5 comments about Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (A Marketplace Book).

1. Edwin Lefevre tells the fascinating story of Jesse Livermore, a famous stock operator who time and again made and lost fortunes by speculating on the market. Its greatest value is on the insights and reasoning process behind each move and associated result. It provides good entertainment for stock investors and speculators. Highly recommended!



2. I have a background in finance and recently decided to get serious about trading. Most books you find will discuss technical analysis or trading psychology. All of that is good and well but this book allows you to get into the head of a successful trader and actually experience the psychology and analysis that most others talk about.
   
   Though times have changed this book will offer insights into the markets and human fallacies that no textbook can.
   
   Enjoy... I finished this book the second I picked it up in the bookstore.. I think you will too if you're interested in trading.



3. It clearly shows what lies ahead if your interests are in trading long term. A fascinating story with tons of pointers.



4. A story based on the life of legendary trader Jesse Livermore who was famous for being short the market just before the 1927 crash and made over 100 Million dollars while 99% of all investors lost their life savings. A truly fascinating story and after reading it, I was a believer that timing the market and individual stock moves can be done with great success. My journey into the world of TA began after reading this book.
   
   David Colletti
   Founder
   StockTradersHQ.com



5. What eminates throughout this book is the following:
   
   1. The stock market is a complicated machine that takes a lot of understanding to truly understand.
   
   2. Always consider the overall market conditions because human psychology plays a large role in how people move money in and out of the stock market.
   
   3. The author focuses a lot on commodities so keep in mind that this is the most volotile beat within the stock market system.
   
   4. The author's writing style can be a bit repetitive so be mindful of this while reading it.
   
   5. You'll get an idea of just how much "insider" trading really goes on in the world.
   
   Worth the read.

5 comments about Jesse Livermore: World's Greatest Stock Trader.

1. Excellent Book - WOuld rate it as a Bible for people dealing in Capital Markets. Must read for all who trade stocks and commodities.



2. I think the 20+ pictures and the last 3 chapters would worth the money I paid for the book. Many years ago, I read an article written by a scientist who said that he would not pass any opportunity to attend the seminars by the well-known scientists because by seeing their faces, their body languages, and how they speak, he could better understand the articles and books written by them.
   I find this is true in this case as well. After reading this book and re-reading "How to Trade Stocks" I noticed many things that I did not pay attention when reading the book before. Also I have gained deeper understanding about his frustration when he was asked about how to make some quick money in the market.



3. Richard Smitten does an excellent job of portraying Jessy Livermore. He does not protray Mr. Livermore as a hero or a goat, just a man.
   
   The book is easy reading and is very insightful to the frailities of a successful stock operator. It also discloses the principles by which Mr. Livermore built his wealth, and lost it. Good job Mr. Smitten.



4. I read this book over a weekend and found it hard to put down and when I did I was excited to pick it back up. The author weaves a tragic story with lessons from the greatest stock trader. I would not have thought the lessons (stated in other people's reviews) would be true today, but in my experience as a trader today they very much are still. Granted some of the things he did and the way the market operated were different and not possible today, but it is still amazing and valuable knowledge of what to do and NOT to do.
   
   Make this a core purchase and buy this book. Just get it. It's worth it.



5. If you have ever read the Reminiscences of a stock operator by Edwin Lefevre and liked it then this book is a must read. It is very hard to put down, it reads like a novel, stock trading manual, Greek tragedy, and wisdom teachings all in one.
   I had my doubts, but after reading this book I believe that Jesse Livermore was the greatest stock trader the world has ever seen. At the age of fourteen he walked into a "bucket shop" and got a job posting stock prices. The next year in 1892 at fifteen he makes his first successful stock trade. He was a millionaire in his early 20's and by 1907, J.P. Morgan had to personally ask him to stop selling stocks short before he did serious damage to the stock market during a crash. His greatest achievement of all was walking away from the great crash of '29 with $100 million in profit from selling stocks short when everyone else was going long.
   The sad part of this book was how he lost everything several times and was bankrupt, the final one happening late in his life. He had a problem with beautiful women which lead to several divorces and ruin. He committed suicide in 1940 and his son Jesse Jr. also committed suicide 35 years later.His story was really an eye opener to the pitfalls of being wealthy and lacking self control in your personal life and child rearing.
   This book is packed with wisdom and stock trading tactics of the master himself. Get out a highlighter and prepare to mark key learning's as you go because there are many. Here are some:
   
   Cut your losses quickly.
   Be sure to confirm your judgement before you take your full position.
   Let your profits ride if there is no good reason to close the position.
   The action is with the leading stocks, which change with every new market.
   Keep the number of stocks you follow limited in order to focus.
   New all time highs are to be bought on breakouts.
   Cheap stocks often appear to be bargains after a large drop.They often continue to fall, most have little potential to rise in price. Leave them alone.
   Use pivotal points to identify changes in trend and confirmations in trends.
   DON'T FIGHT THE TAPE!
   
