Have you ever wondered what it would be like to read MSNBC business headlines for hours on end, for an entire century? Well, you can find out if you read John Boik’s How Legendary Traders Made Millions.
Reading this book honestly brings about a sense of amazement. When you read the first few chapters, you are presented with a wealth of detail of how individual stocks, commodities, or industries rose to new heights or sank in despair. Long forgotten episodes of panic in the market, manic buying, or periods of caution over market direction are brought to life again.
And then you read the next chapter….and the next…until you can’t believe that Boik repeats this for every decade from the late 1800’s to the early 2000’s. Someone would actually write this? The masochism involved in writing the book was immense; the masochism of the editor who had to review a dozen different drafts before publication is nigh unimaginable.
It’s pretty rare that I say this, but I am really struggling to find good things to say about the book. I’m sure that as a historical reference the book can have some merit. If you are writing about life in a certain decade after the creation of the stock market, it may pay to consult the book for color. If you are a true data miner of historical stock trends, it may also be of use for qualitative reference.
For anybody else though – run far far away!
