Rediscovering a trader''s treasures

For a technical analyst who has worked the markets — both shares and commodities — I am a glutton for books on technical analysis. Not always easy to practice, the subject is even more difficult to explain.

That is why coming across a good book on technical analysis always sends a thrill up my spine. For I know that at the end of the read, I shall be richer for the wisdom the authors so generously share.

Here are two recent rediscoveries (for me) of books that have been around for some time now and deserve to be on the top shelves of anybody who practices the difficult art of trading for a living.

Title: Technical Analysis Plain and Simple
Author: Michael N Kahn
Publisher: FT Prentice Hall / Pearson Education India
Price: Rs 295 Paperback
Pages: 230

I am a little confused about the opening lines to write while reviewing this book. The title is apt and misleading at the same time. Michael Kahn has lived up to his promise of keeping the book simple so as to be readable to the lay reader and at the same time put forth dynamic ideas that veteran writers and other technical analysts knowingly or unknowingly choose to omit.

Imagine some one who could hand-hold you all the way up the slippery slopes of understanding what technical analysis is all about. Kahn does precisely that. He takes you step by step and draws you into the exciting world of technical analysis, offers you hand holding and provides answers to questions in anticipation of the questions and queries that may crop up in your mind after reading each chapter.

If there is one summation that I was to wrap up for this book, I would say, ''it will improve your trading / investment experience exponentially after you read and implement what''s in this book.''

Kahn touches upon basic doubts like choosing a bar or line graph and whether you should choose a mathematical scale or log scale charts. While trading futures, should you take near month charts or continuous futures charts. He urges you to look into the jungle rather than the isolated few trees.

Look at the larger picture rather than the half-hour view — a shortcoming that I notice in most budding technical analysts. This book will not make you a world-class intra-day trader and Kahn admits as much. But it will teach you what technical analysis is all about and in simple, jargon-free, coffee table conversational style that even any full time housewife will understand.

Some nuggets I noticed in Kahn''s book — cup and handle formations, triangles, supports, resistance and congestion points above which securities will zoom or otherwise.

A common sense, no-nonsense and down-to-earth style of narrating and teaching is the strongest point of this book. The excellent paper quality, binding and cover design are additional positives. The very surprising price - just Rs295 - is a huge "wow".

You don''t get a decent meal for that kind of money nowadays; forget about enriching your mind for life.

A must buy for every market enthusiast before the publishers realise their folly and jack up their prices.

Title: Trading for a living
Author: Dr Alexander Elder
Publisher: John Wiley & sons
Cost: $74.95 - Hardcover
Pages:288

There are three aspects to trading that every trader needs to master before committing money to the game - psychology, techniques and money management. Dr Alexander Elder has mastered all three — a practicing psychiatrist and trader, he carefully provides hand holding in all aspects in this wonderful book.

The first part of the book will change the way you perceive trading. Elder coldly compares trading to the old world gladiators and warns us that a trader who loses money puts his family through suffering, much like a losing gladiator whose property and family were given to the winner as prize money.

His sobering approach to temper our ambitions so we take rational decisions rather than emotional ones is fantastic. His techniques are as old as the hills but the lucid way in which he explains the patterns is incomparable. Every important oscillator, pattern and chart reading tactic that is required to make you a winning trader has been visited.

This section patiently puts the reader through the paces of mastering technicals as well as any good instructor would. This section was so compelling that I went through it over three times. Money management and fiscal discipline ties up the entire package that is sure to make you a better trader and put you on the fast track route to trading profits.

I feel this book is a "must have" in every stock or commodities trader''s arsenal. Though the book was first written in 1993, the ideas remain as valid as ever. Never mind the price of the book — it is a steal for the practical wealth of wisdom it contains for us traders.

Vijay L Bhambwani