   This is my #1 recommendations for stock trading books.
   Also read all of Dr. Alexander Elder's books for basics in money management and technical analysis.

5 comments about The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family.

1. Setting aside the technical aspects of the research and the depth of this book, it alters how you feel about the German Jewish experience. Even though most of us will never experience the kind of wealth and privilege that accompany the Warburg family - it is expertly portrayed in this book - you're feelings about the German Jewish experience will change. The book is about a family and their achievements and tragedies that are dramatically effected by the events of the 20th century. For everyone interested in connecting with the feelings of your ancestry and understanding a piece of the financial history of modern America, this is a compelling book. It will help you take on depth, compassion, understanding and an abiding sense of sadness and tragedy at what happened to the Jewish families in Germany. It also leaves you with a sense of wonder at the durability of this family and their accomplishments.



2. This great novel-like biography makes one almost feel like a member of the Warburg family (which Chernow correctly determined was a family worth reading about). On the side, this book also provides a nice history of Zionism and gives a seemingly accurate flavor of the early twentieth century experience of German Jews (and more generally of accomplished immigrants to America around the turn to that century). Chernow's verbal precision makes his writing a pleasure to read, but also limits the pace - so set aside a lot of time and enjoy!



3. They were minor Court Jews. Money-lending was created by anti-semitic barriers. Court Jews identified with authority figures. Ancestors moved to Altona, an area under Danish rule. It was near Hamburg. In 1773 a Warburg moved to Hamburg.
   
   The Warburgs were nearly incestuous in an attempt to keep the banking riches in the family. They suffered from manic-depression and schizophrenia. The Warburgs engaged in empire building by courtship. The Hamburg ethos was sombre and middle class. The Warburgs and Schiffs made a matrimonial alliance in 1895. The Warburgs were strategic, as it turned out, but they did not engage in arranged marriages.
   
   Paul Warburg, the husband of Nina Loeb, was never at home on Wall Street. He became a great theoretician of central banking. Felix Warburg, to the consternation of his father-in-law, Jacob Schiff, built a Gothic mansion on Fifth Avenue. Lillian Wald's settlement house on Henry Street was founded by the Schiffs and the Loebs.
   
   Aby Warburg of Hamburg, a private scholar, established the Warburg Library. Aby was a pioneer of interdisciplinary study. Paul Warburg, located in America, worked after the crash of 1907 for banking reform with Nelson Aldrich. The Aldrich Plan of 1911 called for a National Reserve scheme. Many of the ideas survived in the Federal Reserve Act. In 1914 Paul Warburg began to serve on the Federal Reserve Board. Felix Warburg headed the Joint Distribution Committee for Jewish charities.
   
   After the First World War Aby experienced periods of madness and luciditiy. Max Warburg traveled to America to meet with government leaders to explain the need for the reduction of reparations and the hyper-inflation troubling Germany. Erwin Panofsky and Ernst Cassirer were professors at the university in Hamburg that Aby and his brothers helped to found. Aby was treated at the clinic of Ludwig Binswanger. Freud took a personal interest in Aby's case. Aby left Kreuzlingen, the clinic, for good in 1924. His breakdown had dated from 1918. Aby died in 1929. His associates Gertrud Bing and Fritz Saxl brought out the first two volumes of his collected writings in 1932. Kenneth Clark has stressed his importance to art scholarship.
   
   Felix supported Jewish farm settlements in Soviet Russia until they were taken over by the state in 1930. Paul Warburg had never believed in perpetual prosperity. Paul's advice had cushioned the Warburgs in the crash, (they had moved out of stocks). Paul issued public warnings in March 1929 foreseeing the crash and the Depression.
   
