The Encyclopedia of Technical Market Indicators

The second edition of "The Encyclopedia of Technical Market Indicators" is a significant change from the first edition; the 15 years between the editions, commonness of personal computers and the software applications to perform the technical analysis of market equities (stocks) has made accessible to the private investor what was once the province of the institutions. The popularity of the various software tools given to those investors has also enabled them, without some experienced guidance, the ability to gain that experience the painful way. Mr. Colby has provided an excellent text to guide those exploring all of this new information, a way to construct models and simulations, adhering to his professional guidance, and the cyclopedia of information and some mathematics, to get dependable and desired results from testing historical data. Mathematical explanations are easily followed as text or formulae, and sometimes with the inclusion of the programming with MetaStock software. The math is easily followed and should be well understood by anyone involved in this aspect of market analysis. I have both the first and second editions, and keep each in a prominent spot on the shelf of my library. One should keep in mind, this book is an encyclopedia rather than a dictionary.

For the earlier review commenting that the formulas are only in Metastock I must comment that this is not the case. The indicators in the book are described in varying ways: 1. Most of the indicators (and the method of their calculation) are described in prose. Sometimes there are no mathematical formulas visible, as the calculation is only described in the text. 2. Very often the mathematical formula for the indicator is printed out. From these formulas it is quite straightforward to implement them in your selected calculator (be it in your head, Excel, any programming language..) 3. For the most used and known indicators, the calculation is layed out in detail with printed step-by-step excel-sheets. For example, it is impossible for you not to undestand from the book how to calculate Exponential Moving Averages. However, the book does not only include definitions about market indicators, but also examples of their implementation. For most of the indicators a trading system is proposed (that is, exact rules when to buy or sell using the data given by the indicator), and the implementation of these systems are indeed described in Metastock language. Still the described systems are quite easy to understand even without Metastock background. The meaning of some of the metastock function calls may take some figuring out, but usually given the context of the text the code is quite easy to understand. Personally I am also a programmer and have never used Metastock, and still find all of the book most usable. The only negative aspect of the book I can say is that the level of description on the indicators varies quite widly. Some indicators may get several pages, while others are passed by with 10 lines of text. It would have been nice if all the indicators would have been given the same level of treatment, with at least simple mathematical descrioption for each. I usually prefer simple mathematics, and it was little disturbing to notice that sometimes formulas are described only in text. To conclude, this is after all a very comprehensive book, and by far the best collection of data on market indicators I have seen. Highly recommended dependless whether you are using metastock or not.

If you are serious about technical analysis and would like to be able to understand the underlying logic, formula, success rate, and limitations of market osicllators and indicators, then this book is for you.

Like the first edition, the new SECOND EDITION simply, clearly and completely explains all the technical market indicators that are used in examining stock trends. At more than 800 pages, this book is double the size of the first edition and COMPLETELY updated. I bought three copies of the Second Edition as soon as it came out, and I gave two copies to my friends. This book tells what the indicators measure, what their components are, how they are formulated, and what exactly they purport to indicate. It describes their various realms of usefullness and their limitations. The book is packed with charts and examples and is very, very interesting to read. I bought the first edition about six years ago and have found it the only useful reference of its type. The Second Edition is entirely updated and expanded and is ESSENTIAL for understanding Technical Market Indicators and stock trends. I recommend that EVERYONE in the industry and all serious independant traders and researchers get the new SECOND EDITION of this book.

The best technical analysis and indicator encyclopedia. Comprehensive, best refernce.The only book yoy will ever need. Not a dictionary of indicator, complete analysis and trading models explained.