5 comments about The Right Stock at the Right Time: Prospering in the Coming Good Years.

1. the first few chapters have built the anticipation for a good strategy to learn , HOWEVER, there were no formulas, nothing to learn.
   book talks about theories about market timing with no proof.
   i wouldent take it seriously as i thought



2. There are a number of good books on "Market Timing" and this would be in the top five. If you could afford to read three books on market timing, I would get Les Masonson's book, Deborah Weir's, and this one. If you want to first learn about market timing one a book at a time, get them in the same order I just listed them.
   
   Each book covers some of the same ground but each offers a few nuggets that aren't as well covered in the other two. Larry William's book has the better documentation on the "Decade Effect", an interesting correlation between each year in a decade and how the market has done in each of those ten years.
   
   So, all in all, buy those three books and you will have a pretty complete understanding of timing the market on a macro-basis.



3. Good research into the stock market, presented in a clear and positive manner. Best of all it works I bought in early 2003 and have a handsome profit on all my stocks.



4. We all get different things from a book depending on our personality, experience, investment style, etc. I look for the positive things I can get from a book, not for things to critize.
   
   I have over 300 books in my Investment Library,and this is one of the few I set aside as a reference.
   
   I always read Larry's books. He is not just an academic, a writer, or a peddler of his products. Larry Williams is one of the premier investors of our time. You can count the people more successful at investing on a few fingers. Anytime a person like this writes, I want to read it. Is the book perfect? Of course not. I too wish there were more detail and clarity. I count my- self lucky if I get one good idea from a book, I got several from this one. I have investment books that I have paid well over a hundred dollars for. I paid less than twenty dollars for this book. I can't imangine why anyone would hesitate to purchase a inexpensive book like this from an author with Larry's credentials. I am not the least concerned if he includes a few commercials.



5. Easily this book paid for its self in the first couple chapters. If I knew before I bought it how enlightening it would be, I would have been willing to pay much more than the retail price.

5 comments about Valuing Wall Street : Protecting Wealth in Turbulent Markets.

1. After making a cogent new argument in defense of the still-controversial q ratio, the authors show how it plays into principles of stock-market risk and return, how it has determined the value of Wall Street in the past and will continue to do so, and how to apply it as a practical investing tool. They do a neat job of parsing the good and bad news about stocks as a sound investment for the future, and of what to do and not do with one's money come the inevitable bear market.



2. Written in 1999 to warn investors to get out of the stock market totally because prices were way too high compared to the underlying securities' net worth, Andrew Smithers and Stephen Wright were proven correct during the next three years as prices spiraled downward. The authors' measuring stick was "q," the Nobel prize-winning economist James Tobin's 1969 invention to value stocks. It is the simple formula of stock price divided by corporate net worth (replacement cost). Essentially, it works over time like an oscillator. They take considerable amount of space to prove it is a more reliable indicator of stock market value than dividends or P/E. And it foretold harrowing events when it was computed and published in early 2000 with NASDAQ at 5000. Now the bigger question: So, what use is it going forward from today?
   Their method of argument is to chart 100 years of historical stock prices against historical q, then create "normal," "overvalued," and "undervalued" zones with which you should make investment decisions. A reversion to the mean (in this case downward) is what drives their prediction for an extended period of stock market "under performance" during the foreseeable future. Stocks were and still are overvalued, they say, and therefore should be avoided until values return to more "normal" levels.
   By the end of 1999, there were no shortages of bears calling for a crash of monstrous proportions based on any number of indicators, P/E and dividend yield included. As it turned out, all were correct. But as with all "fundamental" analysis, timing was lacking. Some bears had prowled the investment landscape for most of the decade and had come up empty until the turning of the millennium. Smithers and Wright, however, hit the market's nail on the head.
   Early on in their presentation, they admit that q is not very important most of the time because most of the time markets are not obviously overvalued or undervalued. And the authors do get sidetracked on whether you should pick stocks individually or go with index funds (they give 3 reasons why individual stock picking doesn't work). They do come through loud and clear that stocks are for buying AND selling, and although stocks are good for the long term, when they get too expensive, they should be avoided like the plague.
   The worth of the work is the powerful argument, intelligently presented and documented, as to why stock prices were sure to fall at the time the work was published. And fall they did. For awhile, anyway.
   Now, the question for you is not whether or not their data and logic make sense; it's whether you want to base your investment decisions on whether other people think it makes sense. And whether we like it or not, since there is no universal arbiter of stock market value except other people's money, investing comes down to Keynes' beauty contest (General Theory pages 154 - 156). If you want to be on the winning side, you don't vote for who you think is the prettiest; you vote for who you think others will consider the prettiest. Translated here, it means you should value stocks the way stocks have been valued over the past century by previous investors. The idea of q is based on what other people throughout history eventually decided were the limits of value. And yes, q says the market is still dangerously overvalued. But during the interlude of the past 14 months and 3000 Dow points (40% gain) prove, a lot of money has been left laying on the table by simply abandoning the investment environment completely until stocks once again become "cheap." Another Keynesism: "The market can stay irrational (overvalued/undervalued) longer than you can stay solvent."



