Supposedly this is a roman a clef about Jesse Livermore's career. There's a lot of stuff in this book that makes sense of markets in ways that pretty much no other investing book I've ever read does. Some what I remember are bucket shops, tape sense, marketing campaigns for new stocks, risk of ruin (Livermore went bust over and over), and what amounts to compulsive gambling.

required reading when youre a young buck starting out on a trading desk. its a short, quick read. there's 2 key takeaways for me when comparing today's markets and those of 100+ years ago: market dynamics are essentially unchanged & human emotions - fear and greed - drive those market dynamics in the same way.

The bucket shops sound like prop trading companies of today

Keep in mind that ultimately Livermore died broke. Trading stocks is a promise of wealth that's just a mirage. Smart long term investments is your best way to a wealthy future.