5 comments about Option Volatility & Pricing: Advanced Trading Strategies and Techniques.

1. This is a fundamental "must read" for anyone who seriously intends to trade options.
   
   It's not a kind and gentle read (meaning you're going to get ALL the details about what drives option pricing). Sometimes you need to read through a section then back up and read it again - just like any legitimate textbook.
   
   What you'll take from the book is true insight into what's happening on the other side of the trade - and how to leverage that to your advantage.
   
   Again - a must read for anyone who is truly serious.



2. Natenburg is often referred to as the bible of options. If you are in that business, this is a great choice to read. Although dry at times (as a result of the subject), this book is thorough and a must have for those who are learning.



3. The book dwells on too much theory:
   
   1)Not hands on.
   2)Too much of explanation with few examples and kind of feel abstract sometimes.
   
   I got headache and resold mine. Don't get carried away by the 5 star reviews. This might not be for everyone.



4. It has been 32 days and I still have not received this book.
   
   Murray Tosh



5. This book is best understood by options traders, or clerks training to become traders. It is hard for all the concepts to sink in without getting your hands dirty on a trading floor. I was a floor trader at the CBOE for 4 years. At a MINIMUM, the reader should have access to a live stock options quote feed and follow an option tree for a stock. Some concepts will not sink in at first and realization may occur only after months of trading. An in-depth study in stock options is best for someone who is excellent in math.
   
   Natenburg lays out all the risk factors involved in stock options: underlying stock direction (delta), movement speed (gamma), volatility (vega), time decay (theta), interest rate / margin / dividend (rho). Then there is the multitude of trading strategies...
   
   For investors out there looking for a "free lunch" from stock options, no such thing exists. Any trading strategy has trade-offs and every stock option has a price. If you believe in a "free lunch" then good luck to you.

5 comments about Oil 101.

1. This is a must-read for anyone wishing to learn about oil as a product and the markets which are used to trade it. The book goes through the entire process of getting crude oil from the ground, transporting it, and the final products which are derived from it in a concise and logical manner. It is full of useful knowledge to help understand and trade this essential product which has become one of the foundations of modern society.



2. I have read over 10 oil & gas and energy overview-related books, including all of the PennWell Non-technical guides and other energy economic and energy political economy texts.
   
   This book's is the best one for people specifically interested in oil and gas.
   
   The title of this book is too modest considering the prevailing standard for "101" books. It is more, and better, than a 101-level text.Mr. Downey does not waste time and gets to the facts, something important to the impatient reader like myself.
   
   Most authors like to listen to themselves talk, but not Mr. Downey. He spares us the annoying rambling that exists in most introductory texts across every subject area and instead gets to why we bought the book in the first place: to selfishly learn what interests us.
   
   Mr. Downey intricately explains all the important components to all sectors of the Oil & Gas industry, from semi-submersible technology to double bonds and the first spindle top.
   
   Anyone who works in, or is learning about the Oil & Gas industry, should read this book. If you are a student, engineer, or business leader, you should read this book. This book lacks bias and simply delivers facts coupled with analytical interpretations.
   
   What is more, if you are an economist and you don't want your assumptions about the fundamentals of oil and gas and the industry to tear down those fantastic model results, you'd better read this book.
   
   This book will not only get you through a oil & gas business interview, it will educate you with technical details that can enhance your skill, knowledge, and competitiveness.



3. As a commodity markets professional with over 12 years experience in the industry, I did not expect to gain a significant amount of incremental knowledge from reading this book. Boy, was I wrong!
   
   From the first chapter which gives an overview of the oil industry to the last on the the oil derivatives markets, I learnt new information from seemingly every page. As I read through the book, nomenclature and practices that I had taken for granted in the business took on more significant meaning as I understood why they existed (e.g. why do US domestic flight routes use JetA and international routes use JetA-1? Because JetA-1 has a lower freezing point suitable for polar routes and because JetA production is more profitable to refineries as it can be produced in slightly higher volumes).
   
