Rating: 
Summary: I wasn't that impressed...
Review: I browsed through this book at a local bookstore. The title definitely grabbed my attention.Unfortunately, the author devoted severaly chapters to various "findings" of academic financial analysts demonstrating a particular trading method doesn't work. If you aren't familiar with this work, it is important to understand it. I've heard all this before and after much research, I'm not all that impressed with the practical applications of these academic finance theories. For example, in one chapter the author criticizes the trend following methodology, and reports that his anaysis of broad market data (SP-500, DJ-30) over a monthly time period), that instead of trends, you find reversion to the mean. Unfortunately, trend following methods now take into account many other factors--volatility, volume, etc. Price action alone won't help with trading decisions. Technical analysis is more than just an analysis of price action. So his criticism of trend following methods is irrelevant. Most intelligent chartists would tell you that most charts do not suggest anything useful is happening, and one point of TA is to screen the market down to useful candidates. But there are times when the market action clearly is saying something important. The interesting portion of the book details a system of trading certain stocks based on value-line recommendations. Unfortunately, not enough info was given to put anything useful into practice.
Rating: 
Summary: Lightening Strikes Twice
Review: Neiderhoffer lost all of his investors money shortly after publishing his first book, hopefully he'll have a bit more luck this time around. This is not a serious book for any practitionier nor is it a very useful introduction for any future trader. Day traders and Neiderhoffer have much in common, except of course that most Day traders do not cloud their "how to books" with regressions and econometric modeling nonsense. Investing is a long-term concept. Neiderhoffer contends that one can look for "clues" among the various relationships that are statistically observed, "Monday vs. Friday" patterns, Vix inflection points, etc... Its very much like the "chance" alignment of the Pyramids, where countless charlatans have observed "incredibly accurate" calculations for pi or for determining equinoxes or stellar alignments. To further insult the reader with such short-time series chosen at random seriously maligns the veracity of the "observed results". A statistician would take a grim view of this haphazard approach to proving market relationships, especially given the extremely capriciousness of the datasets he chooses to showcase. I would say that the addition of Kenner as a writer has vastly improved the prose from the non-linear and hopelessly trite verse of his earlier book "Education of a Speculator". The occaisonal humourous anecdote does not compensate the reader for having to endure the vagaries of the charts and the datareduction ad nauseum put forth. Technobabble is certainly never an excuse to read a technology text, and certainly arbitrary statistical observations is not a reason to read this one. One is drawn to Mr. Neiderhoffers humble regrets regarding his earlier collapse and loss of all of his investors money, of course this collapse did not seriously impact his lifestyle nor his own bank account. From that point of view, I think its clear that Neiderhoffer is probably a better gambler than investor, then again most people wouldn't mind gambling with someone elses money.
Rating:
Summary: Much Ado About Nothing
Review: After reading this book very carefully I guess I have the same problem with it as I did with The Education of a Speculator: both books are shallow... Granted there is good information in the book but a great deal of time is spent attempting to debunk supposedly common beliefs and myths that I have never believed for an instant. I have difficulty believing the average Joe out there really takes these myths seriously... For instance technical analysis hardly needs more debunking; it is over. Those who want to believe will, the rest know better by now. The section on value stocks is less than childish and shallow. They beat up on Benjamin Graham and value investing but ignore pages 304-310 of the fifth edition of The Intelligent Investor. The chapter is mostly an ad hominum attack on Benjamin Graham just so that someone somewhere sometime will have said something bad about Graham. Fair enough but not really the stuff eternal investment books are made of. There is also a snide comment in the book about Buffettology that demonstrates conclusively that neither author has read the book. Other chapters contain similar material: one on using computers to write stock stories, one on eternal bears, etc.. These are ok as cautionary tales but there is really nothing new here. It should come as no surprise that being an eternal pessimist about the market is rough on one's wallet. Therein lies the real problem with the book. The information presented is for novices and dilettantes not for serious investors of any stripe. Yet the book indirectly promotes short term trading - hardly a suitable investment strategy for newcomers or the average investor. Even here it is inconsistent. One chapter contains a mantra on the joys of long term holdings, another harps on the use of scatter plots for determining market relationships month to month and year to year and on and on... Here's the point: the book is an entertaining read that bursts the bubbles of some of the standard stock in trade sales and broker talk out there. It also promotes the use of the scientific method to the extent possible in studying the markets. Definitely good deeds. But not enough to save the book from mediocrity.
The book trumpets Triumph of the Optimists as the greatest investment book on the market. It may be. This one certainly isn't.
Rating:
Summary: Not Happy
Review: I understand that there is no holy grail in trading and Mr.Niederhoffer makes that point very clear. I admire Niederhoffer courage against adversity lossing his millions. But after you read this book there is no surprise why Niederhoffer went broke. I want to see historic charts with Niederhoffer arguing his points not scatter diagrams that any one could draw.
