Reminiscences of a Stock Operator Paperback – 31 Mar. 2024

When I was in the middle of this book I started to feel sad that the book will eventually end. I could not believe that the book was written in 1923. The main character of the book has a rational judgement of someone from this era. It's a rather a short 240 page 'fictional biography' of 20th century stock trader Larry Livingston. It is believed that the story is real and it talks about life of Jesse Lauriston Livermore (1877-1940). He is regarded by many as one of the greatest stock traders of all time. In the era before computerized charts his remarkable head for figures and memory gave him an edge over most other traders. He devised a simple system for trading. If shares were going up in value, he went long: if they were going down, he went short. If stock continued along a trend he bought more shares. When the trend stopped, he sold. He often use the term: 'Stock prices move along the line of least resistance.' He claims that at rare times he would have a hunch of where the market was going and when he followed his instincts he would always profit from it. By studying trends he had an uncanny gift of detecting when a bull market was coming to an end before his fellow traders. He did not allow emotion or rumours to influence his decisions. When he made mistakes - and he made plenty - they were the result of miscalculation and not emotion. In this book, written with elegance and precision, Livermore enunciates his principles with plenty of examples. He also gives insights into the stock manipulations that went on in Wall Street from the turn of the 20th century to the time of his death in 1940. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the philosophy of trading - the principles are timeless.

this is a genuine classic of the trading world and should be on all investors/traders bookshelf. it tell's a an autobiographical account of jess livermoores career as a trader. it tells the highs and lows and his approach to earning fortunes by riding the waves of the market.i am unsure if his approach would work today - against the algorythms and black boxes, but it is a great historical account. the main points he makes about being a successful trader are all internal - be in control of yourself, leave emotion at the door, if you have a strategy stick to it, don't take advice from anyone - as their advice willsuit their personality and most important of all cut your losses...

This one is a classic one in trading. I like it very much, because it's about one of the greatest legends of the wallstreet, Jesse Livermore. It s written in the form of a novel, although it talks only about the trading life of Jesse Livermore and not his personal life. It's nice because it shows his mistakes which is common to all traders at least to the speculators, trades who are looking for a jump (to the upside) in their accounts in a relatively short time. It talks about all the many times that Jesse goes bankrupt and borrows money again to trade and he wins and give all his loan back and makes alot of money but again goes bankrupt and so on.It talks also alot about behind the scenes in the wallstreet and so the stock markets. And alot about the psychology of the trading and the traders, the loosers (which he calls suckers, including himself in certain times too) and the winners.Easy reading too.Have a nice time,Houtan

For a novel, this is one hell of an educational book. Don't expect much in the way of technical trading education, but if you are already a trader/investor operating in the markets, and have a bit of an imagination, this book will give you an invaluable insight into the operations of a market maker. It will change your perspective on how markets work and will give you the insight into how to not be a sucker. I always longed to have a mentor to teach me the ins and outs of market operations, and funnily enough, this novel is that mentor. Timeless.

Doesn't give you in depth trading skills, but rather focused on Livermoores trading sagas. I had expected to acquired some.trading skills, which the book does not cover.

Amazing to see how little things have changed in over a hundred years. Readable and candid walk through the mechanics and emotions of trading.

Interesting insights.Different times but the beheaviour of market participants never changes, no matter the era.A good solid read

I can only echo much of what has already been written here in terms of the positive reviews.This IS a five star book, and is required reading for any committed trader.Technical ability is critical to performance, if you cannot trade, do not trade live. LEARN, LEARN, LEARN. All the mindshrinks in the world wont help you if you have not paid attention to developing your ability. Livingstone mastered tape reading first, he had developed a robust method, without which he would be ruined. (For example, notice how Livingstone scales in, this is in accordance to letting profits run and cutting losses short, I would argue that scaling out is subtley contrary to this age old market wisdom.)Pay special attention to the introspective nature of Livingstone and note how every loss is viewed as a learning experience. This is key.Traders do not quit, they return having LEARNED from the losses and ADAPTED. Livingstone loses repeatedly and comes back stronger every time, having learned and adapted. Good traders think independantly from the crowd, they live and die by their own decisions and are happy doing so. Good traders play their own game and work hard to be supremely proficient at it.Keep learning, adapting and stay determined,Good Trading.