Investor's Library
Review of
45 Years in Wall Street
By William D. Gann
Reviewed by Karris Golden, Vice President, Traders Press, Inc.
The market is rich with books that dissect market theory.
This is not one of those books. Or, rather, that's not the full extent of 45 Years in Wall Street. Instead, the book is a practical, hands-on analysis of the 1937 and 1942 panics, as well as the bull market of 1946.
Originally published in 1949, 45 Years in Wall Street offered time and percentage rules, along with stock trend charts. Gann, revered for the technical analysis tools he developed, also was well known for sharing his practical assessment of market movements.
Gann's practicality is what keeps his writing from being dated. Although the book was published more than 60 years ago, there's a reason Martino Publishing believed it worthy of a fresh printing. Gann's methodologies still hold merit and deserve study.
In 45 Years in Wall Street, Gann assesses market profitability, chart reading, swing trading and other concepts and practices. At the time, he chronicled the recent past and posited ways to profit from it. More than 45 years after this book's first printing, readers can further benefit from Gann's methods and insights.
For example, Chapter 2 outlines rules for trading in stocks that have proved timeless concepts. They're simple, too. It boils down to these: Study the trends, choose your products, select your entry and exit points and so on. In between, Gann shares his knowledge and experience as a
long-time market watcher.
Later, Gann notes, "When important news is announced, such as the beginning of war, ending of wars, the dates of the inauguration and election of presidents, it is important to consider the price of averages of the individual stocks at the time of news developments and whether the trend is already up or down..." (page 94).
He goes on to offer information that supports this assessment, and today's reader could easily review averages to bolster his point.
Gann based his forecasting methods for stock and commodity markets on geometry, astrology and mathematics. He is the much-touted author of Truth of the Stock Tape (1923), New Stock Trend Detector (1936) and How to Make Profits in Commodities (1941). Much like Dow, Gann's work is still so popular that it has a somewhat polarizing effect. Students of technical analysis are rarely ambivalent about Gann; they're either devoted or dismissive.
More information and full details on this book are available at http://www.traderspress.com
