20 of the Best (MUST READ) Stock Market Investing Books of All Time.

The most In-Depth Reviews & Ratings on the Web. + A Bonus 14 Book Review for PRO Technical Analysis

An essential way to improve your knowledge and therefore improve your success in the stock market is to always keep learning and expanding your mind.

Here you will find a hand-picked selection of simply the best finance and investing books ever written, including a detailed review and ratings based on the content, practicality, and readability of the books.

There are a few additions in 2018 so far, notably “Unshakeable” by Tony Robbins & “The Little Book of Common Sense Investing” by John C. Bogle.

If you are interested in specifically Stock Market Technical Analysis Books (used by professional analysts) click here to jump to Technical Analyst PRO Book Review.

1 – How to Make Money in Stocks

William O’Neil

Combining Technical & Fundamental Analysis, this best selling book gives you a good framework for building your own stock market investing approach. One of the best investing books ever written.

Positives: Packed full of clear examples and a very structured approach.  The approach called CANSLIM, is easy to remember as a Stock Screening approach to finding good stocks and shares to invest in.

• C – Current Quarterly Earnings increased sharply compared to same quarter in previous year.
• A – Annual Earning Increases over the last 5 years
• N – New products, management or improved circumstances
• S – Supply versus Demand, stock buybacks, low debt to equity, volume surges
• L – Leading Companies versus Laggards
• I – Institutional Sponsorship
• M – Market Direction

Most of these ideas are integrated into our training courses and also outlined in the Stock Market Strategy Blueprint.

Negatives: Promotes using Investors.com as a tool. In reality, you do not need to purchase this service as you can create your own stock screeners to achieve the same goal for free.

Score 92% – Content:5/5 – Applicability:5/5 – Readability:4/5 – Fundamentals:5/5 – Technical Analysis:5/5

2 – Trade Like A Stock Market Wizard

Mark Minervini

Minervini was featured in the Stock Market Wizards Series and this book is an excellent practical guide into the application of technical analysis and how to apply it in the real world.

Practical, usable and readable, this is an extremely worthwhile book.

Packed full of insights and strategies this is a modern book that simply must be on your bookshelf.

Score 92% – Content:5/5 – Applicability:5/5 – Readability:4/5 – Fundamentals:5/5 – Technical Analysis:5/5

 

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3 – Winning on Wall Street

Martin Zweig

A must-have book for the serious investor, covering economic, fundamentals and technical analysis.  While is may seem a little outdated, this book is still worthwhile and a must-read.

Positives: Strong on the logical systematic evaluation of the state of the business environment and its effect on the stock market.

Negatives: Not enough charts. Some systems are hard to calculate manually and require a lot of effort to maintain.

Score 80% – Content:4/5 – Applicability:4/5 – Readability:5/5 – Fundamentals:4/5 – Technical Analysis:3/5

4 – Technical Analysis Explained

Martin J. Pring

One of the Bibles of Technical Analysis, and one of the best. Pring is a popular technical analyst and the depth of value of this book is unmistakable. This book is prerequisite reading for any serious or professional technical analyst and is core IFTA exam syllabus for the (International Federation of Technical Analysts) of which I am certified.

Positives: With 600 pages of detailed Technical Analysis, the quality and quantity of the content can be overwhelming.

Negatives: Combining this best of this book and covering some fundamental analysis would provide an improved and more efficient way to learn. See the Liberated Stock Trader Book for this combination.

Score 76% – Content:5/5 – Applicability:4/5 Readability:4/5 – Fundamentals:1/5 – Technical Analysis:5/5

5 – One Up On Wall Street

Peter Lynch

A great book for beginner investors, with an excellent down to earth approach, ideal for the beginner to show you how to apply your local knowledge to find winning companies.  Great stories, great anecdotes:

“The old Wall Street adage “never invest in anything that eats or needs repairs” may apply to racehorses, but it’s malarkey when it comes to houses.” Peter Lynch

“Know what you own, and know why you own it” Peter Lynch

Positives: A very easy and entertaining read, authored by one of Wall Streets great stock pickers.

Negatives: Light on really actionable investing strategies, charts and technical analysis.

Score 76% – Content: 3/5 – Applicability: 3/5 – Readability: 5/5 – Fundamentals: 5/5 – Technical Analysis: 3/5

 

6 – The Little Book of Common Sense Investing [New for 2018]

John C Bogle
The creator of the worlds first Index Tracking Fund, shares the critically important reasons why you should not be actively trading stock, commodities, and ETF’s, but investing long term.  This is again one of the best investing books on my bookshelf.

