Rating: 
Summary: good TA intro
Review: A good TA basic but not a balanced treatment of the subject. Jack concentrats on chart patterns analysis and only a few indicators are mentioned. Another thing he misss out completely is the volume. This book should be renamed as Getting Started in Technical Chart Patterns. One nice thing is the chapter about trading systems development. He points out the pros and cons of different systems. This book only gives qualitative but not quantitative treatment of the subject. If you need statistical evidences to support that what he claimed then you wouldn't find it here.
Rating: 
Summary: You Need This Book
Review: An extremely good introduction to TA analysis. If you are going to be serious about getting the foundations of investment desisions correct right from the start then you should read this book. The book is a goldmine of information. The idea is you read it and read it again until you absorb everything that has been written. No one said markets were easy, people who find this book difficult to read or absorb should seriously consider their compatability to be able to correctly trade in the markets. If you are going to learn, then learn properly. Good Luck !
Rating:
Summary: You Need This Book
Review: An extremely good introduction to TA analysis. If you are going to be serious about getting the foundations of investment desisions correct right from the start then you should read this book. The book is a goldmine of information. The idea is you read it and read it again until you absorb everything that has been written. No one said markets were easy, people who find this book difficult to read or absorb should seriously consider their compatability to be able to correctly trade in the markets. If you are going to learn, then learn properly. Good Luck !
Rating: 
Summary: Fact... or pure coincidence?
Review: As a beginner in technical analysis-based trading, I found Getting Started in Tech. Analysis a good overview of the concepts. In a well organized format, Schwager clarifies the jargon and confusing chart tools used by the technical analysis trader. Even skeptics of technical analysis will find some merit in this book, as some of the concepts such as trading ranges and trend lines seem to make sense. I, myself, have found a few of the tips to be true when analyzing real stock price movements. To really get a grasp of the material, it's best to read and then reread the chapters several times.
One skeptical argument against this book is that much of the thinking seems to be retrospective. In the event that the technical analysis indicators prove to be incorrect, the excuse of a "failed signal" is used. To really test out the theories in this book, one would have to do a great deal of experimental charting and making predictions. This book also seems to have more examples from the futures markets than stock prices. I'm not sure if this is because Schwager is an experienced futures trader, or if technical analysis works better in the futures market due to the nature of its extreme price movements.
Finally, unlike a technical trader would like to believe, I am still uncertain whether technical analysis works in today's market. With today's current events affecting stock prices, it is impossible to make decisions based on price movements alone. Could technical analysis really work in the current day's trading environment? A market with limited rallies and held back by a fear of international uncertainty? Perhaps that's up for you, the reader, to decide.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books on Technical Analysis
Review: Do you believe in charts or wanna learn a lot about it...??? That's one of the best books. Schwager's illustration of the charts before and after is unmatched
Rating:
Summary: Much Too Advanced for Beginners! Good for Intermediates
Review: Experts can make the mistake of forgetting how little people know when they first get started. That is clearly the case with this book by Mr. Schwager. If you really want to get started with technical analysis for trading, you will need to find something simpler! Then you can graduate to this overview. I have had the benefit of reading many books on technical analysis and having discussed it with many technicians. From that perspective, I found the book to be a delightful, down-to-earth, nondoctrinaire explanation. But I wouldn't have made it past the first five chapters when I was just getting started with technical analysis. I graded the book as a one star for beginners and as a five star for intermediates, and that averaged to three stars. Judge accordingly! Most investors argue strongly in favor of or against price-based analysis. Those who trade a lot usually swear by charts, and those who are long-term investors usually ignore charts. The classic debate is between the "random walkers" who say there ae no patterns in the markets and the chartists. No one has ever proven definitively that charting does or doesn't work for investing. The key problem is nicely stated by the author, " . . . [C]hart analysis is based on general principles, its application depends on individual interpretation." The book operates on the principle that "[c]hart analysis provides a means of acquiring common sense in trading." The book articulates a variety of reasons why charting can be helpful. I think the best reasons are for helping you explicitly manage the risk you want to take on. This book has a very helpful discussion on that subject. Before you are done, you will know about different types of charts, trends, trading ranges and their support and resistance levels, chart patterns, oscillators, and how people apply these analytical tools now. The book goes on to show how to apply these tools to trading issues, including what software to use. My favorite part of the book contained a set of problems to work through using the book. In that section, you can get a feel for charting and your comfort level with it. The author also explains how trend-following systems can be developed (a fairly conservative use of charting), and provides some useful trading guidelines. These last could have saved many on-line traders a fortune. So who should learn this material? I would argue that almost no one should. Long-term investors would rarely use it, and can probably rely on fundamental analysis adequately for making entry point decisions. Those who have limited skill in investing should probably be in stock index funds, and do not need this knowledge. Perhaps the best reason to be interested is simply to have a better understanding of the thinking processes that traders use. But that's a human interest application, rather than a financial one. Some people have compared technical analysis to astrology. After reading the book, you might want to think about that comparison to come to your own conclusions. Certainly, there is no proof offered in this book that these patterns do foretell the future. At least in that element, technical analysis and astrology are similar. May you always buy low and sell high!
