5 comments about Technical Analysis and Stock Market Profits: The Real Bible of Technical Analysis (Traders' Masterclass).

1. Richard Schabacker, in this pioneering book, presents the art and science of technical analysis as an organized subject.

   In 13 chapters, he discusses important reversal formations, minor reversal formations, major continuation formations, intermediate patterns and phenomena, trend line action, support and resistance levels, measuring rules and formations and trading tactics.

   First published in 1932, the book gives equal weight to a formation's potential and its flaws and warts. Originally devised as a practical investment course, it still sparkles with application today. Despite today's modern computer methods of interpreting price and buying trends, an investor or trader must still master the basics and there is no finer place to begin than this former Forbes financial editor's ground-breaking work.




2. So you want to learn on how to read charts... This is the one for you then! A little dense sometimes due to it's completeness on patterns, but it's all there, really. Won't teach you on how to make a trading system, but if you're into discretionery trading systems you'll love this one. I haven't found a reversal pattern that's not on these pages, and if you want to know about continuation patterns, they're all almost there too. I recommend this book for beginners as for experienced traders.

   This is one of those books I keep next to my trading desk!




3. Finally available to the rest of the world, this classic is easily the best book on classical technical analysis available. Although it is more than 70 years old, the complete and descriptive discussions of how and why reversal and continuation patterns work are as valid now as they were then. Without Schabacker, there'd be no Edwards and Magee, Elliott, Murphy, or even Poser.



4. The ironic thing is, you couldn't tell it was written in 1932 or 2002 .. the techniques are identical to basic TA today , even the psychology section about cutting losses and trading with the trend sound familiar. Certainly revolutionary when it came out, it's somewhat dated now and a bit wordy. Anyone familiar with chart patterns - h&s, wedges, flags, triangles, trendlines will likely find nothing new in this book. Also, the explanations are a bit wordy .. though I suspect this was necessary when no one was familiar with it. I give it 3 stars for content and another for the fact that it was written in 1932. However, an advanced trader will find this book useless other than for sentimental curiosity.



5. Here is the mother of all technical analysis books, originally published in 1932. This means that "Technical Analysis And Stock Market Profits" pre-dates the Edwards and Magee classic "Technical Analysis of Stock Trends" by 15 years. As a matter of fact, the latter rips paragraphs, word for word, out of the former. But this is OK because Edwards was the son in law of Richard Schabacker. Between the two classic texts, I personally lean towards Schabacker's writing style as I find it more colloquial and concise while being just as informative, which is a combination that the reader will appreciate as it will help keep the learning curve as painless as possible.
   
   In terms of the material, you can't go wrong here, because just about everything you wanted to know about TA is covered by Schabacker. The logic behind all the chart patterns and technical phenomena are clearly explained, which lends to the theory of technical analysis a reasonable amount of creditability. In a nutshell, all the good stuff is here. It must be mentioned that, like in all trading methods, there are real risks when you jump in. A five-star book.

1 comments about Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach.

1. The textbook purchased was in great condition and the delivery was received in a timely fashion.

5 comments about Statistical Analysis of Financial Data in S-PLUS.

1. After spending big money for this book, I was shocked I had to shell out even more money to get the data and S-plus scripts. Her book is like an old style teaser. Don't get suckered in.



2. while I agree that Prof Carmona should have made the dataset available upon launching the book (...), I think you guys should have taken the time to email him and just ask for it, which I did.

   Besides this book is just what the doctor ordered for those us fluent in S-Plus and that have adopted it as tool of choice to perform empirical finance work.

   I rate this book 4 stars.




3. I took Prof. Carmona's class at Princeton using lecture notes from which the book is directly derived. I can say that I had no better experience than this class, and it truly gave the layman (that would be me) a great feel for basic and intermediate statistical techniques and analysis. Prof. Carmona's intention, as he stated at the beginning of the course was to give us a "license to practice statistics" and I think successful study of this book will give you just that.



4. It is very useful. If you do not have much experience in S plus programming. It combines Statistics and Finance perfectly. Definitely helps a lot!!



5. The book was completely brand new. The shipping decent, so overall a pretty great purchase.

2 comments about Evaluative Inquiry for Learning in Organizations.

1. The first book to link evaluation practice with the notion of organizational learning. This book provides both a theoretical and practical approach to addressing compelling evaluation issues.



2. This book presents a convincing case for changing the purpose and methodology of organizational evaluation. The old 4-stage Kirkpatrick model may have been fine for the industrial age, but in the era of knowledge, globalization and learning organizations, it is no longer valid or valuable. Evaluative inquiry is the road to the 21st century.

3 comments about All the Math You Need to Get Rich: Thinking with Numbers for Financial Success.

1. Mr. Hershey's lighthearted tome takes a humorous yet enlightening approach to providing clarification on a subject that frightens many - crunching the numbers. If math was one of the subjects you avoided like the plague in high school, you might think this book isn't for you, and yet, it's the perfect guide for those that might find math a little unsettling. Loaded with clear examples of everyday financial situations, it's easy to track down the answer to questions many people face on a day to day basis. I especially liked the emphasis on the effect of compounding interest and the details on calculating investments in chapter 6 and 7. One word of caution though, if you're a big time gambler, just waiting for your horse to come in, skip chapter 3. In a nutshell, if you want clear advice on understanding investments, percentages, the odds of winning or how you can strategize on long term goals, this book is the place to find it. Even for the weak of heart when it comes to numbers.