The key messages are very clear and passionately explained in the book.  Essentially, using any stock advisors, stock pickers or mutual funds are going to work out negatively for your investments over the long term.

This is incredibly important information that everyone needs to understand.  Taxes, Broker Costs, Mutual Fund Manager Costs and Financial Advisor costs will severely eat away at the long-term compounding power of your investments.

Positives: Short and sweet and backed up with plenty of proof for the assertions he makes.

Negatives: Constantly repeats “Don’t take my word for it’, gets a little annoying after a while.

Score 76% – Content: 4/5 – Applicability: 3/5 – Readability: 5/5 – Fundamentals: 5/5 – Technical Analysis: 1/5

 

7 – Full of Bull: Do What Wall Street Does, Not What It Says, To Make Money in the Market

Stephen T. McClellan
An insiders account of how Wall Street Financial Analysts really operate. This book deciphers the double talk and outright misleading way Stock Market Analysts cover the markets and how to really read their advice. I came away with the thought to never trust a Wall Street analyst and do my own research.

Positives: A good addition to any bookshelf with insights into how companies manipulate earnings and how Wall Street Analysts sit in a microcosm of influence from the big company CEO’s.

Negatives: Some of the book became a little tiresome to read, but was none the less interesting.

Score 75% – Content: 4/5 – Applicability: 3/5 – Readability: 4/5 – Insight:4/5

 

8 – Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets

John J. Murphy

A very valuable contribution to the understanding of technical analysis of the financial markets, this book is a must-have for the technical (Stock Charts & Indicators) trader.

This book is also prerequisite reading for any serious or professional technical analyst and is core IFTA exam syllabus for the (International Federation of Technical Analysts).

Positives: One of my favorite Technical Analysis reference books and published by the New York Institute of Finance, this book is well presented and easy to understand.

Negatives: A mind-blowing amount of information, however, it does not backtest the indicators to show if they are really useful in the practical world.

Score 72% – Content: 5/5 – Applicability: 3/5 – Readability: 4/5 – Fundamentals: 1/5 – Technical Analysis: 5/5

9 – Unshakable – Financial Freedom Playbook [New 2018]

Tony Robbins

A new 2017 entry, in classic Tony Robbins Style, he aims to teach the masses about how their investments in Mutual Funds and 401K’s are subject to so many hidden costs that the financial industry is literally stealing from the common man.

With many people being charged upwards of 2% annually this removes hundreds of thousands of dollars from your retirement pot.  This is one of the best books for beginning investors.

Positives:  Tony and his team make solid irrefutable points which everyone investing for the long term should understand.  I welcome this fresh light being shone into the murky depths of Wall Street Money Manager hidden costs.  Also, the proceeds of the book go to charity.

Negatives:  This is not advanced investing for anyone seeking to actively managed investments, but this should not detract from the importance of the book.

If you are a U.S. investor this is a book you need to read.  Also, you can uncover your hidden 401K costs here at americasbest401K.com

Score 72% – Content: 5/5 – Applicability: 5/5 – Readability: 5/5 – Fundamentals: 2/5 – Technical Analysis: 1/5

10 – The Intelligent Investor

Benjamin Graham

A classic book written by Graham, the father of Value Investing. Warren Buffet was also strongly influenced by Graham.

Positives: A huge amount of valuable insight and knowledge. The revised version with comments from Jason Zweig brings the book up to date with new examples of how the book’s tenets still hold true.

Negatives: With an overwhelming 623 pages and a very dry writing style you will need a lot of coffee to get you through.

Score 72% – Content: 5/5 – Applicability: 3/5 – Readability: 3/5 – Fundamental Analysis / Value Investing: 5/5 – Technical Analysis:2/5

 

11 – Market Wizards – Interviews with Top Traders

Jack D. Schweiger

Packed with good interviews with successful stock market traders, this book is a worthwhile addition to your bookshelf. Do not expect solid strategies, but expect insights into how stock market institutional investors operate.

Positives: Well selected interviews and easier read than its predecessor, this book is worth buying.

Negatives: Low on specific strategies and rules to incorporate into your market approach, the interviewees would not want to give away anything truly useful in case they lose their edge.

Score 68% – Content: 3/5 – Applicability: 3/5 – Readability:5/5 – Fundamentals:3/5 – Technical Analysis:3/5

 

12 – Secrets for Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets

Stan Weinstein

Written in the 1980’s this classic investment book covers the Technical Analysis approach to the stock market in a very practical and usable way. A good read.

