Back to Academy
Academy

Trading Books

A curated library of essential books every trader should read — covering technical analysis, psychology, risk management, market history, and more.

How to use this list

  • Gold stars mark the "Bible" of each category — if you only read one per section, choose a starred book.
  • Click the icon on any book to search Amazon for it.
  • Use the search bar or category filters below to narrow the list.

Technical Analysis & Charting

Charts, patterns, and price action. These books teach you how to read a price chart — support/resistance, candlestick patterns, indicators, and trend lines.

Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets cover

Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets

John J. Murphy

The “Bible” of technical analysis

The comprehensive textbook standard for understanding charts, indicators, and patterns. Considered the definitive guide for chart reading.

bibleclassic
Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques cover

Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques

Steve Nison

Introduced candlestick charts to the West

The book that introduced candlestick charts to the Western world and their specific reversal patterns.

bibleclassic
Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns cover

Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns

Thomas Bulkowski

A data-heavy reference book that statistically ranks the success rates of various chart patterns.

reference
Elliott Wave Principle cover

Elliott Wave Principle

A.J. Frost & Robert Prechter

The authoritative guide to the Wave Principle, arguing that markets move in repetitive cycles based on mass psychology.

waves
Technical Analysis Explained cover

Technical Analysis Explained

Martin Pring

A practical guide often used as a core curriculum for market technicians.

curriculum
Ichimoku Charts cover

Ichimoku Charts

Nicole Elliott

A guide to the Japanese "cloud" charting system designed to show trend, support, and resistance in one glance.

ichimoku

Trading Psychology & Mindset

The trader’s mind, emotions, and discipline. You can have the best strategy in the world, but if you cannot control fear, greed, and ego, you will lose money.

Trading in the Zone cover

Trading in the Zone

Mark Douglas

The “Bible” of trading psychology

Teaches traders how to overcome fear and think in terms of probabilities rather than certainties. Widely regarded as the best book on trading mindset.

bibleclassic
The Disciplined Trader cover

The Disciplined Trader

Mark Douglas

Focuses on the mental transformation required to move from a structured society to the unstructured market environment.

classic
The Daily Trading Coach cover

The Daily Trading Coach

Brett Steenbarger

Structured as 101 distinct lessons to help traders become their own psychologists and mentors.

practical
Best Loser Wins cover

Best Loser Wins

Tom Hougaard

A modern classic arguing that the difference between winning and losing traders is purely how they handle losing positions.

modern
Thinking, Fast and Slow cover

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman

Explains the cognitive biases — like loss aversion — that cause traders to make systematic mistakes.

behavioral
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience cover

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Explores the state of "flow," essential for day traders who need peak concentration during market hours.

flow

Fundamental Analysis & Value Investing

The “true value” of an asset. Less about lines on a chart and more about valuing a company or currency based on real-world data — balance sheets, earnings, P/E ratios.

The Intelligent Investor cover

The Intelligent Investor

Benjamin Graham

The “Bible” of fundamental analysis

Warren Buffett’s favourite book. The classic text on value investing and the difference between investment and speculation.

bibleclassic
Security Analysis cover

Security Analysis

Benjamin Graham & David Dodd

The advanced textbook version of The Intelligent Investor, focusing on analyzing balance sheets and financial statements.

advancedclassic
One Up On Wall Street cover

One Up On Wall Street

Peter Lynch

Encourages individual investors to use their own everyday observations to find high-growth stocks before Wall Street does.

accessible
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits cover

Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits

Philip Fisher

Focuses on qualitative analysis and the importance of holding high-quality growth companies for the long term.

growth
The Little Book of Valuation cover

The Little Book of Valuation

Aswath Damodaran

A concise guide to valuing assets from the "Dean of Valuation" at NYU Stern.

valuation
Margin of Safety cover

Margin of Safety

Seth Klarman

A cult classic on risk-averse value investing. Currently out of print and very difficult to find.

rareclassic
The Essays of Warren Buffett cover

The Essays of Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett & Lawrence Cunningham

Lessons on capital allocation and compounding from one of the world's greatest investors — curated from Buffett's shareholder letters.

valueclassic
The Dhando Investor cover

The Dhando Investor

Mohnish Pabrai

Explores low-risk, high-reward strategies for investing, maximizing compound growth using the 'Dhando' framework.

valuelow-risk

Biographies & Market History

Learning from the masters. How the best traders in history survived and thrived — interviews with billionaires, war stories from the trading floor, and historical crashes.

