Trading Book Library
Long-form reviews of the books worth your time, written from the perspective of people who trade the material rather than just read it. Each review covers what the book actually argues, the takeaways that survived contact with a live account, and who should skip it.
Originally published in Chinese. 中文书单 has 157 reviews.
Al Brooks Reversals: Summary and Key Takeaways
Trading Price Action Reversals · Al Brooks
The final volume of Al Brooks' trilogy and the one that teaches restraint. Why you should never hunt reversals inside a healthy trend, why wedges are the most reliable reversal pattern, and why reversal trades need entirely different position sizing.
Al Brooks Trading Ranges: Summary and Key Takeaways
Trading Price Action Trading Ranges · Al Brooks
A working trader's review of Al Brooks' Trading Price Action Trading Ranges — the second volume of the trilogy, covering the roughly 80% of market time that trends never explain. Key takeaways, who it's for, and why failed breakouts are the most reliable setup in the book.
Al Brooks Trends: Summary and Key Takeaways
Trading Price Action Trends · Al Brooks
A working trader's review of Al Brooks' Trading Price Action Trends — volume one of the trilogy and the foundation of the whole method. What the book actually teaches, why it's the hardest trading book most people will ever attempt, and whether you should start here.
Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques: Summary and Review
Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques · Steve Nison
The book that brought candlestick charting to the West, and still the one to start with. Why patterns mean nothing without location, what a doji actually signals in different contexts, and the honest limits of candlestick analysis.
John Murphy's Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets: Summary and Review
Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets · John Murphy
The standard reference and the closest thing technical analysis has to a textbook. A review of what Murphy actually builds — a top-down framework running from major trend to entry signal — and why it works best read after you already know candlesticks.
A Complete Guide to Volume Price Analysis: Summary and Review
A Complete Guide to Volume Price Analysis · Anna Coulling
Price can be manipulated. Volume is much harder to fake. A review of Anna Coulling's introduction to Wyckoff-style volume analysis — the four price-volume combinations, accumulation and distribution, and the honest warning about tick volume in forex and crypto.
Kroll on Futures Trading Strategy: Summary and Review
Kroll on Futures Trading Strategy · Stanley Kroll
Stanley Kroll built a career on a method simple enough to explain in five minutes, in an industry addicted to complexity. A review of his trend-following philosophy — cut losses fast, hold winners slowly, and treat waiting as the job rather than the gap between jobs.
The Disciplined Trader by Mark Douglas: Summary and Review
The Disciplined Trader · Mark Douglas
Mark Douglas wrote The Disciplined Trader a decade before Trading in the Zone, and most people skip straight to the famous one. A review of what the earlier book does better — belief systems, self-sabotage, and why fear of losing does more damage than losing.
The Dow Theory by Robert Rhea: Summary and Why It Still Matters
The Dow Theory · Robert Rhea
Every trendline you draw traces back to Charles Dow. A review of Robert Rhea's systematisation of the Dow Theory — the three trends, volume confirmation, index confirmation, and the three phases of a primary move — and why a century-old framework is still the first thing a trader should learn.
The Master Swing Trader by Alan Farley: Summary and Review
The Master Swing Trader · Alan Farley
Alan Farley's book is unusual for spending more pages on exits than entries. A review of the swing trading framework — identifying where a new swing begins, entering on pullbacks rather than breakouts, and the multi-timeframe habit that fixes most bad trades.
Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom: Summary and Key Concepts
Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom · Van Tharp
Van Tharp's book is where expectancy, R-multiples and position sizing entered most traders' vocabulary. A review of the concepts that matter — why a 30% win rate can beat an 80% one, and why position sizing decides how much you make, not entries.
Trader Vic — Methods of a Wall Street Master: Summary and Review
Trader Vic: Methods of a Wall Street Master · Victor Sperandeo
Victor Sperandeo went twelve years without a losing year, and this book explains the discipline behind it. A review of the 1-2-3 trend reversal rule, his hard risk limits, and the distinction he draws between speculation and gambling.