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Below is an Amazon Review and comment from a reviewer called the "Jackal".

The Jackal gave my book a one star review.

This naturally drew my attention.

Now I have no problem with people criticising my book but I hope you can understand my reaction after you read his review and comment below.

After reading his review I went to post my response but was restricted in doing so by the word count that Amazon imposes. So I've posted Jackal's review and comment below and my response to him.

I hope the Jackal makes more effort in reading my response to his review then he did in either attempting to read my book or understanding what my web site is all about.

Brent Penfold
Sydney, Australia
4 Janaury, 2011.

See the original review here: Jackal Review

1.0 out of 5 stars
What is going on?
December 15, 2010
By Jackal

This review is from: The Universal Principles of Successful Trading: Essential Knowledge for All Traders in All Markets (Wiley Trading) (Hardcover)

I flipped through this book in the bookstore and found it interesting. I made a note to check amazon. Out of 10 reviewers 9 are five star. So far good. Then I check further and 9 nine out 10 reviewers have only reviewed one book. Then I check the author's webpage and he states that he is a trader and educator only as a side thing. Fine, trading can be very lonely and educating puts you in contact with people. But when he goes on to sell mechanical systems for 500 dollars, one gets slightly worried. Is this really to educate people? However, when he also has other systems selling for 3000 dollars, my conclusion is clear.

The following comment (replying to a positive note made by an individual in defense of my book) was posted on Dec. 31, 2010.

This is my assessment of the book and its author. I don't think he is promoting his trading systems in the book. I wrote that I found the book interesting. However, the credibility of the author is important to me when it comes to educational material. After checking his website I do not find him credible. That is not defamation as you suggest. Get your act together and review some books yourself. Both the ones you like and the ones you don't like. Unless you do that, chances are high that you are just trying to boost the sales of the book.

And here is my response to the Jackal

Tuesday 4th January, 2011.

To the Jackal,

Hi it’s Brent Penfold here.

I won’t say thanks for your review and comments but I will say thanks to Amazon to allow me to address the negative personal criticism and abuse you have levelled at me with your breezy spiel and defamatory innuendo.

I suggest before you take a swipe at someone be sure to attempt to get something correct. I don’t offer anything for 500 or 3,000 off my web site. My newsletters are available from AUD490 and my models from AUD670, AUD3,500 and AUD5,500. A small point you may think, but when you directly attack a person’s credibility you should ensure your information is correct.

Now for some reason you attack both my book and myself because I’m a private trader who operates a web site where I offer an advisory service and make available a number of mechanical trading systems. For some reason this offends you.

But let’s first allow everyone to know what appears to upset you so much.

I’m a private trader. I trade mechanically. I specialize in trading global index and currency futures. I trade multiple trend and counter-trend strategies across multiple timeframes. And for my crimes I leverage off my trading expertise by running a web site. I publish two newsletters, one for indices and one for currencies. I make these available for AUD490 each per quarter. I make available two short-term index systems, one for AUD3,500 and one for AUD5,500. And I make available two medium-term trend following systems, one for indices and one for currencies, each for AUD670. Each short-term index system and medium-term strategy has an accompanying newsletter where owners of the various systems can personally watch me trade the strategies in real markets with real money.

Let me repeat that.

I personally trade everything I make available off my web site where subscribers and owners can elect to watch me trade the relevant newsletter/system. They can see my orders, they can see my fills, they can see my losses and they can see my wins. I don’t know of any other web site that offers such transparency.

Yet this appears to offend you.

To me it appears your smug and careless comment strongly suggests I don’t trade and that my book and particularly my website is not designed to assist people in their trading education but to take advantage of them by me selling expensive (and implied rubbish) trading systems. And as such people should be cynical and wary of my book, my website and myself as surely I must be a charlatan rainbow merchant. You say I’m not credible.

Well I certainly take exception to your direct personal attack of my character.

Now I have no worries about people criticizing the content of my book. My book can stand on its own two feet, is big enough to defend itself and can rest on its own merits.

However I do take exception to people passing what they hope will appear as an “authoritative” comment when they haven’t even bothered to purchase a copy and read it.

As you say yourself … I flipped though this book … you haven’t even read it and so it begs belief why you would bother to leave a review at all? And in addition you are bagging a book that was released in May 2010 and that has been so well received that it has sold out twice on Amazon and John Wiley had to do a second print in September 2010. Do you think that I have somehow managed to hoodwink 1,000s of traders into purchasing my book with clever internet marketing? Do you think that lowly of the average readers’ intelligence? It’s staggering that you’ve placed the lowest ranking on one of Wiley’s more popular and successful trading books for 2010. And do you truly believe that a book that Van Tharp says …… “I recommend reading this book cover to cover several times. It will change your mind about what's important in trading….” is worth only a single star? And no I have never meet Van Tharp, I’ve never exchanged emails. Wow your arrogance is breath taking and your ignorance about the content of my book knows no boundary.

I have to say that it astounds me to hear of someone reviewing a book when they haven’t even bothered to read it? I can’t stop shaking my head in bewilderment.

