Good book. A lot of traders get caught up in the fundamental garbage, especially when they start out. Focusing on the noise just takes your attention off of what really matters - making money. I can't cant the number of times when a crop report comes out that supports my bias on the market, only to see the market move the opposite direction. The author did a great job of showing a simple system that performs over time. Too often we trade to feed our ego, not to make money. I don't know about you, but I just want to make money. The easiest way to do it is to follow the method that others are using to make cash. This book outlined the strategy and showed how others are doing it right now. It almost gives you the edge because you don't have to do the research on what everyone else is doing. This book straightens out the learning curve.

A interesting book to read, the author obviously did a nice job of collecting all the info.
In term of the trading methology, I am not too impress with it. It is laughable that someone will trade the market without paying attention to current market condition and fundamental at all. May be that's why Dennis would often loss 30% or more in one month and he often lost 9 trades out of 10. Sounds to me he got into the sucker rally all the time because he did not know and did not care what's underneath. I bet if he spend more time studying the general market fundamental, he will do better than that.
On the upside, there's indeed one thing that interested me in this book, and that's the profolio risk management. Although Dennis is a lazy dude that would not spend time studying the fundamental, but due to his skillful risk management, he managed to make money eventhough he's wrong 90% of the time, and that's what I try to learn from this book.
Actaully, try read "How I Made $2,000,000 In The Stock Market" its much more inspiring to me, the author prove at the end that you have to combine fundamental and technical analysis to make big money in the stock market.

A interesting book to read, the author obviously did a nice job of collecting all the info.
In term of the trading methology, I am not too impress with it. It is laughable that someone will trade the market without paying attention to current market condition and fundamental at all. May be that's why Dennis would often loss 30% or more in one month and he often lost 9 trades out of 10. Sounds to me he got into the sucker rally all the time because he did not know and did not care what's underneath. I bet if he spend more time studying the general market fundamental, he will do better than that.
On the upside, there's indeed one thing that interested me in this book, and that's the profolio risk management. Although Dennis is a lazy dude that would not spend time studying the fundamental, but due to his skillful risk management, he managed to make money eventhough he's wrong 90% of the time, and that's what I try to learn from this book.

Congrats - All the basics are right in front of the reader... The info in this books gives the serious reader a basic structure, and allows them to then build their own personalized methods around a time proven concept.

Eastern Research & Trading
Bill G. / Singapore

It looks like ideas from this book still works. One of the interesting example of similar approach - Alexander Rezviakov in Russia, whose approach very similar to approach in this book. Even ideas like "...looking at the news for decision-making cues was the wrong thing to do.". Very interesting, that Alexander start his public lectures about a year before this book was published.

Maybe Donchinan's channels are old-fashioned nowadays, but main idea - turn off TV, focus at the price, catch the trend, use stops and some other - is still is up to date.

The book will be very interesting for readers who are new to trading literature and moderately interesting to those who have already read about trading, and trend trading in particular (I've read the author's magnum opus "Trend Following" and recommend it strongly).

As to the guide motive of The Complete Turtle Trader I wasn't convinced that "The Turtle experiment proved that nurture trumps nature" as the author states repeatedly. Why?

1/The Turtles were recruited not randomly but in a careful selection process. Clearly, they were perceived by R.Dennis as candidates having certain natural potential to become traders when nurtured/trained.

2/Turtles didn't risk their own money which seems the number one obstacle to trading success - a psychological one, it is called fear, while all the Turtles had to fear was not following through on job description provided by R.Dennis and W. Eckhardt, helpful indeed, although still not an easy task. Why only a small minority of the original group remained successful traders, or traders at all, after the experiment was over(many turned school teachers we learn)? In my opinion the conclusive experiment started rather then ended when the group got disbanded.

3/This point is less important than the earlier two - Turtles didn't develop their methods which is an intellectual challenge, in fact less formidable than the psychological challenge of trading, and also weren't faced with the question whether or not to adjust their methods when and if markets changed. As far as I know the 20 day breakout they applied with success during the time of the experiment doesn't work nearly as well as it did (famous L.Raschke, one of J.Schwager's Market Wizzards, has coined the name "Turtle Soup" for one of her trading setups - fading the 20-day breakout.

In conclusion: narture alone can very often be insufficient to become and remain successful at trading.

Don't read this book expecting to learn HOW to trade. Covel is telling you here about WHO the great traders were and a lot about their lives. There is as much to be learned in WHO you need to become in order to trade as there is in HOW to trade. I would put this book in the same catagory as "New Wall Street Wizzards" and "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator ".
I found this book easier to read and more enjoyable than Covel's book, "Trend Trading", because it wasn't "data" trying to prove anything. It is simply the story of some of the greatest traders who ever hit wallstreet. Don't you think that there might be a little value in knowing a bit about them?

This book blows away a lot of the hype and speculation about who, what and how the "Turtles" were recruited and trained, and it does it in a no nonsense manner.
Covel has obviously thouroughly researched his subject and laid it out in a format which enables the reader to understand the concepts and gives all the rules you would need to trade the "turtle" system without going out and spending the rip off rates some are asking for the same information.Most important is the stress on the importance of money management, which you will soon realise is the "real"secret behind the success of the "Turtles". As is known to most experienced traders, entry is the least important part of a trade, the exit strategy is paramount.
In my opinion this is a "must read" book for all traders.

This was a refreshing read - I loved it. The story line relates to a group of educated traders called the Turtles. It is a good read and everyone can find use from it. The system described is very valuable and I am studying it now. Good read, highly recommended.

I've watch and listened to this author for years. I am a subscriber to his newsletter. Frankly I didn't know what to expect from him. BUT i got something that was worth the value and well written. The interviews with Turtles was icing on the cake. These guys were silent for so long and now they speak. I would have appreciated more interviews with the players, and perhaps an interview with Dennis himself. This would have made an 'A' book an 'A+'. Maybe the author tried to reach them - I dont know. Good read, this is a keeper

This is a book about what could be achieved, instead of how to achieve it. If you are searching for the holy grail of trading, you would be disappointed. Instead, this book, with Covel's comprehensive access to the original turtle traders, offers a color recount of the legendary turtle training by two of the most successful traders in the 80's.

