Sorry, Bret, I haven't seen the Elder book. I find that most books on trading these days actually have a focus on commodities. Perhaps the techniques are applicable to stocks, but I just don't find myself enticed by them. I don't know whether the Elder book is like that or not.
The first book I read on Technical Analysis was "How to Chart Your Way to Stock Market Profits", by David Markstein, 1977 (paperback for the amazing price of $5.95, Arco Publishing Company). I don't know if it's still in print or not.
The above book is an absolutely basic how-to-do-TA book, but if you can't get it, look for "The Art of Low Risk Investing", by Michael Zahorchak, 1977 (paperback for $6.95, Van Nostrand Reinhold). This book uses TA (basically moving averages) to develop an interesting methodology for timing.
As you see both books go way back. They kinda date me, don't they? From the prices, I'd conclude TA was not a best selling subject. These days you can expect to pay $50-$100 for a newly published book.
I don't know if you can find either book. A great place to look first is The Traders Press web site:
traderspressbookstores.com
Good luck, Bret. If you can't find either, send me a private message and I'll scour my bookshelf for other suggestions. I just thought of two more: "Technical Analysis from A to Z", by Steven Achelis, 1995 (hardcover, Probus, $30) and "The Technical Analysis Course", by Thomas Meyers, 1989 (hardcover, Probus, $47.50. The Achelis book isn't a 'how-to' book, but it's a comprehensive (331 pages) encyclopedia to illustrate and explain just about any TA term you'll ever hear of. The Meyers book is supposed to be a 'how-to' book. Lots of illustrations. Looks good, though I have to admit that I haven't referred to it often enough to vouch for it.
If you can find it, go with the Markstein book. |
