market-economics

I read this book while attempting to negotiate a contracting raise. While I accept everything that was said, I have a serious dilemma about its title. It is one thing to negotiate the price of a refrigerator and another thing to negotiate one's salary, even though I took Cohen's advice, "Care, but don't care that much." Employers might not negotiate with you if you come off holding too many aces, even if they need your skills and value your contribution. Employers want to feel as if they are in charge and will often prefer a weaker candidate who is manageable. It is funny how lawyers or marketeers do not suffer from this problem. Even the least qualified ones have high expectations. The hard part of negotiating is getting someone to accept you as an equal, even when you have the credentials to back it up. There is an art and relationship (repoire) behind negotiation, and a mere study of this book is not going to let you negotiate anything you want.

I would like a ham samich asap in exchange for a sack of marbles. Handle it!

What a wonderful book. I learned about negotiating ethically and skillfully from this author. You will too. This book is a must read if you want to learn how to leverage your negotiations, and obtain the best results. Bravo!

The book only gives you a flavor of the context of e-commerce, without going into details (which you won't find strange comparing the table of contents and the number of pages :-). The logic is sometimes strange and some conclusions are questionable. Ok, that might be your first book on e-commerce, but it's far from being your last one, if you really want to understand it. Think !

Opening Digital Market: Battle Plans and Business Strategies for Internet Commerce is a must read book for every business professional interested in the world of Internet Commerce. It is very clear, concise, and presents its core arguments in logical and coherent fashion. While the entire book is organized along the lines of e-commerce formulation (technological/organizational challenges) to e-commerce implementation (examples of good business models), it is written such that the reader can easily skip chapters and go to their topic of interest without missing a beat. In the past, I have been thoroughly disappointed with the supply side (firm/technological) emphasis of emerging trends. This is one of the few books that makes a seamless transition between the supply side and demand side (market orientation)and thus manages to offer a holistic perspective of all facets--its challenges, its pitfalls, its multifaceted opportunites--of Internet Commerce.

If you have read "Reengineering the Corporation" by Hammer and Champy, you will see parallels with this book. It seems that the author has adopted a similar style but focused on the Internet, so it is a very practical management handbook that presents a comprehensive framework which is not affected by the day to day Internet developments. Thinking of electronic markets (the author calls them "digital markets") as a primary goal for the Internet is a great way to keep a business focused on the main objective. The book shows many ways to participate in these markets, which Mougayar believes are the markets where future competition really counts. We used the book here for our own purposes, and it did have an impact on our thinking. I concur that I wouldn't want too many of my competition reading this book either.

I liked SPIN SELLING better as they both covered the same ground with similar approach, but SPIN SELLING seemed better researched and had 4 steps where this had 9. Spin Selling was a better read too.

However, it is entirely possible that had I read this before reading Spin Selling, I would have gained more from this, and hence liked it more.

Once you have read it, you would want to share it with others. This is how good Michael Bosworth's book "Solution Selling" is. From clarifying the difference between Features, Advantages and Benefits (which a lot of sales people still mixed up), to complex solution selling process, the book has given losts of good illustration with practical examples. Especially in "3 levels of buyers needs", "10 faces of buyer pain", "Price Negotiation" etc.

The book uses the buyers' prespective to help readers to understand what the buyers think at each stage in their decision process which is a good way to demonstrate his theory behind.

Solution selling is a long and complex process, with the approach and process Bosworth described, it helps a lot in defining the actions and precautions we need to take in day to day solution selling process.

If I can only pick one of the chapters in the book, I must recommend you to read, at least, how Bosworth uses the "9-block vision processing model" to see solution selling in the buyer's viewpoint, steps by steps showing what a solution sales/consultant should react in response to different level of the buyer's pain.

If I have knew/bought this book earlier, I might not need to spend my last few years going through the hard way. It is definitely a book to read and the book to keep ...

I read the book the first time for enjoyment. Then I read it again to help me start implementing solution selling. If you sell high value high dollar software or services this is a must read. In fact, I work with several sales people in my company that use the techniques in this book and they have been extremely successful. The book is easy to follow and you will notice changes right away if you implement solution selling. It is really focused on controlling the buying process.

