I’ve heard a lot of people swear by How To Make Money In Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times or Bad, 3rd Edition, so I read it this weekend. (yeah, after two books reviews this weekend it’d be hypocritical of me to post a weekend non-reading entry, so I’ll skip it)
I thought How to Make Money in Stocks was dated. It says “completely updated” right on the cover, and the copyright says 2002. Yet, it still covers controversial topics like:
- Is it safe to buy Nasdaq stocks?
- Decimalization of the markets
- Transactions should be reported on the tape within a couple minutes after they occur on the trading floor, but sometimes get behind
huh? I’m pretty sure that either the word “completely” or “updated” does not mean what the author thinks it means…
It describes the CAN SLIM stock picking method in great detail. It seems like a sensible enough strategy, and I know a lot of people use it. In terms of technical analysis, the book goes over cups+handles, and double bottoms, and gives example charts of stocks just before they broke out big. The general advice here is buy high and sell higher, rather than looking for a bargain.
It warns against day trading, which is typical of books like this, so I can forgive it. It also spends a lot of time pimping Investor’s Business Daily, which the author founded. I can forgive that, too (I kinda expected it).
What I’m finding more and more with non-fiction books is that it’s hard to compete with the internet. There’s nothing in this book you haven’t read on the internet, if you’ve been looking. Aside from autobiographical trader books, I think the days of trading books are numbered, if not already past. The same is true in most technical fields, as well. I’ve bought very few comp sci books in the last few years, since everything I’d want to know is on-line. So, even though there’s some good information in this book, it’s hard for me to recommend that you purchase it.