What I learned losing a million dollars

About the book

WHY A BOOK ON LOSING?

Almost without exception, anyone who has participated in markets has made some money. Apparently people have at least some knowledge about making money in the markets. However, since most people have lost more money than they have made, it is equally apparent that they lack knowledge about not losing money. When they do lose, they buy books and attend seminars in search of a new method of how to make money since that last method was "obviously defective." They are like racing fans making the same losing bet on an instant replay. Investors' book shelves are filled with Horatio Alger stories of rags to riches millionaires. Sometimes these books are read solely for entertainment, but more often than not they are read in an attempt to learn the secret of how the millionaires made their fortunes, particularly when those millions were made by trading in the markets. Most of these books are of the "how-to" genre, from James Brisbin's 1881 classic The Beef Bonanza: How To Get Rich On The Plains to modern day versions of how to get rich in the market: How to win in the market..., How to use what you already know to make..., How to apply the winning strategies..., How to make a million dollars in the market before breakfast. We've all read them, but if the "how-to" books were that beneficial we'd all be rich.

A review of the investment and trading literature reveals very little written about losing money. When something has been written on this topic, it's usually a sensationalistic unauthorized tell-all biography or tabloid-like expose' which panders to people who delight in the misfortune of others. Personality journalism books are definitely read for entertainment, not as an attempt to learn from the subject's mistakes. Losing has received only superficial coverage in most books on the markets; they raise the subject, stress its importance and then leave it dangling.

What I Learned Losing A Million Dollars is a light treatise on the psychology of losing and is intended for investors, speculators, traders, brokers and money managers who have either lost money or would like to protect against losing what they've made. Most discussions of the psychological aspects of the markets focus on behavioral psychology or psychoanalysis (i.e., sublimation, regression, suppression, anger, self punishment). This isn't to say such books aren't instructive, it's just that most people find it hard to digest and apply the information presented in those books. Other books use hypothetical character sketches to make their points while others simply compile a list of old saws about losses. This book, on the other hand, entertains and educates you on the psychology of market losses in layman's terms, anecdotally, through the story of a trader who actually lost over a million dollars in the market.

Description from Open Library.