Mundis has been where you are. He's struggled with massive debt, considered bankruptcy, felt despair over low income and climbing credit card balances.

After years of struggle, he found the way out. His method is based on the principles of Debtor's Anonymous, and the keys to the method are these three steps:

1) One day at a time, you don't incur any new debt.
2) You keep an accurate daily spending record.
3) You stick to your spending plan.

Notice I didn't say "three EASY steps." People struggling with debt often find the steps difficult, maybe even impossible, to implement. Why? Lots of reasons, it turns out. The good news is, Mundis helps you understand what those reasons are, and then he shows you ways to find the resolve to stick with the steps.

He offers hope and then some practical help. Truly, I think this is one of the best books I've read on beating debt. I think it will feel like a Godsend to anyone who knows the hopelessness that accompanies crushing debt.

Mundis also has a website. Get the book first, though. If you're a debtor/spender this book is a WORTHWHILE place to spend a bit of cash.

Reviewer: Linda Painchaud

I first read this book almost by accident in September of 1997. I was browsing through a bookstore out of town, and there it was. I thought $7 couldn't hurt. I've tried everything else. Why not this book?

Well, 2 1/2 years later, I've been able to pay off more debt than I care to mention. ($20,000+ comes to mind as a fairly accurate figure). I have often wondered what makes a self-help book really helpful. There are several things about this book that I really liked.

The first is that it is not a book about investments and how to get rich quick. It's not about depriving yourself either. It really doesn't give any specific financial advice which is why I liked it so much. There are other books for stuff like that.

Probably the single most important lesson in this book, and one which has changed my life immensely, is stop borrowing money. Just stop. Do it one day at a time. When I started on my debt repayment plan, I didn't worry so much about paying off my debt as much as not taking on any new debt. If that sounds simplistic, well it is. That's the whole point of this book. It's simple. It's not easy. If you want to heal, stop the bleeding. People who are in the rat race of juggling credit cards are bleeding cash every month. Stop the bleeding first, and then you start to heal.

Another lesson I learned is the monthly spending record. My friends howl when I suggest this. Keep track of every penny, yes every penny, that comes into your life and out of your life. I can say with conviction that that suggestion alone, coupled with not taking on new debt, will make your life so much different, you'll wonder in amazement. The author suggests keeping a weekly spending record and transferring it to a monthly record. I keep just a monthly record. It takes up very little time. It's also very eye opening how much money flows right out the expense column every month. The benefit of this is it allows you to make adjustments and find out where you are bleeding. It's not enough to guess. Until you write down everything, you will never fully understand where your money problems are. You can use a computer spreadsheet or you can do what I do which is write it down on old fashioned paper.

Another lesson this book taught me is that you don't need a credit card. Now there's a revolutionary concept. If you really think about it, how many people in your life including yourself say, "I need a credit card for emergencies." Hogwash! I've had two genuine emergencies in my life where I needed money and needed it fast. Well guess what? I had two choices, I could pay with a credit card or I could pay with cash. I paid with cash. Funny how many people accept cash as a payment these days. If you want to get out of debt, get out of the credit card habit. Use a debit card. I use my Visa debit card for all my amazon.com purchases, and it works beautifully. Same as cash.

One more thing, if you use credit cards and you pay interest every month, do you realize you're making the bank rich? Do you realize you're working for the bank? Whether you like it or not, that's true. Here's another lesson. Look over your credit card balances right now and ask yourself out of all the money you owe, how much stuff do you have to show for it?

