would not be the most helpful book for practicing direct access traders, but it is an excellent book for a new comer.

A short statement should tell you all:
Electronic day trading to "LOSE": go ahead if you would like to learn how to LOSE the daytrading game.

** This is just an introductory book. Don't be misled by the name **
The first 3 chapters offer an introduction to daytrading and some of its backgrounds. So-so!
However you could easily find such information on the Internet. Sometimes they provide even more information than the book, not to say they are free of charge.


** All sorts of commonplace trading strategies! No secrets should be expected **
The rest of the chapters generally teach you how to trade. However what the authors provide is not their secrets to trade. I don't think they have any in mind, really. What they do is gather different traditional commonplace trading ideas and strategies which can be found in many introductory books like trading by news/rumours, earnings reports, analyst expectations to price/volume, chart patterns; and other people's work like William O'Neil stock selection method.
Very often, they switch from here to there, stuffing different trading ideas & strategies all over the book. Mentioning the "strategy's title" with a few descriptive paragraphs of what it means doesn't help anyone. I prefer they stick to a few and elaborate them in depth. It's not surprising to find one trading idea conflicts with another. Some of the trading ideas may do more harm than good in my opinions. Even worse, some of the trading methods are not for daytrading. I don't know why they are included in this book.
The book lacks proper organization and elaboration. Too bad! Can't learn!


** Their technical analysis suxks **
The part about technical analysis is a real pain.

"Present DAILY Charts to daytrade?!"
This is one of the funniest parts in this book.
First let me tell you what "daytrading" is, just in case someone doesn't know.
Day trading refers to the practice of either buying and then selling or selling and then buying within the same day. Daytraders don't hold positions overnight.
I startled when the authors talk about 2-Day & 200-Day Price-Volume Chart & trading with them. I start to re-read the title, wondering whether the publisher got the wrong cover.

"Flawed Technical Analysis"
It's very strange. It's the first time I see such kinds of technical analysis in a book.
It's a bit difficult to explain by word. Anyway I'll try.
The authors draw "trendlines" which cross price bars. Huh?! What's up?
They also draws lines, crossing the price bars, to outline chart patterns like triangles, rectangles. Normally the lines should link up the highs & the lows of the bars. The authors make no explanation on why they draw in such a weird way. I can't see any point in doing it.
Most, if not all, their interpretations are nothing but hindsight.
Funny enough, it keeps using many daily charts to teach people "daytrade". It's really amazing!

"Lack of trading plans"
I hardly find the authors mention anything about how to trade any technical signals.
- How can I trade a rectangle?
- Where should I place my stop?
- How can I take profits?
- When should I exit?
Sorry, these questions are beyond this book.
What's more, the author often says something like "a daytrader will spot the chance and enter the trade here". But how could I spot the chance beforehand? We're not you. We can't trade by hindsight.


** Rating of this book in Amazon**
I had to mention because it seems there's cheating at the rating! How come such a substandard introductory book can receive 4 stars (valid up till 13 Jun 2006)?
One reason is there're many "weird" reviewers who give 4-5 stars. It looks like they are not here to review, but to lure you into this book. The reasons why I feel so are as follows:

"Highly inaccurate comments"
I select some of the most arguable comments:

>> THE AUTHORS, BLESS THEIR HEARTS--TELL US EVERYTHING NOBODY WANTS US TO KNOW. RIGHT ON!
The no-one-want-to-know "secrets" have been revealed in many other books. Many do better jobs than this one. This one lacks elaboration most of the time.

>> "...have been overwhelmed by the revolutionary strategies in this book"
An introductory book with loads of commonplace trading ideas is REVOLUTIONARY?!?! I couldn't believe my eyes.
However this book does one good thing. Eg: it mentions other people's work like William O'Neil, which is a good author, so you know you can read other books and throw this book away (However it seems no book of him is for daytrading, as far as I know).

>> "I would guess that even professionals in the field could benefit from this book"
How come a professional can benefit from an introductory book? This taxes my brain. The authors are just "reinverting the wheel"!!!

