Product Description

"An excellent read."
—Ace Greenberg, Chairman, Bear Stearns

Richard Smitten′s Jesse Livermore is the first full biography of the legendary trader profiled in the bestselling Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (Wiley: 0–471–05970–6). Although he died more than half a century ago, Livermore is considered by today′s top traders as the greatest trader who ever lived. An enigmatic loner, misanthrope, and notorious miser, Livermore revolutionized the profession with his innovative timing techniques, money management strategies, and high–momentum approach to trading stocks. Smitten provides a vivid portrait of Livermore and the times in which he lived and operated. He deftly combines eyewitness accounts of those who knew Livermore with fascinating stories of sensational love affairs, shootings, and suicides, and a detailed exploration of the trading strategies that made Livermore several fortunes in his lifetime.

Richard Smitten (Key West, FL) is the author of several books, including The Godmother, the critically acclaimed story of a famous woman criminal.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32099 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
"...a lively and absorbing account of a trading legend..." (Lloyd′s List, 23 November 2001–12–03)

"...another rich vein of fascinating wit and wisdom..." (The Independent, 8 December 2001)

Business Book of the Week (Money Week, 7 December 2001)

"...really enjoyed reading..." (Amply Interactive Investor, 13 December 2001)

Review
"...a lively and absorbing account of a trading legend..." (Lloyd′s List, 23 November 2001–12–03)

"...another rich vein of fascinating wit and wisdom..." (The Independent, 8 December 2001)

Business Book of the Week (Money Week, 7 December 2001)

"...really enjoyed reading..." (Amply Interactive Investor, 13 December 2001)

Amply Interactive Investor, 13 December 2001
"...really enjoyed reading.."

Customer Reviews

An excellent addition to the traders' bookshelf .
This book is about Jesse Livermore, probably the greatest stockmarket speculator ever. He started working at the age of 14 and was a trader and speculator for 50 years. He went broke three times before the age of 30 but also amassed one of the greatest fortunes of the day.

His story is well known thanks to Edwin Lefevre's famous book "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" which is recognised as the best book ever written on the subject of trading and the one book that anybody who aspires to take on the market should read.

Much of the material about Jesse Livermore's trading career in Smitten's book will be familiar to anybody who has read Lefevre.

However Smitten's book does add some fascinating detail. Lefevre's book was based on one long interview with Livermore. Given his secretive and unemotional personality -Livermore did not talk to Lefevre about his personal life. Smitten focuses on this and details Livermore's lavish spending , difficult personal relationships and many tragedies including the shooting of his son by his wife. All of this serves to prove the old adage that money does not bring happiness.

Smitten book also distils the essential rules of Livermore's trading philosophy and does a great service to would-be masters of the universe. It emphasises three aspects that Livermore considered essential- a trading system, money management (i.e risk management) and emotional control (in particular the danger of the traders' ego and his emotions particularly fear, greed and ignorance )

Various incidents show how Livermore learned many of these lessons the hard way - by losing money. However he was philosophical and viewed this as an essential part of his trading education. The aspiring trader can read this and indeed Lefevre's book and hopefully learn the lessons without the painful losses.

However there is warning in the book and it is what makes the story a moral tale .

Making money in the markets is extraordinary difficult. You will make losses many times. Some of these losses may wipe you out.

The market is designed to fool most of the people most of the time. The chances of eventual success are low

In any case, even if you succeed and acquire huge riches, it probably wil not make you very happy.

Good, but there's better out there....
Jesse Livermore. Possibly the best speculator to ever put down a trade. This book sets out to go into detail about his life and his trading methods.

On the whole this book meets the above objective. However, it falls down by the author going a bit 'Enid Blyton' on the story of Livermore's family life with the added frustration of this area being covered in none to great detail. Not that this should put you off the book, because in my view most potential readers on the subject of Livermore are more interested in his trading methods and how he executed them in the markets rather than the fact his wife and son were psychos.

A drawback is that most would-be buyers of this book will have already read Edwin Lefevre's masterful 'Reminiscences of a Stock Operator' (the original fictionalised biography of the man) which is a far superior text on the subject of Livermore's techniques and tactics. These people will not get much more from this book that they hadn't already come across.

This book is one for Livermore completists, but if you're considering this as your first purchase of a 'Livermore book', don't buy it, go for 'Reminiscences of a Stock Operator'.

A good piece of trading history
I bought this book because I saw it in thre or four top ten investment books lists. It's literature and so there are no serious tips for investing nor techniques but it's a good book because show you the life and trading style of Jesse Livermore Before I purchased it, I didn't know about this man. Although it's not an instructional book it teaches you some lessons about the average trader's psychology and how to take advantage of this.