Best Trading Books

Book rating updated 9.05.2024

Navigate the markets like a pro with our selection of essential trading books of all time.

  1. The Big Short

    4.6
    16 215 ratings
    Michael Lewis
    Recommended by: Sheryl Sandberg
    A thriller narrating the stories of outsiders and investors who, as they escaped the system, saw the build-up of the credit bubble, which would eventually burst in 2008, and the resulting aftermath in sub-prime mortgage markets, falling banks, and their rescues. Betting against the market, they made a fortune and exposed the deep flaws in the financial industry. The narrative, marrying investigative journalism with the dynamism of storytelling, is a mash-up of the complicated financial concepts into the mainstream consciousness, thereby allowing the realization of foresightedness, predicting doom that many did not pay heed to.
  2. How to Day Trade for a Living

    4.7
    17 098 ratings
    Andrew Aziz
    Go deeper into day trading with this guide covering starting, managing the risk up to consistent profit achievement. It reduces the complexity of strategies that one can easily follow and shows that with the right discipline, education, and tools, one can easily become a successful day trader. This ranges from setting up a trading plan, picking out the right stocks, and understanding market patterns. Suitable for traders from novices to old hands equally, this book provides insight on how to make trading a profitable career, with psychological resilience being the backbone and a well-thought-out approach to decision-making in trading.
  3. Flash Boys

    4.3
    18 021 ratings
    Michael Lewis
    A gripping narrative of the world of high-frequency trading laid bare in ways that people could have never imagined, exposing how a group of Wall Street outsiders were able to rig the stock market. They realize the market is not as level as it looks, and elite traders use speed to outmaneuver the average investor. So these innovators, resolved to change all that, come up with an ingenious new approach – one that will really tick off the big guys. This story is not just about finance; it's a battle for integrity within the heart of American capitalism.
  4. Trading in the Zone

    4.7
    8 091 ratings
    Mark Douglas
    These guides enable a trader to discover psychological aspects in trading and understand how to attain a peak performance through the development of attitude. This guide underlines a trader's need for confidence, discipline, and clear understanding of risk. Basically, it outlines how a trader is able to surmount fear and emotional barriers. By dealing with losses and making decisions that are driven by long-term success. The author then gives ideas of how to systematically build an organized method of trading to get the trader 'in the zone'—which he calls the mental state when the individual is functioning at peak efficiency and effectiveness in his trading behavior.
  5. The Man Who Solved the Market

    4.5
    4 421 ratings
    Gregory Zuckerman
    Recommended by: Morgan Housel
    This book is about Jim Simons, a mathematician, code breaker, and founder of Renaissance Technologies, who is known for developing one of the first – if not the first – examples of an algorithmic trading strategy in the financial markets. The story explores his path from academia to financial success, with all its miseries and triumphs on the way. This has proved an interesting insight into the secretive world of quantitative trading and the market impact of innovations by Simons. A compelling read for anyone interested in finance, mathematics, or the power of determination.
  6. Trade Like a Stock Market Wizard

    4.7
    2 729 ratings
    Mark Minervini
    Recommended by: Puru Saxena
    Mark Minervini takes the reader behind the curtains into the secrets of his success on the stock market. In the book, he provides an all-round account of his tried and tested personal trading strategy that enabled him to achieve returns of humongous magnitude. Read on and through detailed explanations and real-life examples, learn how to pick up winning stocks just before they make major price gains. It also explains how to avoid making heavy losses, such as most ordinary investors do. It's a comprehensive resource for anyone looking to improve their trading skills and build lasting wealth.
  7. Market Wizards

    4.7
    3 185 ratings
    Jack D. Schwager
    Discover from the interviews Rockwell Trading receives on what they can determine is a successful traders common ground with other successful traders all over the world and how they are making big money in the markets. Disciplined in their own unique way of viewing risk, everything from a gut check common sense type of approach, all the way through to very personal ways of deal with the issues of trading. It displays the multiplicity of trading philosophies and techniques, and whereas it does not offer us apparent responses in how to be successful as a stockbroker, it informs us that success can be obtained from It provides an effective insight, motivating lessons, great understanding of what it takes to emerge a victor in the financial markets and hence renders this book a must-read for an individual desiring to improve his/her trading skills.
  8. Think & Trade Like a Champion

    4.8
    1 942 ratings
    Mark Minervini
    Recommended by: Puru Saxena
    This book captures the memoir of a stock market wizard who went from an ordinary trader to being the champion of the U.S. Investing Championship. He opens up on strategies and the winning mindset. The book gives practical advice on how the managing of stock trading should be properly done, where it pinpoints the aspects of discipline, risk management, and self-analysis. It is focused to help the reader to develop skills and confidence so as to find financial success on the stock exchange. Using personal stories and in-depth analysis, the author leads one to think and act like a champion trader.
  9. A Man for All Markets

