This is an attempt to provide a well structured approach to trading. It is a good read, but I'm biased by liking Bollinger bands. If you know you don't like them, this book is not for you. Other ideas are presented but the bands are a non-trivial component. I also find it very valualbe to get an overall system presented by a veteran in the field.

The author doesn't try to synthesise everything so it is not a textbook. That is good, especially when it comes to trading books. I don't like when the authors hide beweeen one hundred indicators and do not provide their reasoned view. Bollinger presents his view and that is all we need in his book on trading.

I read somewhere (can't remember where) that the author was preparing a book on a more comprehensive view on trading. I don't know if this is still in the works. I hope it is. The current book can be improved in certain areas, for instance the discussion on volume.

I have written several short reviews on trading books. The best way is to compare the score on the books I've read. Many reviews on amazon.com are just glorious 5 star reviews. I use all five categories; sorry but everything isn't "great". Books rated 5 are very good. Books rated 4 are good solid books well worth reading. Books rated 3 can be bought by some people who read a lot or have very specific needs. Books rated 1 or 2 I would not recommend buying or reading. Naturally all in my humble opinion.

I bought Bollinger on Bollinger Bands yesterday and only wish I had bought a year ago when I began short term trading. The book is NOT just about Bollinger Bands, although there is nothing wrong with that. It contains several strategies and Technical Analysis techniques. I have played around with so many Tech Anal's and just get more and more confused. Because of this book, I am going back to basics, using Bollinger and Volume and go from there. I highly recommend this book...terrific for beginning traders and the more experienced. John Bollinger is gold, deserving of his master reputation.

This book wasn't all that bad, and there was some worthwhile trading information in it, however it could've have been half the size had the author not wanted you to know how "really really" smart he was. As a result of this it included a lot of waffle about unrelated history about non trading/investing matters. Still O'Neill did it as well, so did Sperandao.......why do guys who've made a few bucks in the market and turn themselves into authors confuse themselves with Einstein?

This book wasn't all that bad, and there was some worthwhile trading information in it, however it could've have been half the size had the author not wanted you to know how "really really" smart he was. As a result of this it included a lot of waffle about unrelated history about non trading/investing matters. Still O'Neill did it as well, so did Sperandao.......why do guys who've made a few bucks in the market and turn themselves into authors confuse themselves with Einstein?

It is quite mind boggling that many traders don't have some kind of bands, channels, and envelopes incorporated into their trading plan. I'm a
strong proponent of using 'absolute limit indicators' in trading, though I do not personally use Bollinger bands because I use different bands in my trading. Neverthless, this book contains many patterns which can certainly be transfer to other 'absolute limit' type of indicators.
This serious book should be studied by all technical traders

As a beginning trader, the concept of Trendlines, Stochastics, MACD, RSI, Moving Averages (Weighted, Exponential, Simple) can begin to all blend together. And of course, if you are paper trading, or even actually trading, then your Charting software has the capability to show the Bollinger Bands to help you make your trading decisions. John Bollinger does perhaps the BEST job of all the books I have read on nailing for the reader the statistical value of each type of 'methodology' along with which types of methodolgies are 'co-linear' in that they provide you with the same information. He shows you the power and value of Bollinger bands OVER other moving average technologies, and finally, helps you get a handle how to trade. He is direct, clear, and very helpful in conveying a broad and deep subject, along with also keeping the reading interesting. This book is not a beginners book. You should either already have lots of trading experience OR have read a number of books on trading. Many of his examples are for Stock Traders, but he also shows the power of Bollinger Bands in Commodities and Futures. I highly recommend this book for the beginner who is 'educating' himeself through books and has a number of books under his belt, OR for someone who is doing trading already, and wants to improve their game.

"Bollinger on Bollinger Bands" is a through explanation of the theory behind the analysis tool, and means for increasing its value. Examples are given in both independent use of the tool and for its use in concert with other measures. Codependent variables are discussed and reasonable cautions are stated. Multiple trading systems are discussed as well.