3. The latest computed value of Q can always be found at http://www.smithers.co.uk/keydata.shtml . For example I visited that web page on 1-18-2004 and found: "As of 20th June, when the S&P 500 was at 995.73, the market was selling at 1.46 times its long-term average, according to q, and thus needs to fall by 31% to reach fair value." It is strongly advised that investors check this web page at least once a month for possible updates. A word to the wise is sufficient! (Also if you purchase the book, do not forget to look at the Virtual Appendix at http://www.valuingwallstreet.com/VApp.pdf )



4. It's hard to rate a book of this type. Some will look at with a jaundiced eye and give it a low rating, some will think carries great worth backed up with lots of research and give it a high rating.
   I can sum up the gist of the book with one sentence. The stock market is often way overvalued and buying during those times will give poor return even if stocks are held for long periods. This information is valuable, but unfortunately, most of the type of people that get killed when the market corrects will not be the ones that read a book like this.
   As for me, I'm not even an investor, just a student looking to gain knowledge about markets in general. I found a lot of this book to be hard to read and filled with too many statistics and mathematical formulas. It could have been written in a more basic conversational tone and still have all the charts and math in an appendix.
   I can assure the reader that no stock broker is going to being singing the praises of this work, it simply states something they won't want to hear. There are times, and we may still be in such a time, that the stock market is simply overbought and money would be better off sitting on the side lines waiting for prices to be more realistic. I happen to agree with the basics they present here, they made a logical argument, and certainly the last bubble that burst proved that they weren't blowing smoke. As to the future, only time will tell, but with P/E ratios being so high, if I had to decide, I'd go with their analysis.



5. Although there's plenty of evidence one cannot time the market short term--just look at managed portfolios compared to major stock indexes--that does not mean it's not possible over much longer cycles. The usual metric, P/E ratio, for measuring these cycles is occasionally wrong, like once or twice a century, e.g. if earnings are unusually small, as in the Depression. Better to use something similar to price-to-book value, "q". Averaging over all companies, and looking back over the last hundred years of market data, q tells you when stocks are overpriced more reliably than P/E. If you buy stocks at below average q and sell them when q is above average, you'll outperform a buy and hold strategy.
   
   Of course, people already ignoring P/E are unlikely to be swayed by a refinement. That's why the second aspect of this book is important. It's one of few books that tells you *not* to own stocks now. It presents historical data--someone unfortunate enough to have entered the market just before the 1929 crash would have had to wait 25 years to catch up with an all bond portfolio--to show how bad an investment stocks can be.
   
   Holding bonds until P/E returns to single digits, where it was at the start of the bull market in 1982, will never appeal to some people, but that's this book's advice in a nutshell.

5 comments about Be Smart, Act Fast, Get Rich: Your Game Plan for Getting It Right in the Stock Market.

