This is the first book by Jack Schwager that I have read, and I immediately bought everything else he's ever written.
I read roughly 50-75 books per year, with about 30 being finance-related books, so I'm no stranger to this type of content. Some books capture our hearts with mesmerizing prose, some hook us with larger-than-life characters, this book does it with nothing more than authenticity. And maybe more than any other finance book I have read recently, Schwager lit a fire under my feet and made me want to be a better person. Not a better trader (there's little hope for that /s), but a better person.
Wallstreet is famously elitist. When I read about Jim Simmons in The Man Who Solved the Market, I was blown away by the intellectual behemoth that leveraged their deep mathematical insights into the most profitable hedge fund ever. When I read about LTCM in When Genius Fails, I felt tiny in comparison to such megalithic minds (the likes of which I know I could never be). When I read Unknown Market Wizards, I saw a version of myself that I would like to be.
This book is full of success stories from normal people. Most the traders interviewed in this book did not come from insane money or an uncommon educational background, they were all real people. Real people who obtained nearly unfathomable success (and therefore freedom) by sheer willpower and focus. While reading this book, my mind constantly lingered on an old Thoreau quote, "I know of no more encouraging fact than man's unquestionable ability to elevate the soul by means of conscious endeavor."
Each trader interviewed was emphatically clear: success is the byproduct of hard work and focus (dedication). The sentiment was ubiquitous, they were all successful because they found their own way of trading, and they did it through trail and error, leveraging nothing by their attention. Furthermore, each trader also maintained the importance of responsibility. When they made a mistake, it was exactly that, THEIR mistake. Not the high-frequency traders' fault for pushing out the institutional traders, not the hedge funds' fault nor the market makers fault. Their shortfalls were their own fault and thus they could overcome their failures by studying them and learning.
If you're anything like me, you likely feel as though you're capable of 'great' things. This book, more than anything, motivated me to live a more disciplined life and to refuse to predicate my success (or failures) on things outside of my control. This book inspires diligence and introspection, two things which often go overlooked when we are taught about the Warren Buffetts' or the Stanley Drukenmillers' of this world. You don't have to be larger than life to win, you just have to be dedicated.
A note on the author -- Schwager is the perfect man for the interview format this book takes. He is clearly knowledgeable and uses this knowledge to further the conversation and elucidate the points which ought to be elucidated. Not once did I feel like he was talking over a trader (even when I got the sense that he knew more than the trader) or even eluding to the trader being wrong in any way. Jack was nothing but benevolent and encouraging. His questions were refreshing and I gained just as much insight from them as I did the answers that the 'Unknown Market Wizards' provided. I'm grateful for his wherewithal to put a synopsis at the end of the book with all the major points touched upon throughout each interview.
Its easy to tell that this book was written for ME, the reader. Jack did not set out to paint a picture of world that doesn't exist, he aimed at showing things as they are (and he nailed it). I read all 300+ pages of this book in a day and a half, and I plan on reading every other Market Wizard book this week. I'm hooked.
Great book, great quality, and great value. Could not recommend more
Unknown Market Wizards: The Best Traders You've Never Heard Of
4.6 | 1,372 ratings
Price: 6.99
Last update: 09-09-2024
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Top reviews from the United States
Astute007
Trading, A Democratization of Talent
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2023
Salena Lettera
Great insight into the world of trading
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2024Nick
Always fun, but had some minor gripes
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2020Bruce W. Ennis
Inspiring with many lessons for trading success
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2020Naruto
Best book of 2020 for me - Market Wizards is Back. Time to Study, Learn and Improve
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2020