Well, here's the thing... I generally have a few issues with these sorts of books. Firstly, it often turns out that these "successful" people aren't quite as good as they're portrayed to be. For example, I think we did talk about that Siva-Jothy fellow on this thread. The mighty do fall. Secondly, more often than not the stories I have read are about "courage", "convictions" and all this type of bollox. The fact that some random BSD (Big Swinging Dick) had the balls to strap on a random position and managed to get lucky isn't that enlightening, IMHO. I agree with you that a great trading book can be very useful and do all the things that you mention. I guess I just haven't found a "great" trading book out there yet. Again, I hasten to stress that this is my Z$2c, nothing else.
Sure... and again, for me, it's all about ideas and food for thought. Re, getting lucky and spewing platitudes, there are plenty of bullshit trading books out there which hold zero interest. I'd say the ratio is about 95 / 5, or maybe even 98 / 2. But the ones I find that are good can be really, really good. I drew so many ideas and potential avenues of methodology research from Drobny's "Invisible Hands," for example, that it will take me years to follow up on them all (if I ever do). Of course, you have to be a certain kind of trader to appreciate this type of thing (i.e. not "I'm fixed in my ways and that's that"). Even if I draw only a tiny handful of methodological enhancements from such reading -- a few things here and there I improve upon as a result of being curious -- compounded over a trading career of 30 or 40 years, the value of such could be incalculable.
I would definitely agree with that... I'll go borrow my wife's copy of Drobny and read it more carefully.
Drobny's books are outstanding. I would be poorer if not for them. Market Wizard books are (mostly) outstanding. From great macro guys like Druckenmiller to poker-like find an edge and pound it guys like Yass, Hull, and others. Nobody is reading these books and then going out and buying T-bond futures. They are, however, very inspirational, and provide a starting point for further research. I would recommend Peter Lynch's stuff as well - wildly inspirational. Yass, btw, is a Philly guy. I've played a few times at his club (Stonewall) and seen him out there, but never got in a game with him. He's legendary for being a gambling madman on the golf course. His firm - SIG - is basically a bunch of poker-playing degenerates. The interview process is a bunch of probability questions. If you get through that, they bring you in, start dealing cards, and see how you would calculate the odds and deal with various situations. If you make it through that, you're a trader there.
This still doesn't make sense to me. Are you saying just because of the OS, people will buy things directly from Apple, Google, and Microsoft, rather than going through Amazon? Or are you saying that the OS will have referral links to Amazon and thus the OS gets referral revenue? I am very skeptical that the design of any OS will lessen Amazon's sales. Obviously I am missing something.
I join you in not understanding how OS changes will impact Amazon. Glad for the initial commenter to clarify the position.
First Apple, then Android integrated their iPhones and iPads (or whatever they're called) with a store that they control. First it was apps, then music, now video and books. With Windows 8, MSFT is getting into the same model. The difference with MSFT is that Windows owns the desktop market. Amazon faces a major threat - not to its existence - but to its growth, a pretty big f-ing no-no when the stock trades at levels it does. I'm not short the company, but am no longer an owner. P.S. I would add that my views are nothing revolutionary regarding AMZN. I wouldn't call it consensus, but these issues are known.
Ha. I forgot he went to SUNY Binghampton. For some reason, the idea he went to Penn had crept into my head. If you search around the web, you can get lists of some of the probability questions they ask. They're fun to try and figure out.