Best Trading Books - Top 5 Picks by Navin Prithyani

Ever wonder what the Best Forex Trading books the senior traders recommend?

Navin is often asked by his students and followers what his favorite trading books are and why, along with what are his Top 5 Picks. 

Here is a list of books that Navin likes and has in his collection...

Diary of a Professional Commodity Trader by Peter Brandt

Trading is generally far more difficult in practice than in theory. The reality is that no trade set up or individual trader or system can identify profitable trades in advance with complete certainty.

In a year of trading, long-time trader Peter Brandt reveals the anxieties and uncertainties of trading in a diary of his 2009 trades. He explains his thought process as he searches for trading opportunities and executes them. Each trade includes charts, an analysis of the trade, and a play-by-play account of how the trade unfolds.

What Navin says:

"When I first started, my goal was always how can I find opportunities. I was so fixated on just finding setups. After reading Peter's book, I was able to understand that it's not just finding an opportunity but how you trade it. Seeing his examples that he lays out in his book was a great guide for me."

The Disciplined Trader by Mark Douglas

With rare insights based on his firsthand commodity trading experience, author Mark Douglas demonstrates how the mental matters that allow us to function effectively in society are often psychological barriers in trading.

After examining how we develop losing attitudes, this book prepares you for a thorough “mental housecleaning” of deeply rooted thought processes. And then it shows the reader how to develop and apply attitudes and behaviors that transcend psychological obstacles and lead to success.

What Navin says:

"This book helped me along in the middle of my journey. There is a lot of mental battle involved in taking trades and exiting trades. Understanding how I personally react to each scenario and why has basically given me the upper hand to be better than myself. It forces me to evolve into a better version of me."

Technical Analysis of Stocks Trends by Edwards and Magee

Long considered the definitive foundational work on technical analysis, “The Bible of Technical Analysis” the authors Robert D. Edwards and John Magee offer both proven, time-tested trading and investing techniques and updated contemporary know-how for success in different market conditions.

Find out how to improve your trading and investment performance by analyzing stock trends; how to apply the three basic principles of charting, and how to interpret common patterns; and how to avoid significant losses by using charts to figure out when and how far prices will fall, among others.

What Navin says:

"I'm a hardcore price action trader, I'm always focused on the why things happen based on human behavior and reactions to the market. This book identifies those visual patterns that indicate a continuation or a reversal of the market. The details of each pattern discussed in the book are highly admirable. One of the first books that fascinated me into the world of trading."

Trade Mindfully by Dr. Gary Dayton

Overcome psychological obstacles to increase trading success with author Dr. Gary Dayton. Successful traders need to be well-versed and skilled in a wide range of business and economic areas. But now, in addition to effective trading strategies and sound money management techniques, traders need to possess the know-how to handle the mental and emotional challenges of working in a highly volatile environment.

Trade Mindfully is a unique resource that applies cutting-edge psychological techniques to trading skills, allowing readers to improve their mental outlooks and maximize the potential of their trading strategies

What Navin says:

"I thoroughly enjoyed going through this book. Every statement or habit that was written about felt like the author Dr. Gary Dayton was speaking directly to me. Very valuable and actionable insights in this book. Highly recommend."

The Foreign Exchange Matrix by Barbara Rockefeller and Vicki Schmelzer

The foreign exchange market is huge, fascinating and yet widely misunderstood by participants and non-participants alike. This is because its unanswered questions are numerous. For instance, what is the purpose of the $4 trillion per day trading volume? What determines currency trends and who are the players in the FX arena? Does FX drive other financial markets, or is it the passive end-product of all the other markets? FX is without clear supply and demand factors, so how do traders determine sentiment and price direction?

Much is written in an effort to answer these questions, but a lot of it is just noise. In the 12 pieces here, Barbara Rockefeller and Vicki Schmelzer draw on their combined 50 years' experience in foreign exchange to cut through the clutter and provide an elegant and razor-sharp look at this market. Their analysis is accurate, useful and enlivened by many anecdotes and examples from historic market events.

What Navin says:

"This book introduced me to the value of monitoring the FX world with a pair of Risk Assessment glasses. The matrix discussed in the book is truly fantastic and an eye-opener. Highly recommended to understand a lot of the behind the scenes of the chart in front of you."

Have you read any of these books?
What are your favorite trading books?

Let me know in the comment section below!

With Pip Love,

Garry at Urban Forex