Recommended Forex Books for New and Developing Traders

Almost weekly--be it on reddit's /r/forex, our Live Trader Chat, other forums--We come across aspiring Forex traders asking the question: "What are some good books to get started or increase my skills?"

To help answer this, we put together a list of recommended books for that's relevant for any new, aspiring, or developing forex traders.

Disclaimer: While other books might be of high quality, our team has a rule to only recommend books that have been vetted by a seasoned professional (institutional) trader, and that has helped the development of a professional trader during their career. Reading a book can be an investment of not just money, but time, so we take these recommendations seriously.

Beginner / Basics

(Yes, I know it's a 'for dummies' book, but if you want a physical book to read and reference as you start your journey into the world of Forex: This book provides one of the better, well rounded, introductions to FX. Seriously.)

Currency Trading for Dummies - Kathleen Brooks Your plain-English guide to Currency Trading For Dummies is a hands-on, user-friendly guide that explains how the foreign exchange (Forex) market works and how you can become a part of it. Currency trading has many benefits, but it also has fast-changing financial-trading avenues. Forex markets are always moving. So how do you keep up? With this new edition of Currency Trading For Dummies, you'll get the expert guidance you've come to know and expect from the trusted For Dummies brand now updated with the latest information on the topic. Inside, you'll find an easy-to-follow introduction to the global/ Forex market that explains its size, scope, and players; a look at the major economic drivers that influence currency values; and the lowdown on how to interpret data and events like a pro. Plus, you'll discover different types of trading styles and make a concrete strategy and game plan before you act on anything.

General Forex and Trading

The Art of Currency Trading : A Professional's Guide to the Foreign Exchange Market Now you can master the art of foreign exchange trading. While most currency trading and foreign exchangee books focus on international finance theory or simplistic chart-based strategies, The Art of Currency Trading is a comprehensive guide that will teach you how to profitably trade currencies in the real world. Author Brent Donnelly has been a successful interbank FX trader for more than 20 years and in this book, he shares the specific strategies and tactics he has used to profit in the forex marketplace.

Naked Forex - Alex Nekritin, Walter Peters A streamlined and highly effective approach to trading without indicators Most forex traders rely on technical analysis books written for stocks, futures, and option traders. However, long before computers and calculators, traders were trading naked. Naked trading is the simplest (and oldest) trading method. It's simply trading without technical indicators, and that is exactly what this book is about. Traders who use standard technical indicators focus on the [Technical_Analysis | indicators]]. Traders using naked trading techniques focus on the price chart. Naked trading is a simple and superior way to trade and is suited to those traders looking to quickly achieve expertise with a trading method.

Leveraged Trading - Robert Carver With the right broker, and just a few hundred dollars or pounds, anyone can become a leveraged trader. The products and tools needed are accessible to all: FX, a margin account, CFDs, spread-bets and futures. But this level playing field comes with great risks. Trading with leverage is inherently dangerous. With leverage, losses and costs - the two great killers for traders - are magnified. This does not mean leverage must be avoided altogether, but it does mean that it needs to be used safely. In Leveraged Trading, Robert Carver shows you how to do exactly that, by using a trading system. A trading system can be employed to tackle those twin dangers of serious losses and high costs.

Charts and Technical Analysis

The Art and Science of Technical Analysis - Adam Grimes A breakthrough trading book that provides powerful insights on profitable technical patterns and strategies The Art and Science of technical analysis is a groundbreaking work that bridges the gaps between the academic view of markets, technical analysis, and profitable trading. The book explores why randomness prevails in markets most, but not all, of the time and how technical analysis can be used to capture statistically validated patterns in certain types of market conditions. The belief of the book is that buying and selling pressure causes patterns in prices, but that these technical patterns are only effective in the presence of true buying/selling imbalance. The Art and Science of Technical Analysis is supported by extensive statistical analysis of the markets, which will debunk some tools and patterns such as Fibonacci analysis, and endorse other tools and trade setups. In addition, this reliable resource discusses trader psychology and trader learning curves based on the author's extensive experience as a trader and trainer of traders.

