Technical Analysis Explained does exactly what its title says it does. It explains technical analysis. The first chapters cover the basics market cycles in general and relate them to technical analysis and what it is.
The next chapters march through a whose-who of technical analysis patterns ranging from flags, and pendants, to head and shoulders patterns, and other double, and triple tops.
But, Pring doesn't stop there. While some technical analysis websites and books throw up some pretty charts and draw lines on them like astronomy books highlight the constellations, Pring focuses the majority of the book on assorted indicators. Pring's emphasis is on using indicators such as momentum and the various oscillators to validate the various patterns as legitimate breakouts.
Implementing such techniques can save the novice technician many un-profitable trades that are made when they see a pattern without quantifying its likelihood to produce a profitable trade via indicators.
For me, some chapters in Pring's book delve too deeply in trying to predict and quantify the overall market via various indicators which can confuse the issue about whether or not a particular stock is a good trade. This plus a lengthy section on how interest rates affect the markets distracts from profitable trading tactics that can actually be implemented by individual traders.
Still, few books about technical analysis do the topic justice the way that Pring does in Technical Analysis Explained with its full descriptions.
Technical Analysis Explained definitely warrants a spot on the technicians bookshelf.
