Over the years I must have read hundreds of books on trading, psychology and other related topics. I build this recommended reading list with books that I feel had greater impact on my development as a trader and human being. The order in which books are listed is not indicative of the  level of importance I attach to them in relation to others on the list. This list project is an on-going thing. I will be adding more books when I have time.

The Professional Commodity Trader, By Stanley Kroll, Traders Press Inc, 1974.

Stanley Kroll's description of his trading is informative not only from the technical side, but for me, was especially revealing from the psychological side. He comes across as a trader that survives many ups and downs. Reading  this book gives you a feeling of  what it takes to survive through those challenging  times. He has an amusing sense of humor that shines in his writing. 

Kroll on Futures Trading Strategy, By Stanley Kroll, Dow Jones-Irwin, 1988.

A book for the serious student of the markets, covering important issues of managing the trading activity. Essential knowledge  for  improving your chances to last, to build and to increase your account.  I believe reading this book will  also give you a  new perspective of the role of discipline and common sense in trading.

Reminiscences Of  A Stock Operator, by Edwin Lefevre, Trader Press Inc, Published 1985. (originally published in 1923 by George H. Doran Company) It is difficult to describe this book, because it is so fascinating and I feel it is an essential reading for anyone interested in trading. I guess one of the reasons it is so fascinating, is the ability of the writer to capture and describe so faithfully the inner struggles traders goes through, when trading the markets. The story told is the fictionalized biography of Jesse Livermore (1877-1940), a famous and widely respected stock and commodity market speculator, and I should say, a real legend.

I have several copies of this book in my library and read it several times and always  enjoyed  it each time. It has that refreshing ability only real classics have. If destiny were to send me to a desert island for a while with a choice of one book on trading that  I can take with me, this would be the one!!

If you are new to trading or have never heard of this book, set aside some time to read it : once you start, you will not put it down till you have finished reading  it. You can download a full copy of this book from this link:

http://stockvision.org/books/Edwin_Lefevre-Reminiscences_of_a_Stock_Operator-EN.pdf

The  next link  will lead you to a full copy of the only book Jesse Livermore wrote: "How to Trade in Stocks",  that was originally published in 1940.

 http://stockvision.org/books/Jesse_Livermore-How_To_Trade_In_Stocks_(1940_original)-EN.pdf

 Technical Analysis of Stock trends, by Robert D. Edwards and John Magee, Published by AMACOM, 7th edition 1997

I have referenced here the latest edition, but I have an earlier one, and this is one of the very first books I read on technical analysis. Not a short book, but essential reading for anyone really interested to work with charts and get them to reveal some of their secrets. Many of the charts deal with stock movements taking place decades ago but the patterns are as valid today as they were valid then, and as they are most likely to remain valid in the future since they are based on human behavior which does not change essentially from one generation to another.

Stan Weinstein's Secrets for Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets, published by Business One Irwin, 1988

This is also one of the first books I read on application of technical analysis to trading. Stan is very good in explaining and demonstrating with many charts the processes of a stock's bull run, distribution , subsequent fall, and accumulation phase.

If you are new to technical analysis I recommend you start with this book. It is a good first step book.

CYCLES, The Mysterious Forces That Trigger Events, by Edward R.Dewey with Og Mandino,  Published 1971, by The Foundation for The Study of Cycles

An interesting book on the existence of cycles of various lengths in many unrelated areas. This book makes you sit back and think how much of our own life is programmed, cyclical, and how much of what we do is cyclical in nature but we are not aware of it. The writers put it so well"...for the evidence is mounting that we are surrounded by cyclic forces, of which, as yet, we know almost nothing. These forces bounce us like marionettes on a string. They make us fight; they make us love. And all the while we think we are doing these things solely for rational reasons." (Page 9.)

Cycles, of course, appear also in the Stock Market and in many Commodities Markets (notably the Agricultural ones) and some see cycles also in Currencies. I think  traders should be aware of these cycles they are an important perspective you don't want to miss. But I want to  suggest  here that when coming to studying and  understanding cycles, you want to get the approximate idea of the scale and shape but not get so hooked  after precision and symmetry, otherwise  this concept is likely to cause more harm than good in the end.

Truth Of The Stock Tape, by W.D. Gann, published by Lambert Gann Publishing Co, Inc. 1976 (originally published in 1923).

If you are interested in reading a book by a brilliant trader who shares his insightful analysis of the market, go no further, read this book. The descriptions and explanations by Gann are very useful and informative to anyone interested in chart reading. I bet you will end up jotting notes all over this book.

How To Make Profits In Commodities, by W.D.Gann, 1951 Revised Up-to-date Edition, Financial Classics Libarary, W.D. Holdings, Inc.

In this book you will find nuggets of wisdom that may take you a lifetime to discover on your own. Gann's techniques are not easy to understand and master, but you don't have to make the complete circle in order to benefit from his wisdom. Remember Gann was a trader and not just a brilliant analyst and thinker, so his words are well worth reading. In this book he pours his knowledge of  40+ years of experience, and presents detailed anaylsis of several commodities.

Viewpoints of a Commodity Trader, by Roy W. Longstreet, published by  Traders  Press, INC. 1986 (originally published in 1967.

A book written by a trader with lots of experience. There is so much wisdom in this fairly short book that you will find yourself coming back again and again to read it. It discusses a lot of the worries, issues that affect  traders.

The Art of The Trade, by R.E. McMaster, Published by McGraw-Hill. 1999.

Another excellent book written by a real trader. A book  with many insights, which deals with specific issues vital for successful, practical trading, like how trading is not like gambling, money management, psychological capital, mastery of self, the business of the trade, the methodology of the trade, the consistency of the trade, the mentality of the trade, the emotions of the trade,  etc. The book goes into some length/detail on many topics and is well worth your time.

The Art of Speculation, by Philip L. Carret , Originally published by Barron's 1930, revised edition  published by Fraser Publishing Company, 1979.

A classic on Speculation , see the gems from the Preface: 'The man who looks upon speculation as a possible means of avoiding work will get little benefit from this book. It is written rather  for the man who is fascinated by the complexity of the forces which produce the ceaseless ebb and flow of the security prices, who wishes to get a better understanding of them. Successful speculation requires capital, courage and judgment. The speculator himself must supply all three. Natural good judgment is not enough. The speculator's judgment must be trained to understand the multitudinous facts of finance.'

A Money Mind At Ninety, by Philip L. Carret, Published by Fraser Publishing Company, 1991.

An eloquent, inspirational  autobiography of the man who not only wrote the classic 'The Art of Speculation', but was also the Founder of  the Pioneer Fund. The man lived a long life to tell of many rare events in the past century. Many lessons here, especially for those with a view to a long term engagement  in the field of speculation.