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Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom |  | Author: Van Tharp
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $18.38
as of 7/31/2010 03:17 CDT details
You Save: $16.57 (47%)
New (42) Used (25) from $14.00
Seller: sbd-
Rating:  175 reviews
Sales Rank: 22379
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 2
Pages: 482
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.6
ISBN: 007147871X
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.024
EAN: 9780071478717
ASIN: 007147871X
Publication Date: November 22, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The bestselling holy grail of trading information-now brought completely up to date to give traders an edge in the marketplace “Sound trading advice and lots of ideas you can use to develop your own trading methodology.”-Jack Schwager, author of Market Wizards and The New Market Wizards This trading masterpiece has been fully updated to address all the concerns of today's market environment. With substantial new material, this second edition features Tharp's new 17-step trading model. Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom also addresses reward to risk multiples, as well as insightful new interviews with top traders, and features updated examples and charts.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 175
 A Constructive Five-Star Review July 24, 2010
Cameron J
(If you want to find out specifically what is great about the book, check out one of the +100 5-Star reviews)
Trading Your Way To Financial Freedom. To be honest, the title sounds gimmicky and like an infomercial that airs at 3am so I was definitely hesitant about purchasing it, but after recommendations by traders that I have high esteem for (and a finding a used bookstore selling the hardcover copy for $8.50) I decided to get it. I finished the book about an hour ago, and after going over it with a fine-toothed comb (and highlighter) here is my analysis:
The book is logically sound and easy to grasp to the point that you would expect it to be the norm but if read most stock newsletters, visit any online forum or tune into the Bloomberg; it is painfully obvious that this is not the case. However, the book is not without its drawbacks. For what it is worth, the problems lie not with the methods or logic conveyed but the way the author conveys them. Another issue of concern is that Dr. Van Tharp keeps perhaps too open of a mind towards some questionable tactics that could lead a trader/investor to obvious risk.
The book is undeniably helpful and a must read. Again, I cannot stress that enough. However, the author manages to throw his credibility into question with almost every turn. The book is sprinkled with self-promotional pieces throughout, especially in the initial chapters. Dr. Van Tharp will often touch on a matter in a matter that seems suffice, only to say that he has not done the subject justice but you can really understand the topic in his other book . Dr Tharp also engages in other questionable tactics when he tells readers to play a game on his website where 'the first three levels are free.' He alludes to the importance of the game, saying that, "If you cannot do it in our game, then you have no chance in the market." Uhhh no thanks. I'll paper trade on one of the +100 free alternative websites.
Before I go any further, let my preface by stating that I am still new to the trading world and do not claim to have more trading experience than Dr Tharp. With that said, from a logical standpoint, I get the feeling that Dr Tharp is more of a mathematician that trades than a trader that is good at math. For example, I have never heard of a professional trader advocating newsletters for stock picks other than a quick flip on a penny Pump and Dump. I concede that Dr Tharp does recommend that readers follow the newsletters with the best track records based on previous issues. While this idea makes sense, it somewhat contradicts a statement in an earlier chapter where he questioned the validity of backtesting because as every advertisement regarding mutual funds or backtesting will tell you, "Past performance is not necessarily an indication or guarantee of future results." He tells the reader to do their own DD on the stocks given by newsletters but it is minimal advice at best IMO.
In the aforementioned example, his words seem to go against the logic of someone trading their beliefs unless the person believes that their money should be put in the hands of others. That is actually one of many contradictory messages throughout the text.
For example, Dr Tharp discusses the fallacy of having to be right in the trading world, yet throughout the book he always looks for a way to retell the story of how he told Company X to take his advice but they didn't and ended up bankrupt 6 months later, how Dr Tharp confronted an instructor because he disagreed with the instructor's opinion about Position Sizing, or how he told a Trader to stop doing Z and the trader refused, said Trader promptly blew his account out in less than a year. Dr Tharp's attempts to prove how 'right' his method is works against him and he comes off more like a 'know-it-all' than a unbiased teacher. Actually, the more I think about it, Dr Van Tharp comes off egotistical in general as I can recall instances of him quoting himself in the beginning of chapters and even goes as far as casting an interview with himself in the final chapter.
Dr Tharp also manages to throws his credibility as a bonafide trader into question when he gives readers various examples of how five fictional successful traders would play the markets. It sounds harmless enough but one of the successful traders happens to be a woman who guesses the changes in seasonal tendencies based on the alignment of the stars or some new-age mumbo-jumbo. While I can dig the use of Fibonacci Retracements, I can't really follow a woman who just has a gut feeling that something is going to happen on February 23rd 1993 so she buys some stock. Plus, this notion of order in the universe seems to contradicts the belief Dr Tharp has about taking full responsibility for your trading decisions. How can you assume full responsibility for your actions, yet take trading advice from your horoscope? *scratches head* Between you and me, I have heard it said that some of Dr Tharp's latter books goes off the deep end in respect to the supernatural/preternatural so I guess I am not entirely surprised.
