Pit Bull Book Review

The best takeaway for me in the entire book was a one-liner. If you want to be a trader, you have to trade. Quite simple but when reflected upon, it says it all.

From Publishers Weekly
After working several years in what he considered to be a dead-end job as a financial analyst at E.F. Hutton, Schwartz quit the firm, accumulated a nest egg of $100,000 and on August 13, 1979, bought a seat on the American Stock Exchange where he began trading stocks, options and futures. He quickly became an expert at trading S&P futures, and in his first full year as an independent trader made $600,000 and a year later earned $1.2 million. Schwartz's style was to get in and out of positions in a hurry; he rarely held on to any financial instrument for more than a day. As his success on Wall Street grew, he began his own fund in which he would manage other people's money as well as his own, a move he would regret. The stress of running the fund contributed to his developing pericarditis, which nearly killed him. His doctors advised him to slow down his lifestyle, so at the age of 48, Schwartz, along with his wife and two children, moved to Florida where he took up golf and developed a daily routine that allowed him to keep trading, but at a more relaxed pace. This is one of those rare autobiographies where the subject unintentionally portrays himself in an unfavorable light. As he grew ever richer, Schwartz became consumed with generating even more money and prestige so that he could "run with the top dogs." Inadvertently, he has written a cautionary tale on the dangers of being addicted to money and power. Coauthors Morine and Flint are freelancers.
From Library Journal
Schwartz narrates his personal account of trading big-money options on several financial exchanges. Options trading is very risky, and the average investor won't ever be involved with it. In the rapid-fire narration, Schwartz comes across as money-driven and obnoxious. He sprinkles vulgar words in an attempt to be humorous. The self-absorbed content won't help those who are looking for practical investment tips. Unfortunately, while bragging about his money and trading deals, the author doesn't tell the listener how to make some money. Instead, Schwartz goes off into details about his stress-related health problems. The promised investing lessons in the subtitle are not delivered.