299 pages. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is adapted from a series of Saturday Evening Post articles written by Edwin Lefevre in the 1920s. The book narrates Livermore's ascent from a "boy plunger" to the most influential speculator on Wall Street. While much of the book is devoted to Livermore's experiences, a larger part of the book deals with trading wisdom and rules that Livermore imparts through Lefevre. Years later, many trading and investing books repeat the very same rules first enunciated by Livermore in Reminiscences, such as: go with the trend; no stock is too high to buy or too low to sell; let your winners run and cut your losses short; make your own decisions; and market history repeats itself. Interestingly, Livermore frequently violated his own rules and usually lost money as a result. The enduring appeal to the book rests in Livermore's view that the market is made up of people and the excesses of the market reflect mass psychology and the mistakes of individuals are frequently the result of the inability to control fear and greed. Thus, the views and lessons of Livermore continue to be relevant to every new generation of investors and traders. Generations of investors have benefited from this 1923 masterpiece. Jack Schwager's new introduction explains why this account of Jesse Livermore, one of the greatest speculators ever-continues to be the most widely read book by the trading community. "The best book I've read--I keep a supply for people who come to work for me." - Martin Zweig
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
