Market Wizards
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Schwager interviews the greatest traders of the 1980s — from futures legend Richard Dennis to stock wizard Michael Steinhardt. Each interview reveals how top traders think about risk, handle losses, and find their edge. The book isn't a strategy manual — it's a masterclass in understanding that trading success comes in wildly different forms, but certain principles (risk management, discipline, psychological resilience) recur across every style.
Who It's For
Every trader, regardless of experience level. Beginners get a realistic picture of what trading success actually looks like. Experienced traders will find at least one interview that fundamentally shifts their perspective. The book is especially valuable for traders who feel stuck — hearing how legends overcame their worst periods is genuinely motivating.
What's Good
The interview format keeps it engaging from cover to cover. Unlike most trading books, there's virtually no filler — every chapter delivers genuine insight. The diversity of trading styles represented is extraordinary: trend followers, contrarians, fundamentalists, technicians, discretionary and systematic traders all get a platform. Schwager's questions cut through the noise and get to the core principles. The Ed Seykota and Michael Marcus chapters alone are worth the price of the book ten times over. The emphasis on what went WRONG in each trader's journey is arguably more valuable than the success stories.
What's Bad
The book is from 1989, and some of the market mechanics discussed (pit trading, pre-electronic execution) are outdated. A few interviews haven't aged well — the strategies described were edge-dependent on 1980s market microstructure that no longer exists. Schwager occasionally lets subjects ramble when a sharper follow-up question would have been more useful. The appendix on technical analysis feels bolted on and doesn't match the quality of the interviews.
The Verdict
The benchmark against which every other trading book should be measured. After 35 years, no book has surpassed it as the definitive collection of trading wisdom. The 4.8 rating reflects the fact that this is the single most recommended trading book by professional traders worldwide — and that recommendation is earned. If you read one trading book in your life, this is the one.
Related Reviews
The Market Wizards series continues with The New Market Wizards and Unknown Market Wizards. For another first-person trading memoir in the same spirit, see our review of Pit Bull by Martin Schwartz. Market Wizards appears on our Best Trading Books of All Time list at #1.