Foreign-exchange-market Books

If you want to learn about the start and foundation of Forex, use Google! It is free and more up to date than this piece of junk. Luckily I got it from the library and did not pay for it.

I have been a Forex trader for a long time now and 80% of this book is not relevant any more.

Lots of historical perspective, but lacks specific techniques and strategies. Also pretty dated now. Lots of filler and anecdotes, too.

Of all the books I've read on Forex this has to be the least useful. There is no central theme, no "how to"....it's a collection of dis-jointed, unrelated trivia about the foreign currency market. Not worth the paper it's written on...in my view. You'll do considerably better reading nearly anything else. Don't waste your money or your time.

We recommend this book to our clients who want to learn more about global currency markets. It gives a great introductory overview and history of currency. Brief and well written.

So many editorial reviews on Amazon are so far off the mark...and this book is no exception. Poorly written, poorly edited and of course poorly priced. The author spends too much time on his personal observations, which are highly subjective of course, but devoid of the poignancy that would justify such missives. He then moves quickly from one topic to the next, explaining none in sufficient detail.

Much of what he writes isn't very important to a trader and is probably obvious to a student of financial markets. Laypeople will learn something about the world of forex, but this cursory treatment lacks focus. They are better off reading a few focused books. The few pages devoted to interviews from successful traders were informative, but I found myself disagreeing with some of the "facts" (read: opinions) offered up. If you must buy this book, take what is written here with a grain of salt. Then go buy a serious book on the stucture of the foreign exchange market, on risk management and on trading strategies.

This book will not make you a better trader and it certainly isn't worth the price.

1) I do not think this is a good "Getting Started" book. I'd recommend the Dummies series as a first book. It's simple, to the point and much more organized. If this is the book you start with, you will end up more confused.

2) I honestly can say I do not think I picked up one piece of useful information from this. Granted this isn't the first book I read so maybe there's a point in there somewhere that someone might get... but not me.

3) Bad writing. I can see where there was potential in some things he wrote to be useful, but it just didn't come across that way. No offense meant to Archer. He is, after all an active TRADER (at least according to the back cover) and not a writer, but the writing makes it difficult to get through.

I only read this because my mom got it for me. I wouldn't have bought this book myself.

Looking at the system only, rather than the psychological aspects of trading, I can't say I am impressed. The instructions on how to build a swing chart do not match the diagrams and are therefore confusing. The expanation on what to do if it is NOT a 50% retracement are very unclear to say the least. The book could have done with a thorough edit before publication. Much of the material is available on the authors website but the explanations are no clearer.

The author talks about how he is not a fan of technical indicators (one of the reasons I bought this book) and then goes on to talk about wave theory as a type of technical indicator! Patterns (for me) are way too subjective to use in trading and this is really all about pattern recognition.

Where are the examples of trading that failed (way more instructive than pattern success)? Where are the 'difficult' patterns to call and the mistakes made?

The author recommends using high leverage with 'beer accounts' like $500 which is a sure fire way to blow the account. He recommends that you use 10:1 leverage with this size of account and 5:1 leverage with $10000 account. These levels willl blow the account sooner or later particularly with his stop loss 'strategy' of tight stops based around risk ratio.

The trader psychology part is fine but can be found in many other trader books but I give it two stars because of this.

I found this book to be the missing link in my trading. I've long been struggling to find a framework with which I could understand and develop a complete trading strategy. The author does an excellent job with the codex approach in both explaining his framework and providing an example using his Goodman Swing trading system (in addition he also shares this system for those would like to use it). The book also provides very good insight into all the components of a complete trading strategy, how they work together and why they must be complimentary, thus allowing the strategy to evolve or adapt. The author was very prompt in responding to my email asking for some clarifications, and in fact provided me with more information than I asked for. The book is well written and edited, there was very little that was not clearly explained and very understandable. Thanks again to Mr. Archer and his editors for what I believe is one of the best books on trading system/strategy development available today.

The "meat" of the book is a system that uses "waves" to determine buy/sell points, the rest is just 99% filler. The author does not explain much, one or two pages and absolutely no clear examples. There are absolutely no charts with clear buy here/stop here/take your profit here/ signals. After reading the book you are left wondering what to do next.

And of course ZERO backtest ! Oh no, those forex authors have never heard of testing software like Trade Station or Metatrader ! It's always the same story with these guys : Here is my little unproven, untested trading system, hand me your money for the book and bye bye !!

I give this book 2 stars only because the system may have some merit. Still, it is one of these books you want to quickly forget after you read it.

