Rating: 
Summary: A vital addition to your library.
Review: Some people find a good thing early on and are smart enough to stick with it. I am not one of those people, but Tom Dorsey is. I've read about every TA book ever written, I've studied everything from stochastic to voodoo and back, and if someone asked me to recommend one single book for learning and successfully applying Technical Analysis in order to make money, it would be this book. The methods described are powerful yet simple, (which usually is the best), concise, (no filler), and include a strategy for any plan to make money in the market and avoid giving it all back. From the overall concepts of Point and Figure Charting to the specific rules for managing your trades, your portfolio, and your money, you'll be happy you took the time learn what Tom Dorsey has shared about those little Xs and Os.
Rating:
Summary: Econ 101
Review: Supply and demand. The battle to determine prices. Economics 101. Did we forget how simple it was? Do we really need hundreds of different technical analysis methods? The focus of this book is on the basic principles of point & figure charting. It is easily read and digested. I appreciate the many analogies, like "send the defense on the field". Tom's illustrations and straightforward writing style puts this difficult subject within this reader's grasp. His ability to describe chart patterns in tactical detail helps to better understand the right time to buy and ... just as important ... the right time to sell! Heady analysts and gunslingers may take offense to the easy flow of this book. Tom's energetic style and subtle wit makes learning this technique a breeze. This book can help private investors to take the reins of their own financial chariots. It gets down. It shows you how to master the basic elements of point and figure charting. Tom takes the mystery out of Technical Analysis. The book serves its purpose very well!
Rating:
Summary: An essential addition to any investor's library
Review: The forces of supply and demand ultimately dictate whether the price of a security or a commodity rises or falls. Long before the advent of modern computers, a simple method of guaging the relative strength of these forces and their impact on prices was devised. This method, called Point and Figure charting, is the classic origin of all technical analysis and is just as valid today as it was in the 19th century. Tom Dorsey is the foremost modern proponent of this near-forgotten discipline and takes the reader step by step through its methods and application. There is no complex mathematics in this method, just simple measurement and a lot of common sense. Think of the markets as a seashore. There are lots of distracting waves and spray, but what ultimately matters is whether the tide is coming in or going out. Point and Figure charting focuses on the tidal forces that drive prices while ignoring the spray. If you are new to the subject of technical analysis, I can think of no better introduction to the subject. If you are an expert, you may discover that tides are ultimately more important than waves
Rating:
Summary: Book changed my investing life
Review: This book changed how I view the stock market in a most profound way. I found it easy to understand and easy to apply the concepts in real time. This book, in combination with Dorsey's web site, have enabled me to make a lot of money in the stock market. No more floundering around in the dark, throwing darts at a newspaper. As a matter of fact, the concepts discussed in the book have made me very bearish at a time (3/27/02) when there are a lot of bullish fund managers and members of the media. This book will make you a member of the "smart money".
Rating:
Summary: Book changed my investing life
Review: This book changed how I view the stock market in a most profound way. I found it easy to understand and easy to apply the concepts in real time. This book, in combination with Dorsey's web site, have enabled me to make a lot of money in the stock market. No more floundering around in the dark, throwing darts at a newspaper. As a matter of fact, the concepts discussed in the book have made me very bearish at a time (3/27/02) when there are a lot of bullish fund managers and members of the media. This book will make you a member of the "smart money".
Rating:
Summary: A must-read if you want to have all the tools for investing.
Review: This book is a must-read if you want to have all the tools for great investing. Tom does a great job of describing all the basics of point and figure charting. The great thing about this book is that it is written clearly and concise and it has some great analogies. You will be able to immediately apply the concepts in the market with great results. You will look at the movement of a stock in a much different way then before. You will develop a level of conviction like never before. You will also discover that you will be able to predict future stock movements with an uncanny like fashion. Anybody who is interested in the stock market must consider this book. It has become an important piece in my investing process.
Rating: 
Summary: A different approach
Review: This book offers a different way to evaluate stocks. Although the book size is average, the time needed to read and understand the book is two-fold. Your entire attention must be available and a two week period must be set aside in order to justify the cost of the book. Overall, it is a very good book for new and seasoned traders. It is also a good book for those who are concidering the transistion from investor to trader. I concider it one of the best books in my financial library. If you concider buying this book, insure you have a new highlighter and pencil at your side. A lot of information is provided and much of it is repeated to insure you understand. But highlighting some information can offer better review for examples.
Rating:
Summary: 10 stars to Tom Dorsey on Point & Figure
Review: This Dorsey book on P&F is actually a 10 star rating to me but I just got five to give. Say 5 stars for bringing me into a new but expuisite technical analysis technique. P&F is dealing with net-moves of prices only - anything inbetween is what Dorsey calls "noise". So, comparing P&F to standard analysis like based on Stochastik, ROC, RSI, etc., a typical P&F-buy or sell signal is sort of a yell at you to move yourself. As P&F signals are that compelling, it should be a good idea to use P&F in combination with standard techniques like a short term RSI, for instance, to make yourself detect first upcoming divergences and beeing aware of what might be showing up by P&F. Anyways, I changed my complete analysis directives, rebuilding everything over and put it all around Point & Figure after having read Tom Dorsey. The 5 stars virtually remaining to me I give for the master`s GREAT ATTITUDE of teaching! I've been busy with technical analysis for quite a while by now, having read a lot of books on it. The Dorsey system to me is (may be next to Pring's KST) the best I ever got known about. Dorsey is a great teacher - what is the more respectable the more it get's you finishing the book: Dorsey starts for beginners but ends deep within the subject - still talking to beginners. I bet he feels like a beginner too and I hope you know what I mean by that...
Rating:
Summary: one of the best books available on top down investing
Review: This is first and foremost a specific methodology for a top-down approach. This is a style of investing where you look first at the market, then the sector, and finally the stock itself. This answers the question of when to buy, whereas fundamental analysis answers the question of what to buy. It's true that much of this information is available elsewhere, a good deal of it on the dorseywright web page, but not all of it. This book is a great book for putting the pieces together in a sensible way. This is a book for longer term investors, not day traders or swing traders who like to be in and out of a stock in a few days or a week. This book goes very well with Pring's how to select stocks using technical analysis; this method is easier to use, and more sensible in my opinion, but elements of both fit very well together. Note: This book has nothing to do with dow theory, which is concerned with identifying the primary trend of the market as represented by the DJIA. In this theory, the DJTA is used for confirmation. This has nothing to do with point & figure charting; indeed, Dow Theory, while credited to Charles Dow, was actually first put together by S.A. Nelson in the book The ABCs of Stock Speculation. Robert Rhea and William Hamilton further refined the theory.
Rating:
Summary: Essential - no kidding
Review: Tom Dorsey's book provides the most important elements in learning Point & Figure (P&F) Charting, also known as Dow Theory. Yes, fundamental analysis is important in determing what stock to buy (or short), but P&F tells one *when* to buy or not, and provides the probablity of a certain gain or loss based on certain patterns. Dorsey also applies the same methods to chart technical attributes of the entire market as well as sectors, making the salient point that sector and market trends are responsible for 80% of moves in a particular stock's price. P&F is a much more useful theory in today's age - it's not graph paper like once upon a time - though with Dorsey's clear and thorough explanation of techniques one could perform it by hand either daily or via readily available data. After reading Dorsey's first edition and observing the market I wouldn't touch a stock without consulting or constructing the P&F chart. The second edition builds on the first. Highly recommended!
| 