However, I was sorely disappointed that the book made reference to "free" tools on the internet. Most of these were available only for a 30-day trial pre-purchase, and without stating the purchase price--before signing up for the trial. It was not possible to evaluate the value of the proposed trading methodologies by using what was stated to be "free" access. I felt mis-lead, at best.

This is not a book for a beginner in stock technical analysis. It pre-supposed knowledge of several acronyms, which are sometimes explained later in the text (to be fair). It would have made a better read had all acronymns been defined and explained on their first occurence.

I still found this to be a valuable text on the derivation and logic behind Bollinger Bands, and for that reason alone have gien it a relatively high rating. But don't expect to buy the book and directly apply it to trading without purchasing or developing some additional software, or in the alternative, doing a lot of pencil and paper work.

"Bollinger on Bollinger Bands" is a through explanation of the theory behind the analysis tool, and means for increasing its value. Examples are given in both independent use of the tool and for its use in concert with other measures. Codependent variables are discussed and reasonable cautions are stated. Multiple trading systems are discussed as well.

However, I was sorely disappointed that the book made reference to "free" tools on the internet. Most of these were available only for a 30-day trial pre-purchase, and without stating the purchase price--before signing up for the trial. It was not possible to evaluate the value of the proposed trading methodologies by using what was stated to be "free" access. I felt mis-lead, at best.

This is not a book for a beginner in stock technical analysis. It pre-supposed knowledge of several acronyms, which are sometimes explained later in the text (to be fair). It would have made a better read had all acronymns been defined and explained on their first occurence.

I still found this to be a valuable text on the derivation and logic behind Bollinger Bands, and for that reason alone have gien it a relatively high rating. But don't expect to buy the book and directly apply it to trading without purchasing or developing some additional software, or in the alternative, doing a lot of pencil and paper work.

I forced myself to read throughout this book. The closely relavant information about Bollinger bands in this book is something like 10 to 15 pages, some of can be found in standard TA books. I believe the Author should have written a TA book and included Bollinger bands as its one chapter. It is so boring to read a book made of by extending a chapter of it to a book.

I forced myself to read throughout this book. The closely relavant information about Bollinger bands in this book is something like 10 to 15 pages, some of can be found in standard TA books. I believe the Author should have written a TA book and included Bollinger bands as its one chapter. It is so boring to read a book made of by extending a chapter of it to a book.

Mr. Bollinger's book is unusual as books on technical analysis go. No promises of instant wealth here: rather, at the outset, Bollinger tells the reader that the marketplace is an uncertain arena. His view is that the old dictum "Buy low, sell high," is best viewed in relative terms, and he draws our attention to others who have seen the world somewhat similarly, such as Albert Einstein and Oliver Wendell Holmes. The author's stated "other view" is that "Rational Analysis" is the most (dare I say it?) rational way to approach investing. Rational Analysis, in this context, is the blending of fundamental analysis - balance sheets, product lines and such for stocks or carry-over stocks and acres planted for grains, for instance - with technical analysis. Mr. Bollinger has promised us another book dealing with Rational Analysis, and in this book he focuses entirely on the technical side.

The book has a brief introduction to charting to assure that there is someplace to look to understand terminology. Of course, there is an appendix which also sets for meanings for technical and charting terms. Along with this, the author provides us with a short history of technical analysis, an unusual feature. From here he moves into his trademark work, Bollinger Bands, how to construct them and how to use them and how to avoid misusing them which can result in having them abuse you. I should say that about fifteen years ago, I found out how thoroughly one can be bitten by misuse of Bollinger Bands - and it was my own wallet that shrank.

An advanced section, which is, indeed, advanced, is provided in which the author gives his thoughts for altering his work to make it fit the reader's perspective. How to integrate the information provided by B Bands and by his less well-known but quite useful "other creation," %b, into or in with other technical indicators. Also provided are ways to analyze your own trading techniques in order to avoid the trap of using the same data seventeen (my number) different ways that all come up with the same result - which really means that you have only one indicator, not seventeen.

