The first audience that will find this book useful consists of those new to trading. Elder provides a good overview of technical analysis, with chapters on charting, trendlines, patterns, and some well-known indicators such as MACD, momentum, Stochastics, RSI, etc. He doesn't overwhelm the reader with information and he also provides trading rules.
The second audience, people who have been trading a while and who have survived long enough to know they need to find out some more about psychology, probably won't find those chapters as interesting. But his chapters on psychology, both individual and mass psychology, are very helpful. He identifies what makes a winning versus losing trader and his chapter on risk management is outstanding. He discusses emotion and probabilities, money management, and how the professional trader must look for quality before money. One thing he stresses is that you must learn from your trades--the trade isn't over when the position is closed out. This constant study is what will help you change and improve. He also writes in an easy to understand manner. The only reason I gave this four stars and not five is that this information is that the book is very expensive for what it contains.

I bought this book 7 years ago when it was one of the bestsellers in the trading book catergory and I am suprise to see today that its still one of the best sellers.
Serious, I don't think I really get a lot out of this book and I don't understand why people are so crazy about it?? One reason I can think of, maybe it is a good book for absolute beginners who has no idea about trading what so ever.
But if you want to learn more about trading, ie. the skill to use, the way to manage your money. You will be very disappointed. Throughout the years, I read a lot of trading books which offer way more than this one.

This is definitely a classic for all time.I wished I had read this book 10 years ago...

This is a great book. Elder covers the psychology of trading and crowd behavior, risk management, and technical analysis. Written for the novice and intermidiate level trader, its all in this book.

This is a very good book. There is lots of bright ideas in it. You want to read it many times to take advantage of it completely. After you read this book. Read " What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars"What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars. This is also a great book that you can't afford missing it. You will be able to get prepared for trading successfully after finish reading both books. Best luck trading to everyone.

A very good book or tape to listen too if you are new to the stock market. Brutally honest and pulls no punches as he explains that the market is a minus sum game designed to take no prisoners. If you are a novice trader than you will benefit from his sage advice.

"Trading For A Living" is basically divided in two main parts. Part one is focused on the psychology of the trader. It is pointed out that people come into this endeavor full of irrationalities. And some, even after they're wiped out, remain irrational about trading, and come back to lose all over again; this book states that most traders lose and wash out and this certainly is an understatement.

The second part deals with the technical aspects of trading. Strategies and money management are covered. You won't find the pot of gold here, but it raises a few good critical points that you might develop further with lots of hard work and research. The book is missing the very important topics of win ratio, profit margin and sample size on trading systems. If you want to study and learn technical analysis you better go somewhere else because this book lacks some important details. On the positive side, technical indicators are given ample coverage. This book makes no guarantees to anyone of producing profits. I saw no proof in this book that the author could make a living off of trading.

"Trading For A Living" is basically divided in two main parts. Part one is focused on the psychology of the trader - namely the "Loser Trader". It is pointed out that people come into this endeavor full of irrationalities. And some, even after they're wiped out, remain irrational about trading, and come back to lose all over again. This book is honorable in that it states that most traders lose and wash out. So beware before you jump in the markets with your $$$.

The second part deals with the technical aspects of trading. Strategies and money management are covered. You won't find the pot of gold here, but it raises a few critical points that you might develop further with lots of hard work and research. The book is missing the important topics of win ratio, profit margin and sample size on trading systems. This is a crucial deficiency. If you want to study and learn technical analysis you better go somewhere else because it's only given cursory coverage here. Technical indicators are more thoroughly treated. Remember, this book merely makes talking points and not guarantees. It is possible to follow each tactic in this book and lose money.

Despite the title of the book, Mr. Elder makes a living from selling trading books and software. So don't be fooled, I saw no proof in this book that he could make a living off of trading. Keep in mind that frustrated traders with heavy losses have penned many trading books. Just bringing up your little MACD on a chart will not put you on the road to riches.

Trading for a living? Titles can be deceiving. My take? Trading is but a mad scramble for fast money. Very few succeed.

"Trading For A Living" is basically divided in two main parts. Part one is focused on the psychology of the trader - namely the "Loser Trader". It is pointed out that people come into this endeavor full of irrationalities. And some, even after they're wiped out, are still irrational about trading, they come back to do it all over again convinced that it was just a couple of bad trades that kept from making a fortune. This book is honorable in that it states that most traders lose and wash out. Actually more than 90% do. So beware before you jump in the markets with your $$$.