Positives: The explanations of Bull and Bear Markets and the use of combining price breakout with volume increases to improve the chances of success are excellent.

Negatives: The book is quite old and therefore a little dated. It does not make use of more modern indicators or ways to leverage current technologies to achieve your goals.

Score 68% – Content: 3/5 – Applicability: 4/5 – Readability: 5/5 – Fundamentals: 2/5 – Technical Analysis: 5/5

 

13 – Getting Started In Options

Michael C. Thomsett

If you want to leverage your capital through the use of options, do nothing until you read this book. Probably one of the best books on options for beginners.

Positives: Options are a difficult subject to learn never mind to master, this will make getting used to the basics a walk in the park.

Negatives: Options are a tough topic and a lot of new tools have been developed since this book was written. After reading this book you will still not be equipped to be a successful options trader. However, it does achieve what it sets out to do.

Score 68% – Content: 3/5 – Applicability: 4/5 – Readability: 3/5 – Fundamentals: 1/5 – Technical Analysis: 1/5

 

14 – The Bible of Options Strategies

Guy Cohen

This book takes you to the next level of understanding options.  Taking away the mystery and helping you realize that options can actually be used to create regular income and as a fantastic vehicle for limiting risk and knowing what your risk-reward really is.  Great strategies and thoroughly good read.  As it says on the cover, this is the definitive guide for practical trading strategies.

Score 65% – Content: 4/5 – Applicability: 3/5 – Readability:3/5 – Insight:5/5

 

15 – Trader Vic – Methods of a Wall Street Master

Victor Sperandeo

An easy to read book with some useful insights. Written in 1991, when everyone and their dog made money in the biggest bull market of all time, I wonder how Vic would have fared in the 2000, or 2007 stock market busts.

Positives: Good chapters on drawing trend-lines and the basics of economics.

Negatives: Dated and lacking any really solid advice for trading in today’s market using the power of computers and technical analysis software.

Score 60% – Content: 4/5 – Applicability: 3/5 – Readability: 3/5 – Fundamentals: 2/5 – Technical Analysis: 2/5

 

16 – Hedge Fund Market Wizards – How Winning Traders Win

Jack D. Schweiger

A mixture of interviews with top traders on topics as far reaching as trading Futures, Trading T-Bills, aggressive trading, stock selection, and psychology. The books provides interesting insights into the minds of the traders interviewed and how they operate to achieve that profit. For an insight into the minds on Wall Street, this is a classic book.

Positives: Focus is definitely on interviewing and insights into trading styles, which can make interesting reading and a break from too much number crunching and technical analysis books.

Negatives: The people interviewed provide no real practical insight into specific trading systems or actions, yet is it still a good read.

Score 60% – Content: 3/5 – Applicability: 3/5 – Readability: 5/5 – Fundamentals: 2/5 Technical Analysis: 2/5

 

17 – Buy And Hedge

Jay Pestrichelli & Wayne Ferbert

Buy and Hedge gives you an important lesson in risk management.  I know, it sounds boring right.  Wrong.  If you do not have a solid grasp of the concepts in this book you will be severely hampering your chances of success.  Covering what they call the 5 iron rules of hedging this book re-iterates the importance of using Options and other strategies to know and limit your risk.

Score 60% – Content: 3/5 – Applicability: 2/5 – Readability:5/5 – Insight into subject:3/5

 

 

 

18 – The 86 Biggest Lies on Wall Street

John R. Talbott

Talbott’s 86 biggest lies on Wall Street is a good book and an easy read. Some of the “lies” are difficult to agree with but on the whole a good insight into the views of Wall Street and Government.

Positives: Although Talbott tells you what all the lies are, his version of the truths are also debatable. A firm view against the use of technical analysis to analyze stocks and market shows he is no expert in this area. However, these flaws in his reasoning are balanced with good and compelling arguments against many of the preconceptions we have today regarding governments, corporations, venture capital, and economics”.

Negatives: Some interesting arguments, especially if you have a left-wing conspiracy theory bent. Talbott holds some views that do not make sense. Also, I am sure some of the lies he has made up just for effect.

Score 55% – Content: 3/5 – Applicability: 1/5 – Readability:4/5 – Insight into subject:3/5

 

19 – The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffet and George Soros

Mark Tier

A good book if you enjoy some insights into the two most successful investors of all time, but lacks any serious investing strategy or practical examples. More a book about the people and catchphrases.

Positives: Nice quotes and comparison between the two great men.