"Suspicious Reviewers"
I had some identity checks & compiled statistics roughly. Here's statistics about those who gave 4-5 stars (valid up till 13 Jun 2006)
- 11 reviewers (35.48%) are anonymous (no name)
- Of those 20 reviewers with names:
-- 15 reviewers (75.00%) are highly suspicious
-- 3 reviewers (15.00%) are somewhat suspicious
-- 2 reviewers (10.00%) should be genuine
If you read carefully, you will find the reviewers have something in common.


** Conclusion **
I couldn't recommend this book to anyone, even for the beginners. This introductory book is full of flaws & inaccurate information. It lacks clear step-by-step instructions to guide beginners towards the road of success. Very often it has only one paragraph or a few to explain some of the common trading concepts & strategies around the world. It's far too brief. A beginner can't learn.

Due to the quality of the book and the possible dishonesty of the authors, I'm more than happy to give the book negative stars, if the option is available, to put down the misleading rating.

This is a book written at a time when Nasdaq was very close to its pinnacle in 1999. Not from hindsight (of the index level today), but sheerly by content, the book is full of flaws in nearly every topic it covers, especially those on Technical Analysis. Facts, and pure facts were abundant. However, trading system, strategy and insight were in short supply. The authors might have been so optimisstic and carried away by the beautiful picture they painted about trading in Nasdaq that money management and discipline had rarely been mentioned, and the "real tactics for real profits anytime anywhere" on the front cover were by and large absent.

p.s. This book contains the highest number of cartoon (eight) in those trading books I ever read. Sadly, most were drawn with one single theme, that "Day Trading would annihilate the brokers". That should have implied something about the direction and quality of the book, which I had mistakenly ignored.

I couldn't believe this book received more than 4 stars. Or 2 stars for that matter, which I think it warrants.
Yes, it provides a good overall picture of what day-trading is and would be a superb book for the beginning practitioners who wants a better picture of the background of day-trading. But if you're looking for trading ideas and strategies, my advice is to skip this book. The chapter on technical analysis is flawed. There were a variety of charts which looked good on paper, but that was with the benefit of hindsight. In practice those analysis would never have been possible.
There's too much at risk if you put your money on the line using the trading ideas here.

A well done treatise on the application of the scientific method to the field of TA. Highly recommended unless you would rather believe in fairy-tales ;)

This book does not provide anything new about the current understanding of TA indicators. The properties and behaviors of the TA indicators under statistical studies are known long time ago. At the same time, this is not a book for anyone to study Monte Carlo, or Data mining. Simply put it: IT IS WORTHLESS.

EBTA is a great book for any technical analysis (TA) based trading system developer. This book attempts to put technical analysis on a more rigorous scientific footing that will allow it to flourish as an empirical science.

As I see it, this book makes two main points:

1) Traditional TA techniques are often defined so vaguely that they are properly classified as pseudoscience. Pseudoscience is characterized by claims that are so vague, they cannot be falsified. When a TA claim cannot be falsified, it cannot be subjected to scientific scrutiny, and so it can be perpetuated even when it holds no merit in predicting market movements.

Therefore, any TA techniques that one uses should be programmable (in a computer language) so they can be backtested and either falsified or tentatively supported.

2) Even if a backtested trading rule/strategy performs well in a backtest, this is merely a necessary and not a sufficient condition for believing this rule/strat will perform well in the future. Market movements are governed, at best, by a combination of randomness and predictable market structure. If one is not careful, backtested rules/strats may merely represent curve-fitting to the random elements of market movement that will not repeat themselves in the future. If/when one trades based on such overfitted strategies, one is almost sure to lose money.

To combat this, one must submit backtesting results to rigorous statistical tests in order to reject results that are likely to be examples of such overfitting. Along these lines, the author gives a very clear introduction to basic statistical concepts/procedures, describes several out-of-sample testing methods, and explains 2 other advanced methods (White's Reality Check and the Monte Carlo Permutation method), that can all be used to analyze backtesting results. Again, applying these methods to backtesting results can help the researcher reject those results that are likely to be examples of overfitting due to data-mining efforts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The author goes into great detail about how and why the procedures he presents should be used, and he also includes a backtesting case study clearly illustrating how to apply the methods he has introduced earlier in the text.