The second part deals with the technical aspects of trading. Strategies and money management are covered. You won't find the pot of gold here, but it does a good job of raising a few critical points that you might develop further with some hard work and research. The book is missing the important topics of win ratio, profit margin and sample size on trading systems. But no trading book is perfect. If you want to study and learn technical analysis you better go somewhere else because it's only given cursory coverage here. Technical indicators are more thoroughly treated so you're left with an impression that the author favors them over TA.

Despite the book, the problem with trading is the randomness in the price action; this is what prevents even smart people from making consistent profits chasing the fluctuations. In case you don't know, the average stock trends no more than 25% of the time. The vast majority of time they're stuck in a trading range, and the vast majority of time the trading range is notoriously choppy. If this were not the case, many people would have become millionaires just trading off of them. Only in those brief periods when the action behaves in a steady way is it possible to take advantage of profits.

Of course, like some reviewers have already stated, Mr. Elders doesn't make a living from trading profits, otherwise he wouldn't be writing trading books and charging hefty fees for his software and his "trading camps". So don't be fooled. Just bringing up a pissant little MACD on your chart will not put you on the road to riches.

In the past 20 years there's been a bunch of crapola books written about trading, the vast majority of these books penned by frustrated traders who don't have a clue; this book is higher quality than most of them. Not that it's the Holy Grail, but at least it might give you a good idea or two. Or maybe even stop you from your own financial ruin.

This book gives an overview of investing.
3 M's are covered: Mind, Method, Money (management)

Mind: Individual, Mass Psychology of Investing, and Gurus
covered. The part using the analogy of Alcoholics Anonymous
seems unnecessary.

Method: Basically, Technical Analysis. It's covers major
indicators. Author doesn't seem to believe in Elliot Wave
and Fibonacci (not coveered).

Money: Basically, it's saying "don't risk the whole wad" and
buy little by little. I do feel when the opportunity arises, you
can risk more. Otherwise, you may 'play for long time' but when you
get rich, you're already 80.

Not for the absolute beginner unless you also have other
books or mentors to help you.

This was one of the first books I read when I started trading stocks. Dr Elder's background as a psychologist did him good, and the rest of us who are interested in how the markets work and the human psychology behind trading. Those who are curious about stock trading and trading in general should get this book. Elder carefully explained the dynamics of bull and bear participants, how certain technical indicators work and why the market is how it is. Even though I mainly trade forex now, I still refer to this book often.

When I decided to become a trader nine months ago, I knew I'd need to read a few good books to start me on my way. This book was, by far, the best investment I made. Elder's writing style is no nonsense, no holds barred. He tells it like it is. It was the best first book for me, a rookie, to read. It squashes the idea of making easy money and reveals the truths about trying to make a living trading the markets. Elder is an excellent teacher and writer. He isn't here to butter up your dreams of wealth; he shares with us the truths of how difficult it is to trade for a living. He challeges us to examine ourselves to find out whether we have what it takes to make it. If you're not serious don't buy this book. I enjoyed reading this book, I couldn't put it down. It's one of the best I've ever read, fiction or non-fiction. I bought a copy for my best friend, who began trading options a few months ago, and I also recommended it to a friend at work who started trading earlier this year. I believe it's a must read for every enthusiastic trader, whether you are new to the game or an experienced pro.

This is a great read for anyone interested in trading stocks. It is written in an easy to understand style and the authors wisdom is easily assimilated by the reader. Pricey, but worth every penny.

I purchased the audiobook and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys listening and learning. The book is must read / hear if your attempting to make money in the financial markets. The author challenges you to look at your own motivations, desires, fears, risk tolerance and financial means before you make your first move. For those, like myself, who have never realy understood financial markets this is excellent source of information.

If you react to the markets with emotion, this is the book for you. Trading should not have Las Vegas emotion, and this book helps you remove the emotion and become a better and hopefully more profitable trader.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3LLCPOG1HNAUN In this video I review Dr. Alexander Elder's Book Trading for a Living, one of my favorite trading books and the best book I have read on one of the most important components of trading, the psychology of trading.

This is a must have read book before you go for trading on Wall Street

Although this book is a little outdated, I really enjoyed it. I learned several things mostly related to the psychology of trading. Psychology cannot be underestimated. If you've wondered why the market goes up and down on silly news stories and such (for example one company with bad earnings sends the market down but the next day it's back up again) then this book is for you. I highly recommend it not just for traders but anyone investing in the markets.

I listened to the audiobook version which was excellent. It's nice to have it in audio so I can listen on the way to work.