1. What I really like about this book is that the author started with nothing and became one of the most recognized figures on Wall Street. He had to go through all the necessary steps himself. In this book, he teaches investors how to analyze companies by using fundamental analysis, and then apply technical analysis for the entry and exit points. He uses the combination of both analyses to find undervalued stocks, which he puts in a portfolio with the intention to outperform the market. This is one of the best ways to grow wealth.
   
   I found this book very logical and easy to read. If you buy and sell stocks based on tips you get from your broker or some financial expert on TV, read this book and you will never listen to them again.
   
   - Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market



2. Payne offers sound fundimental advice but seems to write in circles trying to cover all the bases that might trip the average investor up. Sometimes doling out guidence that leaves the reader feeling inside condumdrums of between what not to do and what to do. Not too technical and is more than a bit loose on the "how to" readers might be expecting. For a primer on the select of stocks in a fundimental, research oriented approach it delievers. For how to truly make money in rainmaker fashion Payne double pumps and falls short of the target much like the advice people might get from their broker.



3. There are lots of investing books out there, but this one not only contains useful investment information, it is written by a person who started as a very poor kid in Harlem who knew he wanted to work on Wall Street as early as age 14! Though not a book about Charles as such, the reader gains some insight into a true American success story. Working in numerous ("low-budget" to use his words) jobs from the age of 13, Charles began reading the Wall Street Journal while a high school student, served in the United States Air Force, completed his college degree and returned to make his name on Wall Street. After a time as a stock broker, he started his own company, known as Wall Street Stragegies (wstreet.com), and is now best known for his Saturday morning appearances on Fox News and his daily contributions on "Money for Breakfast" on the Fox Business Network.
   
   In the business part of the book, Charles walks the reader through such topics as the "fundamentals" of analyzing a company's financial statements and the "technicals" which involve getting some useful information from the "charts" and all those pesky ratios, statistical analysis and other obscure measurements and tools. The reader gains a lot of insight into Charles Payne's investment philosophy as well as a wealth of useful and entertaining material.
   
   Sure, this book is now a couple of years old and one could say that it doesn't help in the current market situation--WRONG--this book still gives great insight into basic principles which help in all market situations. Also, Charles Payne's unique, entertaining and personalized writing style definitely makes this book worth the money.



4. Very informative, and covers every conceiveavble area of interest regarding the stock market and investing. I am seeking to do my own investing, and have gained confidence to go forward because of the knowledge I have gained ferom reading this book. I'm in my second reading, so I can to use it as a reference as I embark on my investing endeavors.



5. Countless times my friends and I would repeat the phrase "If we only had stock in a particular "hot" product that we would be rich." And sadly, not one of us has ever taken the initiative to find out how to actually get into the stock market because we thought only the wealthy could afford the risk of investing.
   
   The author, Charles V. Payne, clearly wants folks to stop making the "fat cats" richer off our spending trends and learn how the stock market works by understanding the concept, the language, and game strategies to enrich our lives and reap those benefits. He "keeps it simple" and "keeps it real" in his thoroughly written, knowledgeable, and witty book, "Be Smart, Act Fast, Get Rich.". It's a winner.
   
   The only way one can get in the stock market game is to play. And why not learn from one of the truly successful men on Wall Street, who hailed from humble beginnings. Throughout his book, as one turns and reads the pages, you can feel his tenacity as he vividly describes his life when he purchased his first mutual fund at age seventeen and later started his own company.
   
   Mr. Payne's book should be required reading for all high school and college seniors before they set out in the real world of financial dealings.
   
   His book is not to be shelved, but used as a every day reference tool for those who delve into the stock market. It's a great gift for family and friends for the holidays, or any day.
   
   Hindsight is 20/20 --count my friends and I in!

5 comments about Riding the Bear: How to Prosper in the Coming Bear Market.

