Rating: - Good Bargain
This book is a skimmed version of the author's more expensive and extensive book "Schwager on Futures, Technical Analysis". Even more, this book is updated? to stock markets. Really a good bargain and should be read even by traders at intermediate level.

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Rating: - Does not get you started in tehnical analysis
First of all, the name of this book is misleading - only the first part or about 1/3 of the book is actully about technical analysis. The other 2/3 are about different trading techniques, systems, tips, etc. Second, none of the topics discussed is covered in depth, I always have a feeling after reading a chapter to read a dedicated book on this topic. So I suggest to skip this book altogether and buy a "Bible" by Murthy or Pring which really explains all fine points of TA.

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Rating: - Fact... or pure coincidence?
As a beginner in technical analysis-based trading, I found Getting Started in Tech. Analysis a good overview of the concepts. In a well organized format, Schwager clarifies the jargon and confusing chart tools used by the technical analysis trader. Even skeptics of technical analysis will find some merit in this book, as some of the concepts such as trading ranges and trend lines seem to make sense. I, myself, have found a few of the tips to be true when analyzing real stock price movements. To really get a grasp of the material, it's best to read and then reread the chapters several times.

One skeptical argument against this book is that much of the thinking seems to be retrospective. In the event that the technical analysis indicators prove to be incorrect, the excuse of a "failed signal" is used. To really test out the theories in this book, one would have to do a great deal of experimental charting and making predictions. This book also seems to have more examples from the futures markets than stock prices. I'm not sure if this is because Schwager is an experienced futures trader, or if technical analysis works better in the futures market due to the nature of its extreme price movements.

Finally, unlike a technical trader would like to believe, I am still uncertain whether technical analysis works in today's market. With today's current events affecting stock prices, it is impossible to make decisions based on price movements alone. Could technical analysis really work in the current day's trading environment? A market with limited rallies and held back by a fear of international uncertainty? Perhaps that's up for you, the reader, to decide.

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Rating: - Terrible Book Layout
Jack Schwager's book has good content. He knows what he is talking about. This book has a terrible physical layout and printing format. It is noticeably a bad layout. I've read dozens of investing and trading books found on Amazon, but this one stands out as a really bad printing job.

The book is a paperback book, which is just fine. The text of the book is printed in a screened-back light blue text. It takes very bright light to be able to see the text on the page. Forget about reading the book unless you are in bright sunlight or have a very bright light.

Throughout the book, the illustrations are one or more pages ahead of the text. It is good to have illustrations and charts, but they should be closer to the text.

Again, the content is good, but the layout and format are terrible.

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Rating: - Excellent beginner's book
I'm familiar with Schwager from his two Market Wizards books, in which he interviewed and profiled many of the great traders of our times, such as Paul Tudor Jones, the great futures and swing trader. So when I saw this I decided to check it out.

I would recommend this as a good beginner's book. Read this before you undertake Martin Pring's book on technical analysis, for example, as his exhaustive analysis of chart patterns will be too dense and forbidding if you're just starting out. Schwager strikes a good balance between getting the concept across and inundating the beginner with too many details. Most technical analysis methods aren't that hard to understand, even the ones based on more sophisticated math; it's the application to the real-world charts that takes some skill and experience.

For me the best chapter was the 82 Rules of Trading, which contains 82 short statements about trading principles, including such classics as never selling a stock that is making new highs (probably as close to an "absolute" principle as there is in the markets). This chapter may be most useful to someone with more trading experience in the market who's experienced what happens when you violate these principles, but they're there anyway, and it won't hurt you to get exposed to them right off. Overall, a well written, clear, and concise introduction on this aspect of trading.