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Forex Trading

Forex trading books 2024: a comprehensive guide

A large blue box with a mountain in the background - Forex trading books US.

The field of forex trading has become increasingly popular over the last decade as more people discover its potential. However, for those who are newcomers to the world of foreign exchange, it can, at first, appear overwhelming. There’s a lot to learn if you want to trade at your best, but with the best forex trading book, you can reach the next level yourself.

Our team of experts took to the shelves to discover the top picks for this year. We examined each book to make sure it deserved its place on this list, making sure that each one offers novice traders valuable information that they can put to good use. After poring through the works of some of the top forex authors today, we finally narrowed our choices down to 10. So, read on to discover our ten top forex books for 2023.

Top 10 Books Selected For 2023

It’s fair to say that there’s a lot to get to grips with when you first dip your toes into the world of forex trading. Learning about the basics like technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and above all, reading the market will all become a lot simpler when you pick up one of these selected titles. If you’re new to forex trading, you should certainly make sure to read at least a few of these carefully chosen books in 2023.

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1. Currency Trading For Dummies

by Kathleen Brooks

If you’re a complete newcomer to the world of foreign exchange, you first need to understand what forex trading actually is before you can begin trading successfully.

This user-friendly book explains everything you need to know about the basics, from the size and scope of the market itself to the top current players and the opportunities that trading presents. The pages of this book contain valuable information about the key economic factors influencing changing currency values and market prediction.

Essentially, this book gives you the grounding you need to start trading forex. You’ll learn the best ways to study data and how to interpret it from scratch. You’ll discover the different tools and trading conventions that professionals use and gives you everything you need to prepare your own game plan.

2. Forex For Ambitious Beginners

by Jelle Peters

Whether you’re keen to launch a new career as a forex trader, or whether you’re just eager to generate a little more income, this book is extremely useful. Far from being a manual for getting rich quick, this is an in-depth study of the foreign exchange market that teaches key strategies and reliable trading systems as well as effective capital management skills. For complete forex beginners, this book is the ideal starting point.

3. The Black Book Of Forex Trading

By Paul Langer

For many novice forex traders, the biggest obstacle to success is knowing how to become successful without exposing themselves to significant financial risks. In this book, you’ll discover ways to do just this. You’ll find out the best winning strategies and techniques for money management and, particularly interestingly, you’ll also learn about the emotional aspect of trading.

The author of this book is an established expert who has spent years trying, learning, and testing all the tactics and systems of forex trading, and he has written this book based on his own experiences. That’s what makes this book so useful – it has its basis in truth.

If you want to feel more confident about your ability to navigate the forex trading markets, this book is the one for you.

4. How To Start A Trading Business With $500

By Heikin Ashi Trader

Arguably, this is one of the best entry-level books for newbie forex traders. In fact, experienced traders are probably already aware of the Heikin Ashi trading strategy that proves to be useful for being able to predict future prices.

The author of this book has already used the tool outlined within the pages to his own success and in this helpful guide, he reveals a stage-by-stage journey for novice traders to follow to help them launch their new trading career on a tight budget. For anyone who is asking “is forex trading profitable for an entry-level trader?” this book reveals the possibilities, even in a marketplace that is dominated by Wall Street professionals.

5. Day Trading And Swing Trading The Currency Market

By Kathy Lien

Kathy Lien is the Managing Director of BK Asset Management, and in that role, she has risen to become a highly sought-after global forex analyst. Having received her education at NYU Stern School of Business, the author of this book has had a successful Wall Street career that spans the past two decades.

With this illustrious history in mind, it isn’t too surprising that this book is extremely popular amongst newcomers to trading. Within its pages, she gives actionable insights about how to use fundamental strategies and technical strategies, and most importantly, there are clear details of both the long-term and short-term factors that affect currency pairs.

6. How To Make A Living Trading Foreign Exchange

By Courtney Smith

If you’re still trying to decide whether or not trading is right for you, it’s certainly worth taking a look at this helpful book. Courtney Smith, its author, supplies valuable trading strategies which enable even novices to navigate the markets, even during tough times. The author even shares their own strategy which aims to double profits through the use of a channel break out system.

7. Technical Analysis Of The Financial Markets

By John J. Murphy

Technical analysis is one of the key aspects of forex trading, and this book tells you all you have to know, from the basics of trading concepts right up to using advanced indicators. Although this is far from being a new book – it was penned in 1998 – its author, John J. Murphy, was once a Merrill Lynch director and over the years it has reached the status of almost being a trading bible.