This book is a must! If you are a trader with some experience, you'll find many good habits that everyone should learn at the beginning...and not after loosing money..
Practical to plan your trading activity, rich of emotional and money management advises.
If you're looking for the holy grail of trading systems, this in not the case, but if you think about being a full time trader, this is rich of good material to learn.

First off, this book is not for the beginner. Nevertheless, for the intermediate and advanced traders, there are nice tools that provide a lot of food for thought. The authors are definitely traders, there is no disputing that. They also go above and beyond the call of duty in mining data. The pages offer a wealth of proof of the number crunching power we get from today's technology, as well as the ability to present the data in a usable format.

My favorite chapters are the ones dealing with Point & Figure (which gave me tons of ideas), Swing Properties, Cycle Analysis, and last but not least, the Goodman Swing Count System. This chapter alone will leave you wanting more information on this virtually unknown (up till now) trading method.

Again, this book may not serve the needs of the beginning trader. But for the intermediate/advanced trader who is past the market infatuation stage and is willing to do the work, there are definite workable ideas contained within.

Save your money! This book is not worth the effort and definitely not worth the price.

This volume is an excellent source book of trading tools for the Forex Trader. You will not find a complete system with which to trade with or a primer on trading the Forex. This is not a book for a trading novice. But for the journeyman trader looking for tools to add to his/her own trading methodology,it provides an 'encyclopedia' of ideas and techniques with which to evaluate and forecast the behavior of the currency markets. The Forex Chartist Companion is solid reference that belongs next to your trading station.

There is nothing about timing or switching from one sector to another. Sector investing can be very volatile if you buy and hold. You need to know when to exit a sector and when to buy.

As the authors clearly indicate in the preface, this book is geared toward the beginning and intermediate investor. Written in a clear and concise manner that avoids excessive jargon, the information educates the reader about investing in sectors while providing valuable insights and practical advice.

Divided into 12 chapters, the book focuses on the sectors of primary interest to the "average individual investor." Specifically, the sectors covered include: Technology, Financial, Healthcare, Real Estate, Utilities, Energy and Natural Resources, and International. Although investing in international stocks is generally not considered a "sector," the inclusion of the international arena as a sector provides a useful perspective on this area.

In addition to the valuable content, the authors have an engaging writing style that does not hinder the information presented by them. The book is actually entertaining and inspiring.

Overall, "How to be a Sector Investor" is an excellent book on investing in sectors. Having researched a number of other books in this area, this one far surpasses other resources.

If you're new to Industry Sectors and want to learn alot about each one then this book is excellent for you to start. If you already watch sectors and their rotations then there really isn't much new in the book. It is definitely well written and very easy to understand. If anything, it re-inforced concepts and strategies I had forgotten. I wish it had incorporated some analyzing from a Technical charting viewpoint. There was none at all. All in all, it is a very positive book covering the different sectors of the market. I found it to actually be very motivating to follow the markets more closely.

A one-star Amazon review of the late Marcia Stigum's book: "The Money Market" denigrates her work, but recommends this book. Coincidentally it seems to have appeared just after a reviewer recommended her book over "The Repo Handbook" authored by Choudhry, one of the authors of this book.

It hardly seems sporting to denigrate the excellent work of Ms. Stigum when she is no longer able to set the record straight. Her classic work on the U.S. markets that allows one to deduce the dynamics - and equips one to solve the mathematics - of the global money markets deserves high honors.

The unsportsmanlike behavior doesn't end there, since it seems that books with titles that compete with Mr. Choudrhy's upcoming releases have multiple one-star reviews from obvious pseudonyms and free internet accounts. The books that get the most attention from this stalker are the most commercially successful in the competing areas. Perhaps it is a fan gone mad, or perhaps there is a more obvious explanation.

I would have given this book three stars, but I deducted for bad sportsmanship.

This is a timely book that covers in great detail virtually all apsects of the markets. Well written and well worth getting.

As a computer systems administrator, I usually support several applications without getting too involved in their inner workings nor with the business that they run. This book, however, allowed me to understand the bond markets and to be able to interact with computer users with definite knowledge and sure understanding of the business. The book is a cross between a text book and a do-it-yourself with examples. I couldn't have done it with out it. Next I'm ordering An introduction to Derivatives.

You can't really use it. Huge amount of typos, omissions and errors. Just try to compute rate of return using formula from the book ROR = [(Selling price-1)/Buying price]*100. Buying for 90 and selling for 100 gives you a zero return rate, nice, isn't it. Worst book I've ever had.

