Reviewed by Ed Dobson, President, Traders Press, Inc.

This book, no pun intended, is an exceptional contribution to the collection of literature dealing with the development of the proper mindset and mental attitude needed to trade successfully and profitably. The practical value of this work is greatly enhanced by the fact that it is authored by a seasoned trader of longstanding experience.

Author Ruth Roosevelt is exceptionally well qualified to offer guidance to other traders because she herself has extensive trading experience and is, to this day, an active trader. Her experience covers trading in multiple markets (currencies, T-Bonds, stock indices, mutual funds) and in multiple time frames, down to 1-minute bar charts.

She has spent many years in the brokerage industry and has written extensively for Stocks and Commodities magazine, as well as other major industry media. Hundreds of traders read her weekly columns on www.traderspress.com.

It is my longstanding opinion that most traders seriously neglect the psychological aspect of trading in favor of spending most of their time and energy in pursuit of a profitable trading method or system, without regard to whether or not it suits their personality or temperament.

Although most traders, especially inexperienced ones, shortchange the mental aspect of trading, those who have accumulated more knowledge and experience gradually come to realize that attitude and outlook greatly influence their trading results.

For those traders who wish to develop the necessary attitudes to trade and win consistently, this book offers a valuable resource. Roosevelt, because of her own extensive trading experience, has developed a high degree of understanding of what is necessary to develop winning attitudes, and she imparts it to the reader in an effective way in her book.

She is an exceptionally articulate and lucid writer, which is especially important when dealing with a subject that is difficult to quantify and explain in a manner that is easily grasped by the reader.

One aspect of Roosevelt's approach that is especially appealing to me is its positive nature. Many writers on the psychology of trading speak of trading in terms of conflict. For example, they say you are "doing battle" with the market, that you need to develop skills like those of a Samurai warrior, that you are in constant danger when trading, and so forth.

Roosevelt, instead, portrays trading as a positive opportunity and suggests that, instead of "battling" the market, the trader should "become partners" with it and that he or she should want what the market wants. While some may find more beneficial guidance from the battle metaphor, I personally find Roosevelt's attitude and approach more likely to lead me in a productive direction.

The scope of subjects covered is wide. The author shows that mental commitment to trading excellence and the relentless power of beliefs contribute in a major way to a winning attitude. She examines the attributes, attitudes and mental strategies of winning traders in detail and illustrates them through fascinating interviews with superior traders, such as Linda Bradford Raschke, Michael McCarthy and Max Ansbacher.

Roosevelt also compares and contrasts the psychological portraits of winning and losing traders and examines various conflicts and emotions that present an impediment to trading success, offering practical solutions and exercises to overcome these roadblocks to trading success.

She looks at the problem of ego involvement in depth, and the reader is shown how to uncouple ego from trading. Physical aspects, such as relaxation, trading environment, nutrition, and so forth, are shown to have an important influence. Learning how to deal with periods of adversity and drawdowns, using mistakes to grow, developing consistency, turning failure into feedback and many other aspects of the "mind game" are also topics in this book, and the reader is shown strategies for immediate use in his or her own trading.

This book is a major positive contribution to trading literature, and I highly recommend it to those who wish to develop the winning attitude that is a prerequisite to successful trading. Mark Douglas, Adrienne Toghraie and Van Tharp, all well known for their own work in the area of trader psychology, also highly recommend this book.

Review by
Edward Dobson, President
Traders Press, Inc.
Greenville, SC

Additional details are available on www.traderspress.com.