   In Germany Max, in Hamburg, treated the fortunes of Felix and Paul as bank reserves. Paul lost his fortune upholding the Warburg honor. Max had been tempted to overextend by his imaginary safety net. THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY published Jimmy Warburg's poetry. He was Paul's son. Paul had tended to be straitlaced. Paul died in 1932. The Warburgs did not believe they would be driven from Hamburg. In 1933 the Warburg Library was moved to England. Kristallnacht ending Max's stay in Germany. He and his family ended up in the United States. His brother Fritz was detained and his passport was revoked. Finally he and his wife were permitted to leave for Sweden. Max's daughter Lola was one of the people in England devising the Kinder Transport program.
   
   Eric Warburg, Max's son, saw Hamburg again in 1945. It had been half destroyed by saturation bombing. Eric and his son Max did resume banking careers in Hamburg. Unconnected institutions under the influence of other members of the Warburg family existed in London and New York. The book is fabulous. It is a family saga describing an array of interesting and very brave people.



4. This was a great book to read and a very interesting story about one of banking's oldest and greatest families. It was wonderfully written and has numerous insights on what it takes to be a success. Ron Chernow seems to have an eye for picking out the important little details as well as giving the reader a great sense of the big picture. Also some great history lessons about WWII. It gave me a view of the war which I hadn't seen before from Jews who were at the top of the economic scale. The history lesson was worth the entry fee. Highly recomended!



5. I didn't think a book about the Warburg Dynasty could be all that interesting: How wrong I was! I enjoyed every page by this delightful author who can turn the most mundane item into juicy reading material. I savored every page. Excellent; may I also recommend "Titan" by Ron Chernow? It, too is an amazing biography filled with insight and powerful revelations about the world's richest man.

5 comments about The Associates: Four Capitalists Who Created California.

1. Richard Rayner's "Associates" is a detailed, well researched, compilation of letters, news articles and historical references to describe an era that made the American west that developed into the modern Silicon Valley. The parallels of Silicon Valley's boom and bust and sometimes unscrupulous business ventures are perfectly matched. This is a true book of scholarship written in an exciting narrative.
   
   There is rarely a time when a historian can get into the mind of a great individual; except by inference. Rayner did the remarkable research and has brought us better than a glimpse into the minds of the Big Four or the Robber Barons. Without them, good or bad, California and Silicon Valley would not be the world's leader in technology advancement.
   John McLaughlin
   Author, SILICON VALLEY: 110 Year Renaissance



2. A compelling and concise history of the California railroad. One realizes that Private capital would never have been able to build the railroad. There was much financial slight-of-hand, and only a few got really rich, but the transcontinental railroad was only made possible due to govt grants and thusly it (like the Erie canal) was really a public works program, albeit a very corrupt program. But in spite of the corruption the program benefited the nation greatly.
   I found myself with an odd fondness for Mr Huntington, the most tyranical of the associates. Unlike Stanford, Huntington had no pretenses about who or what he was. He worked long hours ever night at having absolute control and he did it better than anyone else. He made things happen, he willed the railroad thru the mountains. I don't believe he was in it for the money, and I know he wasn't in it for the fame....he was simply driven to dream and in so doing he changed the nation. He was so bad, he was good.
   One review snobbishly slights this book because of a blunder here or there, and for overquoting. This misses the forest for the trees; If you want a great, quick, entertaining and educational read about early California this is the book for you.



3. This book covers the history of the railroad to California, but with a special emphasis and focus on the wheelings and dealings of the railroad barons/masterminds who pulled it off. Sometimes through means (stock fraud, etc) that look pretty shady in retrospect. If you find this aspect of interest, this is the book. The author has written previously about charlatans and frauds who left little behind (see his delightful "Drake's Fortune" book). Here, to the extent the railroad barons were shysters, they also created a longstanding, monumental feat of engineering with vast economic benefits and consequences. In this, lies the tale.



4. An excellent and balanced account. While the relatively thin volume cannot cover every detail of such a gigantic undertaking, it provides a vivid account of the events that lead to the creation of CP and the personalities involved. The characters come to life, and the drama unfolds flawlessly. Whether your interest is business, or railroads, you will enjoy this book. Nitsan Ben-Horin, New York.



