Rating: 
Summary: Hasn't made any money for me
Review: After losing my shirt (literally) in a bad trade back in 95, I became a disciple of O'Neil's CAN-SLIM system in order to become a disciplined stock investor/trader. I followed all his rules, such as only buy stocks that have excellent fundamentals (as rated in his newspaper, Investor's Business Daily), that have recently made new highs, and that have good institutional sponsorship. I also followed the exit rules.Needless to say, I missed all the big money-making opportunities in the late 90s. In fact, I only earned meager returns on my "sound fundamentals" portfolio, and when the bubble burst, my portfolio took a plunge, wiping out all my profits. The only thing I can laugh about is all my friends are down 80+% with their tech-ladden holdings. But, dude, if I had put the money in T-bills, I would have earned much higher returns, and wasted much, much less time on "research," than with O'Neil's painstaking approach. Having made no money in stocks over the last 10 years, I do feel like a sore loser. Rationally speaking, I now believe the stock market is at best a random walk and at worst a sham. Investors of all ages should stay away and invest in bonds and real estate instead. Forget what I just said, invest in bonds only.
Rating: 
Summary: Lacks depth
Review: This book gives excellent common sense advice. Advice that many thought unnecessary in the 90's, but which has become very relevant during the past few years. One shortcomng of this book is that is does not show the reader how to use options to make his/her investments even safer. After absorbing the author's suggestions, read THE SHORT BOOK ON OPTIONS to find out how reduce the risk of stock ownership, yet still remain profitable.
Rating: 
Summary: Advertisement for IBD...
Review: This book is an obvious attempt at advertising. Every chart, graph and almost every paragraph has a reference to IBD. To utilize the techniques set forth in this book you must subscribe to IBD. Like most late night infomercials, get rich quick schemes and the like there is something that just doesnt seem right.I can pretty much assume that people who invested in this book also invest the same way. They didnt read the company news or in this case read the book a little in the store. Thus they became a lump sum investor with out any research and lost there money on this investment. The only person to make money here was William J. O'Neil. Investing is like a baby born in the ghetto. If you nurture it and monitor it then it will prosper but if you leave it alone to the wolves then you end up with a loser. People who invest and lose money do so because of hasty judgements, hesitation and greed. Do the opposite which would be: careful calculated stock picks, Know when to sell and buy and stick to your guns, and relish in small profits over [a period of time]. Every trade , every decision and every move must be calculated for risk, market climate, third party knowledge and gauge this against your greed and own needs. Then decide is this what I should do. If you dont know what I have said then you will certianly lose a lot. This isnt my stock picking method its ... commmon sense mixed with intelligence. Oh and one more thing..
Rating:
Summary: Advertisement for IBD...Real price of book is : $ 231.95
Review: This book may be helpful to you "if" you subscribe to Investors Business Daily otherwise the book is useless. Every other page refers to a graph or chart that comes from IBD. In order to utilize his techniques you need IBD. A Subscription to IBD costs [$$$] for the year and his book costs [$$$]. Thats [$$$] without tax. Nonetheless I presume if you have a subscription to IBD then this book will suit you fine otherwise subscribe or find a book that isnt just a obvious attempt at advertising.
Rating: 
Summary: Complete Strategy
Review: Great book to either start your stock analysis or finish any half baked theories you may have. Make no mistake, the text is VERY CONDENSED from an experienced professional. Thus, if you have patience, read it several times after experimenting with the method. The CANSLIM strategy is very obivious and easy to understand system. It has been around since 1988, so be very careful in application--the signals it generates can easily be predicted and countered by other professionals. However, if you understand the markets, the fundamental factors that make a stock attractive are timeless and universal, so even if MM fade the stock at your buy point, strict stop loss and a review of your entry should correct your mistakes as you become more experienced with the method. This book and others claim a 30-40% success selection rate coupled with proper money management can make you significant MONEY. I concur, but your experience with the method may vary. If you find the method did not work for you, either do a post mortem to see which CANSLIM factor you missed, or drop the method.
Rating: 
Summary: A great education based on historical facts, not hope
Review: A must read in order to learn what really makes a stock move up or down in price, how to manage your money, how to pick a stock, and when to buy and sell. I highly recommend this book, even if you don't end up following the CAN SLIM method of investing (the method detailed in this book). CAN SLIM is a highly selective method of choosing stocks: only those with top fundamentals and that are surging to new price highs make the cut. You could almost say the fundamentals give you the "who" and the technical data give you the "when". One thing to keep in mind is that O'Neil constantly refers to solid data and research - not just theories he's baked up. In that sense this is not a "system" or theory. It's a method of conforming to the most successful historical models. True, this is not an all-encompassing book with all the details on shorts, options, etc. But that's not the point of the book - in fact he strongly warns against those instruments ("an investor should learn how to reduce their risk, not increase it"). This book has made me a big fan of CAN SLIM and Investor's Business Daily (IBD). The two work hand in hand. The best thing a beginning investor can do is get IDB and read this book. IBD uses a rating system that boils down dozens of data points to a simple grade or number - and O'Neil's book explains all of this. Learning to cut your stock losses early will alone save you orders of magnitude beyond the price of this book. I have to say as well that the third edition is much better than the second! Another reviewer incorrectly explained O'Neil's mutual fund strategy. The point I think O'Neil is trying to make is don't worry about timing the market with your mutual funds, and when you see that the market is down, buy more! His stock trading ideas are quite different than that, but I'll let you discover those.
Rating:
Summary: Step back and think...