Perhaps Mr. Bollinger's most sage, non-technical analytic advice is put forth early in the book. He tells the reader not to worry about having everyone else use "the system," no matter what the system is, because every individual will use it differently. Thus 1,000 people using The System will trade as if there were 1,000 different systems. And most critically, the reader is advised to devise his own system, to take pieces from systems here and their, and tweak them so that each person has a system that fits his own personality. If YOU are not comfortable with your system, YOU won't be able to trade it effectively. There is much good advice and explication of uses of statistics in general and Bollinger Bands in particular in this book. But if the only thing you take away from the book is the above bit of advice, and if you take it to heart, you'll be richly rewarded in the marketplace. On a personal note, I already used three band sets, BBands one of them; I have now added %b to my arsenal. To my surprise, it does not duplicate any of my other 10 indicators.

This is a book to be thoroughly digested by every trader. While Bollinger Bands are in the everyday parlance of traders now, 20 years ago they were a ground breaking concept. There are other ways to compute volatility, but all that I have seen actually work better when combined with Bollinger Bands and/or its close relative, %b. Although some reviews here dismiss this book lightly, it is seminal and deep. My second reading found important details that I did not notice first time through. I expect I'll find more useful detail when next I reread the book.

Mr. Bollinger's book is unusual as books on technical analysis go. No promises of instant wealth here: rather, at the outset, Bollinger tells the reader that the marketplace is an uncertain arena. His view is that the old dictum "Buy low, sell high," is best viewed in relative terms, and he draws our attention to others who have seen the world somewhat similarly, such as Albert Einstein and Oliver Wendell Holmes. The author's stated "other view" is that "Rational Analysis" is the most (dare I say it?) rational way to approach investing. Rational Analysis, in this context, is the blending of fundamental analysis - balance sheets, product lines and such for stocks or carry-over stocks and acres planted for grains, for instance - with technical analysis. Mr. Bollinger has promised us another book dealing with Rational Analysis, and in this book he focuses entirely on the technical side.

The book has a brief introduction to charting to assure that there is someplace to look to understand terminology. Of course, there is an appendix which also sets for meanings for technical and charting terms. Along with this, the author provides us with a short history of technical analysis, an unusual feature. From here he moves into his trademark work, Bollinger Bands, how to construct them and how to use them and how to avoid misusing them which can result in having them abuse you. I should say that about fifteen years ago, I found out how thoroughly one can be bitten by misuse of Bollinger Bands - and it was my own wallet that shrank.

An advanced section, which is, indeed, advanced, is provided in which the author gives his thoughts for altering his work to make it fit the reader's perspective. How to integrate the information provided by B Bands and by his less well-known but quite useful "other creation," %b, into or in with other technical indicators. Also provided are ways to analyze your own trading techniques in order to avoid the trap of using the same data seventeen (my number) different ways that all come up with the same result - which really means that you have only one indicator, not seventeen.

Perhaps Mr. Bollinger's most sage, non-technical analytic advice is put forth early in the book. He tells the reader not to worry about having everyone else use "the system," no matter what the system is, because every individual will use it differently. Thus 1,000 people using The System will trade as if there were 1,000 different systems. And most critically, the reader is advised to devise his own system, to take pieces from systems here and their, and tweak them so that each person has a system that fits his own personality. If YOU are not comfortable with your system, YOU won't be able to trade it effectively. There is much good advice and explication of uses of statistics in general and Bollinger Bands in particular in this book. But if the only thing you take away from the book is the above bit of advice, and if you take it to heart, you'll be richly rewarded in the marketplace. On a personal note, I already used three band sets, BBands one of them; I have now added %b to my arsenal. To my surprise, it does not duplicate any of my other 10 indicators.