5. This is a quick well-written and readable guide to the building of the railroads as it relates to California. It tells the story of the Big 4, aka The Associates - Hunitington, Stanford, Hopkins and Crocker - four merchants who came out of almost nowhere and ended up controlling the biggest railroad empire in America. In earlier books Rayner has written about con men and the shady sides of business and I was worried that he might approach the story from that angle. But he ends up liking them, warts and all, and his picture of the scheming Huntington is especially good. Another interesting thing that Rayner points out is how our thinking about the railroads these days is almost entirely the product of the changing ways in which they've been written about in different intellectual phases of history. He gives us a tour of the sources, from the muckraking days to more modern historians who take the "greed is good" argument. Rayner doesn't take sides especially. I also have to say that as a professor of U.S. history specializing in the period in question, I found nothing to object to within these pages; the previous reviewer's complaints have the sound of someone who was trawling for things to carp about; for example, his point regarding Throg's Neck: this is a body of water and an adjoining neighborhood in the Bronx, so there is no error here at all. If you are looking for a one-volume history of the railroads in the Golden State, this is a fresh and neat little book.

5 comments about Queen of the Oil Club: The Intrepid Wanda Jablonski and the Power of Information.

1. While I expected to find Queen of the Oil Club to be an educational read, I wasn't prepared for the page turner I found. Rubino's first person and you are there approach to Wanda's amazing life was riveting. So far,I've recommended it to friends looking for a lively summer read, writer friends, my graduate student niece who is pursuing Women's Studies and a friend who grew up in Saudi Arabia in the 1960's. There's something there for each of them.



2. The seeds of today's oil crisis were sown during the five decades that Wanda Jablonski reported on industry events and, through that reporting, influenced their outcome. To understand the current surge of oil nationalism on the part of both producer and consumer nations that will determine the future of hydrocarbons for years to come, we need to go back to the earlier rise of oil nationalism that led to the creation of OPEC. This book takes us there through the life of an extraordinary woman. Wanda, her first name sufficed to identify her whether in the court of the King of Saudi Arabia or the Exxon executive offices, had access to the boardrooms and bedouins that created the oil machine. She spoke the truth to their faces and told her readers what went on behind the curtain. In an all-male oil world, she earned respect and fear for the power she wielded as a journalist who knew as much or more about this crucial industry than the men who ran it. Anna Rubino captures Wanda, a strangely reclusive woman who quietly re-wrote the rules of business journalism and influenced the world we live in today.



3. Review for "The Queen of the Oil Club"
   Anna Rubino takes us into the world of oil in the 1950's through the eyes of a remarkable woman, Wanda Jablonski. In this clearly readable book the reader is exposed to the personalities of the industry leaders, the look and feel of the Middle Eastern cities and the customs and concerns of its people. Filled with high drama, this book tells a fascinating and timely story, perhaps even more relevant in view of today's oil crisis.
   Donald and Kathie Eppert



4. Anna Rubino was a brilliant scholar of history at Yale as she pursued her PhD. Now she has written a brilliant historical study, impeccable in scholarship but also timely and exciting. Five stars all around.
   --William Lilley III, a Yale history faculty member when the author was a graduate student.



5. You will be sucked into the story from page one. How could a woman named Wanda Jablonski have climbed into the middle of the super secret, conspiratorial world of global oil and remain there for more than 30 years as big oil's top digging journalist? The author, Anna Rubino, lays it out in page-turning fashion.
   
   Wanda broke all the stereotypes. She was on a first-name, trusted basis with Arab oil sheikhs. Her publication, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly, became the must read for every global oil player. She broke all the big stories in a career that, as written in this compelling book, tracks more like a great work of fiction - except it's all true. If you want to understand the forces that have carried us into the current world of skyrocketing fuel prices, read this book.
   
   It's a great summer escape - particularly if you can't afford the gas to get to the beach! You can sit under an umbrella on the back deck, grab a cool drink and get absorbed.
   
   Wanda Jablonski - one of the most important journalists in U.S. history. Who knew?

5 comments about iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It.

1. Growing up a Mac nerd I have to say this book is a must read! I found it fascinating and I have to respect the kind of person that Steve Wozniak is. Highly recommend this book.



2. Total pile of hog..
   
   They Say history is written by the winners... Unfortunately the wrong guys won..
   
   Wanna know the truth?
   
   Then Read "On the Edge: the spectacular rise and fall of commodore"
   
   Read that then see if you think "Woz" really invented the whole thing..
   
