Rating: 
Summary: A very general rehash of some old stuff
Review: Clearly what happened was after publication of the frist two market wizard books...some of the models failed after getting into the public domain...some of the traders wished that they had not been so frank. This new book is dissapointing in that I agree with the reader regarding Lescarbeau and others in the book. They give nothing away except for their need to be included in a "wizards book". May be it was not Schwagers fault ...you cannot get info out if people give cagey answers. I do suspect the publishers may have a role in also pushing this book. After all, the other 2 sold well/
Rating: 
Summary: access counts
Review: Few successful proprietary traders are willing to discuss their methodologies. That Schwager is able to gain access to them and obtain realistic answers to insightful questions makes this book valuable to me. Just like these traders and the markets, you will get out of this book what you put into it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: Very disappointing. His first two are essential to anyone interested in the markets. I read them over and over. This one had a few interviews that were almost unreadable. One guy buys stocks that hit new lows and then waits for them to come back. Anyone in trading knows that that is a tough game, let alone a "traders" edge? I'm surprised he was included in the book, even with his track record. I know there are plenty of better traders out there that I would rather read about. Why was David Shaw included? He was afraid to even confirm what markets he traded, no insight in that interview. Useless. Schwager is an excellent author, who in my humble oponion, rushed this book out to meet the demand for stock market books recently.
Rating:
Summary: What's with all the griping?
Review: Most of the reviews complain about the book. Yes, there are some deficiencies. One wonders about the inclusion of a people that don't seem to strictly be traders but on the whole I would rather have the book than not have it. Sure it's not as great as the first, but for the money it's far better than most of the trading books out there. You won't learn any specific trading systems perhaps with the exception of Mark Cook and Stuart Walton who were more open than the others about what they do, perhaps because their systems are not really systems but are based more on their own intuition and some basic guiding principles. None the less you will learn the more important aspects of trading as you do in the old books. It's also good to see who's out there and what they're doing and how they got there. What do people expect? To be handed the keys the kingdom for the cost of a Schwab commission? Give me a break. Be thankful these guys even allowed themselves to be interviewed. But I agree Schwager has probably been too busy trading or trying to trade to devote himself to this book in the same way he did to the last ones. Too bad for us but can you blame him. What I would like to see if he does another one is a follow up on some of the original market wizards. What happened? Are they retired? Still trading? Did they blow up? Well you get the picture. Schwager, if you're out there reading this. It's still a pretty good book. Thanks.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: When compared to the first "wizards" book, this one may come up short. However, if the reader judges "stock market wizards" on its own merit without comparing to the original, it holds up quite well. There is a good deal of practical trading information, and a large dose of inspirational material.
I question the wisdom of focusing on traders with low volatility trading styles. That may be all the rage but plenty of top speculators accept greater volatility and make more money. This criteria would have ruled out many original wizards.
Rating:
Summary: Cut Your Losses Short by Not Buying This Book
Review: Unlike the first two "Wizard" books, which were outstanding, this book is uninspired and a profound disappointment. Almost immediately after starting the book, I got the feeling that Jack Schwager wasn't terribly interested in writing it, but couldn't resist the temptation to cash in a final time by doing a dozen or so "quickie" interviews with traders. The stock traders interviewed this time around are younger, cockier, and generally a lot less likeable than the futures traders in the old "Wizard" books. The most interesting chapter, and the only one on par with the original books' interviews, is with Mark Cook, who isn't really a stock trader, but is in fact a trader of S&P futures. Several of the chapters are almost unbearable to read, not because Schwager's writing is bad, but because the traders themselves are hugely pretentious (Michael Lauer) or plainly arrogant (Ahmet Okumus). Most of the interviewees would best be described as short-term investors, not traders, and a couple of them are exclusively involved in private equity financing (Fletcher, Guazzoni), which has nothing whatsoever to do with trading (filler, Jack?). If you think that you will be able to learn something about day to day trading from this book, then you will be sorely disappointed. Lastly, there are practically none of the penetrating insights or revealing comments (except for the Cook interview) that made the first two "Wizard" books so educational and even inspirational. It's a shame that Schwager wrote this uninspired book and sullied the reputation that he built with his original "Wizard" books. He should have followed his own advice about "not getting greedy," and declined the publisher's advance in order to keep his position as an interesting writer intact.
