Sun Tzu's Art of War for Traders and Investors

Rating:
Summary: Sun Tsu's Art of War for Traders
Review: I enjoyed the book, such as it is. I read most of it in the book store standing in line to buy it. It's not a technical "this is how you do it" book, it is more of an inspirational, motivational read. Isn't that what philosophy is for anway...?

Pick it up for a word of confidence, but not for technicl advice.

Rating:
Summary: Absolute rubbish. Stay away!
Review: I picked up this book vaguely hoping my initial impressions would be wrong. They were not. I review it mainly as a service to warn other fans of Sun Tzu out there.

The graphic designer put more into this book than the author did. Faded yellow pages to give the illusion of age, unorthodox size and shape (smaller than normal so less content needs to fit on the page), ornate dragons imprinted on every other page to give that certain "feel" of wisdom...you get the idea. There should be a separate book section entitled `Meaningless Applications of Eastern Philosophy.' This gem would fit right in between `Samurai Door to Door Sales' and `The Tao of Accounting'.

Basically the concept here is that Lundell takes a vague soundbite of ancient wisdom and translates it into, well, whatever he wants. For example, take Sun Tzu's statement that "Leadership in war means courage, trustworthiness and wisdom." Lundell translates this into (paraphrasing here) "what is leading the market? Nothing happens in a vacuum, prices affect each other..." See the connection? Neither do I. Elsewhere Sun Tzu notes that "when it rains upstream, it is best to wait until the swell subsided before crossing." Lundell takes this to mean, don't trade late afternoon markets when there is a "flood" of orders.

I think I've got the hang of it now...when Sun Tzu advises us to be "unorthodox, infinite and inexhaustible," he is actually saying don't waste your hard earned cash on cheesy books that rip him off.

Rating:
Summary: Sun Tsu's Art of War for Traders
Review: I'm somewhat surprised by the negative reviews on this book. Maybe it's not a perfect interpretation of the Art of War....so what. Maybe there are not a lot of words or text.....you're probably right. And maybe it's not worth [$$$] to some....it's the words on the paper, not the paper.

But for an active investor who doesn't need more information but needs to regain their discipline, adaptability, money management, and risk management skills, this can be a very good read.

I'm not one to blast other authors or think that there's a lot of money in writing books because it takes a lot of time and effort with little chance of reward to produce these books. But hostile reviewers can be a tremendous disservice.

In this case, this book deserves better. You can argue with the packaging, but the message is clearly right on. And in the area of investing and trading, this is what you truly want.

I happily spent the money and reread it every year.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth the small investment
Review: It is instructive to look at how short term market traders think and act. Mr. Lundell's book helps us do just that. "Art Of War" as seen from a trader's perspective shows just how contrary long term investing methods have become!

This quick read also repeats many market wisdoms regarding strategic and tactical planning. Investors should start with a long term financial plan and work their way back to the investments they want. However, the reality is that most start with an impulsive purchase and then try to salvage the investment.

If there's an overall message here it's Plan and then Invest.

Rating:
Summary: It's the strategy not the tactics that help you win
Review: The one star goes to the design and packaging of the book. The content of it deserves an even lower rating.

I didnt blame the author for his poor translation and interpretation of Sun Tzu's work (As a Chinese who had studied Sun Tzu's Art of War seriously, I am confident that I understand that much more than the majority of non Chinese). What upsets me most is the author's poor market advice/application on every right page of a [strange] Sun Tzu's adage in the Art of War on every left page. First, there was always no relationship between the two. Second, even a veteran trader and trading book fan like me was frequently brought to dont know where by the author's frequent use of very vague words and flamboyant talk.

Dont buy it. You can spend your money and time much more productively on other trading books.

Rating:
Summary: An insult on Sun Tzu
Review: The one star goes to the design and packaging of the book. The content of it deserves an even lower rating.

I didnt blame the author for his poor translation and interpretation of Sun Tzu's work (As a Chinese who had studied Sun Tzu's Art of War seriously, I am confident that I understand that much more than the majority of non Chinese). What upsets me most is the author's poor market advice/application on every right page of a [strange] Sun Tzu's adage in the Art of War on every right page. First, there were always no relationship between the two. Second, even a veteran trader and trading book fan like me was frequently brought to dont know where by the author's frequent use of very vague words and flamboyant talk.

Dont buy it. You can spend your money and time much more productively on other trading books.

Rating:
Summary: It's the strategy not the tactics that help you win
Review: This book help's you understand and relate Sun Tzu's strategies to trading. If your looking for a "buy/sell here" book the stores are loaded with dozens of them. If your goal is to understand the link between Sun Tzu and trading from a Veteran trader get the book. It will spur you to think for yourself and follow the guide of Sun Tzu