The clarity and explicitness of the entire book is a refreshing change from most books on TA. The author provides enough detail for anyone interested to implement any and all the procedures he describes (including White's Reality Check and the Monte Carlo Permutation method) for themselves.

If you are looking for a book that will provide you with a specific trading strategy or an in-depth description of relevant data-mining techniques, look elsewhere, but don't ignore this book even in those cases.

For, no matter what particular systems/strategies you create/discover, this book will show you how to properly analyze your results. If your results pass the tests this book suggests you use in such analyses, you will be much more likely to make money going forward as opposed to being fooled by randomness.

I have been groping for a way to apply mathematical rigor to my back testing of investment strategies for a couple of years now. This book provides all of the answers I was looking for, in detail. In a field where people rely more on superstition and old wives' tales than sound evidence, this book is a breath of fresh air.

The author is quite exhaustive in his treatment of the subject matter. Most technical textbooks leave out important steps required to duplicate procedures, leaving the reader frustrated. This one gives every step.

Portions of the book are a bit redundant. I think some editing to reduce the redundancy and page count would have been beneficial.

Warning: some mathematics required. If you have a Bachelor's degree in math, science or engineering, you should be okay.

I was conflicted in writing a review of this text - it provides information and method's that I would've preferred were not accessible to market participants... with the exception of myself, naturally. That said, the book deserves recognition as required reading for anyone actively engaged in searching for predictive "signals" using historical data. Professor Aronson provides foundation and statistical methods for establishing that the signals are significant and NOT an expected consequence of searching large enough spaces.

The book is well referenced and Aronson has done a superb job making otherwise complex concepts accessible.

If you find yourself resisting and/or violating the principals of inference described in the book, consider that you may by fueling the inefficiencies that more sophisticated groups are likely to exploit.

There are some good ideas here but almost all of the back-tested systems are too curve-fitted using TDW (Trading Day of the Week -- e.g. never buy on a Thursday) and inter-market relationships (e.g. buy stocks only when bonds are going up).

I made my own system using only one of Williams' basic ideas, then parameterized it to use about 6 parms (e.g. stop value, distance from open, etc.) and back-tested it using about 15 years' data with all possible parm combinations.

With the best parm set this system gained about 100% per year, figuring percentage gains the way Williams does. It had rather low drawdown.

Then I modified it as follows. I selected the parm set that did the best for the first year, then used that parm set for the 2nd year and recorded those results. Then I ran all parm sets for the first 2 years, picked the best parm set and used it for the 3rd year. And so on.

These results then, are all from testing on out-of-sample data. Results over the same period (but only 14 years as year 1 results are not out-of-sample) were diminished by about half. But they are far more realistic than results obtained from 100% back-testing as Williams does.

I am writing this in the middle of June, 2008, using the best parm set as of the end of 2007. The system is up about 44% since the end of 2007, which is better than the long-term average.

I highly recommend this form of system development, which Williams does not use in this book. It takes a lot of work to do it right, but the results are worth it -- if you can stick to the rules you develop. Unfortunately, this will be even harder to do than developing the rules will be.

Good luck.

When I first encountered this book at the library I thought it was fantastic. It utilized methods of getting the odds on your side and used money management to make millions!
Well, once I tried his mostly badly explained techniques using Tradestation 2000i on S&P500 and Bond data from Norgate the results were not so flash. He also is a blatant lier. He mentions that each test in his book uses a $50 commission. Well they don't. Only very few of them do, as you can see from the System Writer printouts. As soon as you add commission, the hundreds of trades turn a super winning system into a dreadful loser.
Its a pity that this book doesn't deliver what it seems to but it is different and quite enjoyable to read; although you need to take notes as you go along!
I did learn one good thing. Find a system that offers you the edge, consistently, and use money management to make you rich.

