General Semantics of Wall Street

[MadMarketScientist 11]

Classic book by John Magee written in 1958.

 

This is the book I would recommend to anyone interested in trying his hand at the stock market.

 

It is not, however, exciting, by any stretch of the imagination. Nor is it a book to read over the weekend. Magee takes his time, and the reader would do well to take his time also.

 

This is a book to think long thoughts about. It is not at all difficult. It is, in fact, very easy. But the concepts which it addresses are fundamental, in the deepest sense of the word, to an understanding of what markets are, how they work, and what one can expect to earn from them.

[DbPhoenix 42]

"Buried treasure. Or buried truth. That is what Magee’s book is. The first edition in 1958 fell on deaf ears (or deaf and dumb ears), so in the day to day practice of his business, Magee did what comes naturally: ran a very successful investment advisory firm and sold hundreds of thousands of copies of his more famous book, Technical Analysis of Stock Trends. The potential original audience probably looked at the title General Semantics of Wall Street and passed on by as quickly as possible. After all, if you can’t define it, why read about it?

 

"Now, having reread it, I am consumed with regret that I didn’t read it for breakfast every morning during my 40 years of investing, speculating, gambling, and managing money in the markets. Coming to it now, like an old raccoon with many scars, it is like finding buried wisdom, the codification of all the non-technical things Magee knew about the market, and one of the books which every investor should read, preferably at the beginning of his career.

 

"This book can prepare an investor for the mental game of Wall Street, that is, the inner game the investor’s mind plays with itself as he watches Wall Street whir around. It would be unwise to underestimate the importance of mental attitude and preparation to successful investing and trading. Be assured, the winning tennis player who has great conditioning, wonderful technique, great mechanical skills also possesses something the average tennis player does not have: a diferent mind and attitude. The same thing is true of effective traders. Through the careful study of and application of this book, in conjuntion with The Technical Analysis of Stock Trends, the average investor can become an effective trader."

 

W.H.C. Bassetti