1. This is the best book on the subject I read so far!
   Written in 99, it predicted not only the bear market ahead but warned of its severity. Such a contrast with many books that teach you to recognize trends in the middle of a chart.
   Thanks, Sy!



2. This is one of the unique books on investing that teaches you not only how to not lose money during a bear market, but to actually make money. What I was most impressed with was the fact that this book was written in 1998 and published in 1999 months before the brutal bear market of 2000-2002. The author was proven correct on what the book says about market trends and cycles and the dangers of the market being over valued based on historic price to earnings ratios. He explains that markets are like a river and that all stocks eventually are swept up in its current whether it is a bear or bull market. I agree with him completely about the dangers of buy and hold investing. The professionals do not do this, even Peter Lynch would put in sale orders daily on certain stocks based on where they were in valuation based on price while he was managing the Magellen Fund. I actively trade inside my 401k and it has enabled me to return 25% a year in returns from 2003-2006, 10% in 20007. He also discusses the value in seasonal trading and gives you mechanical systems to follow for great profits. The book will show you how to identify and profit from a bear market. Read it to balance out your trading. Trade both ways by learning to go short stocks in addition to going long.



3. I really enjoyed this book. As an investor, I've never been through a bear market. So I bought this and several other books on the subject. The data in this book is through 1998 and the book appears to have been published in the first part of 1999. Mr. Harding clearly shows that a big bear market is coming and that it's just around the corner (which it was, starting in 2000). He presents fact after fact to show this. His evidence is so compelling that anyone who read the book and didn't take some action to protect their portfolio really had their head in the sand. In the course of his comments, he presents a lot of statistics on bear markets, which I also found interesting. One of his major themes is to buy at the beginning of the "seasonally favorable season" (which begins about Nov 1) and to sell at the end of it (about May 1 of the next year). While I've heard this strategy before and find it quite interesting, one should note that on page 220 of the book, the author indicates that a lot of the work in developing his ideas for this segment was formed, not based on years of experience with it, but during the research for the book. It's unclear whether the author uses it himself or recommends it to clients. However, I like the idea and this presentation of it is excellent.



4. While it might be nice if markets always went up, the truth is, there is a 'Bear Market" every three to four years on average. If you don't understand what bear markets are and how they can impact your investments, you should read this book. Using the old "Buy & Hold" mentality is great when stocks go up 50%. But, it is a lousy method when bear markets take 20% or 50% or 85% of your hard-earned gains away.
   
   Even if you are not comfortable 'shorting' the market during downturns, knowing how to watch for bear markets so you can watch from the sidelines will definitely improve your investment returns. Sy Harding has been around long enough to have seen a number of bear markets, thus he has firsthand knowledge that is worth knowing. Just get the book and read it. It will make you a better investor.



5. This book is all about avoiding bearish turns in bull markets, and not, as the title claims, about profiting from bear markets.
   
   While the first half of the book is full of substantial and enlightening advice about reducing risk in bull markets, Harding offers only a meager 10 pages or so of light commentary on tools for profiting in down markets, namely short-selling and put options.
   
   Having introduced short-selling and put options, he quickly abandons the subject, with barely a word of advice on how long to hold a short position, and not one word of guidance on executing an options trade.
   
   If you want to learn how to avoid bear turns in bull markets, this book is worth the price.
   
   But if you want to learn how to execute profitable options trades and short sales in a bear market, you won't find this book helpful.

2 comments about Stock Market Technique, No. 1 (Fraser Publishing Library).

1. I picked this up last night and finished it today. The first few pages contain a list of Stock Market Maxims. Just getting the book, ripping the maxims out and posting them on your fridge or PC and throwing the book away would be worth 11 bucks. That not withstanding, the short stories in the book are fun to read and very practical in today's market. If you like market books, I am certain you will like this, if you want to increase your investment returns, buy the book and follow the tenants.