Save the money! To get a clue on the subject go to the IMF site and download the variety of Kaminsky's and friends papers available. You must go to the references in there, Eichengreen and his friends for instance.

It is useful for the investment analysts.

This book makes some interesting points and is well written. I feel that the authors are too optimistic about the affects of globalization on the world economy. Issues like disparity in income and ravaging affects on the middle class are not given the attention they should. I would also have liked to see more opinions on what world governments could do to alleviate the sweeping changes the world markets are making. Still, the book is worth reading for anyone interested in the affects of globalization.

I read this book. A friend new to Forex gave me his copy and asked what I thought.

I read it. I believe it to be honest, straight forward but VERY basic. Which is fine, but you can get all the contents of this book and more if you use Google and read many of the free materials most of the big brokers have to give away to tempt you to open an account with them.

If you do not have internet access (now...how you will trade Forex without live charts streaming to you is beyond me !!!) then this is a good read.

This book provides excellent information on how to trade.
First, a fundamental analysis of the economy is critical.
Analyze trends in currencies and the underlying causes.
Next , the technical analysis is critical. This analysis
includes price trends and the effects of the trends.

The author advises to consider buying "at the dips".
Buying signals are at resistance breakthroughs and the
existence of definitive trends. Ascending triangles form
upward patterns which signal buying opportunities.

There are a number of other rule structures. i.e.
o Fibonacci extensions give the target price area.

o The DMI index provides an idea of direct movement.

o Bollinger bands are curves around the price structure.

o Stock trading volume is important, as well as the Price/
Earnings Ratio. Generally, investors do not want to pay
too much for a stock.

o The day charts show trading in 24 hour increments.

o Important economic indicators are inflation, employment,
consumer spending etc.

o The PPI shows the producer price index or change in prices.

In my experience, the FOREX INDICATORS are important with regard
to stock purchase/selling decisions.

I didn't actually read this, I'm just being mean because I hate authors who put pictures of themselves on the covers of their books. Gives me the impression that they are actually a greasy salesman and the book is nothing but a comeone for some seminar or website or anything else that can suck money out of you. The red power tie and the made easy title only reinforce that assumption and then I get extra cynical when the guy has funny name on top of it. I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but let's face it...the guy looks like a Dick.

It is because I am an entrepreneur and a capitalist that I got into Forex trading. Therefore I must admire and respect those who achieve monumental success such as James Dicks. And I actually enjoy reading a book or e-book that is a good sales letter for another product. People who resent such things would do well to go through T.Harv Eker's Millionaire Mind training and other such wealth consciousness training. However, I think most people in the Forex world now realize that Forex Made Easy is a software that produces green arrows for a buy signal and red arrows for a sell signal. The programming behind the software, I am told, is based on a simple signal that is taught in at least a similar form in many introductory trading courses. Following the signal requires users to remain ignorant of all the other factors that could eliminate most of the losses. Many people who started out with Forex Made Easy have told me that they did not start learning to trade until they went on to other sources of training. I believe that Forex Made Easy may not have ever had their customer's best interest nor their success as a motivating factor when creating the company. They have made a huge amount of money with late night TV commercials and high pressure "free introductory seminars".

And now that their reputation is well known to be less than honorable the company has reincarnated as Premiere Trading with a new round of late night TV commercials. I am not saying that Premiere Trading is connected with Forex Made Easy. But apparently James Dicks is the leader of both companies. Of course, there is nothing wrong with advertising on late night TV. I am just a little concerned about the integrity of these organizations. The real profit in this industry is in finding a continuous stream of new customers and connecting them with an Introducing Broker and watching them lose their accounts in the first 6 months. Consequently, it is hard to find sources of help in the Forex world that are committed to the long term success of their clients. The industry is driven by the unregulated Forex brokers and most of the training and information that is available is geared toward what makes the most money for the brokers.

There is essentially no topic in this book presented with enough quality information to allow the reader to make any consistent profit from FOREX trading. If you picked the book up in a bookstore and wrote a list of the topics on a piece of paper, you would have a place to start your search. In other words, don't waste your money. The only reason I did not "hate the book" is because the information is essentially accurate. But trading FOREX successfully (actually any successful trading) is difficult. In this market you are trading with or against enormously deep pockets who know more than you.

If you want some alternative ideas, consider these three:
1. Currency Trading; Philip Gotthelf; Wiley; 2003
2. Day Trading the Currency Market; Kathy Lien; Wiley; 2006
3. Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom-second edition; Van K Tharp; McGraw-Hill; 2007.