Zen in the Markets: Confessions of a Samurai Trader

by Edward Allen Toppel

Book Overview

Let the market make the decisions, not your ego. Gives you the rules of successful trading with Zen. This book is full of life-changing ideas which will determine how well you play the inner game. The underlying message is that you are in a contest with yourself and not the market. Presents a Zen approach that reveals how to listen, recognize, and obey the language that the market speaks. Your ego may be very reluctant top be subdued.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0446518107
• ISBN13: 9780446518109
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Warner Books (NY)
• Length: 97 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

It is the all-time 2nd best book for daytraders.

I train daytraders for a living, I make them read 2 books before they start: 'Reminiscences of a Stock Operator' and this book 'Zen in the Markets.' I quote it almost daily when instructing traders - Trade what you see, not what you think. It is a very quick read. It is NOT for long-term stock investors, anyone reading it for those purposes will be disappointed and give it a negative review about how it downplays fundamentals, charts, technical patterns, and such. Short-term (like 1-2 minute in a trade) daytraders and pit traders are the ones who swear by this book, as I do. I traded on the floor of the exchange and still make my living in the quick in-and-out daytrading world, and for people like me this book is a must have.

Simply the Best Trading Book Ever!

I've been a professional trader for 20+ years and this is simply the best book written on the art of trading. Trading is about all about overcoming the inner self which is driven to failure. This book, more than any other I've ever read, cuts to the heart of the matter and gives the reader real, tangible, and specific advice on how to approach the markets, him/herself, and how to deal with the daily pressures of trading. Those pressures are not only external, i.e. the markets, but also internal, i.e the mind. I've read all the other "Zen" books, I've read all the other books on the proper psychological mindset, and this one beats all the others hands down. If you buy no other trading book but this one, then you are already way ahead of the game. This is the single most valuable book in my trading library. I highly recommend its purchase.

My Favorite Trading Book

Most trading books are full of theories, padded with nonsense about volatility curves and greek letters. This book cuts to the heart of the issue: the main obstacle to making money in the markets-your EGO.I have read them all and none says it better than this one. Can't praise it enough for it's simplicity and elegance.

Thanks for the Millions

This book was recommended by Dr. Alex Elder, author of Trading For A Living. I read at least a book a month about the market but this is the one that brought it all together for me. I set up a separate portfolio to trade using Mr. Toppel's teachings and that account value gain is over $1,000,000 in less than a year. I gifted the book to three friends, one rejected it, one is up $750,000, one is up $500,000, all in less than a year. The author teaches us that the market is simple but we kill ourselves making it hard and that theme prevails throughout the book. When I get off track, I re-read "Zen In The Markets" I only trade stocks, the author is a futures trader but the psychology of trading is the same. My favorite Narihira quote from the book is: "I have always known that a last I would take this road, but yesterday I did not know it would be today."

Selfless self.is the only way to go. Right on!!

No jibberish. The best book ever written on trading and investing. A must for any serious investor or trader. You can't be a winner. unless you master what he talks about. Universally acclaimed as the best book ever written. Cuts out all of the nonsense and gets to the heart of the matter, YOU!!