   And given that oil is a commodity with global impact, it affects the industry practices for other commodities as well. Thus, an investment in this book has benefit outside the oil industry. I have subsequently bought copies of this book for colleagues who are also commodity professionals; it is that good.



4. this is a great book for anyone who like to learn about oil wither industrial or other issues about oil, and if you are just a hobbyist or a beginner please don't waste your time with other books this is just your right 1st step and it may be enough for you as well if you don't want to go too much advance in the field.



5. I had no prior knowledge of the oil industry up until recently and needed to pick up some basics fairly quickly, so I bought Oil 101 off Amazon and found it well worth the effort. It's got enough detail to provide a solid foundation, but it's written in a readable format. I thought the first couple of chapters on OPEC and the oil industry in general were laid out well and would be beneficial to anyone interested in the global economy as a whole.
   
   Glad I own it, highly recommended.

5 comments about Trend Following (Updated Edition): Learn to Make Millions in Up or Down Markets.

1. The author, Michael Covel, shows a systematic method of achieving great results in the stock market. This title is the most definitive title of this method of trading. Heavily researched, sound in theory and application, I have found this method to be very successful in my personal financial goals. Utilizing his theories on a "Paper portfolio" in the past 11 months, I have greatly exceeded many stock indices myself, despite my limited applications. I wanted to see how well I could perform and apply the guidance over an extended period before I could write about this book.
   
   I am ready to utilize my own capital to make this system work for me.
   
   I look forward to the next edition, and Mr. Covel's wisdom. Thank you, sir!



2. If you have any interest in trading this book is a must read. Michael de-mystifies the markets with a simple methodology that the greatest traders have followed. If you're looking for a turnkey approach to trend following, you're missing the point, take responsibility for your own trading and build your own system. Identifying trends is not hard (if you really can't see a trend on a chart you should consider repeating elementary school), its sticking with a system.
   
   Everything you need to understand the philosophy and get started is here; the next steps are on the reader to accomplish



3. I've been trading options for about a year. Most of what I know has been self-taught by reading and researching online.
   
   Trend Following challenged a lot of the "traditional wisdom" that I was taught by others during my research.
   
   What I learned by reading this book was:
   
   All markets trend -- up, down or sideways. The trader that learns how to spot these trends and capitalize on them profits.
   
   Losses are a part of life -- Sometimes, you will be in a situation that you will lose money. Instead of worrying about "a what if" situation, one should cut their losses and move to the next opportunity.
   
   Don't worry about the "would, could, should". Focus on reality -- Again, instead of hoping for a stock to turn around. Close your position, learn from your loss and move to the next opportunity. Most people think about how things could be, instead of what they currently are. This clouds their judgement and causes them to take on too much risk or continue to hold onto a stock for no rational reason.
   
   After reading this book, my style of trading has changed. No longer tie up my capital for months in a position while it continues downward. I've set firm metrics to measure performance by and if I'm not meeting those within a specific time frame. I exit and move on.
   
   I'm not as stressed about my losses and when I am profit I don't leave myself exposed to a sudden change in the market.
   
   I definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in trading.



4. Trend Following explains in detail the methods used by some of the world's most successful and most consistent investors. To me reading this book and learning about trend following investing was akin to taking the red pill in The Matrix. Before learning about trend following I firmly believed in "buy and hold" as the only investment reality. Through Trend Following Covel breaks down that illusion by showing the psychological basis for trends and the superior returns, tightly controlled risk, and extreme longevity of Trend Following practitioners. The appendices are an extremely valuable resource, helping to explain the basics of trend following through back-testing in a hands on way that allows the novice to gain insight very rapidly. Keep it up Morpheus...I mean Covel.



