Rating: 
Summary: Do want to Trade? Do you want a dose of reality?
Review: Are you a trader? Do you want to be a trader? I have been trading for 18 months. I guess that makes me a beginning trader? I have read every highly reccommended trading book there is. Theory is not what this book is about.
This book is about REALITY. This book tells it the way it is.
I trade for a living. I have been a member of several trading sites. I am not a member of the author's site. Now, I trade on my own. I have no agenda. The author clearly tells you the MARKET is your teacher. Trade what you see and not what you think. You can read twenty or more books like I have, or you can read this book. This book gives you enough to TRADE.
I have made more MONEY since I bought this book. If you are a trader, the book is worth alot. The author's concept of risk management has made me alot of MONEY! Selling on those volume spikes works!
If you are thinking about starting to trade this book could help you be one of the 10% that makes it day trading AND save you thousands. These concepts work in the market. I use them every day!
I would buy this book first, Douglas's second, Nison's third, and forget the rest. I hope this helps someone make the decision to buy this book which WILL help you. I only have one complaint, WHY didn't they publish this information two years ago?
Best of Luck with your trading!....... And Watch that volume, if you can learn to read what it is telling you, you will be a trader!
Rating: 
Summary: a few nuggests of wisdom, poorly written
Review: Basically, the authors discuss a number of breakout and/or reversal strategies that are pretty well standard fare; I didn't see any 'breakthrough' ideas involving volume as I'd hoped for, save the usual accumulation/distribution stuff that can be found in any common technical analysis book. A few important points emerged, such as the idea that dumb money usually causes more violent accumulation spikes whereas smart money accumulates more quietly. Not really a revelation. Perhaps the main problem with the book is that it's simply overwritten and not written very well. Lacing almost every trading 'lesson' are personal accounts of the authors'---how he began trading, mistakes he's made, etc. Kind of reads like a diary and not a grammatically sound diary at that. If you were to trim all of the personal narratives, admonitions and pontifications about trader psychology personal or otherwise, you could rewrite this book in about 30 or 40 pages at a price less than half of what this one costs. Better yet, a book simply of charts with do's and don't would be far more meaningful because there is so much clutter and ineffectual writing here that it obfuscates what the author is really trying to say. The authors' foreign nationality certainly doesn't help, as he tries to sound colloquially American and it just doesn't come off right. If you're new to trading I'd look elsewhere. If you want to skim some charts and pick up a few points on breakout strategies and volume that you may not know about, I'd first look through this book in the bookstore before shelling out thirty or so bucks.
Rating:
Summary: One of My Top 10 Favorite First Reads
Review: Finally an updated book on Tape Reading!! I've known Vadym for several years from the SI threads. I followed much of his knowledge over there since then. When I read this book for the first time, I found the insights of solutions to the problems he faced and overame to be very close to my own trading. The real life experiences of this book really illustrated for me what a true trader must do to become successful. I am mainly a TA trader. The principles of this book in regards to Tape Reading will definitely enhance my TA skills. The only downfall is that if you are looking for NYSE examples, there are none. Vadym and Chris seem to still be Nasdaq traders. Although, the way the principles are presented, you will be able to apply the Tape Reading ideas to anything you trade. Highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading this one every 6 months to catch things I missed. Thank you Vadym and Chris. - Dan
Rating: 
Summary: It's about time
Review: I finally got around to reading this book and am happy to say that I can recommend it (not that what I think matters all that much, but there is so little I can find to recommend, I just thought I'd mention it). There's been little of value written on tape reading since Neill's book in the 40s, and before that, Wyckoff's work in the 20s and 30s. Possibly the popularity of "indicators" stole some of tape reading's thunder, since indicators are purportedly "simpler" to use. I had hoped that the book would be a bit more thorough, but after finishing it and giving it a second read, I understood that what Vad and Chris are trying to do is reduce TR to a set of basic principles, easy to explain, easy to understand. The buts and unlesses and on the other hands are left to many specific examples which illustrate just what it is they're trying to get across. In this way, one can come up with his own examples to illustrate the concepts rather than rely on some sort of "blueprint", in the event that he is trading a different market, a different bar interval, a different timeframe, or even using indicators to supplement his judgement. Unfortunately, the book begins with what has become the obligatory "once I was a loser and then I became a winner" section. Not that it's boring or that there's anything wrong with this sort of autobiographical touch. After all, one would most likely be put off by someone who puts out a trading book beginning with only his successes and giving no hint of the often rocky road one must travel in order to achieve those successes. But those who have read more than a few trading books are likely to find that they could have skipped this and gone right to the meat of the book, i.e., the principles of tape reading, and there's plenty of meat here. No, the book is not encyclopedic, but, contrary to what you may have heard, tape-reading does not require the encyclopedic approach. Keep It Simple. If all you have, then, are Wyckoff and Neill, this should pull everything together for you in a way that will enable you to gain some traction on this tape-reading stuff. The advice on how to create a setup and how to evaluate what you've created should be of particular benefit to beginners who continue to struggle with this and with the misleading notion that the riches lie in finding that one perfect golden setup.