This is a book to be thoroughly digested by every trader. While Bollinger Bands are in the everyday parlance of traders now, 20 years ago they were a ground breaking concept. There are other ways to compute volatility, but all that I have seen actually work better when combined with Bollinger Bands and/or its close relative, %b. Although some reviews here dismiss this book lightly, it is seminal and deep. My second reading found important details that I did not notice first time through. I expect I'll find more useful detail when next I reread the book.

Mr. Bollinger's book is unusual as books on technical analysis go. No promises of instant wealth here: rather, at the outset, Bollinger tells the reader that the marketplace is an uncertain arena. His view is that the old dictum "Buy low, sell high," is best viewed in relative terms, and he draws our attention to others who have seen the world somewhat similarly, such as Albert Einstein and Oliver Wendell Holmes. The author's stated "other view" is that "Rational Analysis" is the most (dare I say it?) rational way to approach investing. Rational Analysis, in this context, is the blending of fundamental analysis - balance sheets, product lines and such for stocks or carry-over stocks and acres planted for grains, for instance - with technical analysis. Mr. Bollinger has promised us another book dealing with Rational Analysis, and in this book he focuses entirely on the technical side.

The book has a brief introduction to charting to assure that there is someplace to look to understand terminology. Of course, there is an appendix which also sets for meanings for technical and charting terms. Along with this, the author provides us with a short history of technical analysis, an unusual feature. From here he moves into his trademark work, Bollinger Bands, how to construct them and how to use them and how to avoid misusing them which can result in having them abuse you. I should say that about fifteen years ago, I found out how thoroughly one can be bitten by misuse of Bollinger Bands - and it was my own wallet that shrank.

An advanced section, which is, indeed, advanced, is provided in which the author gives his thoughts for altering his work to make it fit the reader's perspective. How to integrate the information provided by B Bands and by his less well-known but quite useful "other creation," %b, into or in with other technical indicators. Also provided are ways to analyze your own trading techniques in order to avoid the trap of using the same data seventeen (my number) different ways that all come up with the same result - which really means that you have only one indicator, not seventeen.

Perhaps Mr. Bollinger's most sage, non-technical analytic advice is put forth early in the book. He tells the reader not to worry about having everyone else use "the system," no matter what the system is, because every individual will use it differently. Thus 1,000 people using The System will trade as if there were 1,000 different systems. And most critically, the reader is advised to devise his own system, to take pieces from systems here and their, and tweak them so that each person has a system that fits his own personality. If YOU are not comfortable with your system, YOU won't be able to trade it effectively. There is much good advice and explication of uses of statistics in general and Bollinger Bands in particular in this book. But if the only thing you take away from the book is the above bit of advice, and if you take it to heart, you'll be richly rewarded in the marketplace. On a personal note, I already used three band sets, BBands one of them; I have now added %b to my arsenal. To my surprise, it does not duplicate any of my other 10 indicators.

This is a book that belongs in every trader's and every investor's library. In addition, each should bother to read it and to come to an understanding of these concepts. To borrow, "Don't let your money leave home without it."

It is interesting how things all of a sudden things come together in a Martin Gardner ah-hah! sort of moment. (I wish I had those more often). Anyway, I was developing a trading strategy and was being stymied with coming up with a method for filtering side-ways movements from trending movements. It suddenly dawned on me that this is what volatility is all about. I've been reading much on options and how volatility is an integral part of option trading. There was just so much to assimilate in analyzing options that the simple truth escaped me. High volatility begats low volatility and low volatility begats high volatility. (Among other things) Low volatility leading to high volatility forms the basis for Bollinger's Squeeze Play, otherwise known as the Volatility Breakout Trade. The Squeeze Play is one of three methods Bollinger has cooked up to show the benefits of Bollinger Band utilization.

What it all boils down to is that volatility is basically a study on standard deviation. By using standard deviation bands and calculating differences between them, Bollinger has defined a flexible set of indicators that can be used not only on tradeable instruments, but as component parts of other indicators.

Bollinger continually stresses that Bollinger Bands should not be used independently. The signals they generate should always be confirmed with other indicators. Bollinger has a preference for volume based indicators, which he says tend to lead the market.

