Best Books for Traders

Required reading list for anyone that considers themselves a serious trader.

Connor Kimball
Head of Operations

Table of Contents

11 Great Books for Stock Traders

There are countless books out there about stock trading. Some are good, and some are a waste of time. We’ll spare you the duds - here is our preferred reading list in order.

1. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

Title: Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
Author: Edwin Lefevre

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is the unforgettable story of the life of Jesse Livermore, one of Wall Street's greatest ever stock speculators.

Loosely fictionalized in 1923 in collaboration with journalist Edwin Lefevre, this is the story of the highs and the lows, the strategies and the street smarts, the epic wins (and sometimes epic losses) that has inspired generations of investors and traders.

2. Market Wizards

Title: Market Wizards
Author: Jack Schwager

market wizards is a great book for stock traders

What separates the world's top traders from the vast majority of unsuccessful investors? In this iconic financial classic, Jack Schwager sets out to answer this question in his interviews with superstar money-makers including Bruce Kovner, Richard Dennis, Paul Tudor Jones, Michel Steinhardt, Ed Seykota, Marty Schwartz, Tom Baldwin, and more.

Filled with anecdotes about market experiences, including the story of a trader who, after wiping out several times, turned $30,000 into $80 million, and an electrical engineer from MIT whose computerized trading has earned returns of 250,000 percent over 16 years.

3. How I Made $2,000,000 in the Stock Market

Title: How I Made $2,000 in the Stock Market
Author: Nicolas Darvas

best books for stock traders how i made 2000000 in the stock market

Hungarian by birth, Nicolas Darvas trained as an economist at the University of Budapest. Reluctant to remain in Hungary until either the Nazis or the Soviets took over, he fled at the age of 23 with a forged exit visa and fifty pounds sterling to stave off hunger in Istanbul, Turkey. During his off hours as a dancer, he read some 200 books on the market and the great speculators, spending as much as eight hours a day studying.

Darvas invested his money into a couple of stocks that had been hitting their 52-week high. He was utterly surprised that the stocks continued to rise and subsequently sold them to make a large profit. His main source of stock selection was Barron's Magazine. At the age of 39, after accumulating his fortune, Darvas documented his techniques in the book, How I Made 2,000,000 in the Stock Market. The book describes his unique "Box System", which he used to buy and sell stocks. Darvas' book remains a classic stock market text to this day.

4. Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard: How to Achieve Super Performance in Stocks in Any Market

Title: Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard: How to Achieve Super Performance in Stocks in Any Market
Author: Mark Minervini

trade-like-market-wizard-book-for-stock-traders

For the first time ever, U.S. Investing Champion Mark Minervini reveals the proven, time-tested trading system he used to achieve triple-digit returns for five consecutive years, averaging 220% per year for a 33,500% compounded total return.

In Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard, Minervini unveils his trademarked stock market method SEPA, which provides outsized returns in virtually every market by combining careful risk management, self-analysis, and perseverance.

5. Trading Chaos, 1st Edition

Title: Trading Chaos, 1st Edition
Author: Bill Williams

trading chaos 1st edition is an excellent book for stock traders

How to trade the markets by integrating Chaos Theory with market sentiment.

In the first edition of Trading Chaos, seasoned trader and psychologist Bill Williams detailed the potential of Chaos Theory-which seeks to make the unpredictable understandable-in trading and it revolutionized financial decision-making.

6. How to Make Money in Stocks

Title: How to Make Money in Stocks
Author: William J. O’Neil

best stock market books how to make money in stocks

Through every type of market, William J. O’Neil’s national bestseller, How to Make Money in Stocks, has shown over 2 million investors the secrets to building wealth. O’Neil’s powerful CAN SLIM® Investing System―a proven 7-step process for minimizing risk and maximizing gains―has influenced generations of investors.

We talk more about CAN SLIM screeners and methods here.

7. Tunnel Thru the Air, Or Looking Back from 1940

Title: Tunnel Through the Air... Or Looking Back from 1940
Author: William D. Gann

The Tunnel Thru the Air, Or Looking Back from 1940 is a science fiction novel written by market forecaster William Delbert Gann in 1927. In the Foreword, Gann hinted that this book is more than just a novel because it contains a valuable secret, clothed in veiled language.

According to Gann, some will find it the first time they read it, others will see it in the second reading, but the greatest number will find the hidden secret when they read it the third time. Some traders believe Gann had encoded some techniques of financial astrology into this book and some even claim that they have devoted a lifetime to study this text.

8. Think and Trade Like a Champion

Title: Think and Trade Like a Champion: The Secrets, Rules, & Blunt Truths of a Stock Market Wizard
Author: Mark Minervini

think and trade like a champion by mark minervini is a great book for traders

In Think & Trade Like a Champion, Mark will show you, step-by-step, how to use his time-tested principles to dramatically improve your performance and develop the confidence needed to achieve super-performance. Mark reveals his personal trading rules and the secret techniques that made him one of America’s most successful stock traders. You will learn how to use Mark’s methods in your own trading and literally TRADE LIKE A CHAMPION!

9. Trading Chaos, 2nd Edition

Title: Trading Chaos, 2nd Edition
Author: Justine Gregory-Willaims & Bill Williams

trading chaos is a great book for stock traders

The Second Edition of Trading Chaos is a cutting edge book that combines trading psychology and Chaos Theory and its particular effect on the markets. By examining both of these facets in relation to the current market, readers will have the best of all possible worlds when trading.

Bill Williams, PhD, CTA (Solana Beach, CA), is President of Profitunity.com, a leader in the field of education for traders and investors. Justine Gregory-Williams (Solana Beach, CA) is President of the Profitunity Trading Group and a full-time trader.

10. The Greatest Trade Ever

Title: The Greatest Trade Ever
Author: Gregory Zuckerman

Description coming soon.

11. The Man Who Solved the Market

Title: The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simmons Launched the Quant Revolution
Author: Greggory Zuckerman

the man who solved the market jim simmons book

One of Trader Z's favorite books, The Man Who Solved the Market is the story of Jim Simmons, one of the greatest quant traders to ever live.