The Way of the Warrior-Trader: The Financial Risk-Taker's Guide to Samurai Courage, Confidence and Discipline (Hardcover)

by Richard McCall (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Dr. Richard McCall, a psychologist who teaches martial arts principles to professionals, turns his attention exclusively to the fiscal battlefield in The Way of the Warrior-Trader: The Financial Risk- Taker's Guide to Samurai Courage, Confidence and Discipline. Likening today's high-performance traders to Japan's legendary samurai, he combines personal anecdotes with success stories to show why the mind is the most important weapon in both arsenals--and how it can best be used in battle.

Product Description
Trading is war, an ongoing battle against other traders to get to profitable positions first, seize profits and move on to the next battle. The Way of the Warrior Trader applies time-honored precepts of the samurai discipline to modern trading, showing the reader ways to use centuries-old methods for victory in today's trading markets. The Way of the Warrior Trader: Provides a six step action plan for trading; Explains how to recover psychologically from a loss; Describes how to overcome the deep-seated psychological barriers to effective trading.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786311630
• ISBN-13: 978-0786311637
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #337,337 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding !, May 31, 2004

By	BSXX - See all my reviews

This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is also one of the most useful books I have ever read. I have traded futures for a couple years now and in the past 3 months I have decided to try to pick up my game. I have read Reminiscenses of a Stock Operator, Market Wizards, the New Market Wizards, High Probability Trading, and a few others. I am nearly finished reading Trading in the Zone by Douglas (a great book). I bought all of these from Amazon.com based on the reviews I have read here. I have learned much from all of these books and recommend all of them without reservation.

"The Way of the Warrior-Trader", however, is definitely unique. And I don't mean that it is simply an interesting novelty, it is much, much deeper than that. This book transcends trading and yet, at the same time, I think it is a more pertinent book for most traders than all of the above (in my opinion Trading in the Zone is equal to this book for traders, but it has a narrower focus). The other books tell you how others succeeded, but this book prepares YOU to enter the fray with the proper motivation and battlefield psychology.

PLEASE don't think this is just another mushy self-help, positive thinking book. Far from it, this is a reality-based, purpose-driven book that prepares you for the dangers and potential rewards that lie ahead. He eschews the typical shallow and covetous motivational approach, and takes a much deeper and much more effective "way". One that will not sound like every other "Retire rich in 3 years!!" book that you will forget 30 seconds after you finish the book.

This book is about more than trading, it is about risk-taking in general, be it financial, personal, physical, emotional, etc. If you have a dangerous or challenging job or are facing a challenging situation in life, I would not hesitate for a second to recommend this book. It is really that good. Just the "A" in "A.CT.I.O.N." alone has changed my entire approach and outlook to trading and others issues in my life. Very similar to Trading in the Zone, but from another angle.

This book does not appeal to your longing for riches or "lottery ticket" dreams, rather, it appeals to human issues that are much deeper and more enduring. You will find yourself motivated on a different and higher level, and this new motivation will be of a more permanent nature. I am what many of you would call a fundamentalist, right-wing, Bible-thumping Christian, yet, I was able to pass by some of McCall's Eastern religious views because I was moved by his message and his encouraging approach. Very much the approach of a kind and attentive instructor gently leading his pupils to a new way. Irrespective of my ultimate success or failure as a trader, I have gained much from this book that I can use in many other areas of my life. I highly recommend it.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for Traders, November 28, 1999

By	Jeffrey N. Ward (Geneva, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am loathe to buy trading books that are not written by full time traders, but made an exception for this one and am very glad I did. After finding it difficult to get through Musashi's Five Rings and The Unfettered Mind, this book described the Samurai philosophy very clearly. Not only that, but the author has worked with enough traders that he connects the two quite nicely. Upon completion of a trading book my first thought is, 'Was it worth the money?' In this case I would have paid three times what I paid for this book. I hope to take one of the authors seminars when my children are a little older.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on the trading mindset, December 17, 2001

By	J. Benjamin "music maven" (Hamilton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a technical analysis/trading systems book "junkie", having bought most of the major titles in the trading genre (and I've tried to use a bunch as well!). If I had to cull down my trading psychology titles down to one or two titles, I'd probably choose "Market Wizards" and this title. I especially like his A.C.T.I.O.N. plan upon which the book is organized, because it outlines a framework through which one can get into the hallowed mental "zone" that so many other authors love to talk about, but so few give solid methodology to achieve. It was the best kind of book: an easy read, but I became a better trader afterward. Well worth the money.