During our early years in life, we learned valuable lessons through books. We may not remember all the information, but we know that the basic principles we learned from books helped us survive school life. Learning about forex trading is no different. While a lot of information is now available from many sources and formats, most offer tips and guides that are unreliable. Some materials get written by people who know nothing about the subject. Rather than give help, they confuse people more.
Reading forex trading books is a vital first step to learn about forex. But which books should you read? Reading is a serious task and takes dedicated time to benefit fully from the information presented. Don’t waste valuable time reading books that give no value to your journey towards becoming a successful forex trader. If you check Amazon now for forex trading books, you will get more than 2,000 results. If you filter your search to forex trading books for beginners, the result is still over 1,000 titles. So how do you identify the reading materials for you? We will use three criteria: writer’s background, positive reviews, and recency of information.
- Writer’s background. A book’s writer needs to be an authority on a topic to be considered a good reading material. For forex trading books, the writer must be a practicing forex trader himself. And he must be in the trading business for many years with successful credentials as a backup. Most authors will talk about their journey and the mistakes they made when they were beginners. It will help you to avoid committing the same mistakes as you start your forex trading career.
- Positive reviews. The beauty of the internet is that you can get reviews on just about anything with a simple click of the enter key. And people are not afraid to give both good and bad reactions. While some reviews and testimonials are fake, you can still filter the ones that have honest opinions. Media publishers and credible organizations also review a wide selection of books, so make sure to check them out. You can use the same principles when trying to find out if a forex trading book is credible or not, especially for beginners.
- The recency of information. Forex trading is a fast-paced and dynamic market. External factors such as economics, politics, and policy changes can have huge effects on currency value. Recently, we have seen health concerns like the covid-19 pandemic, vaccination programs, and lockdowns causing currency movements that are never seen before in forex trading. Some older books got changed repeatedly to reflect some recent developments. It is vital to know the latest factors that affect trading so you can make better decisions when similar events happen.
What are the top 5 forex trading books for beginners?
Now that we have set the criteria for identifying the best books to invest your time and money at, we can go straight to the top 5 forex trading books for beginners.
- Currency Trading for Dummies by Brian Dolan and Kathleen Brooks. It is part of the “for dummies” series of books that help ordinary people understand complex topics or activities. The authors used usual English terms presented in bullets, listings, and text boxes that make them easy to read and understand.
The writers are personalities in the forex industry. Kathleen Brooks is working with Forex.com as research director. She is a favorite resource person on finance, politics, and economics by mainstream media outfits like CNBC, Bloomberg, BBC, Sky News, and Fox Business. Co-writer Brian Dolan is a forex veteran with 18 years of experience in this market. He previously worked at Forex.com as a chief currency strategist.
The book Currency Trading for Dummies is 384-pages thick and was updated three times already to deliver up-to-date information on forex trading. It starts with an introduction to the forex market: its size, scope, and currency pairs. Then it discusses the economic triggers that affect the value of a currency. Things like interpreting data and events like a seasoned trader are also part of this section. Afterward, you will know the different trading methods, forex strategies, and trading plans. All of these are an essential foundation for beginners who want to be successful traders. Other topics included in this book are:
- Forex trading guidelines and helpful tools
- In-depth analysis on the secrets of successful forex traders
- The value of advanced preparation and being organized
- Trading practices to avoid and how to manage risks
As for user reviews, the book was rated very high by more than 1,000 buyers at 4.5 out of 5 ratings. Most of the good comments center on the simple and easy-to-understand way of explaining forex trading. The negatives point to the oversimplified way of discussing trading plans and strategies that fail when applied to actual forex trading.
- How to Make a Living Trading Foreign Exchange: A Guaranteed Income for Life by Courtney Smith. It is a book published by Wiley, the first of a series that talks about forex trading. It is designed for new traders and opens with an explanation of the basics of forex. From the basics, it slowly progresses to the more complicated stuff like techniques, risk management, and trading psychology.
Courtney Smith is a prominent personality in investment trading. He is the executive and board member of several investment companies in the US. Among the assets managed are mutual funds, commodities, futures, and stocks. He is currently the Chairman of the Investment Monitoring Institute, which gives training to retail and corporate investors. He is a sought-after commentator with over 1,000 TV show appearances in Bloomberg, Moneyline, CNN, Wall Street Journal Report, and CNBC.
The book has 208 pages that provide forex strategies that deliver results. After a short introduction on forex, it goes straight to six proven techniques to make a profit in forex. It includes a principle called the Rejection Rule that can double your gains during breakouts. The book also discusses exiting strategies at critical levels. It introduces a way to filter trades such that losses are reduced by more than 50%. There are also tips on how to avoid the traps that drain money fast. A section on proper risk management steps and trading behaviors wrap up the discussion. Other key points discussed are:
- The secret of forex and how to make continuous profits for life
- How to make profits during volatile swings on the value of currencies
It got a good rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars from 75 buyers. The highest scores came from traders who successfully booked profits after using the strategies in the book. Other features that they like are the use of simple and easy-to-follow tips to make trading more enjoyable. In contrast, the negative comments relate to the charts that are too small. Printing is also on the wrong side, so you must flip the book to check the visuals.
- Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market by Kathy Lien. It is a book created for beginners and intermediate forex traders that focuses on trading strategies. When you purchase the book, you also can access a website that provides added forex exposure, including educational videos. It comes written in usual English with no unfamiliar words commonly used by forex traders.
The writer Kathy Lien is a respected forex analyst. She is the leader of BK Asset Management appointed as the managing director of the company. Her opinions are valuable to the industry. She got featured in various TV programs from CNBC, Bloomberg, and Reuters.
Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market has 288 pages and is now in its third edition. The latest edition has the most recent statistics, charts, and analyses of events that affected the value of currencies. It helps to establish the relationship between these events and the forex market. The book begins by discussing the interbank currency network as a foundation to the forex industry. It also gives practical tips on how to observe and copy the strategies of huge and successful traders. The book also talks about ways an individual and retail trader can compete with big players such as banks and financial institutions. These big players have greater control of the market due to their volume and insider information and use them to their advantage. Other sections include the following:
- Understanding the ins and outs of forex trading and the market forces that affect it
- How to profit from short-term swings using specific strategies
- Close inspection of the trading behavior and patterns of different currency pairs
Based on 45 buyers, the rating of this book is 4.1 out of 5. The majority of those who rated it very high said that the book gave them a good understanding of the forex market. The flipside comments talk about the book as very expensive, compared to other titles on the same topic.
- The Black Book of Forex Trading by Paul Langer. It is a book written with the concept of financial freedom in mind. It relates to the real-life struggles and mistakes made by the author for many years. It then turns your attention to successful strategies, effective management of trading capital, and how to keep your emotions in check.
Paul Langer is a full-time trader who has been in the business for more than eight years now. In this book, he relates his personal experiences hoping that readers will not go through the same failures he had in the past. He spent money on third-party systems and platforms that were unfamiliar to him. Attended expensive lessons that did not help him trade better. And he paid for forex coaches that did not share helpful trading practices.
The book is 82 pages long that promises to teach simple yet effective forex trading tactics to help you make your trading activities profitable. The author wrote the book for beginners in trading. But more advanced traders can also benefit from this book, especially if you have been recently on the losing side of the currency pair trading. The other helpful topics discussed include the following items:
- Understanding the markets and currencies
- How to stop your losing streak
- Building your confidence
- Using these three trading strategies to your advantage: day trading, swing trading, and position trading
- Turn your one-time profit to regular and consistent profits
There are mixed reviews about this book. But overall, the rating is still impressive. Out of 354 buyers, the rating is at 4.2 out of 5. The positives mention that the strategies in the book work. They were able to turn their trading profit around from negative to positive. The unfavorable reactions came from the thinness of the book. They have a feeling that they got ripped off. Others said that the information in the book is the same as that found in websites and blogs. All these you can get for free!
- Adventures of a Currency Trader A Fable About Trading, Courage, and Doing the Right Thing by Rob Booker. It is a book that talks about the application of trading principles. But it is told in a fictional and entertaining way. It is a different approach from the classroom-type lecture-themed book or the typical how-to books. It is best for beginners at forex trading who want a different twist on their plate.
The writer of the book is Rob Booker. He is a practicing trader based in Houston, Texas, USA. He has made his reputation as a forex trading educator through his free webinars. He also hosts Facebook live events for beginners who want to make it big in forex trading. His website www.robbooker.com and blog www.piptopia.com are popular destinations for people who wish to learn about trading. It is also a venue to connect with other traders.
The book has 240 pages and relates the life adventure of Harry Banes. He is a fictional character that every forex trader can relate to. Harry is a trader wannabe who works as a filing clerk in a law firm based in New York City. It relates the adventures of the character from an office clerk to a successful trader. It describes his failures and his determination to turn his disappointments into inspirations. And with the help of a veteran trader turns his fortune around. There are lots of insinuations to the real-life experiences of a trader here. It includes preparing emotionally and physically to creating charts and making analyses. Next, Harry starts using different trading strategies. You will also learn how the character recovered from a huge loss and then transformed this to substantial profit, consistent profits.
As for user reviews, the book got a 4.2 out of 5 rating score. Sixty-four buyers shared their ratings for the book Adventures of a Currency Trader. Those who gave top ratings said that the book is very entertaining and informative at the same time. Most saw it as a welcome relief from the usual books on forex trading. It gave an entertainment value to the otherwise uninteresting world of forex. On the negative side, the complaints centered on the different writing styles. Some said that this is a poor representation of a forex trader. Others said that the story was too incredible and is nothing more than a work of fiction.
Forex trading is a simple process. It involves identifying currency pairs and knowing the best time to buy and sell the currency. Unfortunately, the practice of forex trading is a complicated process. Aside from the large volume of trading happening every day, the market is influenced by many factors. It includes personal attitudes and market forces that are beyond your control. Some words and processes are unique to this industry.
Fortunately, we have forex trading books that provide all the vital information to succeed as a trader. But not all books in forex are helpful and accurate. It is critical to identify which ones give honest and credible information. By applying these three guidelines, you can avoid wasting your time and money. First, check the writer’s background. Then look at positive reviews. And finally, find the recent publications and revised editions that provide updated information.
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