Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)As several other reviewers have indicated, this is "not just another book on technical analysis." While that's completely fine -- there are lots of other good books out there if you want a book on any individual topic, like technical analysis or trader psychology, and I've read dozens of them -- I think this book swings too far in the opposite direction. The book fails to give any but the barest details about how an individual might go about applying the principles and methodologies that have supposedly worked so well for the author's firm. We hear over and over again about trading "stocks in play." What does that even mean? All we are told is that stocks in play are those for which there have been recent news releases, and have "good order flow" and "enough volume." Perhaps I'm part of a dumb minority for whom the meaning of these vague terms isn't completely obvious. However, my claim is that the author simply doesn't elaborate on any of his claims in enough depth to make them useful for the unwashed masses who don't already work in a prop trading firm. He has an entire chapter dedicated to describing what kind of people get hired at firms like his, and yet he somehow manages not to say anything more substantive than "firms look for people who are a good fit for their culture." Wow, what a revelation. Bottom line: I'm not looking for someone to hold my hand through every minute detail of the trading process, but I find it ridiculous that a ~$40 book with great reviews on Amazon would do nothing more than make broad generalizations about how to achieve consistent profitability. The book is reasonably consistent in reminding readers that success is derived from discipline and process rather than gut feelings or even innate trading talent, but there are plenty of other books that convey that message (and do it more concisely and/or more concretely).
My second major beef with this book, besides its lack of specificity, has to do with the writing style. The book is written in a very colloquial style, with plenty of bad grammar, irritating redundancy, and a deficiency of structure. That may not bother some people, and it may work fine if you're presenting in a trading seminar, but I find it cliched and unprofessional in a book with this topic and price point. On a related note, the author spends a lot of time giving sports analogies -- not a problem per se, though they're not terribly original and start to get old after you've read them multiple times over the course of the book -- and generally touting the skills and achievements of himself, his partner, and a subset of the traders who work at his firm. A few anecdotes about real-world traders and scenarios are great to give color to any discussion of trading topics, but I didn't buy this book just to hear about so-and-so and how he joined your firm -- particularly if you're not going to give me any useful guidance about how I can replicate that person's success.
In the end, if you want to read a lot of vague blather about SMB Capital and how a handful of its traders have done well for themselves, go ahead and buy this book. But if you want something a little more focused and relevant for the real world, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.
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One Good Trade: Inside the Highly Competitive World of Proprietary Trading (Wiley Trading)
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