Negatives: A let down in terms of real practical investing wisdom.

Score 48% – Content: 2/5 – Applicability: 2/5 – Readability: 5/5 – Fundamentals: 3/5 – Technical Analysis: 1/5

Further Information on Warren Buffet and George Soros

20 – The New Market Wizards – Conversations with America’s Top Traders

Jack D. Schweiger

With very diverse interviews this time, the book would appeal to investment firm insiders but I feel this will have less value to the independent investor who focuses on the stock market.

Positives: Interesting insights on Options Trading, Foreign Exchange (FOREX) and Automated Trading this book provides insights outside the realms of the stock market.

Negatives: A rather weak trading psychology section at the end leaves one wondering what the point was.

Score 48% – Content: 3/5 – Applicability: 2/5 – Readability: 3/5 – Fundamentals: 2/5 – Technical Analysis: 2/5

 

 

Bonus Book – Liberated Stock Trader, A Complete Stock Market Education

Barry D. Moore

Designed as a complete education the book covers everything you need to know to get started in investing in stocks. fundamental analysis, technical analysis, stock screening, risk management and psychology are all covered.

What makes it different is that there are 16 hours of instructor lead video included, which turns this training from a book to a full stock market seminar training.

Premium stock market education is expensive, this training course is extremely cost-effective. Well rounded education for those who want to take the stock market seriously.

Score – 90% or 4.5 Stars on Amazon.com

Other Books You Might Find Interesting

Part Two Bonus  – Pro Traders Book Review.

The Best Books to Learn Technical Analysis Like a Professional

Are you serious about technical analysis & Charts?

Are you looking to work in the Financial Industry?

Do you want to attempt to trade successfully Stocks, Foreign Exchange (FOREX) or Binary Options or Contracts for Difference (CFD’s)?

If so, you really need to study Technical Analysis.  This is essentially the study of Supply and Demand, Volume and Price through an array of different lenses called Stock Charts.

Professional Market Technical Analysts study for an IFTA (International Federation of Technical Analysts) exam, which is a recognized certification.

If you want to know what they study for the exams and use in the industry… read on.

The Professional Market Technical Analyst Reading List.

Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets

John J. Murphy

New York Institute of Finance/Prentice Hall – Latest or current edition

A very valuable contribution to the understanding of technical analysis of the financial markets, this book is a must-have for the technical (Stock Charts & Indicators) trader.

This book is also prerequisite reading for any serious or professional technical analyst and is core IFTA exam syllabus for the (International Federation of Technical Analysts).

One of my favorite Technical Analysis reference books and published by the New York Institute of Finance, this book is well presented and easy to understand.

A core text for students progressing to Part 2 of the STA/IFTA Diploma.

 

Technical Analysis Explained

Martin J. Pring

McGraw-Hill – Latest or current edition

One of the Bibles of Technical Analysis, and one of the best. Pring is a popular technical analyst and the depth of value of this book is unmistakable. This book is prerequisite reading for any serious or professional technical analyst and is core IFTA exam syllabus for the (International Federation of Technical Analysts) of which I am certified.

With 600 pages of detailed Technical Analysis, the quality and quantity of the content can be overwhelming.

 

Technical Analysis: The Complete Resource for Financial Market Technicians

Kirkpatrick, Charles D & Dahlquist, Julie R
Latest or current edition

A comprehensive book, with a special focus on the flow of funds, system trading, money management, sentiment and takes a brief look at statistics.

Covers also backtesting and includes various academic studies to back up assertions.

Lots of charts and indicators and core reading also for the CMT (Chartered Market Technician) Exam.

 

Cloud Charts: Trading Success with the Ichimoku Technique

Linton, David
Updata plc

Recognized as an authority on Cloud Charts, David Lintons section on Ichimoku Techniques (recommended by IFTA/STA) is the key.

Good writings and clear explanations, backed up with very thoughtful use of Ichimoku Charts make this a must-read reference.

 

Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques

Nison, Steve
New York Institute of Finance
From the man who introduced candlestick charting to the West, this is the updated 2nd edition of the original.

Candlestick Charts or Bars are used routinely today and are an essential part of building your charting methodology.

Candlesticks give insights into short-term supply and demand scenarios and enhance the speed of pattern recognition.

 

 

Candlestick Charts

Lambert, Clive
Harriman House Ltd
Latest or current edition

A second book recommended for reading on candlestick charts.

