Book Review: Technical Analysis From A to Z

Technical Analysis From A to Z written by Steven Achelis is a pretty thorough technical analysis book.  I’ve read a few technical analysis book before but this one’s pretty thoroughl.  Not necessary reader friednly but very detailed and complete when it comes to all of the technical analysis explanations.  The book description states:

Millions of traders participating in today’s financial markets have shot interest and involvement in technical analysis to an all-time high. This updated edition of Technical Analysis from A to Z combines a detailed explanation of what technical analysis is and how it works with overviews, interpretations, calculations, and examples of over 135 technical indicators–and how they perform under actual market conditions. Enhanced with more details to make it easier to use and understand, this book reflects the latest research findings and advances. A complete summary of major indicators that can be used in any market, it covers:
• Every trading tool from the Absolute Breadth Index to the Zig Zag
• Indicators include Arms Index, Dow Theory, and Elliott Wave Theory
• Over 35 new indicators

Author: Steven Achelis

He wrote several books all relative to the study of technical charts.  Some of the books include Trading the Regression Channel: Defining and Predicting Stock Price Trends and A guide to market indicator interpretations. As far as the credentials go, I couldn’t find much about him.  While he does seem to know a lot about the technicals, I’m not so sure if he’s well known as much as some of the majors featured in investing publications.

Content

It’s a pretty good book that covers everything from moving averages to some foreign terms like Kagi and Canslim.  I mean what the hell is a Kagi?  Canslim?   If you want to swing trade, you HAVE to understand the technical aspect of the charts, and this will get you there.  I still can’t go through all of the terms since there are simply just too damn much.  That’s a good thing since you can use is as a reference book, but you may have a tough time reading through the entire book.

Bottom line, I would suggest this book to anyone interested in learning the technicals, both short and long-term.  It is a bit hard to read (it sometimes just gets boring reading about how “the logic behind envelopes is that overzealous buyers and sellers push the price to the..” yada yada).  Nonetheless, I recommend it!

Check it out