In chapter 5, this book did give a glimpse of the turtle trading system, and some helpful advice regarding positioning, risk and money management. These rules are based on simple price breakouts within a short trading range, and intuitively are just too simplistic and too volatile to be profitable. I have also back tested these rules using historical data, and my results confirmed my intuition. That said, Covel did mention that readers should devise their own trading rules, and should test the rules thoroughly before trading and should not follow the rules blindly.

I have also noticed from the trading records of the turtles that their returns in recent years have declined dramatically, albeit still positive. Some of the traders were posting high single digit to low double digit returns in the past four years. This is a cause for concern, given that the overall world market has risen substantially during the same period. Is this an evidence that the turtle trading methods are not working as well as they used to, or are the traders taking significant less risks? I reckon the former is true, given this book repetitively mentions that the turtles are still using exactly the same trading methodologies to trade till this day.

In summary, this is an inspirational book on trend trading. It offers a different perspective on how the financial market works. It is indeed a stroke of fresh air for steadfast fundamentalists such as myself. That said, I suspect that many have been drawn to this book in search of the trading holy grail, and would inevitably be disappointed. I believe this is an excellent, well-written pitch book for Covel's portfolio of trading training service on offer on his website.

------------------------------------------------------------
*** My original review, which gave a truthful and comprehensive review on the book, was deleted one day after posting. I am very disappointed. I strongly believe that the democracy of readers' opinions is crucial to the author and amazon's long term success. I have revised my original review following this surprising and disturbing experience. ***
------------------------------------------------------------

If you are looking for a magic trading system that could be applicable to today's financial market, you would be disappointed. Instead, this books gives a comprehensive account of the legendary turtle experiment happened some twenty plus years ago, with Covel's unique access to many of the turtles.

In Chapter 5, this book also includes the supposedly original trading systems that the Turtles used, but these systems seem too simple to be true. Consider this:

System 1: buy on new 20-day high, sell on new 10-day low.
System 2: buy on new 55-day high, sell on new 10-day low.
System 3: if S1 misses out, use S2.

Intuitively, the exit rule places too close a stop to the entry, and consequently many profitable trades could be stopped out. I back-tested these rules on the Dow 30 stocks, and my results have confirmed the intuition. That said, Covel cautioned readers not to blindly follow the rules, and urged readers to test before implementing them.

While the original trading systems are too simple to work, this book proves with actual historical trading record that trend following has worked and should continue to work. It also offers advice on trading psychology, risk management and trade positioning. For those who are steadfast fundamentalists, this book is a stroke of fresh air, albeit with a false lure of the holy trail of trading.

Interested readers should also read Covel's "Trend Following", and should visit his website turtletrader.com for extremely comprehensive trading advice and free data.

I struggled evaluating the proper method to trade. Without the patience to wait on long term trades my preference is intra-day trading. Struggling with different ideas and algorythms the book brought it home for me. This book, coupled with "The Complete Turtle Trader" changed my whole theory of the trade.... Keep it Simple Stupid! After taking the complexity out of the algorythm and staying focused on the more simple charts, I finally... yes finally became a successful trader.

The many other reviews will tell you what this book is about, but you will get the impression it is at least half about the Turtle system. Not true. Two chapters out of 13 summarily describe the system, and if you haven't traded futures contracts you probably won't follow the risk management part of the method.

A second weakness is not entirely the author's fault. He quotes Dennis and Eckhardt as stating they want traders to always trade the same regardless of past performance. Then he outlines a system whereby risk (trade size as a percentage of account) is reduced after poor performance and increased after good performance. So Dennis' and Eckhardt's "system" automatically changed behavior based on performance. It would be nice to have pointed out this discrepancy and investigated it in the interviews, but the author doesn't notice it.

Nevertheless, I gave the book five stars, didn't I? It's so unusual. The author thoroughly explores the human side, even down to second generation Turtles, and explores the character reasons outside of the mechanics of the trading system that led some of them to start successful trading and money management businesses, and led other Turtles in a variety of different directions. The relationship to a movie of the same era is explored, Trading Places. The author, through extensive interviews, tries to get at what each Turtle was thinking, which reminds me of The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett & George Soros.

There are lessons here for how to approach anything in life, especially if it involves trends, or uncertainty, or mentoring, or commitment ... lessons I wish I'd known when I was fresh out of college. But as the book recounts Richard Dennis' return to trading, one gets the feeling it is never too late to follow one's passion. Because of the broad scope and strength of human approach, I give this book 5 stars.

This book overall tells you about turtle program which was done more than 25 yrs ago. However, if you want to follow the turtle trading rule, this is not for you. I found the rule in the book is inaccurate.

I purchased another book "way of turtle" which was written by one of the turtle. The complete accurate rule is in that book.

This book is full of important lessons that any trader can take to heart. It really justifies the effectiveness of technical analysis and as a young person just getting started in the world of finance i feel that the nurture debate provides a kind of hope for anyone involved in short term investing.

As it says on the flyleaf, "If you want to understand the real world of trading, read this book" . The book reads like a novel since Covel is a clear, concise writer with a personable style.

I learned a lot of the background needed to understand where this famous trend following system came from, as Covel is an excellent researcher. I was unaware that Richard Dennis decided to run a training school to prove that great traders (Turtles) can be taught. (Nurture vs nature). Covel provides a clear description of the Rules to the Turtles. Proof that these rules work is the included career track records of very wealthy people who followed the Rules.

I loved Charlie Munger's ( Warren Buffets No 2 guy) quote, " In my whole life I have known no wise people over a broad subject matter area who didn't read all the time - none, zero."