It contains over 400 different charts that help traders to understand technical analysis more clearly as well as sections that help explain how to put that information into practice. For novice and experienced traders alike, this book is an absolute must read.

8. Trading In The Zone

By Mark Douglas

This book has something a little different to offer the novice trader. Rather than looking at the basics of trading strategies, it instead tackles the psychological attributes which are essential for traders. As one of the leading books in this field, it contains numerous practical techniques to put into practice to control your emotional responses.

This is a companion book to many of the others on this list – although these techniques cannot replace analysis or planning, they can help you to execute strategies in a more efficient way and help you to reduce your losses.

9. Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques

By Steve Nison

This specialist book was originally published back in 1991, but it remains just as relevant today for anyone who is keen to learn more about analysing candlestick charts. A great choice for more experienced traders who want to up their game to the next level, this book outlines how to use some of the most popular tools for technical analysis to confirm their candlestick readings.

However, there’s something here for newbie traders too, who can learn how candlesticks can be used for standalone analysis. With countless examples, this book outlines practical steps to take to use these detailed methods in the live marketplace.

10. Trend Following

By Michael Covel

In this book, you’ll learn how to track the market’s prevailing movements, even when there is significant uncertainty in the marketplace. This book was fully updated after 2008’s market crash when those who followed the trend managed to beat expectations, and in these pages, Covel details a helpful technical system that can be used by traders to speculate on many markets.

You’ll discover practical tips that will help you to think and act differently, improving your chances of being able to execute a successful trend-following system.

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Best Authors Of All Time

When you’re looking for the best forex trading book for you, you’ll probably want to choose one that has been written by one of the top forex authors of all time. All of the books on our suggested list have been written by experts, however, there are a few names on this list who deserve some special recognition for their expertise and experience.

Paul Langer, the author of The Black Book Of Forex Trading, is a well-established professional trader with almost a decade of experience. Having adopted a trading technique with its basis on Price Action, he is known for applying simple technical concepts to modern trading standards, with some fundamentals thrown in to gain a greater understanding of the major trends that cause market movement. Not only has he penned this popular book, but he also has his own blog and has been featured on many podcasts as well as a guest writer for specialised blogs.

Kathy Lien is another top author who has written one of the books on this list – Day Trading And Swing Trading The Currency Market. She is a true expert in the field having more than two decades of financial market experience and having had numerous bestselling trading books published internationally.

As one of BKForex LLC’s founding partners, she has been working in a Wall Street career since the age of 18 and has specifically focused on currencies. Her long experience in using cross-market analysis to develop trading strategies has given her a reputation as an expert, and she is frequently quoted by illustrious publications such as Reuters, Associated Press, and The Wall Street Journal.

Finally, John J. Murphy is another much-admired author with a book on this list. His “Technical Analysis Of The Futures Markets” has long been regarded as a key reference text about technical analysis thanks to his long expertise as the technical analysis director for Merrill Lynch. Having also been a consultant and teacher, Murphy is StockCharts.com’s Chief Technical Analyst and has appeared on numerous industry-related TV shows including Bloomberg TV, Wall Street Week With Louis Rukeyser, and CNN Moneyline.

Best Author

Steps To Start Trading Forex

If there’s one thing that you can learn from these forex trading books, it’s that you need to have a good grounding in your subject before you even make your first trade if you want to achieve results. Although the world of the forex market can appear to be quite overwhelming at first, by gaining an in-depth understanding of the basics of the market, including its scope and opportunities, it’s possible to start to develop a plan and strategy that will work for you.

By following the advice outlined in these books, you can begin to come up with your own plan to achieve forex success, adopting the strategies and techniques suggested by the experts based on their own extensive experience. However, it’s also important to never overlook the importance of emotions. Another key aspect of forex trading is learning to control your feelings as well as your capital so that you always make well-informed and carefully thought-out trading decisions rather than just jumping in on a whim.

Essentially, the one thing that you’re sure to learn from the best forex trading book for you is that anybody can achieve in the foreign currency exchange marketplace with the right attitude and the right knowledge. You don’t have to be a millionaire to get started with trading – even on a relatively low budget you can still launch a career from scratch as a professional trader or supplement your income with your trades.

Not investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee or predict future performance.