The Candlestick Course (Steve Nison)

As far as I know, this is Steve Nison's latest book on candlestick charting. What it does, it does very well indeed. It's the best book for newcomers (especially self-study types) to the subject that I've ever found, and I've checked most of them. In fact, if you're new to technical analysis, you can start here as well. Although there's more to technical analysis than candlestick charting, one has to start somewhere, and once you've mastered the concepts introduced here, the rest will make a lot more sense to you. The problem with most books that claim to be introductory works is that they're really not. You read a few pages, and then all of a sudden the author starts introducing words he or she hasn't defined, or starts talking about subjects that he or she just assumes you know about. Steve Nison doesn't do this. He takes you step by step, and each chapter concludes with review questions and answers, so that you'll be able to move to the next chapter. And you don't have to worry that the author knows what he's talking about. He's the one who introduced the subject of candlestick charting to the Western world.
After you've gone through this book, I would most highly recommend that you follow it up with Tina Logan's "Getting Started in Candlestick Charting." It will reinforce what you learned from Nison's book, and then seamlessly blend in other aspects of technical analysis as the discussion moves forward. When you've finished with both books, you should know as much about the subject as most of the experts. And you'll have a powerful tool to use in your trading. The great thing about the candlestick method is that while it presents the same "raw data" as the conventional bar graph, it also gives you so much more real information about what's going on in the market. It's almost like being able to read the minds of the market participants. Simply stated, it's as far superior to the conventional bar graph as Arabic numerals are to Roman numerals. It's the unity of form and content.

I abandoned the Gregory Morris book, "Candlestick Charting Explained," because of the unnecessarily complex and not useful amount of detail.

I truly enjoyed the narrative parts of "The Candlestick Course," finding the explanations clear and concise.

However, I was appalled and frustrated by the incredibly poor, difficult-to-use layout of the illustrations, particularly in the Q&A; sections. One had to flip pages between the questions and the answers/explanations, then flip between the "question charts" and the "answer charts." It was ludicrous!

Anyway, I am really glad I read the book and persevered, because I think it's good. But, please get a good editor!!!!

I was very excited to start this book, thinking I would find a trading tool that matched my visual senses. However, I was disappointed to find that there really is no difference between candles and OHLC. It's true, that candles are a more visual representation of the same data. But, not any more useful. One annoying aspect of Nison's personality is that he keeps trying to convince you how much better candles are than OHLC. Aside from the visual acuity (i.e. colors, wider bars), it's the same Steve! Sorry.

Western culture interprets the OHLC data differently than the Japanese, that is all. So, to that effect you learn how the Japanese interpret the data. But, they still can't be used reliably without other Western indicators. So, if you already have a trading strategy that you think might be enhanced by another "edge", go for it. Don't think you can use candles all by themselves though.

As far as Nison's style of writing, I found it a bit insulting on an intellectual level. I kept feeling like I was sitting in elementary school holding a pair of dull scissors. I realize that in order to learn, ideas must be repeated. However, he goes a bit overboard with the repetition. If the book were written better, I think as an educated adult I'd choose to read it again to get to the appropriate level of repetition. However, it's so "dumbed down", I don't think I can sit through it another time.

But, I did learn what the basic candle signals are; and perhaps more importantly what they are not. So, I give it a thumbs up for the basic material. But, thumbs down on being engaging and or something I would read again.

Also, I agree with the previous poster that said the layout is poor, and all the flipping back and forth to look at charts and answer questions was annoying. At one point I had 3 fingers holding places to go back to, and then got lost amongst the charts and was using the wrong chart to answer the question... Then was frustrated to find I'd done so when referring to the answer section to check myself.

This is a wonderful book for people who are new to Japanese canadlesticks. Its written in an easy to read format and in layman language. On top of that, at the end of chapter, there is a set of questions that test your knowledge of the topics that was just covered. However, my only gripe would be it does not go in-depth enough, it only covers the basics. Some real life examples (i.e. Charts) on each topic covered would have been nice.

Great book for Japanese candlestick newbies but skip it if you are on an intermediate level or above.

Being a novice to candlesticks I was open to a new world of analysis this book ofered. Comming from a background of chart pattern plotting , I wanted to find another indicator that was a realible cross check for the signals.
I thought that the instruction and layout of each chapter was thoughtful and educational. I especially liked the little review section at the end of the chapters. However I found the true application of the principles to require a more intrinsic approach to the reader. It made for a great intoduction and general apprecitaion for the art of candlesticking, but a course it is not. For those NOT looking for a light snack move on to a real meal.