Rating: 
Summary: Useful but hard to understand
Review: I found some sections of this book were quite difficult to understand. He didn't explain the methods very well. Especially, if you want to learn Technical Analysis, this book is a bad choice. I read and re-read the book several times and still couldn't fully understand it. The sections about selling were very good and useful. He also said those 2 sections were the most important parts of this book and what I learned from them worth the price.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book for the beginner to moderate investor.
Review: This is an excellent book for someone starting out in investing. It teaches you WJ O'Neil's CANSLIM method of picking stocks. What's CANSLIM you ask? CANSLIM is a method of picking stocks developed by William J. O'Neil. He's taken his years of investing knowledge and developed a system of picking stocks that has repeatedly proven to be successful. The book takes you through each part of this method from quarterly earnings through annual earnings, when to buy, trading volume, stock leaders, institutional support and market direction. He also teaches you when to sell a stock even in a bad market. He'll show you how to cut your losses and why it's important to sell at the right time to prevent major losses on a stock. Finally he takes you through some of the best stocks in recent history and shows you how to read the signs that they put out. This will teach you how to recognize today's stocks that are ready to burst from the pack and soar to new highs. This book pushes WJ O'Neil's newspaper, Investor Business Daily, as it has much of the information needed to use the CANSLIM method. But even without his paper this book teaches you the methods needed to make money in the stock market. All in all I think this is a great book for investors.
Rating: 
Summary: This guy knows......
Review: There are two major camps in stock picking clubs, the "buy and hold" and "market timing camp". And I don't think people in one camp ever care to talk to the other group. So make up you mind which group you are going to join! Once there, you got to stick to your group!!!! WJ O'Neil perhaps is the most knowledgable, or at least most out spoken person in the market timing camp to-day, the great ones have passed away long ago. First time readers may not be impressed, I didn't, as this book is really poorly written and uninspirational. You may have to take my words for it, this guy knows a lot!!! The truly great books in market timing are all very old, or should I say classic? I suggest you buy all the classics written by Ed Lefevre; Jesse Livermore; Richard D Wyckoff....
Rating:
Summary: this is not the book you need...
Review: ok, maybe i was a little bit harsh with the title... but i got disapointed when i realized that his book was not for me. i live outside the US, and i trade european stocks... IBD -his newspaper- is for no use to me... he should have explained how he calculates his stuff on his newspaper... but, if you wanna use his method... buy his book... this is called advertizing, isnt it? i was not able to really try his method, i think it is the same for many readers... up to you!
Rating:
Summary: Bastion of analysis
Review: Anyone who has ever read his newspaper will know that he is one of the greatest authorities on stock analysis. He has develped value models that can be used in all areas of investing and this book brings his ideas down to the level of a moderate experienced investor. I agree with his beliefs that small caps have the most potential to appreciate if you do your research. One of my favorite books, The Guide For Penny Stock Investing by Donny Lowy, also focuses on penny stocks and teaches the ropes of investing in small undiscovered companies. I am sure that a reader of this book will have a positive return even in the choppiest of markets.
Rating:
Summary: Only for people just entering the investing world
Review: I thought this book was only directed towards people just starting in the market, and lacks any extensive explanation for the methods this book claims you should use. Only about 78 pages of the book are actually remotely worth reading, the rest is garbage. The fundamental analysis methods are sound, but more explanation should have been given. The technical analysis portion of the book is not worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Opinion of a professional analyst
Review: In his book, Mr. O'Neil advocates the use of "technical analysis", a widely debunked investment method whereby the individual barrels down the investment highway solely by reference to his rearview mirror. This investment method is widely promoted by investment banks and brokerages because it drives high trading volume, which drives profits (for the brokerage, not for you), and is widely accepted by investors because it sounds plausible and requires no knowledge or research whatsoever. However, very, very few educated professionals believe in it, even in the small groups within investment banks that are responsible for promoting it. Let me be clear. This book is a brash, unveiled attempt to increase subscriptions to the author's newspaper, and represents the antithesis of solid investing principals. If you are considering purchasing a book for beginning investors, please begin with one or more of the excellent, beautifully illustrated guides (available on Amazon) published by the staff of the Wall Street Journal. To conclude, Mr. O'Neil's consistent tarriance on the bestseller list may well be the best signal yet that he is the fifth horse of the apocalypse. If you have to buy this book, buy it over the web, because like hardcore porn, you don't want to be caught reading it in public.
Rating:
Summary: It makes such good sense...It must work!
Review: I first read the book in 1997. Using the principals I thought I understood and the Investors Business Daily data base (as recommended) I invested in a few stocks. Low and behold! They went up, just like they were supposed to. Then I got smug with my success. I strayed from the principals of CANSLIM. I treated the seven rules like entries on a buffet table. I took some and disregarded the others. Soon my investments soured, I lost money and I abandoned the whole process. After that I drifted from technique to technique. None worked. Now three years later, I am reading the book again. I am still not investing until I get the O'Neil technique nailed down tight. Some tips for would-be readers. (1)O'Neil commented in response to a question about which rules would he allow exceptions to. He remarked that he cannot allow any exceptions because they are not his rules. They are the "market's" rules. Do not allow yourself to tell the market what works. It will tell you--every day. (2)The Investors Business Daily "IBD" is the data base of stock information that you must reference to make sense of his book. It is not a newpaper, it is a reference, a daily "news letter". Do not be put-off by O'Neil's constant referal to its proprietary content. (3)The chapter and references to reading, analyzing and understanding charts are written for experienced technical investors. If you cannot pick out a consolidation before you read the book, you won't be able to pick one out afterward, either. The IBD does have an educational section each day and from reading these over many months I got further insight into the technical concepts he refers to as "sound bases" and especially "pivot points". I still am struggling to pull CANSLIM together into a concise executable process. When I do, however, I have confidence it will pay off handsomely!
Rating:
Summary: Good place to start
Review: This book and one of Peter Lynch's books are a good place to start your investing education. O'Neil is a major exponent of the momentum school of investing, although his famous acronym, CANSLIM, which stands for the different components of his investing model, also incorporates much fundamental information. O'Neil is famous for founding the IBD, Investor's Business Daily, and for correctly predicting a major market turnaround after a long period of decline, back in the 70's, if I remember right. His criterion for cutting one's losses after an 8% percent decline by 50% for your holdings, and by the remaining 50% after the stock's decline reaches 15%, would have saved me a lot of money in retrospect had I always followed it. However, in today's more volatile markets, had I sold stocks like Intel using this method, I would have missed out on the next run up, so I would say this decision criterion would apply to more value-oriented types of stocks, or to someone who is actively day-trading and needs to minimize short-term losses.
Rating:
Summary: Best and simplest book on the subject of investing!
Review: My father had introduced me to William O'Neil's books and his financial daily, the Investor's Business Daily. I have nothing but praise for this book. No hype... just sound advice on improving your stock analysis ability and decision making ability and net worth. The C-A-N-S-L-I-M methodology is invaluable for picking out a stock winner. His advice on cutting losses early on a loser stock is sound, especially in today's volatile and hyped markets... I also recommend getting Investor's Business Daily... Frankly, its much better than the WSJ, because its focus on investing is gear towards individual investor on the street. Its data and articles are superb. It has a no non-sense free-market perspective while it leaves out the Wall Street establishment angle. IBD is also free of all the assorted non-financial riff-raff, which means its subscription price is half that of WSJ.
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