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator cover

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

Edwin Lefèvre

The most-read trading biography of all time

A fictionalized biography of Jesse Livermore that teaches timeless lessons on market manipulation, crowd psychology, and price action.

bibleclassic
Market Wizards cover

Market Wizards

Jack Schwager

Mandatory reading for every trader

The definitive collection of interviews with the world’s top traders, revealing that there is no “one right way” to trade, only discipline.

bibleinterviews
The New Market Wizards cover

The New Market Wizards

Jack Schwager

A sequel focusing on American traders, covering currency trading, options, and futures with equal depth.

interviews
Liar’s Poker cover

Liar’s Poker

Michael Lewis

A gripping, semi-autobiographical account of the bond trading culture at Salomon Brothers in the 1980s.

culture
When Genius Failed cover

When Genius Failed

Roger Lowenstein

The dramatic story of the rise and fall of Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM), highlighting the dangers of excessive leverage and overconfidence in models.

risk
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds cover

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

Charles Mackay

Written in 1841, this book explores historical market bubbles (like Tulipmania) to explain herd mentality.

classic
Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk cover

Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk

Peter L. Bernstein

A comprehensive history of how humanity learned to understand, measure, and manage risk.

riskhistory
The Big Short cover

The Big Short

Michael Lewis

Explains the 2008 financial crisis through the eyes of the few eccentric traders who bet against the housing market.

crisis
More Money Than God cover

More Money Than God

Sebastian Mallaby

A detailed history of hedge funds and the alpha-generators who pioneered the industry.

hedge-funds
Pit Bull cover

Pit Bull

Marty Schwartz

A fast-paced memoir of a champion day trader, offering a "street-smart" view of trading futures and stocks.

day-trading

Quantitative & Algorithmic Trading

Math, data, and automated systems. For those who want to remove human discretion and build computer models — backtesting, statistical arbitrage, and trading bots.

The Man Who Solved the Market cover

The Man Who Solved the Market

Gregory Zuckerman

Essential reading for quants

The story of Jim Simons and Renaissance Technologies — the most successful quantitative hedge fund in history.

biblebiography
Trading Systems and Methods cover

Trading Systems and Methods

Perry Kaufman

An encyclopedic reference for building and testing algorithmic trading strategies.

systemsreference
Algorithmic Trading cover

Algorithmic Trading

Ernie Chan

A practical guide to coding and backtesting strategies like mean reversion and momentum.

practical
Flash Boys cover

Flash Boys

Michael Lewis

A controversial look at High-Frequency Trading (HFT) and how it changed the plumbing of the stock market.

hft
Inside the Black Box cover

Inside the Black Box

Rishi Narang

Demystifies how quantitative hedge funds actually work and select their strategies.

hedge-funds

Risk Management & Systems

Survival and math. How to size your positions so a string of losses doesn’t bankrupt you — position sizing, stop-loss placement, and risk-of-ruin calculations.

Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom cover

Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom

Van Tharp

The definitive guide to position sizing

Focuses heavily on position sizing and expectancy, arguing that how much you buy matters more than what you buy.

bibleposition-sizing
Antifragile cover

Antifragile

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Argues that systems should be built not just to withstand shock, but to improve from it.

philosophy
The Black Swan cover

The Black Swan

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Examines the extreme impact of rare and unpredictable outlier events on financial markets.

tail-risk
Fooled by Randomness cover

Fooled by Randomness

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Discusses how luck is often mistaken for skill in the financial markets.

probability
Thinking in Bets cover

Thinking in Bets

Annie Duke

A poker player’s guide to making decisions under uncertainty, highly applicable to trading.

decisions

Options & Derivatives

Every conceivable option strategy, volatility pricing, and the Greeks — Delta, Gamma, Theta, and Vega.

Options as a Strategic Investment cover

Options as a Strategic Investment

Lawrence McMillan

The most comprehensive options reference

The "doorstopper" reference book covering every conceivable option strategy and adjustment.

reference
Option Volatility and Pricing cover

Option Volatility and Pricing

Sheldon Natenberg

Focuses on the role of volatility and theoretical pricing models, essential for professional option traders.

volatility
Trading Options Greeks cover

Trading Options Greeks

Dan Passarelli

A deep dive into Delta, Gamma, Theta, and Vega, and how they impact your positions.

greeks

Auction Market Theory (AMT)

An advanced niche viewing the market as an auction seeking “fair value.” Uses Market Profile (TPO charts) and Volume Profile to read market intent.

Recommended reading order: Mind Over Markets → Markets in Profile → Steidlmayer on Markets → Volume Profile
Mind Over Markets cover

Mind Over Markets

James Dalton

Start here for Auction Market Theory

The "Bible" of Market Profile. Explains TPOs (Time Price Opportunities), day types, and how to read market intent. Essential for understanding the auction process.

biblemarket-profile
Markets in Profile cover

Markets in Profile

James Dalton

The sequel to Mind Over Markets. More conceptual, teaching you to ask "What is the market trying to do, and how good of a job is it doing?"

advancedmarket-profile
Steidlmayer on Markets cover

Steidlmayer on Markets

J. Peter Steidlmayer

By the "father" of Market Profile. The foundational theory of why markets move (to facilitate trade) and how volume and time interact.

originmarket-profile
Volume Profile: The Insider’s Guide to Trading cover

Volume Profile: The Insider’s Guide to Trading

Trader Dale

Very practical, less academic. Strips away complex TPO jargon and focuses on where the heavy volume is with actionable strategies.

volume-profilepractical

Strategy-Specific & General Guides

Proven methodologies — CANSLIM, trend following, stage analysis, and balanced guides covering mind, method, and money.