This is probably one of the most overrated books about trading. When reading this book, you get the opinion, that Mr. Elder isn't a trader himself and doesn't really know, what he is talking about. This book is useless for traders, but it shows, that someone, who isn't able to trade for a living can still make a living writing books about it. It is well known, that vast amounts of money are made day after day by very few professionals because of books like this which promote an illusion. Anybody who is able to trade for a living doesn't need this book. Nevertheless I give it two stars, because of the part which deals with the psychological aspects.

I wish I'd read this book along with other book of Elder, 'Come into my trading room, when I first started out in trading business. This book thoroughly explains the cold harsh reality of the nuts and bolts of trading business. I highly recommend this book to anyone contemplating venturing into trading business.

Dr. Elder has put together in Trading for a living, the most comprehensive 'soup to nuts' book I have read on the broad subject of trading. Ok, even Dr. Elder would tell you that to trade after having read ONLY his book would be the act of a fool, I can tell you now that I have read dozens of books, that there is certainly NO BETTER book to get a broad understanding of trading. Dr. Elder focuses on the three aspects of trading that a trader must master: Your Psychology, Your Money-Management, and then the Analytics. His psychology stuff is very good, a bit harsh, kind of like an old Russian dude might sound like in real life, but sound. And certainly less harsh than a big hit to your capital position on a loss in the markets. His money management section is powerful, which was perhaps the most concise and helpful that I have read on the subject. The money management section gave you a solid foundation for knowing what 'money management' is, and how it should be understood in the world of trading. And lastly, the analytics. Wow. He covers alot of them. And in greater depth and with more proficiency than many of the books that cover just "one" analytic. He tells you how each analytic would be used proficiently, and when it would be dangerous to use. Keep in mind that all of the tools he describes are not recommended, but part of a broader suggestion on how to build your own trading system. Lastly, his covering of the Miscellaneous Analytics is worth the price of the book. It was not the best part of the book, however, it covered areas like Market Vane and CFTC Committments of Traders! In that same section he talks about trading against the herd, (being contrarian) and how to discern who the 'big money' is in Futures Markets. NO ONE has ever mentioned this information in any of the other books I have read. If there was a single book that one could read to begin from there to trade, I would say this is it...although, I would strongly recommend against that. Anyway, this book is in the top 3 of books that cover this subject in the broadest of terms. I do not know what the other two are, but if you are interested in trading for a profession, then read this book.

This audio is a big JOKE a waste of time forget this one and look for something else.This is for babies,waste of time.

I am a "professional" floor trader of over 15 years. Although I have been very successful, this book has given me more ideas on improving- not just my trading- but my life also.. and I haven't even read 1/2 the book yet!

I'm also using some of Dr. Elder's principles to improve my girlfriends 9 year old son's outlook on bettering his life. He is very emotional and I'm trying to teach him about controlling his emotions as Dr. Elder teaches in this book.

The book was recommended to me by a successful trader/trading instructor. Boy am I glad I got it. Thanks Nelson! I recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their financial status through trading.

This is a great book to learn about how to make money in the markets. It is full of strategy and lesson learned by the author. It is also interesting to learn the story of the author. It is a great book to help you learn to make money in the market.

I have read a lot of trading books, but this is the best I have yet encountered.

Most of the other books don't take into account the vast numbers of different trading styles and personalities of people. They presume that there is only "one" correct way, which is obviously not correct.

I enjoyed the book because of it's weighted focus on the psychological aspects of trading. Most other books I have encountered are less effective in this area, although they may be technically sound.

The money management element was also most helpful. Many other authors mention the "importance of money management" but don't tell you what it is or how to do it.

The technical analysis areas in this book are a little light, but there are many other sources for that, and this is unlikely to be the only book you buy.

This has been my first year of fulltime trading, and you could say that I have paid some heavy tuition along with some hard won gains. Many of the "classes" I have taken could have been avoided had I read this book first and taken lessons on money management and core trading rules to heart.

I have read a lot of trading books, but this is the best I have yet encountered.

Most of the other books don't take into account the vast numbers of different trading styles and personalities of people. They presume that there is only "one" correct way, which is obviously not correct.

I enjoyed the book because of it's weighted focus on the psychological aspects of trading. Most other books I have encountered are less effective in this area, although they may be technically sound.

The money management element was also most helpful. Many other authors mention the "importance of money management" but don't tell you what it is or how to do it.

The technical analysis areas in this book are a little light, but there are many other sources for that, and this is unlikely to be the only book you buy.

This has been my first year of fulltime trading, and you could say that I have paid some heavy tuition along with some hard won gains. Many of the "classes" I have taken could have been avoided had I read this book first and taken lessons on money management and core trading rules to heart.