   On the edge is an awsome book that dosnt treat its readers like a bunch of idiots and gives a balanced account; finally giveing credit to the forgotten heros of the era..



3. I had fun reading "iWoz" as it was both educational and entertaining.
   
   A must-read for all apple lovers.
   
   It tells you the story of the man behind it all...



4. Wozniak gives us a book written for the juvenile mind but marketed to adults, recalling the glory days of his youth and telling us almost nothing about Apple after it grew beyond a home-based business. The presentation is avuncular, excessively colloquial, clownish and shallow. It is fundamentally an incoherent and dishonest book.



5. It's Woz, how can you go wrong? I really enjoyed this book, although I would have enjoyed it a little more if Woz told more up-to-date stories. I know he has a ton, and I was really hoping to learn much more about Woz TODAY. Still, if you want to read about one of the most important people in Computer history, this is a good start.

5 comments about Mellon: An American Life (Vintage).

1. Cannadine exceeded expectations on a number of fronts with this definitive biography of Andrew Mellon. It has everything you'd expect from a grade-A biography, laying out where Mellon's family came from (both physically and philosophically), how Mellon grew up, his rise, peak, eventual fall from grace, death and legacy. Not only that, but Cannadine does all of this exceedingly well, giving his reader a sense of the nuances and subtleties of Mellon's personality and life. If Cannadine had done nothing else, he'd still have written a five-star book.
   
   This book goes beyond most rock-solid biographies that I've read in Cannadine's sensitivity to the larger meaning of the events in Mellon's life, his place in history and his impact even after his death. While this sensitivity is present throughout Cannadine's book, it really comes together in in his three-part epilogue, which you will absolutely not want to miss, it is the highlight of the book.
   
   The first point Cannadine develops is that Mellon's life straddled the line between two different eras in American history. He shows how Mellon, without changing his behaviors, was perceived one way for much of his life, then a totally different way at the end of his life. Through his awareness of this point, Cannadine really demonstrates to the reader how radical the shift in sentiment was in America in the 1930s.
   
   The second point Cannadine is aware of, as any successful biographer of a great historical figure must be, is the idea that Mellon was a human being with some great strengths and some great flaws. In my experience, people who have the strengths to accomplish the most often have corresponding weaknesses to go with them; Cannadine really makes this point clear in his epilogue, doing a "balance sheet" of positives and negatives of Mellon's character and accomplishments. I've never seen an author take even-handed analysis to a similar place, and it really helped bring together the books ideas at the end.
   
   Finally, Cannadine captures a truth about life, society and politics that imbues the book with a sense of sadness. It becomes obvious that many (though certainly not all) of the good things that happen to Mellon happen out of chance. Similarly, when bad things happen to Mellon, most (again, not all... his divorce comes to mind as an obvious exception) of them are undeserved. Mellon dies near the low point of his public popularity, suffering primarily for sins he did not commit.
   
   I highly recommend this book for lovers of biography and history, it is truly a step beyond a really good biography.



2. What I found interesting about this book is that is a history lesson in American business and early regulatory policies that shaped the landscape we see today. At the same time, it is a story of classic love and betrayal. I found the author doing a great job when the story focused on Mellon's marriage and the demise of such, but he tended to become a bit lost in the details when describing all of the political ups and downs. Overall, a fine book and great American story



3. Though I can not claim to be altogether objective about the subject matter in much of this great book, I must congratulate Cannadine for a masterful study of what has been an extremely closed subject for a long, long time - most of all in the Mellon's home town of Pittsburgh. The late Paul Mellon must be given a lot of credit for breaking with family tradition - first for allowing the book "Thomas Mellon And His Times" to see the light of public day and then to let it all hang out with Cannadine with regard to sources and family papers.
   
   All of the business glories (one wonders at times if Andrew ever really enjoyed his successes), all of the personal agonies (it must have been excruciating on many levels), and much of the rancor between both Judge Thomas Mellon's as well as Andrew's detractors and adversaries are, for the first time, put into print for ALL of the public's perusal. It will be up to each individual reader to judge for themselves how they feel about this man and his father and family.
   
   It came as no suprise to me when Cannadine named my great-great grandfather as being one of the "vexatious litigation" principles who Judge Mellon would only refer to as "A", "B", or "C" in his autobiography. Cannadine is specific about the bad blood between the Negleys and the Mellons after the "eugenic" match (his words) and Pittsburghers specifically will find much new insight here.
   