Why do I give this book 5 stars? Well, I can divide my life into two time periods. The first time period was everything that happened up until september 14, 1997 which is the day I bought the book, and everything that has happened since then. I have no credit card debt at all since reading that book. I do have a credit card (okay, I cheat) with a $350 limit only to rebuild my credit. I pay it off every month. One word of caution, reading this book can be frustrating at times because you will come to the full realization that your attitude about money is completely wrong and that you are overwhelmed with debt that will take a long time to pay off. Relax. Once you start paying off your debt, it's all downhill. It picks up speed as you go along. I know, I've done it. Thanks Jerrold Mundis for writing this book. I've saved thousands of dollars in interest because of it.

this book is a must have if you are tired of passing out all of your money to everyone else but you. If you have bill collectors calling your home and job you need this book. If the student loan people are calling your relatives cause you refuse to answer your phone.... you need this book. If you toss all of your bills and "pink" bills into a corner and never open them you need this book. If you are tired of living paycheck to paycheck get this book. If you keep asking yourself where did my money go? get this book. if you find yourself at the bank right before opening to deposit a check to cover for a check you wrote that might bounce. getting this book is a good idea. oh and one more if you have relatives that never seem to have enough money and you think to your self hey these are my parents i should be borrowing from them not visa versa... get them this book. I liked it so much im going to a debtors anonymous meeting today.

The book was short on practical suggestions and long on worthless "reprogam your own mind to accept the situation" advice. I'll save you reading the 384 pages. Don't worry, be happy.

Let me first express that I typically have great condescension for most "self-help"-type books. Most of them seem very intent on getting one to do yoga or meditation or breathing exercises....activities I'm just not naturally inclined to do. This book, in contrast, suggests improved perspectives and outlooks. So, it is "intellectual" in that way, rather than the typical "touchy-feely." It provides gentle, insightful wisdom into modifying the only things you can control: your own outlook, your own behavior. Quite frankly, I'm very impressed by this Richard Carlson. This book was exactly what I needed to help me through a very negative phase of my career as a government lawyer, with bizarre stressors coming from every direction, including judges, opposing attorneys, and peers. I can't say this book made me glad that I became a lawyer, but it helped quell the storm. This book is written so that virtually anyone can understand it, and yet it contains brilliant insights and what I would have to almost call "ultimate truths." Some of them are so obvious that it's disconcerting I couldn't identify them by myself; others are more transcendental, and Carlson very sagely unveils the phenomenon and associated principles.

I think anyone in a stressful work environment would benefit from reading this book. I read it very closely and highlighted about half the book. I know it will take some time for me to assimilate all of the suggestions, but this book planted the seeds and should surely help me cope better in the future with work-related difficulties.

You should be forewarned: you'll probably realize a lot of your stress is self-induced. I found myself cringing with the sudden realization of several self-destructive behaviors which I've had through the years. I think you need to be particularly open to effectuating personal change and breaking out of bad habits. For example, I never previously thought of myself as a "back-stabber"; instead I thought of myself as a rhetorically amusing and insightful critic and identifier of "office realities." Carlson really sensitized me as to the need to be circumspect about any kind of negative commentary about others, bearing in mind that whatever one says about someone or something is inevitably going to be spun by office gossips into the most negative light conceivable. That results in tension and resentment and stress. I now try to reserve my commentary (usually humorous anecdotes) about co-workers, etc. to acquaintances far outside my office. He also really brought home to me the principle of the destructive effect of complaining and griping about one's job; all that is accomplished is that one's negative view is reinforced, emphasized, perhaps even exaggerated by those other parts of your mind that hear you complaining. It becomes a vicious, snow-balling cycle of discontent. I suspect a lot of people intuitively think of it as "ventilating" one's frustrations and being helpful as such. I try now to not complain (in my case it was about boredom and the lack of professional growth). This has freed me up to seek out a remedies both inside and outside my employment scenario.

But, I cite the above only as examples. Carlson lays his recommendations out in 100 small chapters. I would say I learned something very useful from about 80 of them. I am very confident the long-term professional benefits will be significant. We're living in a very stressful time and a stressful culture. Focusing on the art of managing stress is almost mandatory if you want to thrive.

I've read this and another 2 books written by Richard Carlson (with his wife as a contributor), and I felt like I was listening to a good friend.

We all need healthier habits to survive in such a fast paced world. Richard shares his view of many stupid habits we have (excuse my language: I meant negative mental and/or emotional habits that "we let happen"), at the same time showing how simple to change or discard them. Since I believe it's all in our hands (most of the times), I say it's never too late to pay attention to his great advises, and start improving your life today!

