Tape Reading and Market Tactics: The Three Steps to Successful Stock Trading

2010 Reprint of 1931 Edition. In this 1931 Wall Street classic Neill explains not only how to read the tape, but also how to figure out what's going on behind the numbers. Full of graphs and charts, it contains excellent sections on human nature and speculation. Though first published in 1931, this work remains a classic text in the field, and greatly influence Nicholar Darvas, a later Wall Street Guru. Neill advised that the investor not follow the general public and he himself was very wary of the crowd mentality. Neill's philosophy pushes the reader to study hard and pay ones' dues. He insists that the successful trader is an educated entrepreneur; one who can make reasoned decisions based on the movements of price and volume.

Humphrey Neill, the celebrated sage of Saxtons River, Vermont, has inspired generations of contrarians. His advice to investors: Beware of the crowd, don't be swept up by euphoria or down by despair. When everyone thinks alike, watch out. They're probably wrong. Neill's sharp thinking and homespun aphorisms are no less appropriate today than when he began to formulate the theory of contrary opinion three quarters of a century ago. In fact, Neill's ideas formed the basis for the Contra Fund that Fidelity Management established in 1967 and still manages today.