BKuerbs,
Those two books are, in my opinion, not that great. A lot of traders swear they are great but I didn't like either one of them and here is why.
First, Gallacher talks down TA throughout the book (which, to an extent, I agree with) and then suddenly later in the book is using TA for his own system, albeit a newly revised one. He does a good job shooting down Williams, though. Also, a lot of his examples, such as Hog contracts, were very illiquid markets to begin with.
As far as I'm concerned, he's just another person touting his own unique system.
Taleb, in his Randomness book, begins at the very beginning by stating he did not do much research. He uses long words were short ones would have been great. He rambles on and on. The entire book, in my opinion, is an interesting read but not one firmly rooted in research.
The point is that there are people making money successfully and consistently in the market. If they do so for 30 years and then die and someone wants to call that random, well then I hope my success is random, too.
Just my opinion.