Very light and positive thinking.

Consumer research is a $6 billion business. But the ROI on research expenditures is being questioned as never before. This is ironic given that advances in information technology has vastly expanded analytic capabilities and increased customer data by an order of magnitude.

Jerry Zaltman's 'How Customers Think' offers fresh insights into why companies are increasingly frustrated by consumer research. Drawing on contemporary brain research, he exposes fatal flaws in the hallowed premise in traditional consumer research that asking customers about their motivations is the best way to get clues about their future behavior.

Zaltman points out that surveys, questionnaires and focus groups fail to get behind the curtains of consciousness. This can prove fatal for a marketing program because at least 90% of mental activity that leads to perceptions, thinking and decisions takes place outside the conscious mind.

However, traditional research and marketing largely ignores the contents of the unconscious mind. Why is this so, when contemporary brain research has learned that this is where motivations as well as perceptions and decisions originate? Because lacking an understanding of how minds work, researchers and marketers must depend by default on consumers' conscious rational responses. However, disconnects between what consumers consciously think and what they feel at deeper levels often lead to marketplace failure.

Zaltman reconnects the emotional, feeling dimension of consumers' minds (right brain as it were) with the perceiving, thinking (left brain) dimension of their minds to yield a holistic picture of customers' minds.

Marketing often fails expectations because undue attention is given the contents of the rational left brain that respondents disgorge in traditional consumer research. Zaltman observes that researchers and marketers widely ignore the deep shadowy realm of motivating emotions because it is easier to record, process and analyze what consumers say directly about their needs and motivations.

Zaltman observes that recent brain research shows that emotional arousal is essential to the generation of sustained interest in a matter. Brain patients whose emotional capabilities have been destroyed while still having normal reasoning powers cannot determine whether one brand or another is best for them. Brand loyalty, it seems, is determined more by emotional responses than by rational analysis.

Zaltman shows how to get better guidance than direct questioning of them yields about what will stir consumers' emotions. In doing this he addresses one of the most curious defects in traditional research and marketing: decisions are more often determined by the rules of statistical math than by tenets of behavior science. However, this should not be surprising because few marketers have grounding in how minds work. After all, a person can earn an MBA in marketing without a single course in behavior.

If the primary functional purpose of marketing is getting the attention of minds and influencing them to action, then it should follow that a deeper understanding of how minds work will make marketers more effective in doing that. However, with Zaltman's book in hand, one needs not go back to school for a degree in psychology to gain a practical understanding of how customers' minds work.

A word of caution, however: This book is to be studied, not scanned. It does not offer the simple, sound bite-sized solutions that are so commonplace in marketing books and that make them quickly forgettable. Zaltman's book will not be forgettable to any person who makes a study of his book because he/she will experience a quantum leap in understanding how customers think.

In recent months, I have read a number of excellent books on the general subject of marketing or on the more specific subject of branding/brand management. I think each of them would be invaluable, not only to those entrusted with marketing responsibilities but to all other decision-makers within any organization, regardless of size of nature. For example, Jeff Fox's How to Become a Marketing Superstar and Seth Godin's Purple Cow.

This book is certainly outstanding but I recommend it only to those who are (a) corporate marketing managers, (b) principals, account supervisors, and account managers in advertising agencies, and (c) students enrolled in MBA programs, preferably if read in combination with Joseph Murphy's The Powers of Your Subconscious Mind. Zaltman makes significant demands on his reader as he explores with meticulous care how all people (not only customers) function both on the conscious and subconscious level. He identifies and applies a number of key terms such as cognitive unconscious, metaphor elicitation, response latency, and neuroimagining. He explains the Metaphor-Elicitation process, how to use a Consensus Map, and memory's "fragile power." For me, some of the most interesting and most valuable material is provided in Chapter Nine ("Memory, Metaphor, and Stories") and Chapter Ten ("Stories and Brands"), in part because I am especially interested in organizational symbols, rituals, and traditions. Zaltman shifts his and his reader's attention to "Crowbars for Creative Thinking" (a terrific chapter title) following by the final two chapters in which he (somehow) reviews and then integrates all of his key concepts while explaining how and why "Quality Questions Beget Quality Answers" and how to launch a "New Mind-Set."