Another interesting aspect of the book has to do with pattern matching. I've been wondering how one would generate computer algorithms to detect trading patterns such as the head & shoulders pattern. A few key observations have clarified the picture for me as to defining some ways to proceed. The book proceeds with detailing about 32 different patterns that originated with Arthur Merrill.

It is interesting to note that there is enough material surrounding Bollinger Bands that a whole book can be written regarding the topic. So, by playing around with various combinations of volatility analysis, pattern matching, and volume confirmation, there is no end of possibilities for trading system development.

I know Mr Bollinger and he is likeable. However the content of his book is certainly light. It is not much different from what one reads in the 'help' pages of various data services such as e signal, tradestation, etc. In fact listening to a Bollinger speech and reading the help pages give me more insight into his one indicator of fame--a derivative of simple standard. I developed an indicator of my own that was identical to his many years earlier. It was flaterring seeing that he duplicated what I already developed. I am not even a full time investment guru although I have read everything in the public domain. I excel in real estate ivestments. As far as the markets are concerned, I like Schwager's, Prechter's, and Bernstein's books. Am I an authority on technical analysis? Most think I am not but I feel I am. I have a personal commitment to protect others and with my experience as a well known critic and contributor to web sites I am equipped to do so. BTW Bollinger's web site is okay.

It's nearly impossible for any technical analyst to neglect BB with its assessibility, and it's so logical to learn the tool or expect to get the most of it from the inventor himself. With regard to this book, the good things are: The author did not promote his tool as something invincible. He talked about the limitations of and warned readers of the need for continuous revision. Very smooth writing and an easy read. The bad things are: BB is not really a sophisticated tool at all. So the author had "filled" it up with some stuff that seemed light or marginally helpful to readers who had read over five trading books. I am afraid that comprises of most of the potential buyers coz I think it's hard for novices to spend over thirty bucks for a book that talks only of one single TA tool. Furthermore, I really cant acquire extra knowledge of BB from this book that distinguishes it from other TA books I read before.

Anyway, I still think this is a good read. Afterall, it costs less than one pip in some futures market and you can definitely save a lot more in case you can use BB to enhance your trading system as the author suggests.

Was looking forward to this book since I found some systems using BBs. However, was less than impressed. Nothing new, especially for someone that the indicator is named after. Lots of references to his websites too. Squeeze play-expect a move after period of low volatility, yep, nothing new. But, no good discussion on how to implement strategy to capitilize on squeeze. You'll learn more from the following tips than this book,

1. If price touches a rising lower Bollinger Bands (long) or a falling upper Bollinger Bands (short) in the traded time frame, that is a safe entry point.

2. If price touches a lateral (flat) Bollinger Bands and is also touching (or nearly touching) a lateral Bollinger Bands in a higher time frame, that is safe entry for trade in opposite direction.

3. If price touches lateral lower Bollinger Bands (for long) and lower Bollinger Bands on higher time frame is distinctly rising, that is a safe long entry (reverse for short).

4. If price touches lower Bollinger Bands and MACD and/or stochastic on higher time frame is showing long, that is safe long entry.

Of all the main stream technical indicators, it is safe to say that Bollinger Bands are perhaps the least understood. But they can become part of an arsenal of highly useful technical tools for those who have learned how to properly apply them and one good way to get a running start is to read his latest book, Bollinger on Bollinger Bands. Not only does the book provide some very useful background information on how they came to be, it is an opportunity to hear from the master himself how he uses the bands to best effect. According to Bollinger, one pattern that he calls the Squeeze (a topic on which he spends a whole chapter) draws more questions than any other aspect of Bollinger Bands. As he describes it, his bands "are driven by volatility, and The Squeeze is a pure reflection of that volatility." (Excerpt from Investopedia.com with permission.)