Lesson learned on entrepreneurs. Nancy Upton and Don Sexton , of Baylor University pinpointed nine traits of those who become fabulously wealthy entrepreneurs:

1. Nonconformists - lower need to conform indicating self-reliance
2. Emotionally aloof- not necessarily cold to others, but can be oblivious
3. Sky divers - lower concern for physical harm, but does change with age
4. Risk takers - more comfortable taking it
5. Socially adroit - more persuasive
6. Autonomous - higher need for independence
7. Change seekers - like novel approaches. This is different than 99% of all other people
8. Energetic - higher need / or ability to work longer
9. Self-sufficient - don't need as much sympathy or reassurance, but they still need to form networks so self-sufficiency need not be taken to extremes.

If you have any interest in doing the work needed to make the big money trading, this is the book for you . Perhaps like me you are interested but would prefer to be able to find a trader that shares your philosophy who will do the work, then you need this book. Or perhaps you just like to read about people making scads of money trading and like Charlie Munger says you read/learn all the time.

This book is wriitten by someone who does not claim to be a turtle trader himself but he has explained the trading system threadbare and in simplest of English. The style of writing is innovatove and grasping. I really like the chapter no. 4 ( The philosophy) and 5 ( The Rules). These two chapters are in itself comprises the whole book . The most satisfying part is that after reading the book one can straight away apply the trading system and that includes even novices.
Lastly, I have read books written by real turtles also but they hide more than they reveal (unlike this book). Hats off to Mr Covel for this excellent effort.

As a big fan of Michael Covel's work (blogs and books), I found "The Complete Turtle Trader" did a respectable job of documenting the people that worked for Richard Dennis. Covel is an expert on this subject, as evidenced by the exhaustive analysis in "Trend Following".

"Turtle Trader" turns out to be more of a "history" than a "manual". I was hoping for deeper explanation of techniques of the original experiment or even the next generation's take on those techniques. The Turtles were secretive, and this book doesn't do enough to break the code.

Deficiencies aside, it's still a good story, just not a roadmap to using the techniques.

What makes Turtle Trading so successful??? The answer is contained in the title of my review of The Complete Turtle Trader: Remove all emotions from the trading process. Whether you are trading stocks, bonds, gold, commodities, gambling in Vegas, betting on the horses, the answer is the same. Ignore your "gut reactions" and instead go with what the numbers and the trend is telling you. Covel does a masterful job describing how Richard Dennis and William Eckhardt recruited the Turtles literally off the streets with classified ads, trained them in their proprietery methods, then turned them loose with their money and their rules and watched the cash pile up. Covel describes in detail each of the traders, their performance, why some were more successful than others, several neo-Turtles (traders with similar styles who sprang up in the wake of the originals), and most interestingly, how Dennis in particular violated his own rules at his own cost. For me, the best chapter in the book is Chapter 4: The Philosophy, where Covel clearly makes the case how the Turtle guidelines can allow a person to succeed in multiple endeavors, not just the commmodities markets where they thrived. If you are familiar with modern gaming theory, you will understand when Covel says that the Turtles were playing the House while all the other traders in the market were busy playing their hunches. The Turtles won their money over the long term, just like the casinos, even if they had to endure some horrific short-term losses. Covel also shows how the Turtles took the road less traveled by playing against such conventional market wisdom as Buy Low, Sell High. Instead, the Turtles waited for clear signs of a trend (whether upward or downward), then jumped in and stayed as long as the trend lasted, only getting out when their guidelines dictated, not their feelings. Most readers will be tempted to skip Chapter 4 and read Chapter 5: The Rules, which gives the nuts-and-bolts of the process. My advice: Don't! The potential acolyte of the Turtle system should have a thorough understanding of Why the system works as well as How it works, otherwise during the heat of battle, he will revert to his old ways. Kudos to Covel for making the all-important connection of how the Turtle methods can work to make you money in a number of endeavors, not just the commodities markets.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the markets. No book, including this one, will make someone a great trader in a matter of a few hours. But at least after reading the Complete Turtle Trader you won't be wasting your time, which is unfortunately the case with many of the trading/investing publications being sold today. For me this book boiled down to the Author, Michael Covel, delivering a how to trend follow manual in a novel format. It's well written, concise, and tells the reader exactly how this group of Turtle trend followers made their trading decisions. Just as importantly it spells out how the Turtles' used their trading rules to protect their capital from their losing trades. Covel even gives you the exact rules used by the Turtles. It's all there. The bottom line is that this is one of the best trading books I've read in the past couple of years.

Good stories, interesting people, a great read. This practical guide teaches off the beaten path ways to make money in the financial markets. It's not often that a trading book comes across my desk that is easy to understand, a page turner and contains useful trading advice. Make sure you add The Complete TurtleTrader to your library!

If readers want to learn some practical principles about financial investing, Michael Covel's new book, "The Complete TurtleTrader," will probably provide them to most readers. This is an interesting guidebook to tactics and strategies which should raise anyone's ability to trade in the marketplace. Since I am not in the financial markets anymore and have no personal need of such information, my attention was drawn to an underlying issue that Covel presents and discusses because it was at the heart of the TurtleTrader phenomenon. This issue is an old one; it has been around and discussed for centuries; it has never been adequately resolved to everyone's satisfaction. The issue is that of "Nature" versus "Nurture."

According to Covel, Wall Street trader Richard Dennis engaged in an argument (friendly, of course) with fellow trader William Eckhardt about whether trading ability was "innate" or could be taught. Dennis believed that the principles of investing could be taught to anyone. Eckhardt disagreed, believing that the facility for successful trading was "inborn." Was it, in other words, a matter of "Nature" or "Nurture" when it came to successful trading in the financial markets? Biology or society? Genetics or environment? Heredity or culture? The argument can be defined in a number of ways and has been the subject of intense investigation -- philosophically, for ages, and scientifically, for at least a century -- with no definitive answer in sight. Probably, a more realistic approach would be to view the matter as along a spectrum with nature at one end and nurture at the other. Where, then, does the "truth" lie along that spectrum? In the middle? More toward the "nature" end? Or toward the "nurture" end?

