Books

A former FX strategist on what moves currencies, session characteristics, carry, and technical and fundamental strategies for spot forex. The most complete forex-specific book from a credible author; third edition (2015).

The story of Jim Simons and Renaissance Technologies, the most successful quant fund ever. A biography rather than a method, but a useful corrective to discretionary-trading folklore and an argument for testing everything.

The standard introduction to Market Profile and auction-market theory: value areas, time-price opportunities and reading who is in control. Aimed at futures traders; dense but the framework behind most modern volume-profile trading.

First of Brooks' three-volume price-action series, built around 5-minute E-mini charts with bar-by-bar commentary. Famously hard to read and better as a reference than a narrative; intermediate traders get the most from it.

The reference textbook for classical technical analysis: trends, chart patterns, indicators, volume and intermarket analysis. Dry but complete; most later TA books are summaries of this one.

Elder's updated classic covering psychology, technical analysis, risk control (the 2% and 6% rules) and record keeping in one volume. A good first serious book for someone who has been trading without a plan.

The CAN SLIM growth-stock method from the founder of Investor's Business Daily, with annotated charts of historical leaders. Written for swing and position traders in stocks; the title oversells it, the method is sound.

The 1,000-page encyclopaedia of options strategies, now in its fifth edition. Not a book to read cover to cover; keep it as the reference you open when you want to understand a spread properly.

The book market makers hand to new hires: volatility, the Greeks, pricing models and how to think about risk in an options book. Assumes some maths comfort; essential once you move beyond buying calls.

Graham's 1949 value-investing classic with Jason Zweig's modern commentary. Not a trading book, but 'Mr. Market' and 'margin of safety' are ideas every trader should have met; useful ballast against get-rich-quick thinking.

Nobel laureate's account of the two systems of thinking and the biases (loss aversion, anchoring, overconfidence) that quietly wreck trading accounts. Long, but the first half alone is worth it.

The book that introduced candlesticks to Western traders, explaining each pattern and how to combine it with Western indicators. Read it to learn what the patterns mean, then test whether they work in your market.

Tharp's framework for building a system around expectancy, position sizing and personal fit rather than entries. The title is unfortunate; the content on position sizing is some of the best in print.

Second edition (2017) of Schwager's 700-page textbook on futures: contract mechanics, technical analysis, spreads, options on futures and system building. Heavy but thorough; the best single reference for a serious futures trader.

A high-stakes index and forex trader on why the mental game, not the setup, separates the 10% who make it. Blunt, personal and short; a modern companion to Trading in the Zone.

Inside a New York proprietary trading firm (SMB Capital): how new traders are trained, why most fail and what the consistent ones do differently. Best for aspiring intraday stock traders.

101 short lessons from a psychologist who coaches professional traders, each ending with a concrete exercise. Designed to be read a page a day; practical rather than theoretical.

Narrative account of high-frequency trading, order routing and the founding of IEX. Not a how-to and contested by HFT insiders, but a readable introduction to why your fill is not always what you expected.

The technical reference on how Bitcoin actually works: keys, transactions, mining, the network. Third edition (2023), aimed at developers but readable by anyone who wants to understand what they are trading rather than just its price.

Schwager's 1989 interviews with top traders across stocks, futures and currencies, updated in 2012. The clearest demonstration that many different methods work if risk is controlled; start here before any strategy book.

The standard text on trading psychology: thinking in probabilities, accepting risk and why good analysis alone does not produce consistency. Repetitive in places but the core ideas stick.

The 1923 fictionalised life of Jesse Livermore, still the most-recommended trading book a century later. Read it for the timeless lessons on crowd psychology, sitting tight and losing discipline; the Wiley Investment Classics edition includes a foreword by Jack Schwager.