Rating: 
Summary: Another intellectual masterpiece
Review: While it falls a tad short of his now classic "Education of a Speculator" it certainly will go down in history as a "must read" and full of insight on 'how to', and more importantly 'why to' use the scientific method approach for testing strategies in the markets. His commentary on Barrons' Abelson is priceless. By combining his two books and articles on MSN, the average investor will be well served, better than any other source I have come across on the net, wall street or elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: The authors show that in order to think rationally about investment decisions, and the uncertainty of markets, the crutch of received wisdom needs to be abandoned, and an empirical, scientific approach adopted in its place. With easily followed statistical arguments (and a healthy dollop of common sense) the authors readily demonstrate how so much of that which is taken for granted in the financial media is often nothing more than repeated assumption and propaganda. Whilst so much is dismantled and exposed - as either noise or error - this is certainly not a pessimistic book. Instant formulae to riches might not be proffered but the book could certainly help engender an investigative, skeptical mind able to uncover its own profitable trades.
This book stands as a beacon of reason midst the swath of Buffett hagiography and tea-leaf technical indicator manuals which festoon the bookshop finance shelves. It is a wake-up call to anyone who has succumbed to the lazy thinking which gives this vast cornucopia of clap-trap a market. It is also a very lively and playful read running a gamut of ideas from Francis Galton through to memetics, detouring to take in horse-racing, chess and varied other sources of insight along the way.
Rating:
Summary: Members of a dying breed!!!
Review: Very glad the readers with the 1 star rating are starting to come in and hope for many many more.
The public has to always stay behind the curve or else the market will cease to exist.My question to you my dear 1 start reviewer is that (if you`re not one of these interests that the authors attacked in the book):how many times did you lose hundreds of millions in your trading career,mortgaged your house and came back with vengeance?
Niederhoffer has.
How many trading theories and mumbo jumbo did you test on your historical data (if you have any)?Niederhoffer has.
If it bothers you that the VIX doesn`t work and you think it`s ancient history,you missed the chapter on cycles.Cycles keep changing to make sure that the "1 star"readers stay on the losing side.In fact,Niederhoffer updated the VIX (which still works by the way) with a simpler more accurate indicator ...
How do I know?
Since I read Niederhoffer`s 1st book,I now take time counting and verifying even Niederhoffer`s theories before commiting any of my hard earned cash to the market.
In fact,after the new book was published,I sent a copy to a CPA friend ,a countist who made millions in the market, asking for his opinion as I thought mine could be too biased after reading the man`s first book 12 times at least.My friend`s 1 liner response explains it all:
"Are these people crazy putting precious lessons like this for public use? Hopefully they don`t have musch following" I agree except that these people are honest scientists,the true type.
They are members of a dying breed!!!!
Rating:
Summary: another gem
Review: Niederhoffer and Kenner have penned a masterpiece of investment lore. This is one of those timeless books that will still be relevent 100 plus years from now. It gives great insight into the mind of one of the last living masters of the game. I highly reccomend it to anyone with more than a passing fancy in the world's greatest game.
Rating: 
Summary: It's a good start
Review: OK. So I bought Niederhoffer's latest book even though I hold his first book responsible for some huge losses I took in '98/'99 (actually, deep down I know that only I am responsible for those losses, but thanks to Vic my speculative instincts were stoked). In Practical Speculation he has some good insights, trashes some of his counterparts insights, and continues to stoke optimism for his point of view: a typical guru's book. On the plus side, he has generously shared his quantitative approach with us. But for me, the most interesting aspect of the book is the articulation of cycles: especially via an email from one of his cronies that speaks of systems, systems of systems, and meta systems. This nested approach of interacting with the market promises to allow one to roll with the punches as working systems deteriorate and a shift to other systems is required. With his cycles insights, he has articulated the notion that I could sense but was unable to state. One has the sense of being a part of Vic's construction of a clock-work of investing cycles and related indicators. Distilling the investing process to a set of moves (or "movements", to extent the clock-work analogy), may offer hope for the reader to develop a well defined game plan instead of simply betting on whatever instincts the marketplace infrastructure (or Vic) has stoked.
Rating:
Summary: Ruminations of the Log Rollers
Review: It appears that the coffee klatch has gotten together to wax on about their favorite trading buddies: you review mine, I review yours. Is it possible to get a fair review of the book if these online back-scratchers didn't sow their 5-star seeds in each other's fields? As far as the book goes, it's full of cute stories but as a practical speculation tool, it's downright comical. The authors cite the VIX as their favorite indicator and present a brief study of the market's performance after the VIX hits a certain absolute level. Hello Grandma, the apple pie's already been baked! The VIX ain't that easy any more, but the authors pony up their hypothesis as if it were an earth-shattering insight. As my surf buddy would say, this is trading for dilettantes, DUDE! I think a better title for the book would have been Impractical Speculation so we could have learned exactly how one reconciles practical insights with impractical trading.
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