2. This is NOT the book to get familiar with Wyckoff's specific trading techniques. It's a compilation of articles published in a newsletter that emphasise some basic principles of trading (cut your losses, let your profits run, your trading decisions should be based on market action, disregard news, etc.) and promote his other services. The message: if you KNEW how to trade you would make money. You will not find much more help in this regard. A telling example is the discussion of a figure chart of a stock where you are told that there were 10 different buy signals near the bottom and if you had bought the stock there you could have tripled your money. But there's no mention of where these signals occured exactly or what they are.

   I've read a lot about Wyckoff's technique from other authors and I know they work. I would still like to read about them from Wyckoff himself. I keep ordering his other books and hope I will find more specific information.

5 comments about Darvas System for Over the Counter Profits.

1. While everyone points to his other books, this one is exactly word for word almost William O'Neil's CANSLIM system. Here is all the emphasis on Institutional, earnings, the very predecessors of (original?) RS and EPS and all that group and industry leadership factors. It's ALL THERE!!!W.O.N. simply rephrased and added his chart patterns and cups with handles that complicate things also work about 20% only
   or less in backtesting today. So how come O'Neil's book is great and the original not so, when even a kid can apply it with minor changes for today. Other new big shots are also picking NASDAQ stocks only on their websites right now in 2010 with the very same system and bragging about their random winnings now and then...



2. Darvas has a lot of useful information in terms of market timing and stock selection in his other books. This offering provides tips on purchasing over-the-counter stocks using 1970s technology and has no real usefulness today other than as historical background material.



3. Having read other books by N. Darvas, I was glad to find this one still in print and able to add it to my collection. Price and delivery were excellent. As in all of Mr. Darvas's writings, the system he used may be controversal, but certainly interesting and worth noting.



4. I am a huge fan of the author of this book, Nicolas Darvas. I have used his system during bull markets with much success, returning $4000 profit per trade and $10,000 profit in one month trading an account under six figures. While he gives excellent insight in this book about some of his trading methods like finding the small companies that will benefit from a large companies new technology through suppling components, his previous books are much better. In this book (Written in 1970) the author predicts the coming boom in the over the counter market which is now known as the Nasdaq. He gives advice on coming hot industries and lays down some very good trading principles, but sadly most of his material is out dated. Buy this book to get a look at the way a master trader's mind works, but you really need his other books "How I made $2,000,000 in the stock market" and "Wall Street the other Las Vegas" to fully learn his amazing stock trading system that could make you wealthy during a bull market.



5. Best book you'll ever read on investing, if you believe that stocks should only be bought if they are going to go up. The author tells how he finally learned, through trial and error (mostly error), what distinguishing characteristics a stock that is going up posesses.

   Just as important, he shows how to determine if the selection was wrong and expertly discusses the psychological struggles the mind deals with throughout the stock holding period. A MUST READ for anyone determined to consistently make money in the markets. Has helped my own investing tremendously.

5 comments about Applied Equity Analysis: Stock Valuation Techniques for Wall Street Professionals.

1. English's piece proves to be an excellent introductory book to the world of equity analysis from the perspective of the analyst. The book covers many key areas, and while the depth isn't extensive, the coverage provides a good amount of insight into the key issues.
   I would strongly recommend this for junior to intermediate levels.



2. I found this book hand wavy and badly written. I learned almost nothing from it. The writing is very vague and confusing.
   
   The following stock valuation books are far better:
   1. "Stock Valuation" by Scott Hoover.
   2. "Fire Your Stock Analyst: Analyzing Stocks On Your Own" by Harry Domash.



3. This book is great if you're in the field of finance. This is not for the average consumer looking for investment advice. I've been in corporate financial planning and analyis for the past five years and always wondered how equity analysts built their models. This books will give you insight into their thinking and also give enough detail to build your own models. I would have rated it five stars if the book included a CD with his examples in Excel. The author does have website where you can download sample models.



4. I bought this book based on the strong reviews as a complement to Damodaran's classic on valuation, but felt disappointed.
   
   To qualify my comments: First, I am not a sell-side analyst, and secondly, I haven't finished the book. After about 50 pages, I threw in the towel.
   