   However, this long and comprehensive book never lets down as it explores all facets of the Mellon dynasty, how it was aquired (at times skirting legality and even morality), and he leaves very few stones unturned. What Cannadine might have missed was the fact that the rehabilitation of the Mellon name in Pittsburgh was undertaken by Andrew's nephew Richard K. Mellon (Richard Beatty Mellon's son) when "Renaissance I and II" which, along with the Allegheny Community Conference, cleaned up the city of Pittsburgh and made it livable again after over 150 years of take, take, and more take by men such as "A.W." and "R.B" among many others, including Andrew's buddy Henry Clay Frick.
   
   The mystery of "M..." will, I feel, eventually be solved but as was mentioned in a previous review, even as good a sleuth as Cannadine could not hazard even a guess (though I'll bet he had a guess). Notice that she becomes "Mrs. M---" on pg 259. I hardly believe that such a man would be so indiscreet as to write an entree with such a clue, or such an admission of a possible affair - but this entree IS followed by perhaps the most emotional outburst of his heart, "CRUEL", in uppercase.
   
   A flawed man, as are all men, and obviously a tortured one for much of his life, this book will give everyone the chance to weigh the evidence and decide for themselves the verdict which until now was impossible to consider to to lack of full factual disclosure. I found it fascinating the whole way from beginning to end. The source notes are a gem in and of themselves.
   I would also recommend both books by father and son for a comprehensive look at all three men, and how wealth, acquisition, and the drive and pressures of both shaped them.
   "Thomas Mellon And His Times"
   "Reflections In A Silver Spoon"



4. If you like history you'll love this book, it's long and "gets long winded in history" but try stop reading I couldn't, if your over 55 you will really love it. I still don't know how I feel about Andrew, Dick and Thomas Mellon. I found myself loving this book excellent read.



5. You will savor this account of the tumultuous life of Andrew Mellon, an arrogant turn-of-the-last-century industrialist and millionaire. He was torn to tatters by a scandalous divorce and, later, by opposing politicians. However, he transcended those humiliations by establishing the lavish National Art Gallery just before he died. "Andy" Mellon's life (1855-1937) stretched across critical years when the U.S. was transformed from an appendage of Europe to a superpower. His work as treasury secretary was held in such esteem that the Republican Party considered running him for president. However, even given his role as head of the Treasury, Mellon could not curtail the 1920s margin-buying stock market mania that led to the 1929 crash and the Great Depression. He is mostly remembered for the National Art Gallery and for his sex-scandal divorce fight. David Cannadine offers a highly readable biography, which is very balanced though Mellon's son, Paul, commissioned it. However, some readers may decide to skim through the extensive coverage of the politicized "Tax Trial," and Andy's ordinary trade in minor art and small firms. We highly recommend this extraordinary saga.

5 comments about Pit Bull: Lessons from Wall Street's Champion Day Trader.

1. This book pretty much tells the story of a trader named Marty Schwartz. It describes how he got started trading and evolved into what Barron's called a master trader. There was a lot of "ego" to read about and I almost stopped reading but the story got better. Instead of spending the whole book telling me how smart he was, he started talking about some trades that didn't go so well too. I actually learned from him as he described his errors and how he recovered. It helped me reduce my "pig" factor when I day trade. There was some humor in the book too which kept it fun to read.
   
   So, this book isn't a how to book but it does indirectly give you some good advice to use in your trading. Its worth reading, I enjoyed it.



2. I was amazed at this guy. A lot of the practices he used then works now. Buzzy should be commended for putting his life story in such a vivid tale of success and almost death. I am thankful to have read this book. It has opened me up to another way of thinking and also validated a lot of the practices I do everyday. Buzzy, where is the sequel?



3. I happened upon this book in a used bookstore, and bought it on a whim. All the way thru the book (read practically in one sitting), I kept thinking of how I was reading the story of Tony Soprano in his life as a day trader! Humerous, silly, engaging, challenging, stressful, vain, self-aggrandizing, amd more. I couldn't put it down, and I doubt you will want to either!



4. As other reviewers have noted, this is not a technical "how-to" type of book. However, it gives unique insight into the psychology of someone who has succeeded in a game where in the end, psychology more than anything else divides the winners from the losers, and the losers from their money.