Review: before you leap to O'Niel's methods. The fewer books that you have read about making money in the stock market, the less critical you will be of O'Niel's ideas. I've only read a dozen or so, but it's been enough to raise some significant cautionary issues. First, I'm not convinced that people can actually see the classic patterns in charts that O'Niel and other chartists claim are evident. Recognition of patterns _in_retrospect_ is meaningless; if there's a reliable quantitative method to recognize patterns while they evolve, I expect that the owner of this technology would keep the method to themselves as long as possible. Advantages that the chartists claim would tend to lose their power as they become widely known, but only if they really work. If they don't work, there's no reason not to publish the methods widely. A lot of this book shows readers how to use the information in IBD, O'Niel's daily newspaper. Despite my reservations, this book contains lots of interesting and useful ideas. It's up to the reader to weigh the many sources of information and interpretations of meaning in this book. The book is no substitute for the reader's new ideas and the successful mixing and interpretation of the ideas in this and other books. Eventual synthesis of a winning strategy still requires aptitude, hard work, and experience - despite this book's title claim.
Rating:
Summary: Gonna Start, then start smart
Review: It has been 3 years. I started with one system and lost a few thousand (though that is small for your big mouth traders-but this is large for me on a very strick fix budget and low income). I recieved the "24 Lessons to successful investing"-by O'Neil when I subscribed to the 2 weeks of his paper...it opened my eyes to a world I longed to know and knew little about. It encouraged me greatly. I recommend if you have not a clue about the market. Start with that book. Then I read the 2n Edition to "How to Make Money in Stocks", and I was encouraged further. In the market you need patience, and also as a little person with no experience and no "inside" information, I was encouraged to go out there and find it. But I was still lost. I research further and read it a second and third time. Though I understand and knew what he was talking about, I was not getting the process down packed of how the markets work and think. But what I was doing was NOT loosing money either. I thought that was a great sign. Then I bought the 3rd Edition and there it all fell together. His 3rd edition put more clarity to what I had learned from the 2rd edition. I truly feel the 3rd one is nicely polished an more clear with specific details on reading charts and distiguishing up and down markets. When to be in it to win it and when to be out with no doubt. Plus he added color as he did with his newspaper recently. As a person with no experience to the market this exposed me to a more simple process of understanding it. There is so much mis guided information out there, you can loose plenty of money in the process. BE CAREFUL. I am not a long term investor of mutual funds...just toss your money to a fund or money manager or 401k and work ...for the rest of your life-No No. I want results and control. This should fully get you started. In the market you should keep it simple. Too much information causes doubt-remember that. Having information on the market can be overwelming. KISS-(Keep it simple stupid). Once you have a solid foundation of understanding, then you can experience other things and expose yourself to more ideas. But you need to get started simple first. You will not see results right away, but hopefully mentally you will understand your flaws of what your doing wrong. So many people are stuck on the tradition of the market. Don't follow tradition. Be flexible and think what works and geer your skills to it. There is not just one way of trading, but this book will point you to many ways. Just remember to be simple and expose yourself to the experience. Once you get yourself started with an account, do not buy large, test and start small. Test your knowledge and your judgement of your research and information. Is it right or wrong? There is so much to gain out there, but tradition, sell high, buy low...in it for the long run, options are better...no no ... too complicated and to long too wait, and how can you sell high if you do not know where the low is? You have not clue. His paper is also fantastic. Simple and too the point. And yes he does promote it in the book, but he teaches you how to gather information as well getting other ideas of the market, and has a vast amount of information on reading charts and finding information on stocks "Investors Corner". The website...is also a great place to start as well, some articles from the paper and free "Investors Corners" info. Plus there is a "Ask IBD", if you have any of your own questions as you study to learn more of this complex Market. I know how fustrating it can be out there, but start here then move on to other books-because you would have already established a foundation and structure to be more judgemental and controling of your money and your future. Success doesn't happen over nite. It takes time and study and testing. But here is the first step to that thousand mile journey. Success-Don't just buy it...Use it. And keep it simple.
Rating:
Summary: A poorly written book by a long timer with confused thoughts
Review: From his book (the one I have is the 2nd edition), I know O'neil doesn't think when he writes. And that makes me doubt if he thinks at all. (1)His explanation of cup-with-handle, double bottom, and other patterns is ridiculously insufficient (the worst I've ever seen). He thinks anytime is the best time to buy mutual funds, which I find is too simplistic (p134). (2)His writing style is strange. For example, on page 119-120, he lists more than 30 stocks which rose many times in price, but without much explanation. From page 144 to 158, he lists 113 graphs without explanation!!! (3)He gives 36 scenarios which he calls prime selling pointers (p103-106)! How can readers (and O'neil himself actually) remember and understand all these 36 PRIME situations? The result of giving too many guidelines is the same as giving no guideline at all. (4)His thinking and materials are definitely outdated. His method is like alchemy: no complete system of trading and thinking, highly limited and simplistic. Just think about recent three years (2000-2002), how can his CANSLIM theory help you? His treatment of short selling is simply inadequate. O'neil wrote this book to promote his newpaper. I think it would be a waste of time and money to get involved with his CANSLIM system.
Rating:
Summary: If his system is so successful...
Review: ...then why is he telling you about it in this book, and not out there making money in the markets? Questions aside, O'Neil outlines the system he uses to select stocks in a very accessible, easy-to-understand manner. Like any system, it has its strengths and weaknesses and should not be viewed as a guaranteed ticket to instant wealth. If you are new to stock analysis, this book will give you an introduction to what makes stock prices go up (and down). I liked it because it was interesting to see what system he used and what kind of success he had with it. I have no problems recommending this book but it shouldn't be the only book on investing that you read.
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