Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, Annotated Edition

Praise for Reminiscences of a Stock Operator Annotated Edition

"It is a textbook for trading. I hand a copy to every new trader we have." –Paul Tudor Jones, from the Foreword

"The best yet! The original I read as a kid starting out and it has always been a favorite—with its unending insights. Jon Markman's marvelous new annotations add color, context, and muscular history, making this classic a really fun read you will return to repeatedly." –Ken Fisher, New York Times bestselling author, founder andCEO of Fisher Investments and 25-year Forbes "Portfolio Strategy" columnist

"The exquisite pleasure to be found in Lefèvre's street-smart narration has been attracting stock market fans to Reminiscences through many a bull and bear market." –Roger Lowenstein, author, When Genius Failed

"Every serious investor should read and re-read the classic Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, especially if you had trouble in the 2000 or 2008 market." –William J. O'Neil, founder, Investor's Business Daily and author, How to Make Money in Stocks

"An ageless gem of trading wisdom—often imitated but never surpassed." –Dr. Alexander Elder, author, Trading for a Living

The most important investment book for today's investors isn't on the hottest new trend--it's a book written over 70 years ago. Originally published in 1923, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator continues to inspire each new generation of investors. Written by the author of The Making of a Stockbroker.

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, Annotated Edition brings the story of the great speculator Jesse Livermore to life like never before. One of the foremost investment classics of all time, the original edition of Reminiscences by Edwin Lefèvre has inspired countless investors and traders with its fictionalized account of Livermore's legendary trading experiences. Now, in this meticulously researched Annotated Edition, Jon Markman reveals the truth about Jesse Livermore and provides colorful, historically accurate commentary on the characters, places, and events that have made Reminiscences such an enjoyable and educational read for generations.

The real Jesse Livermore won and lost tens of millions of dollars playing the stock and commodities markets during the early 1900s, at one point making ten million dollars in one month of trading—an astronomical sum at the time. His ideas and keen analyses of market price movements are as useful today as they were when he was first developing them. Offering profound insights into the motivations, attitudes, fears, and aspirations shared by every investor and trader, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is among the most compelling and enduring books ever written on the markets.

This Annotated Edition bridges the gap between Lefèvre's fictionalized account of Livermore's life and the actual exploits, personalities, and locations that populate the book. Side-by-side with the original text is Markman's commentary about the historical setting and the real companies, individuals, and news events to which Lefèvre alludes. Readers will learn all about bucket shops—unsavory relics of the investment world that gave Livermore his first taste of trading. They'll also learn how fierce public debates over gold and silver roiled the politics and markets of the time; how presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan incited a financial panic in 1896; how World War I created a boom followed by a harsh recession; and how ambitious tycoons built fortunes from scratch and drove rivals to ruin by cornering stocks and through other now-illegal manipulations.

And they'll learn about important but forgotten figures briefly mentioned or disguised via pseudonyms in the text, such as broker E.F. Hutton, who gave Livermore a $500 loan when the trader was down on his luck, as well as legendary financiers like E.H. Harriman, John Gates, James Hill, James Keene, and Cornelius Vanderbilt as well as daring rogues like Daniel Drew and Jay Gould.

Engaging and informative, the Annotated Edition of Reminiscences of a Stock Operator provides a rich and colorful portrait of a volatile era in U.S. financial markets that in many ways parallels the crisis-prone twenty-first century. At the same time, Markman extracts the timeless insights and wisdom from one of the world's greatest traders and shows how they can be applied to understand and profit in today's markets. Longtime fans of the book will understand Reminiscences in an entirely fresh way, while new readers will enjoy a much richer experience than ever before possible.

Edwin LeFèvre was trained as a mining engineer, but became a journalist at age nineteen. He produced eight books, including The Making of a Stockbroker, during his fifty-three-year writing career. He was a celebrated finance author made most famous by his publication of the fictionalized story of Jesse Livermore, which first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1922.

Jon D. Markman is an award-winning journalist, popular market analyst, and veteran fund manager. He was a pioneer in the development of stock-rating systems and screening software; a portfolio manager at a hedge fund; managing editor at CNBC on MSN Money; and an investment columnist and investigative reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Markman provides investment guidance in his daily Strategic Advantage and Trader's Advantage research services, as well as in his weekly MSN Money column and managed accounts. He is also the author of Swing Trading, which is published by Wiley, and two other finance books.