5. Let's start out by saying that 8 out of 10 people want the ANSWER - the ANSWER, that tells them here is a MAGIC FORMULA, 'here is the trading signal's that will inform you when to buy and when to sell'. MASTERY in any subject, requires looking at how those who have DONE BEFORE, that which we wish to DO TODAY. These great men and women can teach us the valuable lessons they have learned.
   
   Many years ago, when I was a 1st year university student, I and my fellow students wondered why the Conservatorium lecturers 'wasted' so much time immersing us in the great composers and perfers of the past. Only in the the years to come, did I and my fellow students learn the value of 'knowing' a subject and how this 'knowing' could aid in our development.
   
   Last night I watched the movie WALL-E with my son. To me, the people who are seeking the magical ANSWER, without the background analysis are like the people floating around on the AXIOM. Floating around, eternally fed, but never feeding the hunger.
   
   With that rather heavy introduction out of the way, I would like to congratulate Michael Covel on his excellent book, Trend Following. If you are one who wishes to seek MASTERY of trend following techniques, this is the place to start. Read it, take notes, then read it again. This book will show you the masters who have been there and done it, inspire you to learn, and aid in the future development of your plans.
   
   With thanks,
   
   Grant

5 comments about Trading Options at Expiration: Strategies and Models for Winning the Endgame.

1. I liked this book. I liked how it focused on such a specific element: trading options near expiration. I only gave it 3 stars because actually pulling off some of the strategies is quite difficult especially in today's lower volatility environment. Some focus on higher level maths may also turn some readers off. Overall I think it is a good addition to a trading library and any reader will benefit from some of the knowledge and ideas contained in the text



2. I found the book difficult to understand, but then I realized it is the subject, not the writing, that is hard. The author does a remarkable job of explaining his approach. I would rate this the best book on trading I have found in years.



3. I have and I have read my fair share of options books, but this little title was an eye opener and my best trading investment to date.
   
   Jeff Augen has taken the time to study, analyze and put in paper for the rest of us a thorough description of option market phenomena (pricing efficiencies) that take place during options expiration week, especially expiration Thursday and Friday.
   
   These efficiencies are the way the markets -that is, human traders, market makers and the systems they have built- compensate for the differences between the theoretical options pricing models and the real risk (or relative lack thereof) carried by an options contract that approaches expiration.
   
   Options models like Black-Scholes-Merton assume a continuously (i.e. 24h/day) traded instrument and "frictionless trading" - i.e. no fees, no spreads and infinite liquidity. These assumptions do not hold in general, but they get totally disconnected from the trading reality during the last days in the life of an options contract. As expiration gets closer, "dead" (i.e. non-trading) time becomes an increasingly larger amount of an option contract's value. Market makers and traders respond by progressively varying implied volatility, which is the only non-deterministic variable in the options pricing formulas.
   
   This tug-of-war between options sellers and options buyers creates a predictable pattern of implied volatility behavior during expiration week. The pattern is in itself a market efficiency: it's the way the market has come up with for adjusting the risk closer to reality, so it persists across expirations. The pattern's "depth" is relatively limited, in the sense that it does not represent an opportunity to institutional-size investors. That is why it is allowed to persist, after all. But it does represent a great opportunity to private traders who will take the time to study it and trade around it. Jeff's book lays the groundwork for it all.
   
   This is a small and simply written book but not an easy book to digest due to the huge distilled experience it conveys. I have more than once had repeated "aha!" moments from the very same lines when revisiting (repeatedly) the text after a few more trades. So it pays to revisit it regularly.
   
   So, this is a cookbook in the sense that you must know about cooking and are willing to experiment a little. In this respect, I disagree with the reviewers that claim the bar is set too high for the "average options trader". It is definitely exploitable "as-is", without going into the full length of duplicating the author's data and volatility decay curves. All it takes to verify is having a feel or a good understanding of the behavior of the suggested trade structures (long ratios, straddles) and try a few small or paper trades - live on an expiration day. Some recipes are easier than others, and this book is about exploitable market phenomena that are allowed to persist and repeat because they represent efficiencies to the system. So the distance between being "average" and "successful" is of the shortest ones you can find.
   
