If you are into trading and finance, it might be a good idea to learn the basics, revise your skillset or get up to date with the best technical analysis books available. Knowledge is key for competitive trading.
First, you must know what you are looking for. Market analysis is split into categories such as technical and fundamental analysis.
Technical analysis is the study of charts that show the price fluctuations in a certain period of time. Why analyze historical price activity? If you learn to do it correctly, you can try to predict future asset movements.
On the other hand, fundamental analysis will be focused on what affects or influences the price movements such as reputation, regulations, trends, data or statements. This analysis will tell you why the chart is reflecting certain information.
To help you broaden your knowledge and avoid losses and risks while trading, we have prepared a list of the best technical analysis books. We invite you to take a look:
1. Technical Analysis for Dummies by Barbara Rockefeller
“Timing is everything.”
Barbara Rockefeller released the first edition of her book in 2004. She is an international economist, an expert in foreign exchange and her speciality is technical analysis.
Her 20-chapter book is divided into six parts that will guide you through technical analysis in an organized manner, starting from the basics and concluding with 10 important financial rules to live by.
Learn all about price bars, combination, time frames, indicators, market timing, estimation, and other core concepts to apply to today’s trading.
Purchase on Amazon.
2. Technical Analysis Explained by Martin Pring
“The key to success is knowledge and action.”
This book was first published in 1991, and is already on the fifth edition as it continues to keep up with the fast moving market.
You will receive practical advice about tools and classic price patterns of technical analysis. The author has been in the market since 1969 and will share his years of experience on secular trends, chart reading, market peaks, market troughs, and more.
Martin Ping’s book includes a glossary with important financial terms to remember, a bibliography, and an index.
Purchase on Amazon.
3. The Art and Science of Technical Analysis: Market Structure, Price Action, and Trading Strategies by Adam Grimes
“The two depend on each other: Science without Art is sterile; Art without Science is soft and incomplete.”
Adam Grimes is an author, trader and analyst who will help you learn how to make rational trading decisions. He adds extra value to technical analysis by including information on trading strategies such as risk management to prevent large losses, and to set proper position sizing.
He has added a glossary at the end of the book to remember terms such as cone of uncertainty, hedging, real trend line, variance, and more.
Don’t forget to look at his “trading examples” chapter where he applies examples to real scenarios in the financial markets.
Purchase on Amazon.
4. Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques by Steve Nison
“Discipline helps mitigate the nemesis of all traders, namely, emotion.”
Candlestick charting is a kind of price chart that comes from a historical Japanese technique. Steve Nison is thought to be one of the first to bring this idea to the western world.
With a dynamic approach, the author teaches by example, history, definitions, in an easy to understand language. This book includes details about different candle chart patterns such as evening star, dumpling tops, death cross, doji star, and others.
You will not only learn about this technique, but you will understand how to combine it with others in order to create a complete technical analysis for your needs.
Purchase on Amazon.
5. Chart Patterns: After The Buy by Thomas N. Bulkowski
“The results help select better buy signals so you have an increased chance of making money and avoiding disaster.”
In this book, the author teaches you what will happen after the buy. Over the period of two years he analysed 43,229 different stocks to identify patterns, so that he could explain them to his readers and they could apply his knowledge to their own personal goals.
As an active investor, he was able to leave his day job at the age of 36 and dedicate himself to trading. In this book, Thomas Bulkowski not only refers (in depth) to popular chart patterns, he also includes more specific patterns such as price mirrors, straight-line runs, earnings misses, and others.
Purchase on Amazon.
6. Technical Analysis for the Trading Professional, Second Edition: Strategies and Techniques for Today’s Turbulent Global Financial Markets by Connie Brown
“Our goal is to stay ahead of the ebbing tide of market changes in order to find opportunities and risks.”
Another of the best books on technical analysis is by Connie Brown, who has included not only techniques for new traders, but has added advanced formulas and indicators such as the Gann analysis.
Her book has 150 charts throughout every chapter that describe different technical analysis essentials such as moving averages, trading cycles, and volatility bands.
She has consolidated her vast experience as an institutional trader and manager for hedge funds for future traders to learn and understand.
Purchase on Amazon.
7. Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager
“The dream is the means by which our subconscious penetrates the barriers we sometimes erect in accepting the true analysis of a market.”
Jack Schwager presents his technical analysis book in a very different way. In each chapter he gives a short introduction and explains what technique or XX he will be discussing, but leaves the explaining to whomever he has interviewed with his own personal questions from his years of experience. His book explains futures, stocks, currencies, liquidity, trading tools, and much more.
Purchase on Amazon.
8. A Complete Guide To Volume Price Analysis by Anna Coulling
“From confidence comes success, and from success comes wealth.”
Anna Coulling has written a complete guide to volume price analysis, which is, according to the author, one of the leading market indicators. In the beginning of the book she discusses three laws that are crucial for all traders if they decide to use this historically valid technique.
As she teaches you to develop a volume price analysis, she will show you how to trade without emotions, read the charts, and take a position.
Purchase on Amazon.
9. The Definitive Guide to Point and Figure by Jeremy Du Plessis
“You must remember Technical Analysis and the use of Point and Figure is like riding a horse (…) You have to get on the horse, ride around, and perhaps fall off a few times before you can claim to know anything.”
Du Plessis teaches you how to use point and figure charts in your trading strategy. As an economist and a technical analyst he aims to explain price targets and indicators so you may predict, as best as possible, the movements in the market.
Purchase on Amazon.
10. Forex Patterns and Probabilities by Ed Ponsi
“Trading the forex market is one of the most exciting and potentially profitable endeavors that you can undertake. We trade the entire world, matching the world’s economies against one another”
In this book you will be able to read and learn all about existing market patterns for trade. Ed Ponsi shares his years of experience as a professional trader and money manager discussing forex, trending markets, strategies, trends, and more.
He also advises what the newest trading techniques are, as well as outdated techniques, in order to keep up with today’s market.
Purchase on Amazon.
11. Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market: Technical and Fundamental Strategies to Profit from Market Moves by Kathy Lien
“That is [market and data], the most important aspect of interpreting news and its impact on foreign exchange markets is the determination of whether the market is expecting a piece of news.”
Kathy Lien writes about strategies for profit making while recapping historical forex events, as well as the constantly growing market. She presents technical and fundamental trading strategies that she has implemented in her experience as a forex trader.
She concludes her book with profiles of major currency pairs, and leading export markets such as the U.S.A., China, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, and others.
Purchase on Amazon.
12. Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets by John Murphy
“The whole purpose of charting the price action of a market is to identify trends in early stages of development for trading in the direction of those trends.”
To learn and understand market behaviour, John J. Murphy has written another of the best technical analysis books on our list because of the different factors he explains; candle charting, technical tools, technology, and indicators. He also covers trending concepts like direction, steepness, and other concepts.
Purchase on Amazon.
Never Stop Learning
You will find a common theme throughout each of these books, which is that it is important to trade without emotion, which can be achieved through knowledge and discipline (and a healthy dose of experience too). It will always be important to educate yourself while participating in a fast moving and risky industry such as trading.
Remember to keep learning, and pick at least one of the best technical analysis books presented to you on this article and use it to develop efficient trading concepts.