Rating:
Summary: Much Too Advanced for Beginners! Good for Intermediates
Review: Experts can make the mistake of forgetting how little people know when they first get started. That is clearly the case with this book by Mr. Schwager. If you really want to get started with technical analysis for trading, you will need to find something simpler! Then you can graduate to this overview. I have had the benefit of reading many books on technical analysis and having discussed it with many technicians. From that perspective, I found the book to be a delightful, down-to-earth, nondoctrinaire explanation. But I wouldn't have made it past the first five chapters when I was just getting started with technical analysis. I graded the book as a one star for beginners and as a five star for intermediates, and that averaged to three stars. Judge accordingly! Most investors argue strongly in favor of or against price-based analysis. Those who trade a lot usually swear by charts, and those who are long-term investors usually ignore charts. The classic debate is between the "random walkers" who say there ae no patterns in the markets and the chartists. No one has ever proven definitively that charting does or doesn't work for investing. The key problem is nicely stated by the author, " . . . [C]hart analysis is based on general principles, its application depends on individual interpretation." The book operates on the principle that "[c]hart analysis provides a means of acquiring common sense in trading." The book articulates a variety of reasons why charting can be helpful. I think the best reasons are for helping you explicitly manage the risk you want to take on. This book has a very helpful discussion on that subject. Before you are done, you will know about different types of charts, trends, trading ranges and their support and resistance levels, chart patterns, oscillators, and how people apply these analytical tools now. The book goes on to show how to apply these tools to trading issues, including what software to use. My favorite part of the book contained a set of problems to work through using the book. In that section, you can get a feel for charting and your comfort level with it. The author also explains how trend-following systems can be developed (a fairly conservative use of charting), and provides some useful trading guidelines. These last could have saved many on-line traders a fortune. So who should learn this material? I would argue that almost no one should. Long-term investors would rarely use it, and can probably rely on fundamental analysis adequately for making entry point decisions. Those who have limited skill in investing should probably be in stock index funds, and do not need this knowledge. Perhaps the best reason to be interested is simply to have a better understanding of the thinking processes that traders use. But that's a human interest application, rather than a financial one. Some people have compared technical analysis to astrology. After reading the book, you might want to think about that comparison to come to your own conclusions. Certainly, there is no proof offered in this book that these patterns do foretell the future. At least in that element, technical analysis and astrology are similar. May you always buy low and sell high!
Rating:
Summary: A Complete Insight Into Getting Started in Tech. Analysis
Review: Getting Started in Technical Analysis provides a fantastic overview to the world of technical analysis, with topics ranging from the age-old fundamental vs. technical debate to outlining of trading guidelines. Written in an easy-to-understand style, the book is also easy on the eyes (which cannot be said of many financial books). Schwager uses the first seven chapters to define many of the technical factors that novice traders should know before they can trade in today's active market. Part One illustrates a wide range of basic technical-analysis tools and how they are (or should be) used. Chart patterns, oscillators, trends and the like are explained concisely with easy-to-follow sample charts. The reader can quickly absorb these basic ideas before moving on to Part Two. In Part Two, the reader gets his/her first taste of the "how" of technical analysis. The author delves into topics like pyramiding, stop-loss points and exit signs. This is also the part where the author's "Most Important Rule in Chart Analysis" is laid out. Part Two can easily make a reader anxious to start (or get back to) trading. The third section of Getting Started in Technical Analysis approaches trading systems and software. The author describes the most pertinent options that a trading software package should contain, leaving the legwork to the reader. In the discussion of trading systems, there is no magic formula here, simply guidance to develop and test a trading system of one's own. Part Four is vital to the trader...novice or otherwise. The author (who is CEO of Wizard Trading) offers practical trading rules and market wisdom. Getting Started in Technical Analysis is an excellent source of information for the soon-to-be, novice, or expert trader. This book should have a reserved shelf space in every trader's library.
Rating:
Summary: There is a Cheaper Version of This Book
Review: I first read his book in paperback "Getting Started in Tech Analysis." Both books cover the same info, except the above reviewed book has more details on trading systems and has a lot more graphs and examples, which I felt I did not need. I would recommend the less costly paperback version - it is EXCELLENT!
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: I found this book to be very useful in my investments. You need to learn what moves the markets to be successful. Company fundamentals are only a part of investing, things like the price of oil, interest rates, inflation, dollar vs. yen or other currencies and TECHNICAL ANALYSIS are very significant. I found the book to be easy to read and very informative. The backcover description nails it on the head: "demystifies technical analysis for beginning investors, clearly explaining such basics as trends, trading ranges, chart patterns, stops, entry, and exit and pyramiding approaches."
| 