   That said, the book might be enhanced in a second edition by adding some more detailed explanations of the underlying math; For example, I happened to find out that the "noise" in the implied volatility curves that another reviewer (Christian Farman) mentions can be reduced significantly if not eliminated when one calculates it exclusively using the out-of-the-money option; Close to expiration, time premium is so thin that the in-the-money bid-ask spread crossing when trading is enough to corrupt the in-the-money contract's implied volatility curve.
   
   Bottom line - if you are or if you are willing to become your own trader, this book is bound to save you an awful lot of research and make you look forward to the next expiration week as a good risk-reward, recurring money-making opportunity - the closest you can come to something resembling a salary in this business. As for the "erratic options week behavior" most financial journalists love to report on - there is method in the madness, and a lot of the hows and whys are written in this little gem. An unambiguous five stars, as far as I am concerned.



4. Unless I am missing something, this is pretty much the only book on this subject. And what a subject it is. Most option traders are desperate to get out on expiration day if they still hold same month options; this author says this is the day to get in! I plan to use his strategies to see if they work; based on my previous experience, I believe that they will as most options are absolute true value on Friday morning of expiration day and even a small underlying stock price change does impact the option price dramatically. An excellent book, well worth reading. I would have liked to see slighty clearer language and perhaps better summaries at the end of each chapter. However a valuable addition to the subject of options.



5. This book contains ideas that worth exploring. However, the presentation is extremely misleading. The author tends to present trades that worked under a specific scenario without devoting a fair space to analyze the risk involved. A novice trader could be easily mislead by the mirage of easy money. Although the author touted the attractive risk/reward ratio of his strategies through the book, no systematic analysis of risk/reward is included. In order to make use of the ideas, readers need to fill in the details of a strategy (entry/exit/etc), and have a back test plan to find out what the true risk/reward ratio is. Unfortunately the data needed for such an analysis is prohibitively expensive. If you are starting out with options, please DON'T read this book! It WON'T help you AT ALL! If you are well versed in option greeks and strategies, this book may give you new ideas to think about. Lastly, I borrowed this book from a library.

5 comments about The Complete TurtleTrader: The Legend, the Lessons, the Results.

1. I like the authors style in this book so much I read his other "Trend following" title. This is a fun story and seems to try to take an objective look at the events that transpired.



2. Review by Chuck LeBeau:
   
   Every trader should own and carefully study this amazing book. It is an entertaining and highly informative read and the amount of diligent research that went into the writing of this book is truly amazing. I can't think of anyone more qualified to write about the Turtle trading method than Michael Covel who truly understands trend following. We are told intimate facts and details about Richard Dennis and Bill Eckhardt and how the Turtles project came about. But perhaps most importantly Covel helps us to fully understand the logic of how and why the method works. I will be very surprised if someone doesn't make a fortune as a result of having read this book.



3. If you learned of an opportunity to trade a million dollars of a great trader's money, with the condition that you were going to be trained by that great trader, and you were instructed to follow his trading system, would you succeed? In "The Complete Turtle Trader," Michael Covel tells the complete story of a group of traders, who did just that - "The Turtles."
   The experiment started as a bet regarding the age-old question of Nurture vs. Nature when it comes to trading. This book tells the story of the bet, the great traders who taught the system, the students and their lives, the system itself, and results of the experiment - both in terms of the amount of money gained, and how "The Turtles" made out after the experiment.
   
   This book's premise grabs the reader immediately, and completely supports the idea that incredible money can be made with a system of simple rules, if followed exactly and consistently. Through interviews with the all actual players willing to be interviewed, Covel provides the good, the bad, the ugly, and the unbelievably successful aspects of this legend in the trading world.
   