    4.5
    2 390 ratings
    Edward O. Thorp
    This is the incredible tale of a mathematical genius who, after cracking the conundrum that pertains to the blackjack game offered in casinos, went on to then create investment methodologies which are simple in their genius and yet brutal in how they allow for maximum profit to accrue as a result. This biography traces his development from early days of devising card-counting techniques to developing the first wearable computer and on to pioneering quantitative trading methods that revolutionized financial markets. This is not only a story about getting rich but also a story of smart calculation, means of avoiding risks, and never-ending searching for knowledge. This book is a very interesting reading for all people that find the connection between math and finance interesting as it provides them with food for thoughts in terms of finding original solutions to problems − it helps think out of the box.
  10. How to Trade In Stocks

    4.5
    1 496 ratings
    Jesse Livermore
    Get timeless insights from one of the greatest stock traders of all time—Jesse Livermore—on winning in the stock market. This book distills Livermore's trading experiences and strategies into fundamental principles of market behavior, risk management, and psychological discipline. This underlines the importance of time, understanding of the patterns in the market, and realization of how the play of supply and demand is important in it. It will work best for all traders and investors who are desiring to improve their way of approaching the markets, as it avails lessons on how to trade intelligence, avoid common pitfalls, and develop a disciplined trading philosophy with the potential to bring about consistent profitability.
  11. Mastering the Trade

    4.7
    727 ratings
    John Carter
    It is an in-depth and comprehensive book on trading, which can allow one to have an all-out understanding of what trading is about. It's a source of knowledge and strategies that can really help the traders find their way around how to carry on a business of trading successfully. Another thing that this book handles is the identification of profitable opportunities, ways of managing risk, and discipline for trading so much with advice and specific examples. This is a book for all those who have gotten into the world of financial markets but still have not succeeded in making money: newbies and experienced traders.
  12. Way of the Turtle

    4.4
    729 ratings
    Curtis Faith
    Discover the secrets behind one of the most successful trading experiments in history. It is the story of how a group of novice traders, known as the Turtles, were taught a standardized set of rules for making money in the markets; a system which drove them to achieve extraordinary financial success. It gets into the psychology of trading, the importance of following strict rules, and building personal discipline. Ideal for individuals who are aspiring to take up trading, it gives some valuable insights into the creation of a robust trading strategy, risk management, and the sort of mindset required to make it in the volatile world of trading.
  13. Trading for a Living

    4.4
    515 ratings
    Alexander Elder
    Recommended by: Robert Kiyosaki
    Then delve into the secrets of successful trading through the study of the psychology behind influencing the decisions of the market. Find out how the mindset of the trader might affect overall success and which strategies to adopt in order to manage emotions and stress. The guide also covers technical analysis, offering insights into reading market trends and executing informed trades. One is referred to risk management, the second is referred to the development of the unique trading system, so that every beginning trader would have all the tools necessary in order to become a real guru of the stock market and earn money.
  14. The Mental Game of Trading

    4.7
    581 ratings
    Jared Tendler
    In this book, Jared Tendler goes in detail over the psychological challenges which traders face and how to overcome them. Discusses: how to manage emotions, improve decision making, and develop a resilient mindset for trading success. Below, the author provides these examples and offers actionable advice in order to help out the mental barriers that might get in the way of one's performance in trading. It is just a read-must guide for a trader who wants to boost their mental game and keep consistent with the results.
  15. The Tao of Trading

    4.7
    497 ratings
    Simon Ree
    In this guide, Simon Ree elucidates how to master the art of trading by adopting Taoist principles. He unravels insights for every trader in regarding trading as a way through the financial markets with ease and confidence, all the same as linking it with ancient wisdom versus modern approaches to investment. The reader of this book will learn how to gain the patience to understand the cycles of the markets and develop courage to make decisions according to his or her own values. In conclusion, this book is a precious guide to how to achieve financial success without creating a compromise in one's own inner peace.
  16. Supply and Demand Trading

    4.5
    370 ratings
    Frank Miller
    Understand the heart of financial markets, focusing on supply and demand forces that drive price movements. This book simplifies very complicated trading concepts into understandable strategies that teach an individual how to identify profitable trading opportunities through the analysis of market imbalances. The focus of this program is put on a disciplined trading approach integrating technical analysis and market psychology/risk management. Perfect for both beginners and seasoned traders, this will be a clearly defined road that ensures one has the ability to confidently pave a way through the markets, make the right decisions, and embrace the inherent volatility of financial instruments for a definite success in trading.

FAQ

  • What are the most popular authors of trading books?

    Here are authors of good books about trading:

    • Jesse Livermore - stock market speculation.
    • George Soros - financial markets, currency speculation.
    • Alexander Elder - trading strategy, psychology.
    • Ed Seykota - commodities trading, systems trading.
    • Larry Williams - futures trading, short-term trading strategies.

List of top rated Trading books everyone should read. Best sellers only!