BOOK REVIEW
By Cam R
Title: Trading in the Zone
Author: Mark Douglas
One of the most highly regarded books on trading psychology, and a
book in the collection of many successful traders. A book also on the
recommendations list of many traders as one of the premier books in the field
of trading psychology. I remembered this book kept popping up when I was
searching for books on trading psychology in the past, and finally decided to
read it.
Was the book worth the read and its high praise? Let’s find out
below.
Packaging - 4/5 (Hardcover Edition)
Nice sturdy book, printed on good quality white paper. Cover
design is nice and easily remembered. Font is easy on the eyes. I would have
liked more margin space in order to be able to jot down any ideas, but that is
a small issue. The hardcover edition would make a nice addition on the
shelf, so overall the packaging is pretty good.
Writing Style - 3/5
Written in a direct and straight-forward manner, the book is very
easy to pick up and delve straight into. The language is also simple and easily
understood. I felt that Douglas had taken great care to make his book
accessible and clear, and to his credit it is. The only thing I feel is that he
has a certain tendency to repeat the same ideas in different ways, which makes
the book slightly repetitive.
Trading Methods (Specifics) - 4/5
As this book is on trading psychology, there are no specific
trading methods per se. So a better measurement would be to gauge how detailed
are his methods on trading psychology. In this regard, it is presented very
nicely in the book. Douglas does a very good job building up the case on the
merits of a new thinking methodology and after he manages to sway you (and his
argument is indeed convincing enough), he then lays out to you the steps needed
to learn this new methodology.
Trading Management (Soft Skills) - 3/5
He mainly tells you the why of needing to change your thinking and
then gives you the how in changing your thought process. As to the managing of
the change process, it’s mainly up to you to sustain and keep at it. Although I
do think the exercise towards the end of the book to measure the current
thought process is a pretty useful.
Trading Psychology (Mindset) - 5/5
Definitely 5 out of 5 on this. I can understand why this is one of
the highly regarded and recommended books on trading psychology. It’s
almost like a short cut to the ideal trading mindset, if there’s such a thing as a short cut in trading. The
examples he cites are also easy to grasp, and strongly supplements his
argument.
Longevity - 4/5
An excellent book that is a must-read for all traders. Unless you
were born into a successful trading family or by some lucky fate have the
correct trading mindset, there is definitely a lot to take away from this book.
Value - 5/5
Well worth the cover price, and probably more. I have read more
expensive market trading books with lesser content that comes up much short of
what Trading in the Zone offers. Fantastic
content for the value.
Things to Watch Out For -
This book is on trading psychology, which is a very important part
of trading. But one part does not make the whole. Read it but keep in mind that
having a profitable methodology and the execution skills are also crucial to
successful trading. To make an analogy to golf, all the correct mindset in the
world can’t help you to hit a golf ball properly if you do not possess the skill
or your body cannot execute the technique to hit the ball where you want it to
go.
Overall - 5/5
One of the best books on trading psychology, and one book I would
highly recommend to anyone interested in trading the markets.
Score Recap:
Packaging - 4/5
Writing Style - 3/5
Trading Methods (Specifics) - 4/5
Trading Management (Soft Skills) - 3/5
Trading Psychology (Mindset) - 5/5
Longevity -4/5
Value - 5/5
Overall - 5/5
Where to Buy:
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Thanks for reading!
And do check back for more reviews. :)
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