Introduction

About the book:

The book is written by one of the greatest traders of all time, Jesse Livermore. At the peak of his career, Livermore’s net worth was $100mn in 1929, which adjusted to today’s dollar is equivalent to $1.5bn. This book was written shortly before his death, this book accounts the trader’s fascinating autobiographical and historical details of trades during his lifetime, a must read for speculators looking to make money trading across asset classes.

The book includes some of the highlights of a lifetime of speculative experience—a record of some of the failures and successes and the lessons that each has taught him. Out of it all emerges his theory of “time element” in trading, which he regards as the most important factor in successful speculation.

The book starts with the description of Livermore’s new year ritual, which is to visit his bank vault and stay there for two days and three nights. During his stay here, he would take a feel of all the money he earned during the year ($50mn as mentioned in the book) and also read through his trading notes to understand what went right and more importantly, wrong, during the year. He is said to go for a vacation during the start of the year and spend a lot of money on leisure activities.

About the author:

Jesse Lauriston Livermore was an American stock trader. He is regarded as a day trading pioneer. He left his job at the young age of 16 and started trading full-time. He borrowed $1000 from his mother & within just three years, he accumulated $10,000 in profits. A 1000% return is exceptionally outstanding; that shows how good he was in day trading.