As an aside I’m surprised you’re taken a swipe at people who have written reviews … and I don’t understand why you belittle 9 of the reviewers just because they’re haven’t written a review before? I can only assume that you’re suggesting these reviewers must be connected to me … since they have only reviewed one book … mine … and therefore to treat the reviews with suspicion since clearly they’re just close and therefore biased friends of mine giving me favourable reviews to help boost sales? Strange. Certainly when I have received unsolicited emails thanking and expressing gratitude to me for writing the book I have thank them and encouraged them to help spread its message. But I don’t know these people apart from their unsolicited emails to me. And whether they are part of the 9 reviewers or not it’s not always easy to determine since many people, like yourself, use aliases to hide their true identity when they place reviews.

And to my mind a review from one of the many silent majority is certainly worth valuing …because these individuals never publicly express their opinion…but when they do … they’re powerful and should be listen to because their thoughts come from a genuine place, not a well rehearsed and well used “reviewers’” vocabulary. It’s very strange that you should attack and smear the integrity of 9 reviewers because they belong to the silent majority … but I suppose that is really only collateral damage for you as I’m obviously your main target.

However on their behalf I say shame on you for directly and personally attacking their integrity without having the courage to record your real name to allow them an opportunity of direct reply. But then I suppose the internet has become the coward’s castle and you one of its happy inhabitants.

But that’s just an aside.

Now let’s cut to the chase.

Your innuendo strongly implies that you think, and that you think others should believe the same, that since I have a web site offering high priced trading systems that I must be a charlatan or rainbow merchant selling get rich quick schemes and therefore should avoid my book or seriously question its content. You say I’m not credible and by implication not trustworthy.

Well I certainly take exception to that.

If you had read my book then you’ll know that I have a strong (and minority) view on why so many fail at trading …. And it has nothing to do with the over emphasis on psychology …. People simply lose due to their ignorance, gullibility and laziness. And I’m sorry to say that you’ve exhibited all three in your personal attack and smear on my character.

If you had taken the time to visit my web site thoroughly you would have learnt the reason for its existence and know how it came about. Your quickness to arrive at a false conclusion is due to your lazy ignorance. So since you’re so lazy let me share with you how my web site came about … and if you’re an educator or industry parasite masquadering as an innocent private trader looking out for the vulnerable new trader then you won’t like what you’re about to read … because you have given me a platform to discuss what I do …. And not many trading educators do as I do … since they flat out don’t trade.

I won’t retell the whole story here on how my web site came about. You can visit my site … but if you click on “About” you’ll see a quick reference to the Story Behind My Web Site that I’ve included to make it easier to learn. But if you had read one of my F.A.Q pages you would have already read about it.

But in a nutshell … in the late 90’s as a private trader I personally objected to a gentleman who was the ex-General Manager of Australia’s largest trader education company. I said words to the effect that I thought he sold Snake Oil. I declared I’d show him how a reputable person should educate people on how to trade … and that was by personally trading what they taught/sold/promoted. I believed that it was only through showing real time results that an educator could show that they were reputable, that they believed what they taught/sold/promoted/peddled. In this trader education business it’s very easy to teach a trading idea, as there are hundreds, but it’s near impossible to provide proof an idea works with real time profits since very few ideas work. I believed educators should provide real time results to provide proof they believed in what they taught/sold/promoted and to provide proof that their “idea” worked to extract money from the market.

That all happened in the late 1990s.

Well I did what I said I would. I eventually got myself licensed. I eventually learnt how to put up a web site. I eventually made available (for a price) a simple mechanical model. I finally achieved what I said I would in 2001. I traded my simple mechanical model with real money in real markets. I made my real time results available. I demonstrated how I thought someone should go about educating traders … by demonstrating that they actually traded what they taught/sold/promoted.

That was almost 10 years ago.

And you say I’m not credible?

And guess what? I still trade that same simple mechanical model in real markets with real money and I still make available my real time results for those traders who are interested in the model. And to my knowledge …. I’m one of very few real traders who educate who can demonstrate that they actually trade what they teach.

And you say I’m not credible?

I’ve helped restore credibility and integrity to trading education through 100% transparency. And you choose to openly and publicly denigrate who I am and what I do? Your arrogance is breath taking.

And since I originally put up my web site I have maintained my philosophy behind why I did it. And that is 100% transparency.

I personally trade everything that is available off my site. And very, very few other owners of trading web sites can say the same. I hope you don’t reserve your negativity just for me but spread it wide?

If people choose to select a service or product off my website (and there is only 6) they can elect, if they choose to, to be able to watch the vendor (me) personally trade what they have purchased … whether it be one of my models or newsletters.

You see, I’m very unusual in this business of trading education. People can actually watch me personally trade everything I make available off my web site. They can see my fills, they can see my losses, they can see my wins, they can even talk with my brokers. They learn from repetition. Seeing me applying the strategy analysis each day, searching for the high expectancy set-ups and then seeing me draft orders when set-ups occur. All this before the markets open.

And this all started because I took exception to a self serving gentleman who at the time was the ex-General Manager of Australia’s largest trader education business.

And you say I’m not credible?