It would seem, if I correctly understand the gist of this "experiment" in trading behavior, that Dennis wins the argument hands down and that "Nurture" takes the prize. The so-called "TurtleTraders" were recruited from a classified ad which offered to train a small group of applicants as commodity futures traders and no experience was necessary. Indeed, it would seem to me to be required that any previous sort of trading experience be prohibited lest the variables in this "experiment" be tainted. But, of course, strictly speaking, this was not a scientific experiment at all and so the options could be, and in fact were, less restricted and constrained. The Turtle traders were trained in the rules for entering and exiting trades, provided with personal lessons by both Dennis and Eckhardt, and were each given one million dollars to trade however they decided. All they had to do was follow the Turtle trading system. In the end, the TurtleTraders are said to have made $100 million for Richard Dennis. Some of the Turtles went on to successful independent trading, accumulating riches on their own. OK, well and good, and my hat's off to Richard Dennis and the other successful traders.

The problem for those of us interested in the whole Nature vs. Nurture debate is, of course, that this "experiment" was a singular event in one area of human activity and, furthermore, an activity that most people do not engage in. Does it really tell us anything beyond what Covel relates in his book? I have to submit, not much. At least, that is, about the whole Nature vs. Nurture debate. Dennis' investigation or "test" is interesting, yes. Conclusions to be drawn: not many, if any at all. The reasons for this, I think, are obvious and I mention in passing only a few. There apparently was no theoretical structure involved in designing the procedure, no "controlled" environment for the sake of comparison, no accounting for independent or dependent variables, and no replication for the sake of prediction or checking the results. The whole matter essentially involved a simple argument and no genuine hypothesis was put forth for examination. So, actually, this was not a genuine experiment at all, although I think the whole story is an entertaining read.

I do not doubt that many readers, particularly those interested in financial investing, will learn much from Covel's book about the ins and outs of successful investing. This is, after all, "the true story of the simple investing system that beats Wall Street's best," as the dust cover of the book advertises. Furthermore, the book is about a man who became and still is a legend among the financial investing crowd. That, in itself, makes the book worthwhile. But as far as the whole Nature vs. Nurture debate is concerned, there is not anything to be concluded from the reading. Those readers who are really interested in that debate and its consequences will have to look elsewhere. That being said, I highly recommend the book because of the lessons that can be learned from and about those who participated in Dennis' fascinating "experiment," as well as the principles of the system that Dennis employed in making this, at least, a singular, successful experience for the participants.

I, like everyone it seems, am intrigued by the whole Turtle Trading idea. I am one of those people that has spent a lot of money on books and classes always trying to hone my investing skills and admitedly looking for any "edge" that I can get. I purchased this book with the hope that it would give me a little insight into the system that the Turtles used to succeed and unlike other Turtle books this one actually delivered for the most part. There is a chapter that talks about calulating your "Expectation" or edge when calculating performance or tradeing methodology. Mind you there was no real "system" that was divulged line by line, however this book went further than others to explain the thought and methodology that went into the Turtle trading training. One thing that might be reassuring to non-day traders is the premise layed out in the book that the Turtles spent a lot of time sitting around doing nothing. They did not force trades and only placed trades when the conditions were favorable. When a trade was initiated there were definite exit strategies that were not varied from. For someone like me who if very "systemetized" this was nice to know. Now if we could just find the ever-elusive full proof system.

The other thing that was different and informative was that it gave you the success rates of many of the Turtle traders. It also talked about what some of the Turtles did after they they left and were out on their own.

All in all this was a pretty good book. It might have been nice to have more real world examples of how the methods are/were applied but overall it was a pretty easy read and gave a little more insight into the Turtles and what made them so successful.

Stylistically clean, accesible prose for tourist neophyte and experienced trader alike with abundant seed material for future work for those involved in the mkts. Not so encyclopedic perhaps as Schwager's Definitive Guide, but more immediately useful. I would put it on equal footing with Dr Elder's excellent book Trading for a Living and Taleb's virtually necessary Fooled By Randomness. A work long overdue given the importance of the actual Turtle experiment and and in light of the abundant and tedious People Magazine style financial porn that has been the only material until now. Worth the money, worth the Time.

This is a mandatory text for every serious trader. Covell relates the history and reveals the methods of a near-legendary group organized by a Chicago trading king, which was wildly successful. Some well-known trading books are narratives with no details. The Complete Turtle Trader reveals actual trades, including whys, wherefores, entries, exits, details never revealed before. If you buy only one trading book, this should be it. I wish it had been around when I started. Aside from the fascinating biographies of the Turtles, if one just absorbs the principles of risk control this book describes, one will be ahead of 90% of the traders out there.

Mike Covel has done a great job in getting the Turtles to speak to him and share their experiences as Trainees. This book clearly demystifies the training process and delineates what exactly transpired. I have found lessons like these in many books of the Narrative Nonfiction genre to be very helpful in my own personal and professional development. For the aspiring trader, here is a great book that illustrates that profitable trading can be taught. If you're into Buy & Fold, or indexing, IMHO you might consider opening your head - you will learn much from Covel's effort.

My compliments to Mr. Covel. I found his work on the Turtles admirable in so many ways. As a 8 year commodities position trader, now retired pathologist, I kept asking myself how could he have observed, interviewed and then written a book that not just captured a complex technical story but at the same time said so much truth about trading and life. But somehow, there it was everytime I turned the page.

My son and I are carefully reviewing those pages to see what we can add or adapt to our trading approach. Along the way we are re-living our journey together.

I appreciate the author having the talent and toughness to tell the tale so well.