5. I had to give this book 5 stars. It is so entertaining at times I was laughing and other times introspective...just like the author.
   
   Buzzy Schwartz must be considered one of the greatest traders of our time and this book is more of an autobiography than a trading manual. He never divulges his trading methodology nor how he turned from being a mediocre break even trader to the star he became.
   
   He references various indicators he uses but with no explanations and curiously credits Terry Laundry's T theory for his turnaround because " it went back to who I was as a person ". The T Theory is then left to you to figure out (Which I can't).
   
   The best thing I can say about his methodology is that it is uniquely his. All of us need to find what best fits our trading style and apply it...there is no one size fits all in trading.
   
   Towards the end of the book it becomes very clear that Buzzy has become weary of the toll that trading has taken on his life ( he wound up in the hospital and almost died) yet still can't seem to get the trading bug out of his system ( he places a trade while in the doctors office).
   
   All in all one of my favorite books, not for its trading methods but for its entertainment value.

5 comments about The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co..

1. A very thorough, though at times sensationalist and gossipy, tale of Wall Street's most intriguing investment house. However, I was sad to see the early history of the firm get short shrift in favor of an intricate string of anecdotes about the personal lives of various senior bankers. In that respect, historians will be largely disappointed but those who enjoy war stories of the rough and tumble 80's and 90's M&A banking environment ala "Barbarians" should enjoy it. Still, it appears that at times that Cohan is almost too eager to dramatize people and events to weave together a compelling story, and in doing so he migrates to a brand of yellow journalism that can be off-putting at times. Nevertheless, the book is generally well-written and captures both the glory and folly of powerful men in a unique and conspicuous way. To call it a comprehensive history, though, would be misleading as it really weights heavy toward the firm of 20 years ago and appears greatly colored by his own personal experience, for better or worse.



2. Cohan has done an extraodinary amount of research, and this enables him to paint a vivid picture of the leading personalities at Lazard as well as to capture the firm's quirky culture. But, with the exception of its blistering account of the current Lazard leader, Wasserstein, the reader doesn't get a good sense of exactly what these investment bankers do during their day jobs. What is the nature of their advice, do they earn their keep, and with the benefit of history do they give the right advice? Other than Wasserstein, whom Cohan criticizes as dead wrong and completely mercenary throughout his career, we don't get a good sense of how these bankers do their work.
   
   Absent that insight, and this may be difficult insight to deliver given the nature of the advice and surrounding circumstances, the book tends to degenerate into gossip. Anyone who has worked in a professional firm can, of course, relate to Lazard's dysfunctional culture and can appreciate the value of rainmaking over hard work. So this is quite interesting and perhaps useful gossip. But the real question presented by Lazard is just what do these bankers do and are they errant fiduciaries who take advantage of their influence over a deal to drive it at all costs so as to ensure ridiculously high fees?
   
   With respect to Wasserstein, Cohan's contempt shines through. He does seem to represent everything that is wrong with Wall Street, though in fairness to him, his IPO of Lazard has worked out far better than I would have thought.
   
   The author seems more favorably disposed to Rohatyn, Ratner, and Meyer, though there is not enough data about the specific deals they worked on to draw a conclusion.
   
   This is an interesting book that is very well written and that gives some real insight into the workings of a famous Wall Street firm. But it ultimately does not grapple with the larger issues presented by the business or offer any suggestions for change.



3. Should be required reading for anybody looking to get into M&A, anybody who follows M&A, or anybody who wonders how investment banks actually make their money. A long read, but well worth it in every way. The first book I read on my Kindle, I could not put it down. Highly recommended.



4. Well written history of the investment bank, focusing, not surprisingly given Lazard's reputation, on a "great man" analysis of the historical leaders of the firm (e.g., Michael David-Weill, Felix Rohatyn). Safe to say, though, that I think the reaction of most readers ultimately would be "why would I ever want to work there?" after concluding the book. This tale of byzantine intrigue, turf wars, and the juvenile treatment of women ultimately reminded me more of an all-boys grammar school playground than a source of brilliant financial advice (which Lazard has always been known for).



5. Well written, detailed, lots of anedoctes on Lazard but not only Lazard. It is a big book (650 pages) but easy to read and at times even captivating. Very interesting for people that have experience/exposure to the investment banking world, maybe less so for others.

5 comments about The Education of a Speculator.

