Lessons from the Greatest Stock Traders of All Time

I really wish I had read this book earlier in my studies on trading stocks. The author does an excellent job bringing together the greatest stock traders of all time in one place. It is hard to argue with the results of these men, making millions in the markets several times over 40-50 years. Jesse Livermore made over $100 million during the crash of 1929 by being short in stocks, Nicholas Darvas made $2 million in 18 months part-time. I had already stumbled upon Jesse Livermore, Nicolas Darvas, and William O'Neal, and read each of their books. They have all taught me a great deal and their teachings have lead me to profits in the market. I love the way the author has shown the similarities in all these great traders and condensed the lessons to be learned from them in the final chapter. All these great traders bought into the strongest stocks, they did not look for bargains. They believed in buying high and selling higher. They believed in buying stocks with great fundamentals and technical strength. They looked for large price increases on strong volume, they captured there profits on the rise at the first sign of weakness. Thanks to this book I will read the books by Gerald Loeb and Bernard Baruch and continue with my growth as a trader. I will also read all the books about these great men recommended at the end of the book. This book would have helped me focus on what books to read when I began learning years ago. Who better to learn from than the best there ever was?

When I first this book at my local bookstore, I could not believe it. During the past ten years, I have read many financial publications and books including each one of those covered in "Babe Ruth of Trading" in John Boik's book. Indeed, I agree, the five listed - Livermore, Baruch, Darvas, Loeb and O'Neil - are the greatest. Though some may wonder what about Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, Sir John Templeton or Bill Miller, John Boik's picks each went a step further to summarize their trading behaviors. Boik's book is not geared on the many details, which is a plus, but rather on the overriding theme and concepts regarding each trader. Great book on such timeless rules!

Can ordinary people really make money in the stock market? The five famous traders author John Boik profiles here would probably answer "yes," but it would be a qualified yes. Beating the market requires more than just following a trading formula, as the stories of these traders' lives make abundantly clear. To win at the great game of Wall Street, a trader must learn from experience, and that means spending long hours studying. The trading rules and strategies in this book are enlightening, but most of them involve judgment calls that could only have been made by someone familiar with the daily rhythms of the market. Though the careers of the subtitle's "Greatest Stock Traders of All Time" span more than a century, their personalities and strategies are strikingly similar, a fact that Boik highlights well. Their similarities suggest that successful traders may be born with the necessary high risk tolerance, but that to become sustained victors, they need to develop strong work ethics, cultivate independent minds and never give up. We suggest this book to active traders, not buy-and-hold investors - those with low risk tolerance need not apply.

This may become my "trading" bible. I read this while logged into my brokerage site. I did what Boik said: reviewed my accounts, wrote out my trading logs, and just plain followed the "rules" and guess what happened? I learned. I learned how long I'd been holding some non-performing old favorites...how I had too many positions...how to actually read those darned "customized charts" and most important, that, like these guys, I am willing to do the homework, and ready to venture in the water again, better armed than 1999. Thank you for keeping it simple!

Thanks for bringing back to life the great traders of Loeb and Darvas. Great link to the similarities of the best traders over 100 years. Excellent profiles of the legends and how their strategies are the ones to use to profit in stocks.