Eric Sarratt's
Investment Education Services       Recommended Readings

If you want to save some money on books and videos try BestBookDeal. This site compares the online retailers—Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Half.com, etc., to give you the lowest price. I recommend it to all my students. Another good resource to locate materials is Trader's Library.

Getting Started in Chart Patterns by Thomas N. Bulkowski
This book or Trading Classic Chart Patterns is a good place to start to understand chart patterns. If you already know a lot about chart patterns, don't overlook this book; there is information regarding trading failed patterns that you probably won't see elsewhere.

Trading Classic Chart Patterns by Thomas N. Bulkowski
This book has some similar information to Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns, but it is truly a different book; it also reads easier.

Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns by Thomas N. Bulkowski
I found this book a bit daunting, but after learning about chart patterns it began to make more and more sense. It is truly an encyclopedia and if you are interested in chart patterns you need it on your shelf. When I am not at home and need access to the information presented here Bulkowski's visual index of chart patters is really useful.

Mastering the Trade by John F. Carter
Oh yeah! This is a great book if you trade futures. In fact it is one of the only books I have read that taught me good information about the futures markets. Even if you trade stocks or forex this book has something for you.

Hit and Run Trading by Jeff Cooper
When I read this book I thought to myself, "I wish this had been the first book I ever read on trading." I know the price tag is expensive. This book is extremely simple and portrays the ease with which good trading systems can be made. I once heard Cooper's methods criticized because they only made money about half the time. Duh! And yet another media reporter strikes out at understanding the markets (Clue: Many trading methods work about half the time).

Read everything by Jim Cramer. People who tell you that he does not know how to make money or that he will lose you money do not understand his methods or the business. He is brilliant! Let me put it this way: Why would Jim Cramer, a Harvard educated lawyer, continually commit fraud on national television by reporting that he is worth 50 million and that he made an average of 25% after fees year-over-year for investors while he ran his hedge fund? Or maybe he does know what he is talking about...

Trading Commodities & Financial Futures by George Kleinman
I am jealous of Kleinman's knowledge of the financial markets. This was the first book I read on futures that was worth a flip. He sets the bar high.

The Tax Guide for Traders by Robert Green.
If you don't know about this book you probably should. It is excellent! It details many of the tax loopholes (avoidance strategies) for traders and investors. After I got this book I grilled my accountant Mr. Harvey Jenkins with questions to make sure he was taking advantage of all the tax benefits I was entitled to, he was. At the end of the session he commented that it had been a good test of his knowledge. Be aware that tax law is constantly changing and even though Green's book was published in 2004, my accountant pointed out a few areas of law that had recently changed. Fortunately, Robert Green keeps updates to trader and investor tax law on his web site.

Using STOCHASTICS, Cycles & R.S.I. ...to the Moment of Decision...  by George C. Lane
This is the book that helped make all my studies of the markets make sense. I still use Lane's method regarding RSI and divergences. This book is best for serious investors and traders. Don't pay an inflated price on Amazon or any other web site. Buy it from the source at Investment Educators.

STOCHASTICS for the Serious Trader by George C. Lane
And you will also need this video if you want to incorporate Lane's method for tweaking stochastics as the book does not go into enough detail. It is an excellent video!

Day Trading the Currency Market by Kathy Lien
This is the only book I have found that is worth reading on the forex market. Kathy sets the standard for forex trading books. On that note, I have not read Ed Ponzi's book Forex Patterns & Probabilites: Trading Strategies for Trending & Range-Bound Markets yet, but I suspect it is worth the money.

High Probability Trading by Marcel Link
Good book from the perspective of a trader. I have asked Marcel questions on a few occasions and he has always responded. I like that.

How to Make Money in Stocks by William J. O'Neil
Ahhh! This book is the only fundamental analysis book you need if you want to trade stocks. Dan Zanger of ChartPattern.com attributes much of his success to William O'Neil's method of picking stocks.

How to Make Money Selling Stocks Short by William J. O'Neil
I use O'Neil's method almost exclusively to help me with entrys on shorts.

Elliott Wave Principle: Key to Market Behavior by A.J. Frost and Robert Prechter
Although I do not use elliott wave in my trading, you should at least have a basic understanding of this method and some would say an extensive understanding. Elliott wave is used by many, many successful investors (including Dan Zanger). It may be best to watch a few videos on this subject or to attend a seminar or two to better grasp this approach.

Read all of the "Market Wizards" books by Jack D. Schwager
These books will tell you how big money managers trade and inspire you. It will also give you a perspective for the variety of methods that exist for trading the markets. There is no wrong way to approach the markets. Many, many methods make money.

Getting Started in Technical Analysis by Jack D. Schwager
You probably need to read at least one good book on technical analysis. This one does the trick.

The Fundamentals of Hedge Fund Management by Daniel A. Strachman
Like many books on this page, this is the only book I have found on this subject that gave me good insight into what the subject was. Yeah, yeah I have read Hedge Funds for Dummies by Ann Logue (usually these are pretty good books), All About Hedge Funds by Robert Jaeger (it is OK) and even Hedge Fund Agreements Line by Line by Gregory Nowak (don't waste your money), but this book gave me insight into how funds actually work. This book answered lots of questions about hedge funds that I never found anywhere else. Be aware that this book is actually designed for people desiring to set up their own fund, but you can easily read between the lines to discover a great deal about how a proper fund should operate; it gives you lots of good ideas about questions to ask potential hedge fund managers. This is a great place to start if you are interested in utilizing this investment vehicle.

Short-Term Trading in the New Stock Market by Toni Turner
Her information on stock cycles in chapter 5 is good to know.

Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell
One of my favorite subjects and one of my favorite books. Sowell's logic is easy to understand. This book will give you a perspective on why things happen in the world regarding politics and macro economic events. I learned a great deal from this book.