Rating:
Summary: Great Ideas On Developing Your Unique Strategy
Review: The book will not give you a system to follow. It will give you ideas on how to build your own system, which is in my view, the best thing you can do. There is no fixed recipe for profitable trading, otherwise everyone would be doing it. You need to make your own strategy and this book is valuable on that front. I enjoyed reading it and learned from it, that is the highest compliment I can give a book. Schwager fills this book with what he views as the best stock market traders based on risk/reward performance. He defines this as consistent high returns (over 80% annually most of the time) over more than five years with low risk (few down months and low drawdowns). I disagree with this approach from the beginning. He should have at least included one, maybe a few traders who have probably made more money and performed better (returned higher percentages) than the people featured in this book. In my opinion, even if some people are taking on more risk, if they are providing better returns, the risk if justified. The interviews flowed very nicely. Although most trading systems were glossed over, you do get an idea of what has gotten these traders to where they are today, among of the best traders in the world. How did they do it? Some common threads I saw were hard work (long hours and years of education through trial and error), develop a personalized strategy that fits your temperment, using estimated/guestimated probabilities to ensure that trades were profitable "on average".
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the beef?
Review: I have to agree with some of the reviews here. The "wizards" in this book seem very worried about giving any type of information regarding their techniques. Now, I am not looking for easylanguage code for each of their systems, but they divulge little compared to the traders in the first book. Also, how about interviewing some individual traders as well. It's too bad this isn't a better book. I was really happy when I found it and couldn't wait to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: One for your collection - of three
Review: Of all the trading, technical and fundamental analyses books I have on my shelves, none are so precious as my dog-eared and worn Market Wizards books. Jack Schwager has now once again provided a legion of fans with captivating glimpses into the environments of world-class traders. Quite honestly, I've learned more about trading from Schwager's interviews than from any of the pricey investment seminars I've attended. In this latest publication, Schwager's wizards are essentially all managers of exclusive funds. Thumbing through the book initially, that frustrated and annoyed me. How is the small, private trader going to be able to identify with these mega successful businessmen and women? Much to my relief, Schwager bridged that gap in masterful ways by 1) enlightening the reader to bits (never flagrant) of their personal lives and characters, 2) the essence of their systems, if he could get that out of them, if not - their discipline, or other successful tactics and "edge" and 3) zeroing in on each wizard's strengths and transposing them to the basic skills or knowledge that any trader could incorporate or should possess. We see through Schwager's eyes that these wizards are real people, with the same vulnerabilities and weaknesses that we all battle. Yet, obviously, these are special traders who have mastered their craft through common sense, dedication, self-confidence and self -discipline. As a female trader, I'm always looking for "The Great One" in the form of another female trader to look to as a role model. Unfortunately, Schwager is apparently unable to find a woman, with the exception of Linda Raschke in the previous Wizard book, who emulates the qualities / skills of a wizard. One woman, Dana Galante, was included but seemingly more so for the uniqueness of a sole short selling method of trading. There is no doubt that she is great at her job but for her, it appears that she sees trading as just a job, not an identity. That's fine and great but I would have liked to have seen a woman with the same drive and passion for trading, say as Mark Minervini. Additionally, I found it a delightful surprise that Schwager included an MD who serves as a trading psychologist. The psychology of trading is every bit as important to one's success as is their knowledge and financial abilities to participate in the markets. With the stock market serving as the number one spectator sport these days, it is only appropriate that proper psychological help and counseling/support be available to and embraced by a nation of traders/investors. Finally, as in every Schwager book I've ever read, he summarizes key concepts at the conclusion of the book. These are invaluable pearls of wisdom all gleaned from what are undoubtedly huge volumes of notes and memoirs of so many correspondences with highly successful traders. Get the book. Get all three - they're a great testament to the evolution of trading wisdom achieved in these modern times. Thank-you, once again Jack Schwager.
Rating:
Summary: marketing tool for the market wizard fund
Review: I have to say that this is indeed the worst of the Market Wizard books. I got the feeling that it was written as a marketing tool for Mr. Schwaeger's Market Wizard Fund of funds. One interview that I found particularly annoying was Stephen Lescarbeau, who only agreed to the interview because of Gil Blake's interview in MW II. Unlike Mr. Blake, he revealed nothing about his methodology, only the inspiration for it. Further, I see from Mr. Lescarbeau's review of the book, he was surprised by the information divulged by the other wizards. He should have done likewise or not have been included in the book.
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