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If you want one book to learn technical analysis, read John J. Murphy's Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets; if you start from zero, Barbara Rockefeller's Technical Analysis For Dummies or Jack D. Schwager's Getting Started in Technical Analysis; and for candlesticks, Steve Nison's Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques. We checked each edition in a book catalog or on the publisher's page between October 31 and November 2, 2026 and did not reread the books, so the order is not a ranking.
Twelve technical analysis books
Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets
- Edition checked
- New York Institute of Finance, 1999, 576 pages
- Who it is for
- Readers who want what its subtitle calls a comprehensive guide to trading methods
- About the book
- Subtitled A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Methods and Applications; its Internet Archive record presents it as a revision of Murphy's Technical Analysis of the Futures Markets.
Checked , openlibrary.orgSee on Amazon
Getting Started in Technical Analysis
- Edition checked
- Second edition, Wiley, 2020, 304 pages
- Who it is for
- Beginners who want a first book
- About the book
- A first book from the Getting Started series: Jack D. Schwager, the author of Market Wizards, wrote it alone in 1999 and with Mark Etzkorn for the 2020 second edition. The Amazon link opens the 1999 edition.
Checked , books.google.comSee on Amazon
Technical Analysis Explained
- Edition checked
- Fifth edition, 2014, 797 pages
- Who it is for
- Readers who want to spot trends and turning points across markets
- About the book
- Subtitled The Successful Investor's Guide to Spotting Investment Trends and Turning Points; first published in 1980 and now in a fifth edition.
Checked , openlibrary.orgSee on Amazon
The Art and Science of Technical Analysis
- Edition checked
- Wiley, 2012, 480 pages
- Who it is for
- Traders who want price action and market structure checked against market statistics
- About the book
- Subtitled Market Structure, Price Action, and Trading Strategies; its description says statistical analysis of the markets supports it, debunking some tools such as Fibonacci analysis and endorsing others.
Checked , books.google.comSee on Amazon
Technical Analysis from A to Z
- Edition checked
- Second edition, McGraw-Hill Education, 2013, 380 pages
- Who it is for
- Readers who want an alphabetical dictionary of indicators
- About the book
- An A-to-Z reference: its description covers over 135 indicators, from the Absolute Breadth Index to the Zig Zag, each with an interpretation, a calculation and examples.
Checked , books.google.comSee on Amazon
Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques
- Edition checked
- Second edition, New York Institute of Finance, 2001, 299 pages
- Who it is for
- Traders who read candlestick charts
- About the book
- Subtitled A Contemporary Guide to the Ancient Investment Techniques of the Far East: a book on candlestick charts, first published in 1991.
Checked , openlibrary.orgSee on Amazon
Market Wizards
- Edition checked
- Updated edition, Wiley, 2012
- Who it is for
- Readers who want to hear how successful traders worked, in their own words
- About the book
- A book of interviews with traders, not a technical manual; its publisher names Bruce Kovner, Richard Dennis, Paul Tudor Jones, Michel Steinhardt, Ed Seykota, Marty Schwartz and Tom Baldwin among them.
Checked , wiley.comSee on Amazon
Technical Analysis Using Multiple Timeframes
- Edition checked
- Alphatrends, 2023, 197 pages
- Who it is for
- Traders who want to align the trend across several timeframes
- About the book
- Subtitled Understand Market Structure and Profit from Trend Alignment: a book on reading one market across several timeframes. The Amazon link opens the LifeVest edition of 2008, 184 pages.
Checked , books.google.comSee on Amazon
How to Make Money in Stocks
- Edition checked
- Fourth edition, McGraw-Hill, 2009
- Who it is for
- Stock traders who want a stock selection system, as its subtitle promises
- About the book
- Subtitled A Winning System in Good Times and Bad: O'Neil's system for choosing stocks, in a fourth edition since 2009.
Checked , books.google.comSee on Amazon
Technical Analysis For Dummies
- Edition checked
- Fifth edition, Wiley, June 2026, 368 pages
- Who it is for
- Readers starting from zero who want the basic principles, formulas and techniques
- About the book
- Wiley presents it as a guide to the basic principles, formulas and techniques; this edition's updates include artificial intelligence and non-traditional data such as social media sentiment and web traffic. The Amazon link opens the previous edition.
Checked , wiley.comSee on Amazon
The Encyclopedia of Technical Market Indicators
- Edition checked
- Second edition, McGraw-Hill, 2002, 832 pages
- Who it is for
- Readers who want an alphabetical reference of hundreds of indicators
- About the book
- An 832-page encyclopedia of indicators, first published in 1988 with Thomas A. Meyers; the second edition dates from 2002.
Checked , books.google.comSee on Amazon
Elliott Wave Principle
- Edition checked
- New Classics Library, 2022
- Who it is for
- Traders who want Elliott wave theory explained in one book
- About the book
- Subtitled Key to Market Behavior: a text on the wave theory, first published in 1978.
Checked , openlibrary.orgSee on Amazon
Which book fits which reader
Which technical analysis book to start with
You are starting from zero
Technical Analysis For Dummies by Barbara Rockefeller, first published in 2004, reached a fifth edition in June 2026. Jack D. Schwager's Getting Started in Technical Analysis, from Wiley in 1999 and in a 304-page second edition with Mark Etzkorn since 2020, is the other introduction. Then move to Murphy: Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets, 576 pages from the New York Institute of Finance in 1999, is subtitled A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Methods and Applications.