   In a world where non-stop noise about trading and investing is thrown at us minute-by-minute, Covel's case for a simple, disciplined approach. He writes, "All top traders today work like hell to develop a trading philosophy. They convert that philosophy to rules. After that, they stand back and see if their rules act as expected. If you build a system that gives you an entry and exit, tells you how much to bet along the way and adjusts to your current capital and current market volatility at all times, no more analysis is needed." Think about that for a minute. This has been done, and done well. Consider reading about it.



4. I have spent decades investing/trading the markets, and along the way have read many books. I must say 99% of them I did not finish, because they were garbage, or did not provide any original thoughts with detail and explanation that kept you learning and wishing they did not end. This is the lone exception. The Turtle Trader opened my eyes to something I had never even heard of before. IT IS A MUST READ! I have bought at least 5-6 copies and handed them out to friends as gifts. If you are serious about learning instead of being told what to think (i.e. CNBC, and that gameshow host Jim Cramer), start here first!



5. This book is unreal, never have I read a story that has open my eyes to different ways to create revenue for your self. This story is based on a true story in Chicago with one of the greatest money managers (trader) of all time. Richard Dennis put an ad in the Wall Street Journal, looking for people willing to learn how to trade money. There were no education requirements, so they were getting the average Joe blows off the streets and they were turning out over 100% return for this fund. This story shows that any man on this earth can learn any skill at any age and be profitable in the endeavor. Excellent read. At the age of 24 this story keeps my mind open to what I want to do in my life.

5 comments about The Disciplined Trader: Developing Winning Attitudes.

1. Excellent!! If you are a trader, get this book and any other book written by Mark Douglas. He is amazing!



2. I'm mystified why this book has received any positive reviews at all. At best, the psychological advice in the book sounds like new age mysticism. At worst, the trading advice is so simplistic as to actually be dangerous to new and inexperienced traders. Throughout, the writing is convoluted, long-winded and ultimately lacking in substance.
   
   It's hard to find a page without some pearl of wisdom so absurd as to be worth quoting.
   
   "The dilemma we are confronted with is how can we know what we don't know when what we have already learned will block our perception of what we haven't learned yet." Actually, the dilemma I faced was whether to bother reading to the end of the book or not. (I did, painful though it was, just in case he was saving the best for last. He wasn't.)
   
   Even though anyone reading is book is quite likely the sort of person who likes learning new things, Douglas takes the time to make the case for, well, learning new things. "How could we not be better off by learning something when you consider that the environment can act as a force on us in an almost infinite variety of ways, some of which we know about, many others we couldn't begin to anticipate unless we keep on learning in spite of what we already know?"
   
   I kept on reading in spite of what I already knew, and that's several hours of my life I will never get back.
   
   Unfortunately, Douglas is neither a psychologist nor a writer, and he has nothing to offer traders looking to improve their skills.



3. Even if you don't trade, you should read this book. The insight the author gives into a person's psyche is astounding. I learned more from this book than from dozens of psychology books and the couple of psych classes I took in college. On the downside, the author's writing style is very tedious. It took me three times as long as it should have to read this book because I had to reread (at least once) nearly every other sentence. I've heard the author speak (on the Web), and he speaks much more clearly than he writes. But the content is worth fighting your way through the book.



4. This book is fantastic - not only to learn to deal with the emotional issues of trading - but in any of lifes persuit where peak-performance is required...How we internalize our outside enviornment creats our reality...This can be mentally limiting or expansive...This book gets to the heart of these matters....
   
   This book, along with his subsequent book: Trading in the Zone - are the two best pieces of work I found in this genra...And they are a great value...Here is a tid-bit as to how great a value: Dr Van Tharp (I am sure many of you know of him) who is suppose to be a guru in this area, charges about $800 for his "Peak-Performance" homestudy corse. Tharp explicitly covers some NLP basics - but beyond that (everything) and more are in Douglas' two books...TIP: So buy Douglas' two books for about $30 each add an NLP book (I like Joseph O'conner's book) and for under $100 you have much more than what is coverd by Tharp (and Tharp is 8 times the amount) - now that's a good trade! ;-) - All these books are available at Amazon BTW....(I wish I found both of Douglas' books before i gave $800 to Tharp).
   