   My first stylistic objection to the book is its low content density. There is tremendous repetition and examples are trotted out in excruciating detail, even where the conclusions are fairly obvious. For example, on p. 34: "At competitive equilibrium, the firm can identify no incremental investment opportunities likely to generate returns in excess of capital costs. Competitive equilibrium is often defined as a condition in which investment opportunities generate returns equal to capital costs, but existing investments continue to earn abnormal rates." To me these two sentences are already redundant. But in case you still didn't get it, further DOWN on the SAME PAGE: "...This situation is called economic equilibrium, or economic parity. What does equilibrium mean? When returns are forced down to capital costs, then economic rents and/or abnormal earnings disappear and no further incentive to enter the business exists".
   
   But the most frequently repeated point of the first two chapters, is best summed up on p. 19: "As I say many times in the coming pages [and he's not kidding, there], equity analysis is not prophecy; it's opinion. It was never meant to be objective description, but it is strong advocacy." If you're the sell-side analyst, having to "dress up a pig" to help your firm gain some banking business, this book might offer some ideas. But where does this leave the consumer of such analysis? "It's the investor's job to 'diversify' by considering a variety of analysts' positions." (p.9)
   
   I think better advice for the investor might be to learn how to perform sound analysis themselves. For that, I recommend Damodaran's book. I lost my faith in this book's intent to provide balanced (let alone predictive) analysis.



5. There are reams and reams of investment valuation books on the market -- that is obvious.
   
   In my opinion, the three no one should be without are Applied Equity Analysis, Stephen Penman's monster tome "financial statements and...", and lastly, Aswath Damadoran's book, "investment valuation."
   
   Most hyperventilating MBAs default to Damadoran; I really enjoy the simplicity behind Applied Equity Analysis.
   
   Caution: Neither of the 3 are what you'd call "light reading."
   
   If you have any money left, honorable mention goes to Cooke's "security analysis on wall street."

5 comments about Using Technical Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Applying Stock Market Charting Techniques, Revised Edition.

1. Using Technical Analysis is an outstanding book that will simply explain the patterns and shapes of commonly used technical names such as double top, triple top, ascending triangle, continuation, and head and shoulders formations. The other best part of the book is the quizzes that aren't that hard at all. Don't be surprised to be right in your answers more often than not. However, this brings up a big problem. Translating the lessons to real time stock charts is no easy matter. In fact, I found more questions than answers. Obviously, for one, what patterns should I be focusing on and what portion of the pattern should I isolate from? Should I look at it through daily charts? Or weekly charts? How about how long the pattern should last? The book doesn't address those problems; so in short, Using Technical Analysis is too simplistic. I don't want to say that I am disappointed, but it was an enlightening experience for me. All in all, Using Technical Analysis is a great book to look at when understanding the chart patterns, most especially the correct timing of buy and sell points.



2. Do not overlook this book because it was published in 1994.It contains features that are useful for beginners in technical analysis.The book contains many example charts in bar form that are realistic in nature showing different buy and sell chart pattern setups. The author also tests the readers grasp of the material by asking them to decide whether a stock is a buy or sell based on the chart presented with answers provided at the end of the book.Another important aspect is the dedication of a separate chapter to volume .The author presents many example charts showing the behavior of volume during chart pattern formation and breakouts. In this chapter he also tests the readers knowledge with many excercises.
   As another reviewer mentions , this book is a light read with many charts but in my opinion is well worth it for a beginner who wants to get his first exposure to technical analysis.



3. If you have never read a technical analysis book then I highly recommend this above everything else. For startes it's barely over 200 pages short, with more than half those pages dedicated to charts. Simply put you only read about 100 pages.

   The beauty is those 100 pages are powerful and geared perfectly for the beginner. After reading this book I was bitting at the bit to apply my new knowledge, and no longer regard picking stocks as a crap-shoot.

   You CAN educate yourself to financial freedom, and this book will help you do that.