I hope you have noted my frequent use of "how to" while briefly reviewing the range of subjects embraced by Zaltman's own intellect as he takes a "frank" look at the state of marketing today, introduces and analyses a "new paradigm" through examples of "how companies today apply the paradigm's principles, with remarkable results," and (in Part III) expands the perspective beyond customers' and consumers' thinking. Specifically, Zaltman shows managers ten ways to "break out of the box" when thinking about consumers and marketing -- and how they can help their colleagues to do the same. In Chapter 12, he suggests that new ways of thinking begin with better ways of asking questions and offers eight guidelines. Then in Chapter 13, Zaltman offers a word of caution about regressing into "business as usual" attitudes and practices, to what Jim O'Toole has characterized as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." Zaltman views his book as a "starting point" for better representing (and understanding) the "mind of the market," which is to say both the conscious and subconscious mind of the given customer or consumer.

Zaltman's reference to a "starting point" can be interpreted in quite different ways. Some may conclude that he is suggesting that his book offers an appropriate "starting point" for those in need of books about marketing. In m y opinion, that is not his intention. (My own recommendations would be Theodore Levitt's The Marketing Imagination, Ries and Trout's Positioning, and Harvard Business Review on Marketing. After a careful reading of those two volumes, Zaltman's book will be much more accessible.) Rather, I think Zaltman's use of the term "starting point" has quite a different purpose: To suggest (and I agree) that mankind's efforts to understand what the mind is, how it works, etc. have only just begun...especially with regard to efforts to understand how and why customers think. Our "voyage from the familiar" has only begun.

This is one of several books I felt obliged to re-read at least once before attempting to formulate a review of it. (Others include Edelman's Bright Air, Brilliant Fire and Pinker's How the Mind Works.) Earlier, I suggested that this brilliant but challenging book would be of greatest value to those who are (a) corporate marketing managers, (b) principals, account supervisors, and account managers in advertising agencies, and (c) students enrolled in MBA programs. I'll go with that, taking this opportunity to thank Gerald Zaltman for a uniquely thought-provoking as well as informative intellectual experience. How well I apply what I think I have learned from him has yet to be determined. Frankly, my own journey of discovery is only at its "starting point."

With the advances made in the last 15 years on brain research and understanding, creating advertising is a whole new ballgame.

Consumers conscious thoughts are only 5% of their thinking, so it is often that most research doesn't address the incredibly important 95%. Zaltman explains how to do it and how to do it effectively, of course plugging his own firm here and there.

Being in a big ad agency, I know that most work isn't produced with solid research behind it, but instead for a client who has "dictated" what the advertising needs to do or how it should appeal to consumers. The best account planners and managers can take the knowledge from this book and guide their clients to understanding the benefits of this type of research (through ROI) and ultimately achieve better results.

I discovered this book in 1994 and it changed my business life. It opened my eyes to a facet of marketing that is too often overlooked, and it's the most important facet. Positioning is more than branding, it's the key to success. Luckily, most companies don't do proper positioning, which is why there's always room for new companies to start up, get it right, and be very successful.

If you don't read this book, you're chances at success are like everyone elses: 1 in 10. Read and learn positioning, and the odds are with you. Simple as that.

Positioning is a concept that has been coined by Ries and Trout in the late 1970s. Today (2000), Positioning has become one of the most commonly used marketing terms.

Like all other books by Trout and Ries, "Positioning" is straight-forward, common-sensical and easy to read. The book is full of real market example of positioning attempts that succeeded and failed.

This book belongs on the bookshelves of marketers just as much as the laws of trigonometry belong on the shelves of mathematicians

Positioning is the idea that shook Madison Avenue to its core in the 1970s. Ries and Trout published what the high priests of Madison Avenue deemed as heresy. These two upstarts dared to take the voodoo out of marketing - and marketing has not been the same since.