A friend recommended "The Complete TurtleTrader," and I'm happy I read it. I usually steer clear of financial trading books, as they are slow and generally filled with "get rich quick schemes." Covel's book is the completely different. The narrative is fascinating for all audiences because it tells the story of an "average Joe" who took some risks and changed the rigid world of Wall Street.

That "average Joe," Richard Dennis, became a millionaire trading based on a simple set of rules he discovered from experience. Dennis then wagered his partner that his rules, taught to anyone, could create a successful trader (nature vs. nurture).

"Dennis believed that his ability to trade was not a natural gift. He looked at the markets as being like Monopoly. He saw strategies, rules, odds, and numbers as objective and learnable."

Enter the Turtles. The Turtles are composed of men and women from different backgrounds who Dennis selected based on their ability to take calculated risks. The group included a pianist, board game developer, poker expert, and more. What follows is a Trading Places-like story that tracks the successes and failures of Dennis's class of traders.

Covel excelled at telling the most detailed story of the Turtles to date without drowning in the math. The math is encapsulated in a chapter that can be read or skipped, depending on your interests. Otherwise, his narrative is easy-to-read, compelling, and motivation. In Covel's words, "those who think a Harvard MBA is the only ticket to business, wake up." Now get reading.

I am fascinated by the world of traders, be it commodity, stock or whatever, as it is difficut for me to phantom exactly how they go about their work, and how they make decisions to buy "long" or "short", or when to sell. I've read a number of books about Wall Street trading, but this book is something quite different altogether.

In "The Complete TurtleTrader: The Legend, The Lessons, the Results" (269 pages), author Michael Covel digs into a fascinating story that originated in the mid-80s when 2 Chicago big-names traders, Richard Dennis and William Eckhardt had an argument whether successful traders are born with the talent, or can be taught how to be successful (nature vs. nurture). Dennis put up his own money and recruited a group of people who for the most part didn't have any trading experience, and then thought them how to become successful (trading his own money). It makes for fascinating reading as the author delves into the background of the recruited traders ("Turtles") and exposes what really happened with the experiment, which ran for about 4 years (84-88), including the manipulations imposed by Dennis (not all of the Turtles got the same allocation of money to trade with, and how that impacted on the group). The latter part of the book dissects what happens afterwards with the Turtles in the real world, and it is a page-turner, as some falter, and others really succeed.

This book makes for a thoroughly enjoyable read, and the story matters still. As the author notes: "Since the 1908s are long past, many might wonder if the Turtles story still has relevance. It has more relevance than ever. The philosophy and rules that Dennis taught his students, for example, are similar to the trading strategies employed by numerous billion-dollar-plus hedge funds". The Turtle experiment settled once and for all the nurture vs. nature argument. I enjoyed this book immensely and learned a thing or two along the way. Highly recommended!

Michael Covel's 'The Complete Turtle Trader' shows the average person that they don't need an off the charts IQ or perfect math SAT score to achieve stock market success. They can beat the street simply by using a proven system and maintaining their discipline. The Turtle Trader will leave you with only one question, "How Good Can I Be at This?"

- Adam Mesh
Founder of the Adam Mesh Trading Group and Television Personality

The title would probably throw most people who have not heard of the Turtles. For those of us who have, though, it is an eye grabber. The contents do not disappoint.

If you're like me, you probably heard of the Turtles from "Market Wizards". I read that book several times when it first came out. It is a lot more than just the Turtles and some of the other sections are even more interesting.

The Turtles, though, were started in order to prove a point. That point has been confirmed. This book goes behind the scenes and answers a lot of questions that might have been in a Turtles FAQ today.

It is quick reading and clearly shows that the author had to do some research and interviewing. The book airs some dirtly laundry without being snide about it. The good points are backed up with data and good explanations. Not to mention that you get a "free" education on some points of the Turtle methods. It will improve your results while also providing a history lesson and entertainment at the same time.

If you are aware of the Turtles, this is a must-read update. If you are not, now you know to at least peruse the book and consider reading it.

The question that led to the events described in this book is one of the most interesting that I have encountered in some time. The context is how effective traders of stocks and commodities are developed. In some sense it is a nature vs. nurture debate, but that is not really an accurate way to describe it. The debate was whether successful trading required a great deal of training and superior insight, or whether one could be successful by being trained in how to use relatively simple formulas.
Richard Dennis had made a fortune as a trader by applying a few simple rules and he believed that those skills can be taught to anyone. In this spirit, he made a bet that it could be done and ran a simple ad in the "Wall Street Journal" looking for people to be part of the experiment. That ad was

"Richard J. Dennis of C & D commodities is accepting applications for the position of Commodity Futures Trader to expand his established group of traders. Mr. Dennis and his associates will train a small group of applicants in his proprietary trading concepts. . .
Prior experience will be considered but is not necessary."

The members of the group of successful applicants became known as the turtles and were given substantial amounts of seed money to trade with.
I found this book fascinating because there really is no true way to beat the market if your system is publicized. Any open system successfully used to beat the market over any term considered long will quickly be copied by others and the combined actions will then drive the market, eliminating the leveraged position. What makes Dennis' strategy so interesting is that his system relies on no major data gathering apparatus, such as the current crop conditions around the world. His system considers the market as a social being, meaning that it tends to have a behavior and his system is designed to leverage that behavior.
The beauty of free markets is that they sometimes behave in a randomly irrational manner, subject to the vagaries of mass psychology and rumor. Richard Dennis believes that he has found a way to profit from this behavior and whether you are convinced of that or not, this book is well worth reading.

I picked this book up on a recommendation from a friend. He told me the book was a great story, and assured me that while financial language and information is certainly present in the book, at no point does it overwhelm the reader. After reading it, he was spot on in his analysis.

I found the story of the Turtle traders to be fascinating. It's as much about the nature v. nurture argument as it is about finance. Trader Richard Dennis thought that successful financial traders could be taught, while his friend William Eckhardt thought some were born with the skills. The book proves that while nurture often trumps nature, everyone who was taught the rules of trading by Richard Dennis was not ultimately successful.

