Rating: 
Summary: I want to be just like him :)
Review: I read this book in two sittings. This book was highly captivating. It really is more of an autobiography than anything else. He shows you how his grandfather got him into picking stocks and he rushes forward from there. In a lot of ways it is similar to Getty's "How to be rich". Niederhoffer talks of refinement in thinking and what creates it. He also shows you what it takes to be an investor in a 24 hour market,currency exchange. I read this book to round out my 11 years of experience with futures and currency exchange. It definitely did that. He reminds you of what it takes to be successful and discipline is the core of that. ...It is unfortunate that his money management firm blew out. But I understand he's started up again with a new company and a new book. I look forward to reading his new book.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: Anybody who wants a solid foundation in trading should read Education of a Speculator. I don't know of any other trading book that includes a street-wise knowledge of bookmaking and an appreciation of classical music. Victor Niederhoffer is one of the most brilliant characters on the Street, and his tales of growing up in Brooklyn make this the best read of any trading book in print.
Rating: 
Summary: I could not finish it...
Review: Several people have recommended this book to me but I must quite honestly admit that I could not make it through page 50. Victor Niederhoffer goes of on so many tangents that have noting to do with speculation, which makes it almost impossible to keep track of the red line... Instead of buying this book I would rather recommend "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" - the world's best book on trading!
Rating:
Summary: Most Insightful Trading Book
Review: This is not another book about trading indicators or strategies. It's about all the other things that you need to become a successful speculator. No trading library is complete without this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Biographical
Review: Very statistical in nature! A good book for its time (97)!
After this book I became a rational gambler (and lost a lot of money) then went to graduate school to study statistics and the games of chance. Vic describes the life of a speculator from playing street games to the trading floor. Vic draws material from disciplines as varied as biology, music, cards, and sports to describe the rational mind of a "rational gambler" It gives you a sense of how a statistcal mind operates. After having read the book I went from the streets to grad school and the trading and I think it has been very exciting trip.
Rating: 
Summary: A Poor Read
Review: This is a brute joke of so-called trading guru from Brighton Beach. Vic gets the last laugh on us all. After all, you swallow the bait - you bought his book! "Many games are won by players that are smart; many games are lost by players that are too smart". And so on. Without a doubt Vic was a great speculator. This book brought me some good thoughts as to how gaming, gambling and competitive sports correlate with speculating the markets. Seductive title on cover is an excellent marketing that is not substitute for biographic prose, shameless self-advertisement, and simple investment cliches. Sometimes it is amusing. The last chapter unexpectedly named "Sex" - this is something quite new for the investment non-fiction. There are some interesting ideas in this book. But do not get this book if you are expecting the ABC of trading. If you're looking for a formula for trading success, this is not the book to read...
Rating: 
Summary: A stream of consciousness style
Review: It was hard following allot of Vickie's work because it is in the currency & bonds markets. That aside, Vickie writes in a rambling stream of consciousness style that reels you in. He is a good writer though the book is not that well edited.
All that aside, Vickie gives tons of facts and stats showing you different aspects of trading & the importance of a trading system based in science not ART (i.e. feel). Vic makes one think allot about one's methods, whether it be trend or discretionary following, technical or fundamental analysis. Vickie is like Larry William's a 'contextual analyst' & that's the good part. The bad part & why Vickie really died in the Asian crisis was his non-belief in risk management. In fact unfortunately Vic is a contrarian from the get-go for no other reason than he is too smart, too quick, too good and believes he is immortal. Vic now writes for Moneycentral and (another website) & he often sling barbs; you can learn allot from the interchange.
But in the end, I know Vic doesn't want to hear this, but it is really is an update of Livermore's Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (and Vic' grandfather knew the boy wonder :-). In both cases, MONEY management would have averted the fall. But Vic doesn't 'believe' in it. A shame. The Education is an important book from which to learn the humility of man and the importance of God. Vic instead takes faith in the synchronicity of Nature as though it can save him. One can only hope that Vic ultimately learns that his contrary atheism did him in so that he can take his place among the greats...in the mean time read it & learn. No one is too great fall & many in this bear market did including more than half of those profiled in Schwager's books. Take care, it's a jungle out there. Vic's account shows you how bad it can be.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining tome on sinking the ship
Review: I read this book several years ago. This book was a guilty pleasure: it was entertaining but not at all informative. The premise of this book is how the events in Niederhoffer's life lead to his "trader's mind." It is an obvious imitation of the Jesse Livermore classic. Let's think about this rationally. Niederhoffer blew up and came close to blowing up several times according to his own admissions. He comes across as being reckless. Municipal bonds, T-bills, etc. have yielded a small but reliable return over the same period that Niederhoffer has been in the market. This book, offering no practical investment advice or esoteric financial enlightenment, ultimately ends up being a primer on developing a mindset that will result in a performance that is poorer than dumb luck.
Rating:
Summary: Uneven some excellent parts
Review: This is a brain dump written without much apparent discipline. Niederhoffer's egotism and hubris can grate at times and the book is somewhat self serving e.g. the circumstances that led to his quitting squash for five years were not quite as they seemed. However there is a lot of good material and if you like ideas you will enjoy the way he ties many different fields back to trading. Some of the ideas are baloney but many are not. I found it useful because it does give a lot of insight into how a top trader thinks. From reading the book it was quite obvious he would blow up at some stage, which he has in fact done. The chapter on the ecology of markets is worth the price alone. Also the one on the interconnectness of markets, and on deception and gamesmanship. However this should definitely not be your only book on trading. There is hardly any useful material on risk management. Worth a read IMO but a lot of people will not like it i.e. those looking for a cookbook approach to easy wealth.
Rating:
Summary: A good bio to read
Review: An autobiography of this big-time currency trader of Soros fame. His book is full of important trading lessons and amusing stories of his life, gambling at the race track, squash, and playing other games like chess. He got crushed on the wrong side of SPX futures the day before the big 500 point market crash. Lost all the money in his hedge-fund, but I'm sure he'll be back on top someday. It's pretty interesting though to see how much risk this trader took on.
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