“Clive Lambert’s extensive trading experience and engaging writing style make this book an informative and enjoyable core text for market participants – and an excellent addition to Nison.” Source STA-UK.org – Reading List

 

The Definitive Guide to Point and Figure

du Plessis, Jeremy
Harriman House Ltd
Latest or current edition

Understanding Point and Figure Charting is essential to the IFTA certification and there are questions in the exam paper on this topic.

Point & Figure (P&F) was a real eye-opener for me.  Many of the major Stock Market Analysis Software Program Vendors offer P&F charts now as standard, which is a welcome resurgence of the technique.  To see which vendors offer P&F read the Stock Market Software Review

 

Forecasting Financial Markets

Plummer, Tony
Kogan Page
Latest or current edition

This book is an essential addition to the other books as it focuses on psychology and sentiment, critical for you to understand.

R N Elliott’s Masterworks, the Definitive Collection

Prechter, Robert
New Classic Library, a division of Elliott Wave International, Gainesville GA, USA
Latest or current edition

I had the pleasure of hearing Robert Prechter speak on socionomic theory at the IFTA World Conference in 2014 and he is a giant of the industry.

The Definitive Collection This book compiles R.N. Elliott’s original writings on the Wave Principle and presents it to you in a single, all-inclusive book. Devour the three ground-breaking works, long out of print, in which Elliott first described the Wave Principle to the world.

Ichimoku Charts: An Introduction to Ichimoku Kinko Clouds

Elliott, Nicole
Harriman House Ltd
Latest or current edition

Nicole Elliott’s 25 years’ experience of financial markets – both as analyst and trader – and ability to inject flashes of dry humor into her writing make the study of Ichimoku a pleasant as well as useful experience.*

Now, for the first time in English, this book presents the next stage of candlestick analysis – Ichimoku Kinko Hyo. Sometimes called Cloud Charts, this analysis adds moving averages to candlestick charts. But moving averages a little different from those traditionally used in the West. For trending markets, Cloud Charts add an essential tool for analyzing near-term areas of support and resistance.*

Sources: Amazon.com & STA-UK.org

Breakthroughs in Technical Analysis

Keller, David

Bloomberg Financial
Latest or current edition

The recommended section in this book is the GANN theory section developed by W.D. Gann.

This is usually a critical piece of the exam, but can also be challenging to learn as the esoteric concepts in the theory are more like taking a step into the twilight zone.

Mastering Hurst Cycle Analysis

Grafton, Christopher
Harriman House Ltd
Latest or current edition

Christopher Grafton helps to translate J.M Hurst’s ideas to the modern day with plenty of examples.

Cycle analysis is core curricula and Hurst cycles are a new addition to the curricula for IFTA.

Further information on Hurst cycles are at http://hurstcycles.com

21st Century Point & Figure

du Plessis, Jeremy
Harriman House Ltd
Latest or current edition

One of the oldest methods of charting gets another serious update.

As the book mentions 21st Century Point & Figure updates the theory.

Now that we have automated charting and back-testing available broadly we get insights into the effectiveness of Point & Figure

Quantitative Trading Systems – Practical Methods for Design, Testing, and Validation.

Bandy, Dr. Howard B.

Blue Owl Press.

Building a robust trading system is important to success.  This is exactly what Quants (Quantitative Analysts) do for their day job.

With so many Stock Market Software Program Vendors offering integrated back-testing functionality, this book is a must-read.

Dr. Bandy’s interesting book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to develop a trading system.

Read which Stock Market Program Vendors offer Back-Testing.

Additional Sources: IFTA / STA https://www.sta-uk.org/education/reading-list/

Additional Books Lists – A great list of Business Books

How We Rated the Top 20 Stock Market Books

Purely Stock Market Strategy books covering specifics of fundamental analysis, technical analysis are rated like this:

• The depth of Content: How deep does the book go into the subject matter.
• Applicability: How applicable is the material to helping to improve your investing success
• Readability: Is the book easy to comprehend or difficult to read
• Fundamentals: How well does the book cover things like the Balance Sheet, Fundamental Analysis or value investing
• Technical Analysis: How well does the book cover the topics of charts, indicators and price action.

Books that are not specifically about making money in the stock market but rather providing background to the financial industry, Wall Street or power and politics, are rated like this:

• Depth of Content: How much actual stock market content is contained within
• Applicability: How applicable is the material to helping to improve your investing success
• Readability: Is the book a good read, entertaining
• Insight into the subject: Does the book provide a real insight into the subject matter, is it thought provoking

For the ratings, the percentage of stars gained is calculated to ascertain the overall percentage rating.

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