Customer Reviews

Day Trading on the Edge: A Look-before-You-Leap Guide to Extreme Investing

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book fulfills its' promise but if you want to learn to trade this is not the book for you. It does not pretend to be but the title is deceptive. It really is a look before you leap guide. It is hard to determine who wrote the book with so many contributing writers. I would recommend this book for those who know nothing about the subject and after you have read it you will know nothing about trading. But, you will know everything about the trading industry. The book should have been re-titled but then fewer people would have bought it.

If ever I have bought a worthless piece of #### this is it. This man has absolutely nothing useful, except to warn you time and again not to be a day trader. He repeats the same very basic concepts in all the beginning chapters. I learned nothing useful except a ton of webpages and daytrading courses offered by the daytraders who he interviewed complete with thier 800 numbers....A real waste of ... I kid you not.

Approximately three years ago,I became intrigued with the 'day
trading'phenomenon.There is no shortage of news stories and incidents
to confirm or negate pre-conceived opinions.I have read dozens of
books on the subject,along with hundreds of news stories and visited
scores of websites.With the abundance of raw information,one can
understand,the need for structure and focus. Finally,here is a book
that focuses on all the issues you need to address on whether to
become a day trader or not.This book is:Day Trading On The Edge by
Leslie Masonson.It is the definitive book on the subject to date.
Mr.Masonson,takes on the struggle of whether or not to become a day
trader.The writer takes an impartial,passionate approach and gears his
findings towards the newcomer,the novice day trader,and the online
investor. The book is divided into five sections.Part One leads off
with a hard look at the requirements.The beginning framework provided
is brutal in its honesty about minimum requirements,psychological
makeup,capital requirements,education and commitment. A roadmap is
provided for acquiring the 'best trading education'.The tabulated
results of a fifty-seven question survey of over two hundred day
traders gives an empirical view of requirements.Along with this are
two expert opinions on the importance of psychology in trading.Ten
steps are provided to guide in the selection of a trading firm.Their
names and websites are listed along with a questionaire to assist in
reference checking. If you are more comfortable trading from a home
environment,the requirements are also detailed.There is a wonderful
section entitled 'all about connections'contributed by Gibbons
Burke,that demystifies this area.The author has painstakingly detailed
additional critical info you will need.No detail is spared,Mr.Masonson
even helps you to select a comfortable chair.You are treated to a
picture of his 'Herman Miller Aeron Chair'.A plush $750 cushioned
chair geared to comfortable seat any daytrader for a stressful day.
Mr.Masonson uses simple everyday language,along with easy to follow
charts to summarize critical factors and data for easy reference and
decision making. The educational resources catalogued are virtual.It
leads off with a questionnaire to frame your needs.This is followed
with a focused listing of websites,related phone numbers,books,a
technical analysis workshop along with its demanding
curriculum,professional trading magazines and financial columns.You
could spend a good portion of your life structuring and researching
all the material on the web.This is all conveniently grouped together
from a traders' perspective in this book. Money management,an
integral part of day trading is handled deftly and expertly by John
Piper,Oscar Goldman,Ryan Jones and Ted Tesser.To accomodate the
differing styles of processing information,various approaches are
highlighted.From general rules,to the highly technical approaches of
the fixed fractional method,optimal f,and Oscar Goldman's 'new
age'approach-Your Mind's Money Machine. Everyone agrees legally
keeping what you make is a core strategy.Ted Tesser tackles this issue
with refreshing simplicity and humor (Mr.I M Screwed's A/C), head
on.You will find comprehensive analysis of 'broker-dealer/market
maker'strategy,entity and VEBA structurings and how to incorporate
these strategies into your trading program.Like rare fine wines,a list
of tax advantaged websites is provided. Would you like to go one on
one with traders and CEO's of trading firms?The author goes head on
and ask 1001 questions you would have asked such luminaries as Theresa
Lo,Larry Pesavento,Tim Cho(TCI Corp),Donald and Robert Bright,Alan
Farley,Chris Manning and a host of others.Check out the curriculum for
one of the best technical analysis seminars around-MATS(Manning
Advanced Training Seminars).These interviews in section four are
riveting,balanced and essential in your consideration to daytrade or
not. The CEO's of trading firms are grilled.Their honesty and ability
to openly respond to issues such as daytrading services,the Mark
Barton incident,potential suitability of a client,their training
programs,the future of daytrading,SEC issues,margin requirements
etc.,is compelling when you are deciding whether to trade with a firm
or from home. Contributing CEO's are from On-Site Trading
Inc,EdgeTrade.Com, Bright Trading,Inc,Market Secs,Inc and Carlin
Equities Corp,all luminaries in the field. The Regulatory findings on
the daytrading industry are all collected,and referenced for your
perusal.A roadmap is provided for you to evaluate these findings and
decide whether you want to be a part of this industry.The industry's
concerns-comparison to gambling,firms' flaws and failure to prove
their claims,lending arrangements,deceptive advertising are discussed
without qualifications. The author challenges you to explore this
intriguing world and decide if you really want to be a part of it.Or
else,why would he include as one of his final chapters-Why In The
World Would Anyone Become A Day Trader?- by Saul Nirenberg.If you
still opt for this world,then pg.364 of the final chapter is for you.A
comprehensive,finely crafted plan for venturing into the nether world
of day trading. Whatever you decide,it is a riveting and compelling
discourse.

