Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

First published in 1923, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is the fictionalized biography of Jesse Livermore, one of the greatest speculators who ever lived. Now, more than 80 years later, it remains the most widely read, highly recommended investment book ever written. Generations of investors have found that it has more to teach them about themselves and other investors than years of experience in the market. They have also discovered that its trading advice and keen analyses of market price movements ring as true today as in 1923. Jesse Livermore won and lost tens of millions of dollars playing the stock and commodities markets during the early 1900s. So potent a market force was he in his day that, in 1929, he was widely believed to be the man responsible for causing the Crash. Originally reviewed in The New York Times as a nonfiction book, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator vividly recounts Livermore’s mastery of the markets from the age of 14. Always good at figures, he learns, early on, that he can predict which way the numbers will go. Starting out with an investment of five dollars, he amasses a fortune by his early twenties and establishes himself as a major player on the Street. Bullish in bear markets, and bearish among bulls, he claims that only suckers gamble on the market. The trick, he advises, is to protect yourself by balancing your investments, and selling big on the way down. Livermore goes broke three times, but he comes back each time feeling richer for the learning experience. Offering profound insights into the motivations, attitudes, and feelings shared by every investor, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is a timeless instructional tale that will enrich the lives – and the portfolios – of today’s traders as it has those of generations past.

Edwin Lefevre began writing about Wall Street in 1897. During his career, he wrote eight books, worked for the New York Sun, served as financial editor of Harper's Weekly, and wrote for the Saturday Evening Post.