This book is easy to read with focus on the mindset a trader must have to avoid being driven by emotions when making decisions. I find it helpful, however I think it could have been explained in half of the space used.
The explanation of the tools is very complete and detailed.

This book is easy to read with focus on the mindset a trader must have to avoid being driven by emotions when making decisions. I find it helpful, however I think it could have been explained in half of the space used.
The explanation of the tools is very complete and detailed.

Extremely useful information for stock traders. Only downside is the needlessly dramatic narration - he sounds like a cop from Hawaii-5-0, or Mr Bookman from Seinfeld!

I wish I had bought the book. The CD book was more like an outline with concepts and bullet points. It didn't drill deep enough in most cases. It would be good for a beginnng trader. But intermediate and advanced would be disappointed. I would skip this and get Elder's other book (not on CD) called Come Into My Trading Room. It is one of the best books I have read on trading.

Overall it is a very interesting book giving a wide overview on how to trade and how to interpret oscillators. Personally i appreciated most the way the trends are described, with the role of mass psycology intervening almost everywhere. It helps to undertsand that a trend is not only a quantitative issue but mainly a mood theme, so helping to identify the beginning of he trend or its fading. Also brilliant the aspect of money management, which is short but very effective.

This is an excellent primer on becoming a successful trader. The author covers all of the key elements necessary to master the markets. Included is a powerful discussion on the importance of developing a disciplined mind.

In order to succeed, even with the best of trading methods, while "in the heat of battle", a successful trader must always maintain the discipline to act and act quickly and firmly in accordance with his trading rules and trading plan. Money management is covered in detail. The author puts forth the case as well as anyone can on the importance of adhering to sound, time tested, money management principles so that a series of losing trades will not knock you out of the game. Again, the best of trading methods will fail without money management.

The author then reviews several well known trading methods highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each and encourages the reader to be original in thinking through and developing their own trading methods. Also, included are some of Mr. Elder's proprietary indicators and how these can enhance anyone's trading plan.

I own the book as well as the set of CDs and have listened to and read over again. I can't say enough good about the content and I've read lots of trading books. You'll get more than your money's worth on the psychology of trading, money management and trading tactics. Definitely a keeper!

Really got me thinking and was filled with very useful, helpful, informative, but easy and simple to understand tricks. One of my favorites. A+

This book is a gem amongst average books. I've read about 100 Technical Analysis books... and I've gone back and re-read this one 6 times. Very important.

The info in this book stays current it's the "Art of War" of trading

If your are going to buy a single book on trading, this is it. Go ahead and buy it! This is a scolarly book that explains the complex workings of successful trading in simple and clear terms. Don't hessitate and get it it is worth it

This book changed my life and changed the way I trade. Part of the reason I can say that is the fact that I developed my all-time most reliable and profitable trade from Elder's simple explanations. Fully 80% of my trades are based on a formation that occurs using two indicators described in this book. Elder even identifies the formation as being "the strongest signal in technical analysis." I will certainly agree, though it took me some time to find the ideal market and time-frame for it. If you trade futures, stocks, or currencies with Candlesticks, the secret is in this book. It gave me the edge I needed to become consistently profitable. I own more than 60 trading related books (those are just the keepers) and I think what makes Elder stand out is the fact that he is/was a successful trader for many years and that the content of this book is the hard-won wisdom of those years. This is not a book written by some infomercial peddler who makes his living selling trading "courses." I chuckle when I see the price for this book is $47.25 because I would have counted it a steal at a hundred times that. To unlock the strategies in Trading for a Living you will have to adapt them to your own trading style, vehicle, and funds. I agree with another reviewer who said this book is for a person who is more than an amateur but not yet a pro. I believe that the techniques used by most very sophisticated professional traders are built on the indicators and principles found in this book.

I bought the book nine years ago, and it still is after reading several other books, Elder is my personal number one as this is the only book who dives into the personal mind. Dr. Alexander Elder, has a psychiatric background what makes him extremely powerful in explaining what is actually happening with the mind and with the masses who are trading. It gave me as a novice a deep and thorough understanding of what makes the market move. He also gave me as a starting trader excellent idea's and rules on money management which is absolutely crucial. I personally have this book on my number 1 for people who want to learn trading and get a deeper understanding of their own behavior and possible dangers. Beside that lots of practical tips and strategies are given. The book is an excellent book for the beginner and the advanced trader who needs to review his own behavior.

