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| Reminiscences of a Stock Operator |
Amazon.com
Stock investing is a relatively recent phenomenon and
the inventory of true classics is somewhat slim. When asked,
people in the know will always list books by Benjamin
Graham, Burton G. Malkiel's A Random Walk Down Wall Street,
and Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings by
Philip A. Fisher. You'll know you're getting really good
advice if they also mention Reminiscences of a Stock
Operator by Edwin Lefèvre.
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is the thinly disguised
biography of Jesse Livermore, a remarkable character who
first started speculating in New England bucket shops at the
turn of the century. Livermore, who was banned from these
shady operations because of his winning ways, soon moved to
Wall Street where he made and lost his fortune several times
over. What makes this book so valuable are the observations
that Lefèvre records about investing, speculating, and the
nature of the market itself. For example:
"It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It
always was my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight! It is no
trick at all to be right on the market. You always find lots
of early bulls in bull markets and early bears in bear
markets. I've known many men who were right at exactly the
right time, and began buying or selling stocks when prices
were at the very level which should show the greatest
profit. And their experience invariably matched mine--that
is, they made no real money out of it. Men who can both be
right and sit tight are uncommon."
If you've ever spent weekends and nights puzzling over
whether to buy, sell, or hold a position in whatever
investment--be it stock, bonds, or pork bellies, you'll be
glad that you read this book. Reminiscences of a Stock
Operator is full of lessons that are as relevant
today as they were in 1923 when the book was first
published. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards
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