The most important reason to read this book is to learn candlestick charting. The next best reason is that this is a fine well written book for novices and experts alike. Nison gives clear explanations of the indicators important in candlestick charting, and then goes on to explain why the indicators are strong or weak. The result for me was that I learned some very concrete techniques while also gaining a deeper understanding of market behavior in general. In many areas the japanese interpretation of chart events differ from the chinese view, and this is most fascinating. I highly recommend this book for novices and beyond.
However,the wording "japanese" makes me somehow out of sorts,even though it's a nice textbook indeed.