I am a beginner investor so if what I am about to say makes no sense correct me... In Curtis Faith's novel, "Way of the Turtle", he constantly refers to trading futures contracts, and mentions trading specific things like oil, cocoa, and grains. Is this the same thing as trading stocks? If not, will the system he outlines still work in the stock market?

Futures are not stocks and trade on separate exchanges. A stock represents a partial ownership stake in a company. If the company does well, the value of the company overall will increase, which means the price of your individual share will increase.A future is a contract to purchase or sell a quantity of a specific good (such as a commodity like oil or gold, or a stock) at a specified date in the future. The value of the future contract will fluctuate based on changes in supply and demand of the underlying good.I'm not familiar with the novel you mention, but futures are still actively traded today.

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