Covel's writing style is great. It's easy to read and entertaining while being informative; a tough task to achieve for many writers. Covel has clearly researched the details of the book extensively, and in my opinion, does an outstanding job of addressing all of the turtles instead of focusing on just one or two. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in general trading knowledge, or simply looking for a great read.

Whenever we get involved in discussing the past we have to deal with different perspectives, balancing differing self-serving versions of the story and differences in emphasis. When the story happens over a period of years, it is also common for the people participating in different times to have different views of the events. Many times, the participants do not have as complete a view or understanding of the context of the events as we might first suspect. Neither does the historian or scholar, which is why multiple histories get written. We, as the consumers of those histories, as the saying goes, "pays our money and takes our chances". I seem to recall Hemingway complaining about a college course on his life saying that he didn't think he could pass the exam.

So it is with this book. The author of this book, Michael Covel, wasn't one of the Turtles and some say that he tells parts of the story incorrectly. I did some digging around the Internet and think he has done a very good job in providing the general public with the story of what happened. That this or that participant sees things differently, puts a different emphasis on the events and techniques described, or feels that his or her specific view of their part in the story differently is to be expected.

So what is this story all about? Let me start by saying that it is a really cool story. In 1983, Richard Dennis was a fabulously successful trader in Chicago. He and his partner, William Eckhardt disagreed over whether successful trading is something one can learn or does it take in-born talents. Dennis said that he was going to create traders like the turtle farm he had recently visited in Singapore raised their turtles. Hence the name turtletraders. He put some ads in some newspapers and chose among the many applications he received and began his experiment and needless to say he was successful or there would have been no reason to write this book. The turtles got to keep 15% of their trading profits (Dennis got the rest for putting up the money and the method). However, the turtles were also allowed to trade with their own money. The results varied somewhat, but those that followed the rules most closely did the best.

Covel provides us with a history of the experiment, a section on the turtletrader philosophy, the turtletrader rules (which are simple in recounting, but more complex in application), and the results including an appendix on "where are they now".

You could certainly trade on the rules as they are presented here, but you should really think them through, make sure you understand them, and follow them closely. Those turtles that varied from the system usually got into trouble. As they gained more experience and went off on their own, some have tweaked the original system and are doing well. In 1988, Dennis ended the program and that was that.

Whether or not you want to examine a successful trading method, this is an interesting business story and a real life version of that wonderful movie "Trading Places". The movie was in development before the experiment began and was released on 8 June 1983. The first ads to recruit the turtles began in fall 1983, so maybe the movie sparked the idea, but Dennis hasn't said it did. In any case, it was an interesting coincidence and says something about what was in the air about markets in the early 1980s. I think anyone who is interesting in markets and trading will enjoy the book, so I recommend it to everyone who has even a slight interest in them.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

Aside from everything that all the other reviewers are mentioning...I'll add this.

If you're a trader or investor who ever loses money because of wrong decisions that are triggered by emotional responses to events in the markets, then you should read "The Complete Turtle Trader." It will educate and inspire you in a far more profound and visceral way than 99% of the trading psychology books that are on the market.

I'm a fan of Covel's "Trend Following", but his new book was much more interesting to me. I liked seeing the ups and downs. Overall, if you want the Turtle story and Turtle rules, "The Complete TurtleTrader" hits the mark.

In this age of full disclosure, I should disclose the following information. The author of this book contacted me via email. He was impressed with the book review I did on Amazon for Mauboussin's book More Than You Know. The author wanted to know if I would review his book on Amazon if he sent me a free copy. I agreed to read and review his book. Of course, I never agreed on what type of review I would do.

Because I am an Index fund fan, I would have probably never bought this book. I believe in a buy-and-hold approach using low cost index funds in a very diversified portfolio. I do try to keep an open mind and learn new things from whatever book I read.

Covel's book has two elusive elements that always catch people's attention. The idea of being able to be the master trader who beats the market every year and accumulates great wealth is one element. The other element is the age old controversy of nature versus nurture. Do our genes determine our destiny or is it the external influences which determine it? The Turtle Traders are basically a spin of the great movie Trading Places with regards to the nature versus nurture controversy. With these two fertile elements, Covel spins them into a pretty entertaining story.

In a nutshell, Richard Dennis was a super trader who made $200 million in 1983. He and his partner then had the same argument as Mortimer and Randolph Duke....is it nature or nurture that makes great traders? Dennis ran an advertisement and selected 23 candidates out of thousands of applicants. After 2 weeks of training, the candidates were turned loose as traders. Supposedly, as a group, these candidates did very well as traders. The author says they made $100M for Dennis. The author details this story, and then provides a follow-up what happened to the 23 traders since the 1980's.

Since I am a realist, I always want to compare the performance of an investor back to an appropriate benchmark index. Unfortunately, Covel does not provide the annual returns for the key figure in the story, Dennis. On page 26, he does provide the monthly returns for Dennis for 1983 when he had a very bad year. Table 2.1 has an error in that the title suggests July 1982 to December 1983 monthly returns, yet the table lists monthly returns for January through December of 1983.

I cross-checked the calculations in table 2.1, and Dennis had a compounded annual return (CAGR) of -4.70% for the year 1983. The S&P 500 had a return of 22.50% in 1983 including reinvested dividends.

Table 2.1 gives the data source for Dennis's monthly returns as Barclays Performance Reporting. I went to this web site, and you can not access this historical performance unless you pay $6,000. I thought I could get the CAGR for Dennis's entire career from this web site, but I could not (since I don't want to pay $6,000). So much for the transparency of hedge funds using publicly available performance data.

Table 8.1 on page 130 also has an error. The chart title lists Dennis's monthly returns for January 1986 through December 1988......but the chart has monthly returns for September 1987 through June 1988. Using this monthly return data, I calculated that Dennis achieved a CAGR of -71.91% versus the S&P 500 total return of 16.61% for 1988. No wonder Dennis retired at this point!

