Jesse Livermore. World's Greatest Stock Trader

Editorial Review
The True Life Story and Time-Tested Strategies of the World’s Greatest Trader

"Excellent read! Captures the spirit and times of Jesse Livermore, legendary trader. The book tracks two major market crashes, love affairs, the shooting of Jesse Jr. by his mother, and two family suicides. . . . Never a dull moment." –Ace Greenberg, Chairman, Bear Stearns

"Terrific. I started reading it when we took off from Seoul’s Kimbo Airport on my way to Germany. By the time we reached Novosibirsk, Russia . . . I had finished it. I just couldn’t put it down! Not only is it a great lesson in investing and trading, it’s a fascinating psychological study of what makes a great speculator tick. The rise and fall of a great speculator as well as the rise and fall of his family is great reading. The fact that it is based on interviews with Livermore’s survivors and witnesses to the events makes it even more interesting. Great writing."–Mark Mobius, Managing Director, Templeton Asset Management

"As one of the most shrewd traders of all time, Jesse Livermore demonstrated how important discipline is when trading the market. Smitten . . . covers how Livermore created his rules . . . also reviews the lessons Livermore learned along the way to develop his strategies."–William J. O’Neil, Publisher, Investor’s Business Daily

"A stock market classic! Most entertaining and informative book on the market that I have had the privilege to read in the last twenty years. A must-read for students of the stock market–great even for those who have no knowledge of the market. Grabs you from the start and holds you enthralled from cover to cover. Great book!"–Dan Sullivan, Publisher, The Chartist, Fund Manager, and Investment Advisor

Customer Reviews

One Great Book,If you wish to learn the market

2008-12-03
Well I have several copies of this book as I have traded for a while now,at my age I wish to pass on something ,so I am teaching my grandkids to trade the markets...I have bought probably a 100 or so books on the market at Amazon...the best ones...for my way of trading is...this one and Weinstein...how to trade in a bull and bear market...learning to use charts...it will be a eye opener for those of you who never understood how to read a finacial report ...as they report so many different ways...and the numbers can be fixed...just to much garb...look at the present bank situation...well charts don't lie ...or reading the tape as this book suggests...yes I do make money in the market...don't think I would show my grandkids how to lose do you?

skip this book

2008-09-13
I own Reminiscences and How to Trade in Stocks along with this book, and can tell you that no worthwhile market insight can be gathered from this book that you can't get from the other two. There is a bit more information on Livermore's personal life which you may, or may not, find interesting. In my opinion, it was just an effort by Smitten to sell another book.

Amazing Read

2008-08-17
What a great book. Entertaining AND educational this book reveals for the first time Livermore's true story with information gathered from his relatives.

Jesse Livermore " Worlds Greatest Stock Trader"

2008-02-24
Excellent Book - WOuld rate it as a Bible for people dealing in Capital Markets. Must read for all who trade stocks and commodities.

An excellent book about Livermore's life

2008-02-22
I think the 20+ pictures and the last 3 chapters would worth the money I paid for the book. Many years ago, I read an article written by a scientist who said that he would not pass any opportunity to attend the seminars by the well-known scientists because by seeing their faces, their body languages, and how they speak, he could better understand the articles and books written by them.
I find this is true in this case as well. After reading this book and re-reading "How to Trade Stocks" I noticed many things that I did not pay attention when reading the book before. Also I have gained deeper understanding about his frustration when he was asked about how to make some quick money in the market.

Good reading.

2007-11-29
The True Life Story and Time-Tested Strategies of the World’s Greatest Trader

"After reading Smitten’s magnificent biography, two Japanese proverbs came to mind: ‘Fortune favors the bold’ and ‘Darkness lies one inch ahead.’ Smitten shows how fortune and darkness were integral parts of Livermore’s life . . . has the intrigue of a mystery novel and the lessons of a trading master. What more can one ask for? I eagerly recommend this book to anyone interested in history, the markets, and trading psychology."–Steve Nison, author of Japanese Candlestick Charting

fantastic! 2007-06-10
I read this book over a weekend and found it hard to put down and when I did I was excited to pick it back up. The author weaves a tragic story with lessons from the greatest stock trader. I would not have thought the lessons (stated in other people's reviews) would be true today, but in my experience as a trader today they very much are still. Granted some of the things he did and the way the market operated were different and not possible today, but it is still amazing and valuable knowledge of what to do and NOT to do.

Make this a core purchase and buy this book. Just get it. It's worth it.

The Real reminiscences of a stock operator 2007-03-25
If you have ever read the Reminiscences of a stock operator by Edwin Lefevre and liked it then this book is a must read. It is very hard to put down, it reads like a novel, stock trading manual, Greek tragedy, and wisdom teachings all in one.
I had my doubts, but after reading this book I believe that Jesse Livermore was the greatest stock trader the world has ever seen. At the age of fourteen he walked into a "bucket shop" and got a job posting stock prices. The next year in 1892 at fifteen he makes his first successful stock trade. He was a millionaire in his early 20's and by 1907, J.P. Morgan had to personally ask him to stop selling stocks short before he did serious damage to the stock market during a crash. His greatest achievement of all was walking away from the great crash of '29 with $100 million in profit from selling stocks short when everyone else was going long.
The sad part of this book was how he lost everything several times and was bankrupt, the final one happening late in his life. He had a problem with beautiful women which lead to several divorces and ruin. He committed suicide in 1940 and his son Jesse Jr. also committed suicide 35 years later.His story was really an eye opener to the pitfalls of being wealthy and lacking self control in your personal life and child rearing.
This book is packed with wisdom and stock trading tactics of the master himself. Get out a highlighter and prepare to mark key learning's as you go because there are many. Here are some:

Cut your losses quickly.
Be sure to confirm your judgement before you take your full position.
Let your profits ride if there is no good reason to close the position.
The action is with the leading stocks, which change with every new market.
Keep the number of stocks you follow limited in order to focus.
New all time highs are to be bought on breakouts.
Cheap stocks often appear to be bargains after a large drop.They often continue to fall, most have little potential to rise in price. Leave them alone.
Use pivotal points to identify changes in trend and confirmations in trends.
DON'T FIGHT THE TAPE!

This is my #1 recommendations for stock trading books.
Also read all of Dr. Alexander Elder's books for basics in money management and technical analysis.

Not Much more than the Reminiscences 2007-01-18
The 'Reminiscensces' has more details about JL's tradings, this one has more about his personal life. Information seems mostly from newspapers, friends and his son, very second hand, and I can see none of them seem to know enough about JL.

Anyhow, it is good to read through his story (just partially, I guess), learning how tragic it can be if you cannot manage your personal and family life properly. The best skills in trading couldn't help.

the basis of many technical approaches today 2006-12-13
This book has more info than "How to trade in stocks" and "remininces of a stock market operator". Both of those were good and you can learn a lot from them. However the Smitten book takes the info from the other two and makes it easier to understand and to apply. By all means get the other two as well but if you want just one book then get the smitten book. The other two are entertaining and if you are a history buff then you might enjoy them.
T.L.Walker