1. What a disappointment. The book barely qualifies as a book on speculation. Instead, it is a long winded, rambling account of the author's (non-investing) life; after page upon page devoted to a topic other than speculating/investing (e.g. sports) he attempts to draw some parallel between the subject in question (e.g. sports) and speculating/investing. All too often, the analogies/parallels are weak to non-existent. For a book supposedly dedicated to speculating, remarkably little of it actually deals with this topic. There can be no doubt the author has tremendous knowledge; he simply choses not to share it with his readers in this offering. Don't waste your money.



2. Meandering nonsense that tells the reader nothing about how to speculate in anything. The author claims it is in there but between the lines as he cannot give away his secrets. Well, he does not. A waste of money for someone wanting to learn how to trade.



3. I've worked in physics and am heading for a career in finance. In these fields you occasionally run into that guy. The guy who is either so smart nobody can understand him, or he's a manic-depressive frothing in a mania stage. Either way, "that guy's" nervous system is obviously wired to a higher pitch than mine ever will be; at least without chemical additives or surgury. Reading the book is like talking to that scary smart manic guy. It's always humbling running into "that guy." Niederhoffer is that guy. He ranges wildly from stories of his colorful youth in a working class neighborhood in NYC (which actually did remind me of Feynman's stories) to horse racing, to squash, to trading FOREX. He goes so fast, you can barely keep up with him, even in a leisurely read. Why is he talking about handball? I thought he was just talking about liquidity? Checkers? And how does Jesse Livermore fit in? Read it and see.
   
   Niederhoffer is the type of man I admire the most; he has physical courage, he's brilliant, he loves his family and friends, he beats the system with wit and street smarts and he comes from humble means. He managed to get a system for gaming the GPA named after him. He was a world champion at Squash. He was an early pioneer of direct marketing private equity funds. He was an early skeptic of the efficient market hypothesis (what would traders get paid for if the markets were efficient?). He was a professor at U.C. Berkeley. He built (and lost, in a story I hope the next edition of his book documents, and, stunningly, built again) a great fortune. His story is completely mind boggling; the world is a better place for his having lived his story in it, and you'll be a better person for absorbing his insights about the world.
   
   Beyond my gushing over his yarn spinning, if you're a careful reader, and you know something about markets, you can pick up some pretty serious insight from his descriptions of his day to day work. The only other book I got a feel for the markets like this was Larry Harris' book on Trading and Exchanges, and that was nowhere near as much fun to read.



4. As many already know, Niederhoffer has had quite a volatile, and highly publicized career as a speculator. But it is pure naivety and ignorance for people to brush his work off merely because of the two blow ups he had in his fund. In fact, if anything, these two events have, in my opinion, made Niederhoffer's perspective exponentially more valuable than most modern financial literature on the subject.
   
   With that said, I must disagree with his view on statistical inference and its role in market speculation. Although statistical inference is valid as a data point, when one uses it as their primary and sole validation of any trade premise, the risk they expose themselves to is far too high. The foundation of his theories are based on using prior statistical probabilities to validate a trade. In other words, if the odds of a trade blowing up in your face are 1 in 1000, then it's a good trade. But if you don't consider what is going on in the macro environment, the overall sentiment of market participants, and other "subjective" data sets, then you risk exposing yourself to a situation where you make a massive long bet on the S&P futures at a time when the market is in a freefall because of some geo-political and/or financial event such as a Russian debt default, or Asian financial meltdown. This is the scenario that blew Niederhoffer up, but the interesting thing to note is that the "trade" itself had already caused significant loss in a prior event. So what does that tell you about statistical inference?
   
   The value in this book is what you gain from his anectdotes and insights. Although he has a tendancy to go off on a tangent and lose you, if you can keep your focus, this book will provide you with invaluable insight into the mind of one of this generations most experienced market operators.
   
   And his comparison of a classical symphony with the Japanese Yen is priceless, and can be worth the price of this book in itself.
   
   I have personally read this book over 5 times by now, and I'm sure I'll read it again.



5. There are some weak chapters (checkers and music for me) but overall Niederhoffer gives an honest voice to what being a "trader" is really like, and especially from the buy-side perspective. The most refreshing aspect is that he disabuses folks of how glamorous the life is. I resisted reading this book for years, and now regret it. While wordy and at times brutally personal, it is quite real in a way that no other book on hedge fund and trading life has ever really captured. Strongly reccomended.