   Hope this helps!
   -Joe



5. Excellent read on the psychology of trading, but even more so on the psychology of living. I place this book on my top 10 list for anyone, but especially traders. You may feel that the author is being redundant, or taking too much time to say what he has to say. That means you need to slow down and really absorb the material. I believe the author wrote this book the way he did because he realizes that some people might only read it once and good things take time to sink in. Why do people repeat the same mistakes again and again? Because their big egos make them hard-headed. People have an inherent need to be right. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants and most professionals are judged by positive results. It's crucial that you don't make mistakes in these fields.
   
   In trading, a career where "losing" is a regular occurrence, it's critical to completely remove the words "right", "wrong" and "mistake" from your psyche. You put on a trade based on a setup and the moment the setup is invalidated, you exit and move on. Taking a loss quickly is a "win". The only "mistake" you can make is to violate that rule.
   
   Mark Douglas' book takes ample time to get this into your head and in the latter part of the book, he provides exercises to remove barriers that hold you back from success in a field where success is 100% possible, yet more than 90% of the participants fail.

5 comments about Precious Metals Investing For Dummies.

1. If you dont mind the title of this book. But as I think of it. This title does fit nicely. I am a dummy when it comes to Precious Metals. This book has a lot of very useful information. It also has a wealth of reference links. Very easy to understand. Does not make it tooo boring like some other books that I have read. This book also shows you past history on the performance of the Metals. Wish I knew about investing back in 2000. But don't we all. All I can say is I will be investing for the long term NOW. Great Book. I have picked up more books on this subject.



2. It's easy to get mixed feelings about this book. It tries to cram everything together, history, categories of precious metals, reasons for booms & busts, strategies for investing, etc. It also tries to simplify and explain things in everyday language - it is a 'dummies' book after all. That's all commendable.
   
   However, somewhere in the process the book became full of errors like "gold is good in times of inflation" or that gold has intrinsic value of so-and-so (it has cultural store of wealth value with mania phases, not intrinsic value beyond it's industrial use), etc.
   
   This wouldn't be so bad if so much of the advice given, like inflation hedging, wasn't so bad, so clearly out of whack with actual historical data from the past 100 years and if the reasoning wasn't so full of gold-bug mythology, a lot of which has been proven wrong by real historians, investors, traders and financial analysts. If the book had more graphs, many of the errors in the argumentation would be visible to even a casual reader. No wonder there are so few graphs.
   
   Gold and precious metals are not a bad investment per se. One just has to understand how they function in different kind of circumstances. This book is not a reliable source to find that out, unless you already know your stuff and find the few gold nuggets from the rest of the mud in the book.
   
   Not recommended, unless one knows the basics and by then it's way too simplistic. Two stars, because it actually also has factually correct information that can be useful (on mining companies for example) and because it reminds people that it's not just a question of "buy & hold and it'll go through the roof forever".
   
   As a better partial alternative, I'd recommend The Goldwatcher: Demystifying Gold Investing by Katz and Holmes, although it's strictly gold only. Sane, well edited, reasonably argued and full of good advice on actual trading and investing in gold.



3. I don't expect much from a "For Dummies" book but this book under delivered. There just wasn't enough content to make me feel like I got my money's worth.



4. Interesting book. I was thinking of buying gold as an investment and wanted to do some research.



5. If you are just getting into precious metals, then this is the book for you. The first two things this Dummies book covers are the benefits and the risks of precious metals. Then, it covers the basics from investing, speculating, or trading. Mladjenovic's given you tips and hints that will help you understand what to do, even if you don't even know a thing about finance. (Because, I for one hardly knew anything about investing until after I read this book!) Not only does it include the basics on your gold and silver, but it also includes a chapter on uranium and base metals (e.g. copper). Mladjenovic does a great job of telling you how and why the market works. Plus, this book is a good buy anyway since precious metals are always highly valued in the world; they are a finite resource, and they are never worth zero!
   