I'm still going through the book (few weeks now) trying out some of his methods on different data, but the techniques don't hold up so well in real life.

i dont personalluy have anything for, nor anything against, larry and the countless other individuals and companies that produce an amazing amount of trading books, tools, programs, lectures and so forth. in fact, i myself wrote the book "beginners guide to computer assisted trading", which amazon sold for several years. the truth of the matter is.... those who cannot do, teach... meaning that around 90% of the stuff you are being offered is by people who were, in reality, not successful in, or never even actually did what they are claiming. just think logically, if YOU had a great way to beat the markets, would you waste time telling others how to do it? of course not! i personally stopped trading several years ago as i realized that technical analisys and simple to moderatly complex trading models no longer work. however, i do contract work for one of the worlds most successful private hedge funds and i can tell you that yes, if you have a big bankroll and at least 1/2 dozen rocket scientists you may find a way to beat the market for a while. but markets can always change (ususally quickly) in a way that can turn a good system into a dud. final food for thought, never mentioned in the financial press: the longer you stay in the markets, the higher your risk of ruin....

Many of the ideas in this book validated Larry Williams' previous market concepts in its totality thus proved that they do indeed have strong merits and he still has conviction in what he originally expounded on. The priciples surrounding concept known as 'Market structure' is basis for a lot of trading courses out there costing anywhere between a few hundred dollars to ten thousand dollars. Although I agree with Chuck Lebeau who stated in his book that Volatility Breakout system simply deteriorates going forward as new data enters into pictures, I strongly believe that with an individual trader's overall well-defined market context, it can prove to be an excellent entry strategy because it's based on sound market principles. This book is worthwhile for me, at least, to confirm my market belief. The cycle phenomenons occurring in range volatility and pattern shift in open and high are enough of valid reason to invest your time in this book. In the end, I picked up a few ideas worth adding to my trading repertoire.

I was happy and making money slowly and steadily until i read this book. after reading is my account dropped from +50% for the year to +22% so far. his statistics are way over fitted. i realized that once i tested his data. the thing that i never understood is that why do these people keep publishing books if they are making millions. i know the answer now. they are not making millions trading , they are making it selling the book. maybe you can figure a way to make money with his stuff, but i couldn't.

best of luck

This is well planned out. and it actually helps you plan out your boxes. Although the bento display is not as creative or cute as some would like it, the dishes themselves are fantastic. A great addition to your bento box cookbook collection.

Other recommended reads:

Easy Japanese Pickling in Five Minutes to One Day: 101 Full-Color Recipes for Authentic Tsukemono

Harumi's Japanese Cooking: More than 75 Authentic and Contemporary Recipes from Japan's Most PopularCooking Expert

Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking: Simple, Elegant Recipes for Contemporary Tastes

This little book is stuffed full of recipes that make good bento boxes. It is ,however, intended for a Japanese audience and assumes a certain level of familiarity with basic Japanese food preparation. Don't let that scare you off, though, this is a great book!

If you are not familiar with basic Japanese food and ingredients, i suggest you also buy "the Asian Grocery Store demystified" or "a dictionary of Japanese food" or some other basic guide to Japanese cooking to go with this book. Most of the ingredients listed can be found in any large Asian supermarket, or failing that can be substituted with items found in typical American Supermarkets, if you are willing to take a small amount of time to figure out what the ingredient is meant to be doing in the recipe. (is it for taste? texture?) Part of this will depend on where you live, of course, but here in Philadelphia i had no problem finding all the ingredients.

what this book offers is a LOAD of Japanese and Japanese style recipes that are meant to be packed for lunch or dinner. Many of them can be prepared ahead, and all of them are ideal candidates for the bento box or picnic lunch! Most other Japanese recipe books are full of wonderful foods, but with no guarantee that they will be able to survive packing and toting around.

jammed with recipes, its a bargain for anyone looking to make healthy meals on the go.

I like the concept of this book (small meals with a Japanese flavor that are made for taking and eating on the go). The recipes and ingredients are geared for those familiar with Japanese ingredients and cooking techniques AND who have easy access to a Japanese or Asian grocery store. I'm not familiar, and don't have easy access, so this book isn't very practical for me. Therefore, I decided to return it using Amazon's easy return policy. Instead, I'll search for a book that not only has great Japanese recipes but has ones that I'll actually be able to make!