How to Make Money in Stocks cover

How to Make Money in Stocks

William O’Neil

Outlines the CANSLIM method, a hybrid strategy combining fundamental earnings growth with technical breakouts.

canslim
Trend Following cover

Trend Following

Michael Covel

Analysing the data to prove that following the trend (rather than predicting it) generates the highest returns.

trend
The Complete TurtleTrader cover

The Complete TurtleTrader

Michael Covel

The story of the "Turtle" experiment, where a group of novices were taught a specific trend-following system and made millions.

trendturtle
Trading for a Living cover

Trading for a Living

Alexander Elder

A balanced guide covering the "3 M’s": Mind (Psychology), Method (Analysis), and Money (Risk Management).

balanced
Come Into My Trading Room cover

Come Into My Trading Room

Alexander Elder

A follow-up to Trading for a Living offering more specific trade management and record-keeping advice.

practical
Mastering the Trade cover

Mastering the Trade

John Carter

A practical book for retail traders focusing on specific setups for futures and options markets.

day-tradingswing
Secrets for Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets cover

Secrets for Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets

Stan Weinstein

Famous for introducing "Stage Analysis," identifying the four phases of a stock’s life cycle.

stage-analysis

Money Psychology & Financial Behavior

How our emotions, biases, and personal history shape financial decisions. Understanding your relationship with money is step one to managing it well.

The Psychology of Money cover

The Psychology of Money

Morgan Housel

The modern classic on money mindset

Explores 19 short stories demonstrating how personal history, ego, and pride shape financial behavior — doing well with money is more about behavior than intelligence.

generalmodern
Money on Your Mind cover

Money on Your Mind

Vicky Reynal

A financial therapy book addressing emotional triggers for spending — comfort shopping, fear, and control — to help change damaging financial habits.

therapymodern
Mind Over Money cover

Mind Over Money

Claudia Hammond

An exploration of the surprising, often irrational ways money influences our daily lives, examining how our brains react to financial situations.

behavioral
Loaded cover

Loaded

Sarah Newcomb

A behavioral economist's guide to identifying the personal stories and core beliefs that drive your financial decisions.

behavioralpractical
The Behavior Gap cover

The Behavior Gap

Carl Richards

Why people consistently make irrational financial decisions due to emotional responses to market changes, and how to bridge the gap between intention and action.

practical
Money Mammoth cover

Money Mammoth

Brad Klontz, Ed Horwitz & Ted Klontz

Explores the evolutionary and psychological obstacles that prevent people from making sound financial choices, and how to overcome your inner money mammoth.

evolutionary
The New Psychology of Money cover

The New Psychology of Money

Adrian Furnham

A comprehensive, research-based analysis of how money affects our thoughts, behaviors, and relationships — from family to the workplace to the super-rich.

academiccomprehensive
Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes cover

Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes

Gary Belsky & Thomas Gilovich

Explains how behavioral economics influences financial decision-making and offers strategies to avoid common pitfalls.

behavioral
Same as Ever cover

Same as Ever

Morgan Housel

A guide to what never changes — the timeless behaviors, risks, and patterns that define how humans handle money and uncertainty.

modern
Rich Dad Poor Dad cover

Rich Dad Poor Dad

Robert Kiyosaki

The personal finance classic that challenges conventional views on working for money vs making money work for you.

classicmindset

Wealth Building & Compounding

The power of compounding, index investing, quality growth, and long-term wealth creation. Patient capital beats frantic trading.

The Simple Path to Wealth cover

The Simple Path to Wealth

JL Collins

The simplest path to financial independence

Recommends a simple, long-term strategy of investing in low-cost index funds to maximize compounding — the bedrock of the FIRE movement.

index-fundsFIRE
The Joys of Compounding cover

The Joys of Compounding

Gautam Baid

Focuses on the compounding of knowledge and wealth, with practical advice on value investing and the mindset needed for long-term success.

valuecompounding
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing cover

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing

John C. Bogle

The Vanguard founder's investing manifesto

Explains why low-cost index funds are the most effective way to compound returns over time — from the founder of Vanguard.

index-fundsbogle
The Compound Effect cover

The Compound Effect

Darren Hardy

A guide to how small, consistent actions in life and finance create massive results through the power of compounding.

habitsmindset
Quality Investing cover

Quality Investing

Lawrence A. Cunningham

Focuses on owning high-quality companies with sustainable competitive advantages for long-term compounding.

qualitymoat
The Outsiders cover

The Outsiders

William N. Thorndike

Highlights eight unconventional CEOs who created exceptional shareholder returns through disciplined capital allocation.

CEOscapital-allocation

Know a book that should be on this list? Let us know on Discord.

Amazon links are non-affiliate.