You want references to consult
Two books are built to be looked up rather than read in order. Steven B. Achelis's Technical Analysis from A to Z goes from the Absolute Breadth Index to the Zig Zag, over 135 indicators according to its description. Robert W. Colby's The Encyclopedia of Technical Market Indicators, 832 pages in its 2002 second edition, describes itself as an alphabetical listing of hundreds of indicators, with guidelines for using each one in trading; to test an indicator before you rely on it, see our guide to backtesting.
Page count of the edition listed above
Colby's encyclopedia, at 832 pages, is the longest; Pring's Technical Analysis Explained follows at 797.
You want price action and trends
Adam Grimes's The Art and Science of Technical Analysis, subtitled Market Structure, Price Action, and Trading Strategies, came out from Wiley in 2012, in 480 pages; its description says statistical analysis of the markets supports it. Martin J. Pring's Technical Analysis Explained, first published in 1980 and 797 pages in its fifth edition, is subtitled The Successful Investor's Guide to Spotting Investment Trends and Turning Points. Brian Shannon's Technical Analysis Using Multiple Timeframes, 184 pages in its 2008 edition and 197 in the Alphatrends edition of 2023, deals with lining up the trend across several chart timeframes.
You trade candlesticks or waves
Steve Nison's Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques first appeared in 1991; the second edition is from 2001. Our candlestick patterns section covers the patterns it describes. Elliott Wave Principle by A. J. Frost and Robert R. Prechter, first published in 1978 and reissued by New Classics Library in 2022, is a text on Elliott waves.
You trade stocks
William J. O'Neil's How to Make Money in Stocks, first published in 1988 and in a fourth edition since 2009, is subtitled A Winning System in Good Times and Bad. Schwager's Market Wizards is not a technical manual: it is a book of interviews with traders, first published in 1989 and updated by Wiley in 2012.
When each book came out
Nine of the twelve books first came out before 2001, and several are on their fourth or fifth edition. The timeline gives a catalog year for each book, which may not be its first printing; the list above gives the edition we checked. Murphy's 1986 book on the futures markets is included because the Internet Archive record of his 1999 guide calls it a revised edition of that book.
The books on this page by catalog year
Elliott Wave Principle, by A. J. Frost and Robert R. Prechter, from New Classics Library Open Library
Technical Analysis Explained, Martin J. Pring Open Library
Technical Analysis of the Futures Markets, John J. Murphy's earlier guide Open Library
How to Make Money in Stocks, William J. O'Neil Open Library
The Encyclopedia of Technical Market Indicators, Robert W. Colby and Thomas A. Meyers Open Library
Market Wizards, Jack D. Schwager Open Library
Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques, Steve Nison Open Library
Technical Analysis from A to Z, Steven B. Achelis Open Library
Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets, John J. Murphy Open Library
Getting Started in Technical Analysis, Jack D. Schwager Open Library
Technical Analysis For Dummies, Barbara Rockefeller Open Library
Technical Analysis Using Multiple Timeframes, Brian Shannon Open Library
The Art and Science of Technical Analysis, Adam Grimes Open Library
More trading book lists
For setups applied to intraday charts, see our day trading books; for trades held a few days, the swing trading books; and to turn chart rules into code, the algorithmic trading books. All our book lists sit under trading reviews.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best book to learn technical analysis?
John J. Murphy's Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets, a 576-page guide published in 1999. If you start from zero, read Technical Analysis For Dummies or Getting Started in Technical Analysis first.
Which books cover indicators?
Steven B. Achelis's Technical Analysis from A to Z, over 135 indicators according to its description, and Robert W. Colby's The Encyclopedia of Technical Market Indicators, 832 pages in its 2002 second edition.
Which book covers candlestick charts?
Steve Nison's Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques, first published in 1991 and in a second edition since 2001.
Is Market Wizards a technical analysis book?
No. It is a book of interviews with traders, first published in 1989.
Sources
- Wiley, Market Wizards, Updated
- O'Reilly, Technical Analysis For Dummies, 4th Edition
- Open Library, Elliott Wave Principle, first publish year
- Open Library, The Encyclopedia of Technical Market Indicators, Dow Jones-Irwin, 1988
- Google Books, The Art and Science of Technical Analysis, 2012
- Google Books, Technical Analysis from A to Z, 2nd Edition, 2013
- Google Books, The Encyclopedia of Technical Market Indicators, Second Edition, 2002
- Google Books, Elliott Wave Principle, 2022
- Google Books, How to Make Money in Stocks, Fourth Edition, 2009
- Internet Archive, Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets, 1999
- Wiley, Technical Analysis For Dummies, 5th Edition
- Google Books, Technical Analysis For Dummies, 5th edition, 2026
- Google Books, Getting Started in Technical Analysis, second edition, 2020
- Google Books, Technical Analysis Using Multiple Timeframes, 2023
Passionate about finance, quantitative trading and data analysis. Amaury built the PatternsWizard test bench, which detects each pattern on full price history and measures what happened next against random entries.
PatternsWizard tests chart and candlestick patterns on full market history, against random entries. How we test patterns.