Essential Investment Books - What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars

This book by Jim Paul and Brendan Moynihan is aand emotional that is part of any decision making
book any trader should read - The book correctlyincluding trading.
states that there are lots of different ways to makePlaying great defense
money and only a few ways to lose it. Therefore youThe authors covers the key areas ALL losing traders
need to concentrate on not losing firstfail in, that let losses get out of control.
If you have not read this book you will see theKey areas covered are:
markets in a completely different light and one that- The three biggest mistakes traders make and how
could lead you to bigger profits and is simply one ofto avoid them.
the best investment books ever writtten.- Why the most important part of building wealth is not
What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars is a fascinating,losing it.
insightful, easy-to-read true story of Jim Paul's rise- The psychological pattern which all losses take in a
from a humble country background to jet-settingtraders head, regardless of the position size
millionaire trader and Governor of the ChicagoThe discussion on the risk/reward ratio, and why most
Mercantile Exchange.other books get it wrong is perhaps the most
It is an examination of the lessons he learned frominteresting part of the book.
losing a million dollars in the market which broughtThis point is worth the books price alone as the aothor
about his demise and then covers his rise from theexplains
ashes.Why you have to take into account the
This book contains no technical theories and reallyPROBABILITY of return, and PROBABILITY of loss,
focuses on how NOT To lose money - there arewhen trading and not simply divide the size of your
plenty of ways to make money so how come mostexpected return by the size of your expected loss, as
traders lose it?most authors suggest - if you do you will lose!
The answer lies as we have stated that:This really is the key point of the book if you want to
It's not how you make money that's important therekeep losses under control as it states in the preface.
are many ways to do that, but are only a few ways"This book is a case study of the classic tale of
to lose it and if you are mindful of them and don'tcountless entrepreneurs: the risk taker who sees an
make losing mistakes - you can emerge a winner.opportunity, the idea that clicks the intoxicating growth,
The book is essentially divided into two parts:the errors and the collapse. Our case is that of a
Section 1trader, but as with all case studies and parables the
The first half of the book about Jim's life makes youlessons can be applied to a great many other
feel close to him and the experience he is facing as hissituations.
world crashes around him. It's both funny and sad inIf you want a book to show you the importance of
equal measure and is a superb fiction story.emotional discipline and the art of risk management,
Section 2then this is it.
After the loss and its aftermath, comes the authorsThis book has recently gone out of print, so get your
views of what he had learned and this really is original,hands on a second hand copy or get to the library and
thought provoking and insightful. The authors show youread it.
how to identify and manage the risks, both monetary