Rating:
Summary: You Can Find a Few Gems
Review: I follow Chris on Realmoney.com through his daily trading track. I don't really trade the same way he does, but his accuracy at predicting and trading off NDX levels was always interesting to me. I figured there must be something to it in his Tape Reading skills. This book seems to describe his partner more, rather than how to really trade off NDX levels, so I was somewhat disappointed in that. However, there are a few gems regarding the progress of a trader, mental preparations and overcoming trading problems that will probably help me. As for the Tape Reading part, the principles were easy to read and understand. One of my hardest problems in trading is knowing how to differentiate accumulation and trend signals. This book helped me to do that as well. I would recommend this to anyone as a solid read and addition to their trading library.
Rating:
Summary: Destined to become a classic
Review: I have read a great many trading books and this has got to be in the top 5, I think it could well become a classic. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is mainly concerned with the development and psychology of a new trader. Now although there are other books which are entirely devoted to trader psychology, "Trading In The Zone" by Mark Douglas springs to mind. The authors have covered this very important topic in a very easy to understand manner. The second part delves into the art of tape reading, numerous set ups are explained, and stops and exit strategies are presented. The final section describes in detail 33 different trades, each with the appropriate chart. These trades help to reinforce the material presented in part 2 of the book. I think this book is not really suitable for the absolute beginner, but once one has got some basic TA down, then this would be an excellent next choice.
Rating:
Summary: Trading and Tape Reading Made Simple
Review: I liked the book for it's honestly and enlightenment of the real world of trading. The first part retrains the mind for unemotional trading. This part described a lot of my issues and nice solutions for those issues. Next I got a very nice and detailed explanation of tape reading. I didn't completely appreciate the information in the time and sales and Level II windows until now. Finally, I got a detailed description of DBI, JBE and breakout examples that will keep me coming back to the book for a long time.
IMHO, this is one of the 'must-read' books for new and old traders along with Mark Douglas's books and of course Jesse Livermore's 'Reminiscences of a Stock Market Operator'.
Rating:
Summary: I Recommend It
Review: I met Chris at the Chicago Expo a couple of months ago (what a nice guy because he stayed behind for 15 minutes to talk to me and answer all my questions) and decided to buy the book after listening to his presentation on tape reading. The presentation he gave had principles of tape reading and examples. I learned quite a bit from it. This book was very helpful in continuing what he talked about at the expo. I was in the same boat as others that looked at tape reading as watching trades and trying to figure out what they meant. After reading this book, I learned more about what tape reading can do for my trading plan since I position trade, not daytrade. I have tried a few of the concepts such as the capitulation setups and euphoria setups with a fair degree of success when I can watch the volume indications described in the book. I don't daytrade but I do position trade and I'm glad that I see these concepts and principles work in that time frame as well. The psychology part of the book was good also. After reading a few other reviews, I can say that I also wish they had more listed examples as that is my primary market. But I think those that feel there is no tape reading are wrong. There are some fair examples of volume/price indications in several time frames that show what the idea of tape reading is. Anyway, I recommend the book.
Rating:
Summary: The Pscyhology Aspect is Great
Review: I would like to say that the first part of this book about the psyche of a trader is excellent. I have found some very useful information that I can put into my trading. The principles are a little hard to understand but I suspect that it's just because I'm new. I met Chris as the Chicago Expo and wanted to thank you for letting me know this book was coming out. It helped much.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book and thank you Vad and Chris
Review: If you are serious about trading and want to know what being a successful trader is all about, then get this book. The reviews discounting this book as vendor promotion are hogwash and done out of complete ignorance - IMHO. This book was founded on Vad's desire to help students hone their craft. Yes, a lot of the material has been covered in other books. Yet, Vad found a way to make many previously discussed concepts come to life in a profoundly useful manner, while introducing new concepts and ideas of his own. I consider this book a gift to the trading community and feel fortunate to have read it now three times. The folks at Reality Trader are the most honest, knowledge and powerful educators in the industry. Get this book and be thankful that there are people like Vad, Chris (and other Realitytrader.com educators(like Bo)) willing to take the time to help you through the stages of development. Fantastic work.
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