I found this book to contain many great insights. Elder's explanations of different methods of stock analysis reveal an obviously deep understanding of the matter-it's pretty clear this guy knows what he's talking about. Perhaps the best praise I can give the book is that, while reading, I found myself wanting to put the book down several times and test his theories out for myself. The book seems to be well-researched as well, though I don't know much about technical analysis, being more of a fundamentalist myself.

On another note, Elder has a tendency to repeat himself several times over, which bogs the reading down at times. He also overuses analogies, seeking to liken everything in trading to something else. At times this is useful-most of the time it's a stretch, and sometimes it's downright annoying. Though I enjoyed the content of the book I found it very laborious reading because of these things, and this book took me several times as long to read as a book this time normally would simply because the reading was, at times, so unpleasant. Don't let that dissuade you, though-this book contains advice that is both sound and useful (though you shouldn't rely exclusively on it as a basis of trading stocks).

I just finished the book and plan to read it again from cover to cover. It will definitely pay for itself and is one of the best trading books I've read. It is also well written and offers some good ideas on money management as well.

When I first got the book I skipped to the chapters that offered different systems so I could put them to use then I went back and started at the beginning.

I wish I could have read the whole book before losing money in the market. Hopefully my future performance will be better now that I've read it.

Michelle Ress

After suffering a loss due to 'Unreasonable Exuberance' in 1997, I was about to quit market. I borrowed this book from library and from the very first page I felt as if Mr. Elder had written my trading biography. This book was a retrospect on my trading psychology/habit and realized my wrong approach to market. I read this book couple of time so that I fully register Mr. Elder's teaching and started trading again. It has been 9 years, I read this book, once every year just to make sure I do not deviate from my trading discipline. Every trader once in his trading life must read this book.

Trading is a very special business. The environment traders are working in is filled with confusing or even directly conflicting information, greed and aggression. It is a very stressful place and a lot of smart and rational people lose money because they are just not ready psychologically.

This books does a great job preparing you psychologically. First, it explains you what groups of people are involved and what their intentions are. Second, it describes what traders feel, how they should manage their emotions and stay rational and what they should try to avoid. This part is really great. The author is right on and you can skip years of painful mistakes if you follow his advices. Finally, the author reviews some trading strategies. This infomation is useful, but most of them are well described in other sources, so this is not the strongest point of this book.

Overall, it's one the best books about the psychological aspects of trading and it's highly highly recommended.

I love this book more than I can say. 5 stars for easy to understand explanation, great strategies, groundbreaking systems, and many more.

This audio book is a very good summary of what one should consider if trading for a living or at least as a business.

The concept of group psychology in trading was new to me, very very interesting.

This review applies to the audio CD. This book stands out as perhaps the single best trading guide I've come across to date. It sounds great, and the author keeps things interesting from start to finish by inserting personal anecdotes and darkly humorous metaphors to emphasize his points, which are complimented nicely by the melodramatic delivery of the reader. Though the age of the written work shows (it repeatedly references antiquated trading tools such pencils, rulers, and telephones), nearly all the advice offered is still highly applicable in today's trading world. It tops my list of recommendations for beginning traders.

This is one book that everyone interested in trading should read. It gives excellent information about the proper mindset needed for successful trading. Then goes into a detailed explanation of the best TA indicators to use, how they work and rules on how to use them, well written just meat no fluff. Finally it finishes off with an excellent money management section. I have read many trading books but own only a few, this is one of them!

Very good read on trading in the markets. One of the best!

I have a confession to make. I have been trading stocks since I was 13 years old. In between classes while my friends would head for the lavatories to smoke cigarettes, I would head to the pay phones to talk with my broker.

I am older now. Along the way, I have read many books on trading. This is, perhaps, one of the best. Dr. Alexander breaks the art and science of trading into three pillars:

* Psychology
* Market analysis and trading systems
* Money management.

The key to winning the trading game is to win the battle within your mind. Dr, Elder, himself a practicing psychiatrist, explains how to develop discipline and to avoid the traps caused by emotional trading.

Second, he shows how to identify good trades using charts and computerized indicators. In remarkably clear and concise language, he explains the indicators and how to combine them to develop your own trading system.

Finally, he discusses importance of money management. The successful trader manages risk. Dr. Elder lays down the rules for limiting it.

After reading this book, there is no doubt in my mind why this book has achieved the lasting success it has. All traders, both novices and experts, will benefit from reading it.

This book is a masterpiece. When it describing the losers, I thought it was talking about me in person. Great book for a beginner. It gives you rules, just follow them, and you will be fine. Don't miss it, that's a free advise.