As others have said, this book really doesn't tell you anything about trading. Instead, it focuses more on what kind of person would make a good trader. It reminds me of the articles about different professions my high school guidance counselor gave me when I was a kid.

There are many contributing writers to this book, which is a bit confusing since the cover only mentions Leslie Masonson. It appears he was basically the editor of the book, who also wrote a few chapters. He conducted a survey, and published the results, which is worthwhile, and could be interesting to prospective traders.

I found Chapter 11 on tax evasion (er, I mean planning) by Ted Tesser to be written poorly. I haven't read something so repetitive since Wade B. Cook's "Wall Street Money Machine". Tesser has a few ideas (which may be good, who knows), which he repeats (often in bullet form) over and over again. I couldn't imagine buying Tesser's book which he plugs in that chapter. Just hire a tax attorney... might cost more up front, but the at least you won't be wasting your time.

The last few chapters contain interviews with many different traders. Masonson plugs each of their websites (about half of which are out of business as of May 2005). Some of these traders seemed to have intelligent advice, others seemed to barely know what they are doing themselves.

In summary, I found this to be another run of the mill book on trading. Like so many books on the subject, you feel like the main goal of the book was to promote other businesses offered by the writers. I suggest if you still want to read it, you do as I did, and borrow it from your local library rather than waste your $$.

This was a fun book to read if you like trading books in general. There are some good points on system selection (almost too much), tax tips and an interesting section on Psychology. The interviews with traders are very general and do not contain any information on strategy of the traders. Had the interviews contained more strategy and less chit chat, this would be an excellent selection. As is however, just so so..

This book could be described as a second generation, realistic examination of the day trading phenomenon. The first wave of books was often hype. Sadly, many of those books are still popular. By contrast, this book is well researched.

I was very impressed by the author's research into the age of day traders. All too often we hear these stories about day traders being 20-year olds blowing stacks of cash that seemed to have come from somewhere by magic. The fact is the average day trader is much older, as the book points out. I know this for a fact from having attended day trading conferences and other such events. The average new day trader has spent years working and saving. He/she isn't a 20 year old that just happened to have $100,000 lying around unused as the media would have you believe.

In summary, this is one book that belongs in your library, if you are interested in day trading. The information is very informative, and the size of the book makes it well worth the price. Unlike other stock market books, you won't find filler in this one.

Day Trading on the Edge is a must read for anyone seriously considering day trading. Instead of focusing on specific strategies or techniques for day trading, it focuses on what the potential day trader should know before beginning this risky investing technique. The risks are clearly delineated, and resources for every aspect of day trading are provided. It takes a balanced, comprehensive look at day trading and provides the information necessary to determine if day trading is right for you. The book is very well written, easy to understand, and a must resource for anyone looking into day trading either on a part-time or a full-time vocation.

I'VE READ A NUMBER OF BOOKS ON DAY TRADING AND THIS IS THE FIRST ONE THAT EXPLAINS ALL OF THE RISK THAT ART INVOLVED. THE BOOK IS EXTREMELY DETAILED, WELL WRITTEN AND OFFERS A POTENTIAL DAY TRADER THE INSIGHTS NECESSARY TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION AS TO WHETHER DAY TRADING IS A SUITABLE PROFESSION. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL OF YOUR READER WHO ARE INTERESTED IN CONSIDERING DAY TRADING AS A CAREER.

This book tells it like it is, and is designed for those who are interested in the business of day (or for that matter, any kind of) trading.

It touches on all the subjects a future trader should contemplate before embarking on trading as a "career" - a complete "sanity checklist".

Highly recommended. If you don't know the stuff contained in this book, all the trading techniques in the world won't help.

As a relative newbie to the world of short term trading, I consider Les Masonson's book to be a wealth of impartial and unbiased information. This book does not tell you how to trade and was not intended to do so, however it does describe many important aspects and details of the world of short term and day trading. Mr Masonson uses surveys, contributions from traders, educators and professionals to describe most of the aspects of trading that a novice trader needs to consider.

It's the first book that I have read that attempts to cut through the hype and mythology of trading. I now understand why so many new traders fail and give up in a short time. Many fail to use proper risk management,and a large percentage have inadequate education in trading strategies and methods.

After reading Day Trading on the Edge I am able to determine if trading is right for me, and am able to proceed with greater knowledge and confidence. It's a great resource for anyone that isn't sure where to start.