2. Here is a handy guide to life's financial problems. It is more than just an inventory as it provides the steps necessary for working with the numbers that underlie the solutions. You aren't a math wiz? No problem. Every example, and there are so very many of them, comes complete with simple words and an easy walkthrough to the solution. They build on each other, much as our real world financial problems are extensions of each other. Question: What is the world's most powerful financial force? Answer: Compound interest, of course. It is easily applied and can be made to work for anyone. The author suggests using a pocket calculator, and for most of the examples it will suffice. The more adventurous reader will want a spreadsheet, as the more involved (and realistic) examples/problems have many parts. A descriptive phrase can then accompany each number, and the rather straightforward formulas can be programmed at the start. All in all this is an excellent primer for the realities of money. The author's humorous touch adds to the book's enjoyment and utility.



3. I PURCHASED THIS BOOK AND IT SEEMS TO BE GOOD EXCEPT THAT WHEN THE AUTHOR REFERS TO THE "RULE OF 70", I HAVE ALWAYS HEARS IT REFERRED TO AS "THE RULE OF 72". IS THIS AN ERROR OR A TYPO?

5 comments about Introduction to Mathematical Programming: Applications and Algorithms, Volume 1 (with CD-ROM and InfoTrac®).

1. Package arrived in orderly fashion. Everything that was suppose to be included was shipped. ie. the Book and the solution manual.



2. This isn't your regular review here, because I'm guessing we all "have" to buy this book when we take the course.
   
   This book is very helpful for students of all levels. I took it for an "operations research" class after more than 7 years of not studying any math. Still, the first few chapters offer a recap of algebra needed for the course. In the subsequent chapters, everything progresses slowly with lots of examples, (which is helpful if you miss a class or two).
   
   Good luck with the class using this book then.



3. As one of the previous reviewers noted this book offers no (very few to be accurate) proofs. While I would normally pounce on an author for neglecting proofs and rigor, Winston approach is rather refreshing and practical. It is like a tool shed filled with tools that one may use without completely understanding its composition. This book is very accessible to people who are not very mathematically apt and provides a gentle introduction for those advanced in mathematics. If you want a general introduction to LP and NLP before you dive into the meat and potatoes (rigor and proofs) or if you want to just pick up some methods to optimize operations related tasks, I highly recommends this book.



4. The book is very good, brings loads of examples and exercises. It has also a sample version of LINGO, which is quite useful for Operational Researchers.
   The only hint I give is the following: if you have already the blue book OPERATIONS RESEARCH by the same author, forget about this one. The content is basically the same, except from two chapters.



5. terrible book. lots of mistakes in the problems. some explanations are very confusing.

5 comments about Probability and Statistics for Engineers and Scientists (with CD-ROM).

1. as was mentioned Hayter is an ISyE professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. FYI i'm an ISyE student at the GIT.
   
   The Good: The explanation of the theory and examples are excellent, (and i really don't do well with P-theory naturally) and what i really like is the kind of examples he uses: machine breakdowns, part failures, fabrication tolerences etc...i had another intro stats book that never broke away from colored balls and die and cards...also the solutions manual that goes along with the book does better than average at actually showing you how the problem was solved and includes a lot of prose explanation along with the math.
   
   The Bad: part of the bad is good, which is he revisits the same examples throughout the book so you are already very familiar with the scenario (ie..in chapt 2 there is an example considering metal cylinder thickness, and the same example, same pmf or pdf and numbers, etc will be used in chapter three to illustrate more complex ideas)...the bad part is that he doesn't restate the original scenario in the problems at the end of the section so you have to flip back and find it to remember what the distribution was or what the state space or any of the specifics of the problem....and this can become cumbersome when in problem after problem you have to go back and look up the details... i know this is saving redundant printing; maybe i'm just lazy



2. This book was required for my stats class and it was terrible. The organization was terrible. This book also requires you to get software to use for some problems but doesn't come with any software. When the example finishs by saying use your computer software to solve that doesn't help much. The examples are all scrambled around and the problems have little to do with the examples provided. I had a grad student who couldn't understand the questions because of poor english skills and I couldn't learn a thing from this book. Overall a bad stats experience



3. I agree with the reader about the examples. Hayter uses the same handfull of examples throughout the book. If you want to review a topic be prepared to read EVERYTHING up to that point first. His notation (like most stat books) is pointlessly complicated. For example: for "Linear Combination of Independent Normal Random Variables" page 250, he has a general expression. He then proceeds to give examples that contradict what you just read.