This book is both an excellent introduction to bento lunches and a great inspiration for experienced cooks packing bentos for their loved ones. I have made nearly every recipe in this book and I have not been disappointed. Each recipe is made in a small quantity and most can be made in under 30 minutes, making this an excellent cookbook for small households (1-2 people). I have also increased the quantities to adapt the recipes for dinner. There are pictures to accompany each recipe, but for the beginner it might be worthwhile to pick up an additional guide to Japanese cooking. As with anything it might take some experimentation to adjust the recipes to your liking.

I've been running a bento blog for going on 2 years and found the best way to learn about bento is to search web for Japanese bento blogs. Type the word "bento" in hiragana or try photo sites. This book is an excellent accompaniment to that sort of research because it enables you to identify what many of the items are and provides you with a recipe.

My only complaint is the book should have been spiral bound and laminated. My copy is in pretty bad shape from being used so much.

I run two food blogs, one focused mainly on Japanese cooking, the other just on bento lunches. (I'm Japanese but live outside of Japan.) I finally got around to taking a look at this book.

The pros: it's a nice visual introduction to fairly traditional bento lunch boxes. (Keep in mind that 'bento' can be something other than a portable lunch.) The presentation is very attractive.

The cons: even as someone familiar with the ingredients and cooking methods I thought that this book looked rather intimidating, because just about every single recipe calls for ingredients that are only available from Japanese groceries. Actually quite a lot of the recipes call for ingredientat that would be very hard to get outside of Japan. Clearly this is a translation of a Japanese bento book, and no consideration is given at all to how available certain ingredients may be or not. (This is something I always try to keep in mind on my sites.)

The presentation feels just a bit outdated to me. Current bento books in Japan have a much simpler, modern feel. The instructions are also rather abbreviated, as if the intended audience is the fairly experienced Japanese cook (which it probably was when it was written originally).

So, I think for most people who don't live in Japan this would be a nice picture book to have around, perhaps as inspiration and eye candy, but perhaps not too useful for everyday lunch making for a typical American.

I found that this book was great for somebody getting into Forex Trading from day trading with equities. However, I would not suggest this book for beginners. I loved the history of Forex, and the book was great in terms of advice although she does often use terminology with no explanation of what it is e.g. nonfarm payrolls. If you want a book that moves slowly, this is also not a good choice. Do read this book with a good forex dictionary or access to the internet as you will need to look stuff up. Overall I liked this book alot as it was my first Forex book but I have read tons of books on stock and options trading. Best part is, that with the bear market now Forex trading is a much better option.

great book i used it always when i first entered forex, and still do. lots of knowledge and wisdow. not to mention it teachs you some stratagies.lots of books say they show you stratagies, but few deliver. this is one of them that does. this book was recommended to me as intermediate but i think it is a must have beginners guide, worth 4 of my beginners guide books.

Kathy Lien has written one of the most important "must have" books for active forex traders with "Day Trading the Currency Market".

Packed with practical insights and solid trading setups, she's written a superb book that's packed with useful trading how-tos, from one of the most respected forex authorities found.

Specifically, I found her correlation tables and volatility indices very valuable, as well as her step by step explanations of how to look for both fundamental as well as technical market-moving patterns. I'm recommending her book to all my Forex traders on my forexonfire dot com site, as excellent resources to own.

Additonally, she's provided superb explanations of how the mechanics of currency trading works, and the impact of various market opens, when and how to trade various technical chart patterns, and much more.

This book, along with Boris Schlossberg's excellent "Technical Analysis of the Currency Market", are the two best forex books on the market and are highly recommended.


Good trading,

Ken Calhoun
ForexOnFire

In my search for good FX trading books, I found no good book yet, and this book is no exception. This book is poorly written, has no consistent flow, and it does not lead the reader anywhere. Just few areas I found somewhat interesting like correlation between pairs, and volatility as a function of time of the day, and that is why I gave it a rating of 2. Otherwise, 1 will be enough. Someday someone may write a good FX trading book that really respects the intelligence of the reader. Not all FX retail traders are losers!

I just finished reading this book and after reading more than a dozen of books on forex and day trading I must say the book is a waste of money. Most of the topics in the book are covered superficially and the few trading strategies presented are poorly documented and contain errors.