Ok, I will start with a run-down of the things I liked best about this book.
-Every trader profiled is very different than the others. Telling me there are hundreds of ways to make money trading.
-Every trader knows his strengths and weaknesses and focuses on what he is good at. The basic centuries old advice "Know Thyself" rings true again. Are you better trading long or short? Fast hits, or more long term? Trade your style for success.
-Every trader says "don't lose money". Come on, who doesn't know that? But it turns out it is probably one of the most violated trading rules out there, one every successful trader follows. As the book states, protect yourself, No Capital, No Trading, No Life.
-You are not smarter than the market. Trade what is happening at this moment, not what you want or hope to happen.
-Stay away from companies with debt. If you are going long, that's a great piece of advice! While other companies that carry debt also move up, those without it move up more reliably.
-Trend is continuous, but turn only happens once.
-If you have to make money, you never will. All of these traders trade to do it right. If you do it right each time you will make money as an added benefit. If you violate your rules the market will punish you.
-Focus on a few stocks, futures, or currencies. You can't trade everything, so you need to become an expert and specialize somewhere.
The traders profiled target different markets. Stocks, futures, and Forex. There is a good assortment here so you should be able to find at least one trader that resonates with your trading style. While every one of them trades differently they all have figured out a system that they stick to. Some have daily profit targets, others don't. Some of the targets are large, others seem very small, like one trader that shoots for ten pips a day. That's a pretty easy target in my opinion, but if you make it a large trade you can achieve a pretty high reward.
One comment in the book really clicked for me. It pretty much summed up in one sentence why I enjoy trading so much. The sentence was "Trading is one of the only professions that punishes you for non-performance". It also rewards you instantly for good performance. There are many jobs in this world where you can skate by and do mediocre work and get away with it. But in trading there is no place to hide. Your P/L will tell you immediately if you have done good or bad. What other career can give you that instantaneous feedback?
Most of these traders paper-trade to ensure their systems work. One trader will triple his paper account before trying the system live. That's dedication to your craft. I have found that I cannot paper-trade too long, maybe I am impatient? That's one reason I like Forex because I can trade very small amounts and actually use real money to do a pseudo-paper-trade. The amount of risk is very tiny, but psychologically I am more focused because I understand its actual money on the line. Then once I have achieved a long enough test sample the only change I have to make is the trade size.
If you trade or are planning on starting, I highly recommend this book. I think there is knowledge here for everyone, no matter what your skill level is.