Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre, PS - This is in the spirit of Smurf's and Nitro's ideas that we may have discussions of some trading books...
I would like to know a little about the man. I've read from Vic Neiderhoffer (who's father knew JL) that he was a womanizer and a gambler. Apparently he had a special trust drawn up where he turned over some money to his wife. It was done so that she couldn't break the trust and give him the money, per his insistence. But he somehow got his hands on the money and lost it all. The thing you notice about his attitude is that he bets the farm on trades and doesn't talk about money management at all. Rather he talks in black and white...being correct about a stock's future movement or wrong.
there's a good book on the 'rest' of livermore's life, released last year, by richard smitten. womanizer? definitely. gambler? wouldn't doubt it (though it's not mentioned). the trust thing, apparently, was her doing - after the divorce, she switched it out of what he put it in and put it elsewhere. livermore is probably the trader i've learned the most from - both things to do, and what NOT to do...not only in trading, but in elements of life.
I think it's good that we start on this book. It is the grandaddy of all trading books. It's a great book. I prefer this version to the new one that was written recently. The man was a genious, but he also repeatedly broke his own rules, and most importantly, he overutilized leverage. If he merely used 2:1 instead of 10:1 plus, he'd have been fine. I like his discussions on stock manipulation. I keep that in mind a lot.
The book is more about what goes on in the mind of a trader. How much is enough? Can I make it playing safe? Is luck on my side? Livermore went through a time when he had an office and assistants doing research. He tried to play by the book, but in the end, the gambling got him. His suicide was his testament that to him it was all luck. He didn't believe he had the skill to make it all back.