After reading the book, I developed a scan to find stocks that are getting the Squeeze and it works pretty well. Sure enough, a stock that has shown a period of declining volatility, generally breaks out with a bang shortly after reaching a low extreme. The trick is then trying to determine which way. Bollinger includes a number of tips and indicators in the book to help the trader figure that out too.

This book is for anyone who has ever looked at Bollinger bands and tried to understand how to use them as well as those who do use them now but want to get some more great ideas. It is not a difficult read and is actually very well written (I am always surprised by traders who have been steeped in mathematics and technicals like John B. who can also write well.) He is obviously an excellent communicator and this fact comes through loud and clear in his book.

Bollinger on Bollinger Bands is well worth the money. It is also a chance to hear the master who we see on CNBC and in the Wall Street Journal express his ideas and views on markets and how to profit from them. That alone, makes this book worth reading.

Matt Blackman - Technical Writer/Reviewer Email: matt@tradesystemguru.com
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Contributor to Stocks & Commodities Magazine, Working Money, Traders.com Advantage, Active Trader, Traders Mag (Europe) and SFO Magazine

I've been using this book's theory to trade options online and I am averaging 67% per month. A key component of his book is to use fractal market analysis ...different time frames.
Bollinger Bands work better than any other indicator around.

An excellent book on both trading in general and the construction, logic, and use of Bollinger Bands.

Bollinger gives a very nice historical perspective of the evolution to Bolly Bands but how he made the jump from incorpoating the internal daily range to externally applied stdevs isn't really discussed other than he 'felt so'. Well I think is an important part of the story and withtout that tidbit it looks like was just trying to find a shortcut for his spreadsheet & do something unique.

The ideas he has are valuable but throughout the book one wonders why Bolly Bands & not StdError or Projection Bands? Why Bolly Bands and not Channels with their implied daily range of volatility? Putting Bolly Bands with indicators is helpful in explaining this though I think it woulb be more valuable to see some of the applications.

In the end though, I felt that Bollinger was trying to sell me his website ...& not really give me all the information I needed to make my own decision. Bollinger did make a good case that some type of bands might be valuable but he did not make a strong case that it should be Bolly ones. The book is of limited use though it could expand your horizons on the whole Bands/Channel topic.

Learn B Bands from the man who invented them. Not the best investing book in the world but a very good book. You can make money if you follow his rules.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Bollinger at a seminar and he is a very decent man. He is one of the few knowledgable good guys they have on CNBC. CNBC should give John B and John Murphy a show together on technical analysis.

CNBC should fire that creep James Cramer and some of their other flacks like Suze Orman.

This book gives the reader a completely thorough explanation of Bollinger Bands. In fact, you will learn about the history of bands, how they are created, and how they can be used for trading. To that end, I enjoyed the book as it greatly expanded my knowledge of the topic. However, I was somewhat discouraged by the lack of actual trading examples. I found little in the book that would lead me to use BOllinger Bands in my trading. This book is good because of its theoretical underpinnings, but if you are looking for something to help your trading, look elsewhere.

This book is written by a rather important contributor to the art/science? of Technical Analysis. Consequently, I looked forward to its arrival and spent most of one night reading it over.
It starts off well -- John seems to be writing for the novice reader -- for example, his descripton of relevant 'statistics' is in chapter nine out of twenty-two and seems pitched toward a reader that had no familiarity with the subject at all. In addition, he ends each chapter with his 'Key Points to Remember.' These are excellent summations of the material in the chapter. He has developed '15 Basic Rules' that are placed at the conclusion of the book and in a pullout cardboard section in the back. These rules are very helpful. His glossary, bibliography, and index are all focused and helpful.
The main drawback is that I came away with little increased ability to actually use the Bollinger Bands as a critical indicator in stock analysis. That is, the sections on 'volatility breakout' and 'reversals' required three reading to understand. I still don't know if I'm doing it right. The method called 'trend following' is easier to understand and apply.
In conclusion, this book is very readable in the first half but the applications, in the last half, are somewhat arcane. Still, it is worth reading again -- which I will do next week.