In our opinion, these are the best investing books for beginners, in order of preference :
Come Into My Trading Room - Alexander Elder Our number one choice – read this book first, for a comprehensive guide to trading. Elder leads you through the 3M’s of successful trading – Mind, Method, and Money. We particularly like his proprietary Force Index and 2-day EMA indicators, the Triple Screen and Impulse systems, the 6% rule, and his emphasis on keeping proper records of your trades.
Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom - Van K. Tharp This is an excellent book, full of information on different trading strategies, enabling the beginning investor to develop his or her own personal trading system. Van Tharp is THE expert on position sizing, and the discussion of risk, expectancy, and opportunity is absolutely essential reading – this chapter alone is worth the cover price of the book.
High Probability Trading - Marcel Link Each time we read this book we come away with a new idea. Before he became a successful trader, Marcel Link spent years wading from one system to the next, using trial and error to figure out what worked, what didn't, and why. In High Probability Trading, Link reveals the steps he took to become a consistent, patient, and winning trader--by learning what to watch our for and what to do to make each trade a high probability trade.
Trading In The Zone - Mark Douglas By some estimates, psychology accounts for 80% of trading success. Douglas uncovers the underlying reasons for lack of consistenly profitable trades and helps traders overcome the deep rooted mental habits that cost them money. He takes on the myths of the market and exposes them one by one, teaching traders to look beyond random outcomes, to understand the true realities of risk, and to be comfortable with the "uncertainty principle".
Trend Trading - Daryl Guppy Full of practical advice, this book examines in detail the steps in finding, assessing, selecting, managing and monitoring a long-term trend trade. These are proven, successful methods which are easy to understand and apply. Included are the most recent developments in using the count back line and the Guppy Multiple Moving Average, plus a practical look at setting stop loss conditions to protect capital and profits.
Smarter Trading - Perry J. Kaufman Perry Kaufman helps harried financial pros by creating a "robust" trading model that adapts quickly to market changes and yields stronger, more predictable results. Whilst the chapters on the 'latest' developments in trading systems such as neural networks can now seem dated, we love this book for his work on the Adaptive Moving Average, an MA which speeds up or slows down depending on volatility.
Trading For Dummies - Michael Griffis This strategy-packed, no-nonsense guide presents a proven system for analyzing stocks, trends, and indicators and setting a buy-and-sell range beforehand to decrease your risk in both up and down markets. You'll discover the benefits of position trading, conduct technical analysis, and research your entry and exit points before you even purchase your stock.
Chart Trading - Daryl Guppy Daryl Guppy is a very entertaining speaker - if you ever get the chance to hear him live, do take it - and his books are easy to read and full of wit, but with some great learning points. We particularly like his proprietary indicator, the Guppy Multiple Moving Average (GMMA), and his method of setting stops using the Count-Back Line.
New Trading Systems & Methods - Perry J. Kaufman This book provides a complete understanding of the tools and techniques needed to develop or choose a trading program that is right for you. It begins with a discussion of basic concepts, then moves on to techniques that are most important to trading - identifying the trend and momentum. Examples include a wide range of futures and stocks.
Entries & Exits - Visits to Sixteen Trading Rooms - Alexander Elder This book clearly illustrates the many diverse ways that people make money in the markets, as he visits sixteen people with different trading systems. Full of charts giving detailed analysis of entry and exit points used for the different systems.
Technical Analysis From A to Z - Steven Achelis There are certainly more accessible introductions to technical analysis, but this is a must-have reference book, with overviews, interpretations, calculations, and examples of over 135 technical indicators—and how they perform under actual market conditions.
Trading Systems That Work - Thomas Stridsman This book shows you a simple system that works for you across all markets and market conditions. Look to this clear, step-by-step book for guidelines for implementing a consistent money management program, and strategies to exercise proper risk management through stop losses, profit objectives, and more
Trading Chaos - Second Edition Bill Williams and Justine Gregory-Williams A cutting edge book that combines trading psychology and Chaos Theory and its particular effect on the markets. By examining both of these facets in relation to the current market, readers will have the best of all possible worlds when trading.
Elliott Wave Principle: Key To Market Behavior - A.J.Frost and R.Prechter The standard textbook of Elliott Wavers. Three decades is enough time for investors to deem a book about an investment method as "classic," and surely the jury is in on this one. Elliott Wave Principle is now published in seven languages, and continues to sell thousands of copies every year. Millions of investors worldwide use or recognize the Elliott Wave method for profitable investing.
Definitive Guide to Position Sizing -Van K. Tharp Tharp really is the expert on this vitally important subject, you won't find this depth of information anywhere else. Position sizing is the key to achieving your financial trading objectives, and Tharp explains the various strategies you can employ. An Amazon reviewer called this book a MUST READ (his caps, not mine).
Trend Commandments - Michael W. Covel Up? Down? It doesn’t matter. There are always trends, and that means there are always profits. Many of the world’s top traders are trend followers: That’s key to a fortune. You can do it, too--and now you have the rare perspective it takes to be a trend following winner. It’s the most digestible and one-of-a-kind trend trading book ever written.