I also took a look at the track record from 1988 to 2006 for Jerry Parker's Chesapeake Capital on page 200. By my calculations, Parker achieved a CAGR of 15.65%. The S&P 500 achieved a 12.16% CAGR with reinvested dividends over the same time period.

One of the main reasons ordinary investors stay away from hedge funds is the high fee structure. Many hedge funds have an annual expense ratio (ER) of 2% and the hedge fund takes 20% of the return above some benchmark (this is often called 2 and 20). I know very little about hedge funds, although I have read Lowenstein's book When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital. One Google search I did said the benchmark is often the LIBOR lending rate.....and a typical LIBOR rate was 5%.

I don't know if Parker's returns shown on Table 8.1 are gross returns or net returns to investors. If I assume they are gross returns, I calculate the CAGR from 1988-2006 drops from 15.65% down to 13.64% factoring in the 2% ER. If I factor in both the 2% ER and the 20% of gains over an assumed 5% LIBOR benchmark, the CAGR drops down to 13.39%........just 1.23% higher than a low cost S&P 500 index fund.

I did find it interesting that some of the two week training given the Turtles focused on recognizing and overcoming some behavioral finance characteristics that we have as humans. I will have to give Dennis a lot of credit for incorporating behavioral finance principles into his training in the early 80's......since most of the academic research into behavioral finance wasn't started until the 1990's.

Even though I believe in generally efficient markets, I did enjoy reading Covel's tale. I am not aware of too many real word "Trading Places" type experiments like the 23 Turtle candidates in this story.

I still think the deck is stacked against you if you think you can be a trader and beat the market averages. Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) collapsed in 1998....and it had a world-class bond trader (Meriwether) and 2 Nobel Prize winners (Scholes and Merton) managing it. But if you still think you can beat the markets, you will probably enjoy this book.

For those of you who believe in the time-proven buy-and-hold approach using low cost index funds in a very diversified portfolio, I would suggest reading the books below.


Index Mutual Funds: How to Simplify Your Financial Life and Beat the Pro's
The Richest Man in Babylon
Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor
The Millionaire Next Door
The Four Pillars of Investing: Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio
A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition
The Coffeehouse Investor: How to Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On With Your Life
The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

Drawing upon his unique experiences (which include the likes of Richard Dennis & Mikhail Gorbachev, to name but a few) Michael's book is insightful on a great many levels. The most important being, to help instill discipline, and confidence, in your investment process. Truly a `must read' for anyone serious about navigating the markets successfully.

Mike Hurley, CMT - Portfolio Manager, the Fusion Global Long/Short Fund

What do you want out of a book? What makes a book a good one? For me the answer is readability, credibility and to learn something - it is that simple. I read each book using that same guideline. If it meets those criteria then the reading was worthwhile.

Last week I began reading The Complete TurtleTrader by Covel. I had read his previous book, Trend Following, and found that it was a good read. But I was looking for more out of Covel. Like movie sequels, I believe a second book should be better than the first. Most authors cannot deliver a second book that is as useful or as powerful as the first, especially when the subject is so close to the first book. The Turtles and Trend Following is a small space, so I expected that the second book would fall short of my expectations.

What I found was a surprise. The Complete TurtleTrader is a well written and interesting. This book is written from the perspective of someone trying to uncover a story, someone trying to find out what really happened. It reminds me of an oral history - Covel backs up his finding with interviews and dialogues from the subjects themselves. This brings credibility to his ideas and makes for a delightful read.

The system rules are also in the book and Covel goes into detail on how to use them. He even provides a step by step walk through of the system in use. This was a great bonus and adds to the story. You read about the students and hear the dialogue of their reaction to the system. The system itself seals the envelope and gives you great perspective on their comments.

I like the book and would highly recommend it to others. It IS NOT mindless dribble about a trading system. It IS a book about the people involved. It is much more interesting than the other book on the Turtles I recently read.

"The Complete Turtle Trader" is a very easy read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story-telling style is very engaging and descriptive. I liked the honesty in the book about trying to separate fact from legend and the randomness of trading from the hard work of it. I particularly liked the way the book ended with an examination of the stories of the Turtles after the experiment ended, including a "where are they now" section. I was also fascinated with Abraham's story (a second generation Turtle). Also, Covel does a great good job being an impartial observer who is willing to critique and fully examine all the characters in his narrative.

There are of course a few things I would have liked as well. For example, a compare and contrast of Abraham and another trader who attempted "second generation" Turtle success, more details on the tensions and interplay that must come with volatile performance numbers and how people build the emotional fortitude to handle it, and a more immediate and clear count on how many turtle traders were part of the experiment (like a roster as soon as the reader gets to the part of the story where they are hired). Otherwise, this book is as complete a story about real-life trading as one can get!

This is a very original book, quite a bit different from the others I've seen on the Turtles. This is was my second book from the author and I was pleased with this one as well.

The Turtle system was included in the text but I found the book to be all about the mindset of a trader.

A clearly written book that can be applied to improve anyone's trading. I have read many books on trading, and this one was refreshing. It was written very well, and the author has something (fresh and valuable) to say.

This book is the best trading book I have read in years. Well crafted, complete and tightly written. I've studied successful traders and what makes them tick, this is a great book if you too are on that quest. Without exception, this is the best book on the Turtles I've read or seen.

Just buy the book, it is worth the read.

I read "The Way of the Turtle," before I read this book, and I've also studied the Turtle trading structure through other resources. Hands-down, this is the most well-researched, comprehensive account of the Turtles, from the origins of the idea, through the selection process of the participants, the mechanical aspects of the trading system and the final results. Michael Covel interviewed just about every person who was willing to talk from this secretive group, and then went beyond the interviews to cross-check information through other sources. The book is meticulously footnoted and cross-referenced, yet written in a lucid style that makes it difficult to put down. While some might argue that the definitive book on Turtle Trading should be written by one of the participants in the experiment, I came to appreciate the author's objectivity in finding out what actually happened by investigating many perspectives from the participants and those on the outside looking in. You won't be disappointed with this book.