4. This is a practical book about Technical Analysis written by an investor with over 30 years of experience who has "been there and done it". The book has a section with exercises. If I had a complaint, it would be that the patterns shown in the example charts are too clear; things are not that crystal clear in real life. Anyone who reads this book should also read "Trading The Plan" by Robert Deel. Both are very practical.



5. I really like this book as it covers the basics and has examples where you have to use what you've learned to do the exercises. The reading is pretty dry but I still refer back to the book often when I'm trying to remember what a "double bottom" means or what an "ascending triangle" helps you predict.

5 comments about A Trader On Wall Street: A Short Term Traders Guide.

1. this book outlines a short term trading style that is very popular. it's very practical and can be applied right away. a lot of books go into the theory so much and the author never tells you what they actually do in practice. this book is almost the opposite of that. i found the sections on looking at market volatility, futures, and market open trading very helpful. some reviewers are hung up on a handful of typos, but if you are looking for grammer, get an english book.



2. If you day trade this is for you. If you option trade there will be parts that are very helpful



3. Aside from being liberally peppered with misspellings and grammatical errors, this book is organized in a sloppy and haphazard way. I recommend staying away from it, because any good information that can be found here is just too darn hard to mine out of the copious ore material.



4. Mike Coval has a n easy-to-read writing style designed for the new trader in mind. He provides all the information one needs to quickly and easily trade in a short-term manner. All one needs to provide is courage and a lack of emotion.



5. As a subscriber to a service that Mike Coval writes for that I enjoy, I had high hopes for a full length book written by him. Unfortunately, this book really sucks and the money I spent to buy it would have been better spent on just about anything else. Period. There is NOTHING of value here. By about page 10, I was fully convinced that I had been had, and realized all too late that this was just a poor excuse for a book.
   
   Please don't buy this - Buy the Josh Lukeman book, or any Alexander Elder book, or even a Cramer book. This thing stinks to high heaven.

5 comments about Monster Stocks: How They Set Up, Run Up, Top and Make You Money.

1. Monster Stocks takes the reader on a search - a search for the patterns that exist for those stocks with abnormal gains in short periods of time. John Boik argues that not only is the search for such stocks possible, they all display common characteristics that make their identification both possible and quite profitable.
   
   The book covers some 200+ pages, most of which is a repetitive look at numerous monster stocks that have sprung forth since the 1970's. Each is presented annotated charts and several pages of interpretations. The reader is presented with the fundamental and technical characteristics that set monster stocks into motion. These principals are repeated for most of the stocks presented throughout the manuscript.
   
   The repetitive nature of the material is probably the most disappointing aspect of the book. Some 30 or 40 stocks are presented over the 200 pages when probably 10 or so would have been plenty. Of course the book would have been quite a bit slimmer if just a few had been covered, but rather than make the reader wade through a myriad of stock charts and similar language it probably would have made for a better book, As a reader looking for the few nuggets of wisdom, you can't afford to skip a page since those nuggets are scatter across the many pages. Having said that, the author notes that he is being repetitive with the hope that the notions presented will "stick" with the reader as a result. Personally, I would have preferred fewer examples and instead a clear and concise summary of the points and a much shorter book. If I am willing to spend the money to buy the book, I don't need the author to make the material "stick" but instead to present it concisely and clearly.
   
   Nevertheless, the conclusion chapter does offer up these thoughts in just that fashion. Essentially, Boik indicates that the typical formulae for a monster stock are strong fundamentals as viewed through a) outstanding sales and/or revenue growth, b) strong and accelerated earnings growth, and c) high rates of return on equity. These fundamentals typically precede the technical breakout and run up. They also typically stay strong throughout the stock price run up and even into the topping pattern that eventually comes along. Naturally, Boik looks at the technical pattern as well - the base building period and then the high volume breakout from that base and a continuation of strength exhibited by a strong advance that uses the 50-day moving average as a crutch all the way to the top. The finality if usually expressed with a heavy volume decline through the 50-day moving average line. If you haven't exited by then, it is indeed time says Boik.
   