Over the years I have given away countless dozens of Positioning. I have found two types of recipients: (1) Those who view it as a book on marketing, and (2) those who truly "get it."

Positioning is not actually about marketing, though that is its platform. It is about how the human mind works. The principals taught in this book apply across all of our lives - from how we are viewed by our friends to why we affiliate with a particular political party or other social cause. Learning how Positioning works is learning about life.

Jack Schwager is a great author. He asks very intelligent questions and seems to have a deep though un-intuitive knowledge of the futures game. (See the CRT interview, overly analytical people mask intuitive traits). The William Eckhardt interview is incredible and should be re-read many times over. This interview alone is well worth the price of the book. I have one major gripe with the author however. Schwager seemed to have had a serious lapse in judgement by including some of the traders that he did. There is no doubt that all the traders interviewed in the book are of high caliber but some definetly cannot be thought of as "Market Wizards". Who am I talking about? Linda Raschke, Tom Basso, Charles Faulkner maybe even Trader Vic. Who is very underrated? Jeff Yass, the man is the best options player around. Druckenmiller, Trout, and Eckhardt are as good as it gets.These legendary names should not be sullied by the inclusion of the above mentioned traders. Schwager left out some amazing traders, what about the people at Kenzie, Niederhoffer ( I know he blew out), Louis Bacon, John Henry, Willem Kookyer and Grenville Craig? Anyone ever heard of Jullian Robertson? Please Jack, if you ever write Market Wizards 3, try to include all or even some of these people. Not traders that you speak with at "Omega" conferences.

What is this book?

Jack D. Schwager interviewed some of the best traders in 1992 and compiled edited transcripts in this compelling book.

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Who is interviewed?

From the currency market: Bill Lipschutz .

In Futures: Randy McKay, William Eckhardt, The Turtles, Monroe Trout and Al Weiss.

Various market times and fund managers: Stanley Druckenmiller, Richard Driehaus, Gil Blake and Victor Sperandeo.

Traders who play several markets: Tom Basso and Linda Bradford Raschke

"The Money Machines" such as: CRT (Chicago Research and Trading), Mark Ritchie, Joe Ritchie, Blair Hull and Jeff Yass.

Psyschology: Zen and the art of trading (person didn't want his name mentioned), Charles Faulkner, Robert Krausz.

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I didn't recognize many of those names, probably because of these reasons:

* The book was written in 1992.
* I'm not into really into trading.

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Nevertheless I think the book is a great learning experience. You won't learn how to trade from this book but it gives you insight into the trader's psyche. I like learning about people who have been successful, (think Leader's & Success page, of IBD) since I feel it motivates me to learn more and work harder towards reaching my goals.

My favorite chapter in this book is entitled "Closing Bell" and it is a recap of all lots of trading advice mentioned over and over by these trading experts. I feel reviewing this chapter over and over is worth the price of the book.

Reed Floren

Insightful interviews with the greatest traders & investors of our time. This one is much better than the Money Masters books. Market Wizards taught me that success in trading was more than just luck, as the efficient market people would say and my finance classes at Brown taught. There is skill, education, and a level of learned maturity involved.

This is another book I re-read constantly to get inspiration and tips to succeed as an investor. I like this one better than the first book, since it's more applicable to today's markets.

Isn't it really all so obvious that September 17th never even bothered to read this book?I've reread this book 4 times and never, repeat never saw anything where Wade Cook says that somebody made a million dollars in one day.Also, this is not just Wall Street Money Machine Vol. 1 on a "new cover", yes some parts are similiar, but there is also more informaion on rolling stocks, covered calls, stock splits which are NOT covered in Wall Street Money Machine Vol 1 PLUS new strategies not covered like naked puts and tandem plays and more.September 17th, try reading the book first before writing a review, better yet, try using the strategies and see for yourself how well they work. You'll be glad you did!