4. I would have prefered another book for Probability and Statistics, but since this is mandatory for our course I had to buy it. I didnt like the way they have introduced new concepts. From my point of view, its good only when you already know a bit of what your learning. If your new to the concepts, believe me... this book is going to make you flip...!!! On the whole, i dont really think it was a good buy :(



5. This book is great if you are an engineer. What about the scientists? The examples were awful. Nothing like the problems that followed. The step by step working of the examples left plenty to be desired. This book was required text for my class at Utah State and I absolutely hated it. I enjoy statistics, so it is not the subject. Would love as a student to see the problems worked out in the chapter in a way that would help me when I got to the problem sets at the end of the book.

3 comments about Understanding Research Methods And Statistics: An Integrated Introduction for Psychology.

1. The material is good, but the author get to involved to soon in the text. It is a must to sort through what information you need and the excess! I do not think that this is a good text for a student new to statistics. Examples are poor and brief.



2. I never thought that I would understand statistics, but this book proved me wrong! The explanations were very detailed and tailored for people who have not previously taken a statistics course. I highly recommend this book, especially for those in the psychology field...



3. In the past I have been quite critical regarding the quality of this book. I had found it tedious, overly descriptive, and lacking of significant examples.
   In the meanwhile I have been using this book consistently because I needed information and verifications regarding the design of a challenging study. Well, I had to change my mind regarding my doubts and skepticism, and now I feel that I must vote in favor of the book.
   Research is not exactly a walk on the beach, and this is certainly not a "beach" book. Research requires lots of patience, and very systematic people willing to devote much of their time for the sake of science. This book should be approached in a similar fashion, and with the intent and will to learn. If the reader establishes such a relation with this textbook, she/he will find most of her/his questions answered.
   Aside the above praises, the author should consider to add practical examples to theory. This suggestion could be of great help to students willing to stay focused on a stimulating problem, and without ending up lost somewhere in the middle of the path.

3 comments about Statistics for Six Sigma Green Belts with Minitab and JMP (Six Sigma).

1. Heres a book worth its weight in gold to anybody that is using Minitab. A great help



2. Prior to its release, the publisher asked me to review this and Design for Six Sigma for Green Belts and Champions: Applications for Service Operations--Foundations, Tools, DMADV, Cases, and Certification (Six Sigma) both by Levine et al. I found each to be well though out a good presentation of materials to get someone a working knowledge of Six Sigma. The only fault I would say is relying on Minitab as a vehicle for teaching instead of using a more general purpose and avialable tool like EXCEL. --a very small issue.
   
   Overall I highly recommend both books as both text and handbook for organinzations starting now the Six Sigma path
   
   Brian K Seitz
   BPR/M Industry Analyst & Consultant
   Cyon Research



3. The idea of writing a book about how to use statistical software for six sigma green belts is good, but it should be more focused. If you are not an owner of both Minitab and JMP, 50% of this book is Muda (waste)!

4 comments about Introduction to Business Statistics (with Student CD-ROM).

1. Finally a statistics book that isn't just a math book with no practical implication.

   This book really helped me at my job to make decision calculations.




2. The condition of the book was great(like new). Seemed like I turned around after ordering and the book arrived it was so quick. My only issue was that it was the wrong edition and that might have been me not paying attention to the sellers description. So make sure you do that. Otherwise, great service!



3. This text is geared toward the 'business student' and assumes minimal amounts of prior math (the general prerequisite is a semester of college algebra). That said, this text is very poorly structured which can lead to a general frustration when reading it. The main 'flaw' are the 'applications boxes' that appear quite often. The 'boxes' tend to be in the middle of a discussion on math - and take up half the page. As the authors run out of real world examples, they make people up (and tell you the photo is real, the guy is fake in his quotes).
   
   My issue with this book has to do with the approach to statistics. This book could easily be condensed to 200-300 pages and nothing would be lost - you'd gain from a cheaper text. The CD is not worth anything - it just contains data files from problems that are completely worked out in the book. There is very little mathematical rigor - the emphasis is on an applied, formula memorization approach. Another problem is that some important (tested) topics are mentioned in two sentences.
   
   The solution manual is not worth getting - I had an instructor who posted the word version of it. Instead of actually going through the steos to reach the answer, the approach is essentially to give you the answer and nothing else. It's not at all helpful.
   
   I realize this is a required text for most of you, but you would do well to purchase a used copy and avoid the solutions manual.



4. The college I teach in replaced this book with another, widely accepted book with a simiar name. This was two years ago, and yet the instructors still keep this book to use for examples, and we would like it back as the book of choice. It stands head and shoulders above most of the competition.
   My students are mainly business majors, not mathematicians, and this book is 100% suited to this type of application. The examples are 'real world' that actually explain where a particular concept or distribution may be used. In essence-this book covers everything you'll need and then some...
   
   If I DO have a couple of 'moans' about the book, it gets a bit too 'in depth' in some areas, way more than the average business student would ever need, and also the CD, which is a bit of a waste of time, dealing with data files for Excel and Minitab. There are no 'REAL' learning tools.
   
   I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the subject at their own pace. It's expensive, and the prior versions contain about the same stuff, just in a cheaper package. There have been no real 'breakthroughs' in Stats in the last few decades, so the subject matter is pretty much unchanged. As the adage goes "You pays yer money and takes yer choice"- a few 'dog-eared' pages won't kill you!