Dr Van Tharp also talks about being conned out of money by an associate which also attacks his credibility. Based on the (brief) information given to us on the subject, it sounds like he got burned because of a lack of Due Diligence but since he doesn't go into much detail on that subject, I will not make assumptions. However, in the Amazon forum of this book, there is a post, that discusses David Mobley, who wrote the initial forward. Mobley was prosecuted for fraudulent spending and fraudulent disclosure. On second thought, perhaps the idea of being 'conned' is an attempt to distance himself from his work associate and liken himself to the public? Maybe the 2nd Edition was a means to distance himself from Mobley and his foreward, and at the same time, sell more copies? I don't know the truth but it seems logical enough based on Dr. Van Tharp's credibility thus far.
The fact that the author has so much going against his credibility by the end of the book yet still manages to explain a logical simplistic way to build a trading system speaks volumes to how important I think this book and its theories are. I recommend this book to anyone, not to obtain financial freedom, but to understand risk and how to deal with it in regards to your captial
Why This Book Is Important! June 7, 2010
C. Oliver (Worcester, MASSACHUSETTS United States)
This book is very important for would be traders in my opinion, because it emphasizes finding a strategy that works for you. Though it gives some suggestions on sizing and the such, this book is an introductory in my opinion along with The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett and George Soros by Mark Tier in setting up the appropriate psychology one needs to enter the market. When I first started trading in stocks at the fresh age of 21, I was nervous and jittery, I entered each stock with a pit in my stomach, and sold them the moment they made a profit, and then kicked myself for not waiting. This book helped me learn patience and directed me to a strategy that has worked for me, a strategy I would derive from reading dozens of books afterwards on both investing and trading.
This book teaches you how to understand yourself, something that will not just help you in the stock market but in life. You must create your own system, it would sound cheesy to say, but the Holy Grail is inside of you, and is different for everyone. You might be a value investor with no interest in trading, so then don't trade, you might be a stark trader, who can sit their and focus on the markets, you might be buy stop order and trailing stops type trader, there's a system out there, and books that will help you develop your strategy. This book helps you understand figure out what you want and how you want that strategy to work for you.
Books I'd suggest be read aftewrords:
Stan Weinstein's Secret For Profiting In Bull and Bear Markets
All Nicolas Darvas books
All William O'Neil Books
Trend Following by Michael Covel
The Five Rules of Successful Stock Investing by Dorsey
The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits by Phillip Fisher
and, Reminiscences of a STock Operator.
These books helped me turn a 30,000 dollar account into 185,000 dollars today, 110,000 dollars in a year. Of course that was when the market was rallying in 2009, so a good deal of timing. My system is my holy grail.
P.S.
When trading in anything, stocks, commodities, or currencies, money management is key. Money management is the key to risk management. Whether you're buying stocks, stock options, futures or future options, the way in which you manage your funds will decide whether or not you are successful. When you enter a stock, when you exit a stock should be the least of your concern, how much you'll enter the stock with and how much you'll get out with if it goes against you will make you a fortune in the market.
The Golden Rule of Trading is "Don't Lose Money."
LEARN Your Own Style Of Trading January 23, 2010
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Mark LaMoure, Boise,ID
Van Tharp in his book: 'Trade Your Way To Financial Freedom' introduces you to a rare and valuable stock book. It helps you discover your own style of stock trading.
EXCEPTIONAL
This is super-important for seeking success on the road to winning with stock investing. The book is a one-of-a-kind and precious. Read it and learn your own style of trading. A four star book."
A Great Kickstart for developing your Trading System January 21, 2010
Stock Market Coach (Edmonton, Canada)
Trade Your Way To Financial Freedom is the best book I have ever read on an introduction for helping a person find out and develop a stock market trading strategy and system.
This book brings to light the #1 Trading Systems Rule: You will not be successful using any stock market trading system, unless you know something about yourself.
Defining your objectives is probably the most important part of developing a strategy for stock investing. Until you know where you want to go, you can never get there. As a result, a major portion of the time you spend in developing a trading system, should be in terms of developing objectives.
In his book, Trade Your Way To Financial Freedom, Van K. Tharp lays out a number of questions that you, as a stock market trader should ask yourself.
Definitely a highly recommended read!
Great book for traders! December 22, 2009
AJ
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great book about trading that every trader should have in his/her library!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 175
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