The ABC of Stock Speculation

First published in the early 1900s, S. A. Nelson’s The ABC of Stock Speculation is a plain-spoken, highly practical primer on how markets truly move—and how a speculator should think, plan, and act. Nelson, a newspaperman who studied Wall Street from the inside, strips away mystique and buzzwords to teach core principles: follow the tape, understand trend and momentum, respect risk, and avoid the crowd’s worst impulses.

Far from a dusty relic, this classic reads like a blueprint for modern trading discipline. You’ll learn why price action and money management matter more than opinions, how opportunity selection and position control shape outcomes, and why psychology—timing, patience, and self-command—is the deciding edge. Nelson’s concise rules, checklists, and common-sense warnings help new and experienced traders alike build a process that’s sober, repeatable, and resilient across cycles.

✅ What You’ll Learn:

• How to analyze trend, momentum, and the “tape” to frame higher-probability trades.
• Rules for entering, scaling, and exiting positions with discipline.
• Practical risk control: stops, capital allocation, and dealing with losses.
• Reading market tone and crowd psychology without overcomplicating the chart.
• Differentiating speculation from investment—and when each is appropriate.
• A rule-based mindset that reduces noise and emotional decision-making.

💡 Key Benefits:

• A timeless, no-nonsense framework for planning and executing trades.
• Clear, memorable rules you can apply to today’s markets immediately.
• Better risk management and loss containment to protect equity curves.
• Stronger discipline and confidence through process over prediction.
• Essential foundations for traders moving from theory to consistent practice.

👤 Who This Book Is For:

Beginners who want a solid, rule-driven starting point, and intermediate traders who need to tighten discipline and risk control. If you value clarity, practicality, and market wisdom that survives fads, this book belongs in your trading library.

📚 Table of Contents:

• Origin of Stock Brokers, Stock Exchanges anrl Stock Speculation
• Stock Speculation
• Stock Speculation and Gambling
• The Morality of Wall Street
• Scientific Speculation
• The Two General Methods of Trading
• Three General Lines of Reasoning
• Swings Within Swings
• Methods of Reading the Market
• The Operation of Stop Orders
• Cutting Losses Short
• The Danger in Overtrading
• Methods of Tradlng
• The Out of Town Trader
• The Short Side of the Market
• Speculation for the Decline
• Concerning Discretionary Accounts
• The Liability for Loss
• The Recurrence of Crises
• Financial Criticism
• The Physical Position of the Stock Speculator
• Temperament and Equipment
• The Broker and his Client
• The Bucket Shop
• The Speculator and the Consolidated Exchange
• The Tipster
• Conclusions of a Speculator
• Successful and Unsuccessful Speculators
• An Interesting Inquiry
• Stock Market Manipulation
• The Record of Five Panics
• End of Several ” Booms”
• Dealing in Unissued Stocks
• The Tipster’s Point of View
• Wall Street Points of View

The ABC of Stock Speculation By S. A. Nelson 
The ABC of Stock Speculation By Samuel Armstrong Nelson