This book tells the story of a great experiment by a legendary trader. That trader was Richard Dennis, an unlikely champion of the trading floor. Unlike the typical trader, Dennis didn't come from a connected or privileged background. He grew up on the south side of Chicago, an area noted for crime and poverty.

Yet, by age 25, Richard Dennis managed to earn $1 million in the market. By age 37, he'd made $200 million. Where did the ability to do that come from? Was it genetic? He and his partner, William Eckhardt, debated on this question. Eckhardt said it was genetic, Dennis maintained it could be learned.

That debate led to the experiment that this book is about. The experiment involved recruiting people from diverse backgrounds, teaching them the system Dennis used, giving them funds to invest, and seeing what would happen. The name "Turtles" came about during a trip to Singapore. Richard Dennis was visiting a turtle farm and remarked, "We are going to grow traders just like they grow turtles in Singapore."

Though the Turtle experiment took place in the early 1980s, the story hasn't really been told until now. It's an interesting story in its own right: successful trader teaches other trades how to make millions. But Covel's exhaustive research and the resulting richness of detail take it to a level or two beyond that.

The Complete Turtle Trader contains fourteen chapters. Here is a synopsis:

Chapters One and Two give you the background required to understand why the experiment was so important. Chapter Three talks about who the first Turtles were, and why those particular people were hired. Chapters Four, Five, and Six explain the trading method that the Turtles used. Chapter Seven reveals some deviations in the experiment--for example, some Turtles were given far more funding than others. And in Chapter Eight, the whole thing comes to an end.

What happens after the experiment? This is where Chapter Nine picks up the story. The Turtles strike out on their own, something which is a bit complicated for a variety of reasons Covel explains. Dennis' ending of the experiment was a huge mistake for all involved, but especially for himself. So, in Chapter Ten he gets back into trading per his system. But in Chapter Eleven we see the Turtles weren't sitting around waiting for Richard Dennis to return to "the game." When he does return, he has to compete with the people he trained.

Curtis Faith, who had received exceptionally "special" treatment from Dennis as a Turtle and who was a media darling because the editors didn't look at the whole story, failed after he was on his own. Why he failed is quite interesting, and Covel provides the background on that in Chapter Twelve. Chapter Thirteen provides a look at second generation Turtles. The final chapter ties everything together and provides some thought-provoking insights.

The five Appendices provide a wealth of additional information that would have slowed the narrative down but is still worth reading in its own right. The first Appendix, for example, tells us where the Turtles are now.

The Complete Turtle Trader is well-researched, well-written, and hard to put down once you start reading it.

I got this book as one of those hand out gifts at a Christmas party last week. I work at a brokerage firm and the head trader handed everyone in the room a copy for a Christmas present. Reluctantly I began reading the book this weekend and couldn't put it down - this is from a guy who only reads the funny papers on Sunday.

I have to tell you, the book really pulls you into the story. I am new to the brokerage business. Sometimes you hear people speak about the Turtles, but who really knows what or who they are. Now I know!

Most of the trading books I get are about another take on a moving average crossover system, or how to use Stochastics. All of these techniques are outdated before the year is out. They leave me feeling spent for wasting the time to read it. This book is not about some stupid technical indicator - it is the story of who the people are. That is what really separates this book from the other stuff out there. I get tired of reading how some guy supposedly has it all figured out. I get all excited about the indicator or some other thing that he puts together only to find out that he cherry picked the charts in the book.

The Complete TurtleTrader is the story of the personal aspects of the Turtles. Who are they, what their interests were and what made them into who they are. I enjoyed the failure of some of them; some of them are still failing quite publically in fact.

This is a good book, a quick read and just enjoyable.

There are millions of useless words written in trading books. Most authors try to make themselves feel important by using abstract words and theories to describe ideas. What most trading authors lose is the audience, their books are dry and cumbersome to finish. Many of these find their home on the bottom of my bookcase.

The Complete TurtleTurtle trader was not that type of book at all. The readability of this book is far superior to most trading books out there. The core of the book is the story of the Turtles, the legendary group of traders taught by Richard Dennis in the 1980s. You may recall that Dennis was the young trader who turned a few dollars into several hundred million over a decade of trading or so.

The book begins with the selection of a group of people who will be taught how to trade as Dennis trades. They are instructed in money management, trading patterns and general trading knowledge. The author supplies the trading method itself within the book. It was amazing to see how such a simple system can produce such substantial results.

The book finishes with a synopsis of where the traders are now. You also see examples of traders who currently trade the method for clients. It seeks to validate the author's hypothesis, "anyone can be taught to trade successfully."

I do believe this book will make you a better trader. I know it will help you formulate your own trading ideas and money management techniques. Beginner traders or veterans will learn something that will make themselves better. Maybe the idea is an entry technique, or simple the confidence gained from watching people profit from a simple trading strategy. I think this is one of the best books out there on trading.

This book is definitely a favorite of mine. It's so well written and the characters are quite intriguing. The most interesting part of the tale is how Dennis put such an assorted collection of people together. It is astonishing that they didn't all tear each others throats out. Maybe the legend of Dennis is not that he trained people to trade - but he trained THESE people to trade.

Paul Rabar - a UCLA Medical school drop out who worked in an EF Hutton office on the West Coast. This same office handled some of the famous BBC (Billionaire Boys Club's) trading during the 1980s.

Mike Shannon a former actor who made of stuff on his resume.

Jim Di Maria - a Notre Dame Graduate who was working on the trading floor at the time.

Erle Keefer - A former US Air Force pilot.

Liz Cheval - She was considering a career in filmmaking at the time and decided to try a job at a trading firm for a `day job'.

Jef