Market Wizards - Jack D. Schwager

This book is basically a collection of interviews with top traders. I got it to understand what my bosses do, but for the most part it's something rather different, since these people are mostly trading in very liquid and vanilla markets. Having said that, it's a very interesting book. It's a bit like watching the markets, in that you may think you see a pattern emerging, predicting sure-fire winning traders, only for it to be completely broken down by the next multi-millionaire. If nothing else, it demonstrates the many different routes that can be taken under the guise of trading. The downside is that the book seems dated, seeming to mostly deal with markets before the intervention of computers and people using maths and all that. Nonetheless, I found it an interesting read, if only to justify some of the hocus pocus surrounding "technical analysis" (entrail gazing on price charts).

Posted 2005-03-30.