If you had bothered to spend some time on my web site before denigrating me you would have learnt this. If you had bothered to actually read my book you wouldn’t be surprised by what I’ve written here. But no, you casually and thoughtlessly denigrate people who happen to give my book a positive review. And here you are posting a negative 1 star review on a book you haven’t even read. Just extraordinary.

And you casually and thoughtlessly directly attack and defame my integrity as an author, a trader, an educator and an individual. And you do it without the courtesy of using your real name. How courageous of you.

So I hope you can see how I’ve taken exception to your smug innuendo that strongly implies that I’m a charlatan or rainbow merchant selling over hyped and over priced trading systems and services.

And if I’m not credible, if I’m such a charlatan system peddler then I’d like to know where all my clever marketing and advertising internet tricky is hidden? Because if I was a Snake Oil Salesman then surely wouldn’t I have a high media/marketing/internet profile trying to direct/suck people in to my web site?

And yet I don’t.

Apart from allowing others to advertise on my web site via Google’s Adsense you won’t see me advertising or pushing my web site anywhere ….whether it be in trading magazines, trading journals, 3rd party trading web sites, Google ads etc …. because I flat out don’t advertise….. and you won’t see me popping up on any trading forums offering gratuitous advice to help promote my name or my web site. I don’t go searching for clients … they come to me usually via a referral from a trading friend or a google search .... and that is because I don’t advertise. When people come to my web site it’s usually because of their direct effort … not because of some clever marketing internet trickery … and what people see are essentially my private trading strategies that I make available through newsletters and models. I simply allow those who are interested to acquire what I personally use.

But your innuendo is that I’m not credible and must be a high powered marketing operator attempting to catch/trap new traders into purchasing dodgy and expensive trading systems through some clever marketing trick. Simply extraordinary.

You have definitely and foolishly picked the wrong target.

I’m one of the very few real traders who educate who are truly independent.

I’m not aligned with anyone. I’m not aligned or beholden to any broker, data provider, software charting service or 3rd party trading web site. You won’t see any broker banner advertising on my web site. I don’t receive or solicit any commission/kick backs from brokers…. And believe me it would be so easy to receive payments as I get approached all the time. I could easily receive a commission for every trade a subscriber of mine made. But I don’t (unlike many newsletters who recommend brokers).

And I list the names of those brokers who my clients are happy with …without charging a fee …. because a good execution broker is worth their weight in gold. ….and I do that as a service to traders … and you say I’m not credible.

I’m one of very few traders who educate who allow their clients to personally watch them trade what they sell.

Yep.

I personally trade everything that is on my web site and that’s because they are my personal trading strategies. And because I trade them its easy for me to allow clients to watch me trade. It’s no big deal for me. And I personally believe I’ve created a revolution in trader education by making available strategies/systems (the theory) and then allowing traders to watch me personally trade the strategies in real markets with real money in real time. No ifs, no buts, no excuses. If a set-up of mine appears I trade it without fear or favour with my money in real markets in real time.

To my mind combining the theory (which any educator can do) with practical real time live trading (which very few do) is a revolution in trader education. And yes I do charge a price for that. And as a general rule I run 90 days of live trading following my annual Workshop…live trading…seeing all my broker orders before the markets open, seeing my fills, seeing my losses and my wins …for 90 days, not one or two days …but for 3 months ….and you say I’m not credible.

In addition I’m licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Australia has one of the most highly regulated financial markets in the world. So good in fact that Australia’s banks pretty much went unscathed during the GFC. Australia was the envy of many within the G20. By denigrating me you denigrate Australia’s financial prudential regulation … and you say I’m not credible.

And I can only image that you have given as much thought and investigation to your other 300+ reviews on Amazon … leading me to believe that they’re all possibly as fictional as the one you gave me.

In this one careless review of my book and myself you have shown yourself to be thoughtless, shallow and without integrity. You have undermined and devalued every one of your other 300+ reviews.

And it makes me wonder about the motivation behind your review.

For someone who supposedly casually flicked through a book you have gone to some length and effort to jump onto Amazon, read all the reviews and then casually blast one and all with your smug off the cuff remark ….. and all for a book you haven’t even read. So it makes me wonder about your motivation.

I can only imagine that I have possibly offended you in someway by adopting an opposite view on trading? A view that you’d prefer does not take currency with the private trader? I don’t know, but it does make me suspicious and it does make me ask what is going on? Just extraordinary.

And if this review reflects both your level of trading knowledge and intellectual curiosity then I suggest you retire from reviewing anymore trading books until you commit to actually purchasing and reading a book before commenting on it. It would certainly add more credibility to what you have to say.

And as an aside Andrea Unger has just won the Robbin’s World Cup Championship of Futures Trading with a +240% return for 2010.

Andrea is the first trader in the Championship’s 25 year history of live trading to win it three years in a row (2008, 2009 and 2010).

But since I’m not credible then by association I suppose the subjects in my book aren’t credible either so I guess Andrea’s unparallel success must be a figment of my imagination as well.

Your arrogance and ignorance is simply beyond belief.

Enough said.

Sincerely

Brent Penfold (and that’s my real name)
Sydney, Australia.

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