Fundamentals and Economic Analysis​

The Global Macro Edge - John Netto Exploit global market relationships to maximize investment returns The Global Macro Edge: Harnessing Risk-Based Strategies to Power Next Generation Investments is the individual trader's guide to following and trading global markets. With expert insight and detailed discussion on strategies including long gamma, short gamma, trend following, mean reversion, and spreads, the book provides traders with the knowledge and tools they need to pursue profit in any major market in the world. Written by a leading trading educator, this resource analyzes the common mistakes and false assumptions that inhibit positive returns in global markets, and offers solutions that allow investors to maximize return per-unit-of-risk.

Psychology and Professional Development​

Trading Psychology 2.0 : From Best Practices to Best Processes - Brett N. Steenbarger Practical trading psychology insight that can be put to work today Trading Psychology 2.0 is a comprehensive guide to applying the science of psychology to the art of trading. Veteran trading psychologist and bestselling author Brett Steenbarger offers critical advice and proven techniques to help interested traders better understand the markets, with practical takeaways that can be implemented immediately. Academic research is presented in an accessible, understandable, engaging way that makes it relevant for practical traders, and examples, illustrations, and case studies bring the ideas and techniques to life. Interactive features keep readers engaged and involved, including a blog offering ever-expanding content, and a Twitter feed for quick tips. Contributions from market bloggers, authors, and experts bring fresh perspectives to the topic, and Steenbarger draws upon his own experience in psychology and statistical modelling as an active trader to offer insight into the practical aspect of trading psychology.

One Good Trade : Inside the Highly Competitive World of Proprietary Trading - Mike Bellafiore An inside look at what it really takes to become a better trader A proprietary trading firm consists of a group of professionals who trade the capital of the firm. Their income and livelihood is generated solely from their ability to take profits consistently out of the markets. The world of prop trading is mentally and emotionally challenging, but offers substantial rewards to the select few who can master this craft called trading. In One Good Trade: Inside the Highly Competitive World of Proprietary Trading, author Mike Bellafiore shares the principles and techniques that have enabled him to navigate the most challenging of markets over the past twelve years. He explains how he has imparted those techniques to an elite desk of traders at the proprietary trading firm he co-founded. In doing so, he lifts the veil on the inner workings of his firm, shedding light on the challenges of prop trading and insight on why traders succeed or fail.

A Man for All Markets - Edward O Thorp The incredible true story of the card-counting mathematics professor who taught the world how to beat the dealer and, as the first of the great quantitative investors, ushered in a revolution on Wall Street. A child of the Great Depression, legendary mathematician Edward O. Thorp invented card counting, proving the seemingly impossible: that you could beat the dealer at the blackjack table. As a result, he launched a gambling renaissance. His remarkable success--and mathematically unassailable method--caused such an uproar that casinos altered the rules of the game to thwart him and the legions he inspired. They barred him from their premises, and even put his life in jeopardy. Nonetheless, gambling was forever changed. Thereafter, Thorp shifted his sights to "the biggest casino in the world" is Wall Street. Devising and then deploying mathematical formulas to beat the market, Thorp ushered in the era of quantitative finance we live in today.

(If you haven't already discovered Taleb, Fooled by Randomness is one of the best places to start. His work is fantastic and really makes you think about contemporary approaches to risk.)

Fooled by Randomness - Nassim Nicholas Taleb Fooled by Randomness is a standalone book in Nassim Nicholas Taleb's landmark Incerto series, an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don't understand. The other books in the series are The Black Swan, Antifragile, Skin in the Game, and The Bed of Procrustes. Fooled by Randomness is the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you think about business and the world. Nassim Nicholas Taleb-veteran trader, renowned risk expert, polymathic scholar, erudite raconteur, and New York Times bestselling author of The Black Swan-has written a modern classic that turns on its head what we believe about luck and skill. This book is about luck-or more precisely, about how we perceive and deal with luck in life and business. Set against the backdrop of the most conspicuous forum in which luck is mistaken for skill-the world of trading-Fooled by Randomness provides captivating insight into one of the least understood factors in all our lives.

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