   There are other salient points made throughout the book and it is indeed a very good read. I know that I have a keen interest in identifying monster stocks and finding a way not only to ride them higher but to add to positions along the way. This book addresses those items and does so with clarity though verbosely, and thus, despite the somewhat boring repetition you are forced through, I would still recommend this book for any and all traders.
   
   
   Reviewed by L.A. Little for [...] 01/02/2010



2. If you believe in the old addage "to be the best, learn from the best"
   then this book will help you profit from the past success' of some of the biggest stock market winners of the past twenty years.



3. John Boik presents a well thought out method for acquiring wealth. The big money he claims is made in finding those few companies who can change the world. If an investor can recognize these monster stocks and manage them correctly, the result will be life changing wealth. Boik gives the reader a history lesson--that all monster stocks display the same characteristics just the names of the companies and their symbols change.



4. Boik's term "Monster Stocks" refers to stocks that have at least doubled in price within 18 months. This book describes the practical application of a set of rules for identifying and profiting from such high-growth stocks. These rules involve criteria both for a stock's fundamentals, and subtle details of price and volume action of the stock and of the general market.
   
   What I liked about the book is that it profiles about 30 such stocks as brief case studies, which include the chart basing setups that may have been evident, key points and characteristics of corrections during the stock's growth, and indications that presaged of the end of their run-ups. These are accompanied with annotated charts of relevant market indices and of the stocks profiled. The attendant commentary on these particular growth stocks and the events in the markets allowed me to learn by comparing the rules to how I would have reacted in the same situation. Most of the examples occur during the period 1996 through 2006.
   
   Much of the methodology aligns with and makes mention of the Investor's Business Daily rules as described in their educational material and in Bill O'Neil's books. This book builds on IBD's teachings in that it uses the methods to focus on the special case of stocks that at least double in price including the psychological challenges, buying and pyramiding tactics, and the significance of moving-average support.
   
   Boik describes methods that are relatively simple, but adds that the attention to detail and discipline required is not easy. I know from experience that many of us will find it difficult to make a large commitment to a high-growth stock, at least in its early stages, because the characteristics go against much of the conventional wisdom. Many investors will sell such a stock when it makes violent corrections - only to watch it make new highs soon thereafter. Similarly, it takes great discipline to act on the various warning signs and sell even though the stock is making successive new highs and the fundamentals have never been better. Boik does a reasonable job of explaining the details of what to observe, and rules by which to buy, add more, sell or hold these stocks through such observations. Among other things, the rules limit your risk and provide assurance when holding such stocks during their growth phase.
   
   The book concludes with a Monster Stock finding and handling template, and a summary of the Monster Stock rules.
   
   A criticism that led me to rate this book four stars instead of five was that the writing style tended to be wordy and repetitive, making the book longer than it needed to be. Also, the graphics were sometimes difficult to follow, and required some study before I was able to relate them to the text. I was able to endure this however, and found a lot of valuable content.
   
   I can also recommend the following to those wanting more on growth stock investing:
   
   The Zurich Axioms by Max Gunther ©1985
   
   Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre ©1923
   
   How to Trade in Stocks by Jesse Livermore ©1940
   
   How to Make Money in Stocks by William J. O'Neil ©2009
   
   The Successful Investor by William J. O'Neil ©2004 (*a true gem)
   
   Trader Vic - Methods of a Wall Street Master by Victor Sperandeo ©1991, 1993
   
   The Market Wizard series of three books by Jack D. Schwager



5. I had previously purchased his other two books. The first covered the best US traders (this is a very good book) and the second book covered the US equity market and the best US traders through history, this book also was pretty good in terms of detail and explanation. His current book was shallow lacking in detail and appears to have rushed to the publisher. I was throughly disappointed.
   
   I agree with some of the other reviews you would be much better served by purchasing the books on trading written by William O'Neil