Wall Street Money Machine-Stock Market Miracles is an excellent companion to Wall Street Money Machine for the new millenium. It goes beyond WSMMFTNM and covers more information like selling puts and tandem plays. As for the advertisements, I think the bashers mean testimonials and whats wrong with listing success stories? I enjoyed this book and made money with the strategies. Recently, I bought puts on Cpq for 1/16 and sold them for 7/16 five days later using the peak strategy that Wade talks about. I knew Cpqs run wasn't sustainable based on valuations of their stock.There is a wealth of information in these books. Use them and benefit from them.

Following the advice by Wade Cook in WSMM Vol. 2, I bought December 55 calls on THO on a stock split announcement. I bought @ (---) and sold @ (---) for a fantastic 328% 1 day return. If it wasn't for this excellent book by Wade, I never would have known how to do this. Thanks Wade! Looking forward to Wall Street Money Machine Vol. 7!!

There are many daytrading books out these days. I've read quite a few of them, each having a different slant on how to attain success at trading the stock markets successfully. Most involve trading Nasdaq stocks exclusively, while focusing on market maker activity, support and resistance, chart setups or patterns, etc.

Christopher A. Farrell's book stands out as a different and brutally honest look at both the Nasdaq and the NYSE, how they work, and the pitfalls they hold for traders. Numerous quotes by market notables supporting the author's contentions are interspersed throughout the book.

One of the book's major themes is technical and fundamental analysis are useless to the daytrader who is contemplating a trade where a large market maker could be manipulating the stock's price. I couldn't agree more. However, I believe the author goes too far in discounting the usefulness of these valuable tools, as he sounds as if he believes that charts and fundamental information would never enter in as valid trading criteria in any other styles of trading. Nevertheless, I found his insights about market makers to be invaluable.

Ways in which a trader can gain somewhat of an edge over the Nasdaq market makers are spelled out, such as how to use "hidden orders." Also, "Spoofing" was a very interesting tactic exposed by the author: the advertising of huge size to buy or sell on Level II with no desire to be filled, but to manipulate the stock higher or lower. The author is very experienced at trading.

Insights into the NYSE specialist's role are covered in great detail, as well as a number of NYSE daytrading tactics. The author puts us in the specialist's shoes, giving various scenarios of market conditions and what a specialist does in his own interest and in the interest of the public. A more informative piece I have not read.

The author concludes by speculating on a trading world of totally fair markets, or "The 24-hour Unified Exchange, the Virtual Specialist, and the Extinction of Wall Street." A nice sentiment, but a lot of big money and influence stands in the way. All told, this book is an excellent read for any trader.

as a somewhat active online trader, i was both surprised and blown away by alot of what I read in this book - particularly about the kind of nonsense that is allowed to go on in the NASDAQ -

As someone who has bought about 14 day trading books in the past year,I guess I'm as good a critic as anyone - this book is so far ahead of the other daytrading books in both quality, illustrations, and content that it stands alone -

I am a firm believer that if you can walk away with 1 or 2 lasting ideas from any book than you are ahead of the game - Farrell book has about 15 such ideas - not to mention I think that the 3 sections on how the market makers, NYSE specialists, and day traders manipulate stock prices is the most informative chapters in any of the daytrading books out there -

I bought this book after reading the recent positive review in Online Investor Magazine (Feb issue) - this book is not some loose, "how to" book on day trading - instead, the author spends his time slicing and dicing many of "the shady ways" in which both the NASDAQ market makers, and NYSE specialists operate -

is by far the most in-depth day trading book of the 10 I have bought because it talks about issues that, literally, none of the other day trading books I have ever read even mention - this books wastes no time on the "getting started 101" nonsense that so many other day trading books talk about (how to get started, what broker to choose) - also, this guy actually worked as a bond trader on Wall Street before he got started - so I think his perspective on "the shady side" of how Wall Street works is a bit more accurate than the others - Here is why I liked the book: Farrell attacks things like: why the NASDAQ can be so tricky, how the NYSE specialist can made a stock collapse by cancelling bids, how big firms like Goldman Sachs can hold a stock down with the appearance of 100 share sell orders, how hidden orders affect the supply and demand in a stock - this is all stuff that I had absolutely no idea even went on -