   I did not read the chapters on mining stocks, futures, and options. They're a bit too risky for me at the moment, but the bullion and the numismatics sections gave excellent examples and covered the basics very well. The main disappointment I had was the chapter on platinum and palladium. Compared to gold, silver, and uranium, there simply was not enough information that covered the basis of both elements. Only a few words on past market performance were mentioned. I was expecting a little more on platinum because it is the rarest metal on Earth. The websites given were also okay --good enough to point you in a certain direction but sometimes too vague.

5 comments about Hot Commodities: How Anyone Can Invest Profitably in the World's Best Market.

1. Everyone praises Jim Rogers. And despite that the general trend of what he says is correct, he is very often wrong. For example, i remember when he said in 1986 that there will never be another Democratic President ever again, because the party will self-destruct itself. He was also very negative on Russia, only to see Russian ETFs charge higher and higher. If you truly want to learn how to trade and time the markets in commodities, you should consider buying the books of Linda Raschke and Toby Crabel. They trade for a living and currently run successful hedge funds. Their writings are almost out of print at this point, but you may be able to find it on Ebay or Amazon.



2. Title doesn't say "anyone who wants to research their tail off"... but it should. I would have to be investing a large amount of money to invest such a large amount of time figuring this out. I don't have a ton of money. I do suppose the Rogers International Commodity Index is worth looking into.



3. Jim Rogers as a investment master give you an insight of commodities before you got lost in the formulas in financial textbook in schools. Actually I don't know how to invest in commodities after I sat-in some financial derivatives class in a university.



4. When most people think of investing they think of stocks and bonds. Jim Rogers has been an advocate for investing in commodities for years. Whether it is oil, wheat or sugar, Rogers argues they are an important asset class which individual investors should have exposure to. This book will help you to learn more about commodities and how to invest appropriately in them.



5. As someone with no prior knowledge about commodity markets this book was for me an excellent first step. Rogers is clear and approachable; he explains his approach to commodiities trading and ends the book with a series of examples that demonstrate his ideas in practice. Advice of this kind regarding specific commodities is out of date before the book is published, however, as demonstrations of method they are excellent. I've now moved on to Kleinman, which is a bit more in depth, but the foundation I've got from Rogers is proving invaluable. A great first step in commodities!

5 comments about Financial Markets and Institutions (6th Edition).

1. The book was an excellent condition. There was only one problem, it took alot longer to receive than we were told. It started off by FEDEX and I had to pick it up at the USPS. It was very strange and my son had to go to three classes without the book.



2. With basically same content except updated data, this book saves more money than newer edition.



3. The book was in new condition as ordered and arrived safe, although received a little later than expected. Overall, I was satisfied.



4. I got this book for a class I am taking at the University. I was very suprised when I received the book to see that it was the "teacher's edition" and it states very clearly on the cover that it is "NOT FOR RE-SALE"! The book that was displayed in the ad was the regular student edition! Now I am not going to be able to re-sell the book back to the used book store after the class is over! I feel very cheated! Also, the book is in a much worse condition than what was advertised. I payed $100 for this POS!



5. The product shipped quickly and was in good condition. However, it was the "Professional Copy" edition and is not meant for resale.

5 comments about Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer.

1. The book arrived just as promised and more quickly than I had anticipated. It is so gratifying to be able to do business with people who produce what is promised. While I haven't read the book yet, it comes recommended from a college professor who teaches leadership classes. The book is required reading for the class, and students who have read it give it high praise. Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer



2. I was required to read this book for my final class in a master's of education program. The book was amazing. Not only was it a great historical biography but also had very concrete guidelines for leadership. The guidelines can be translated for any supervisory role.



3. If you are a leader or studying Leadership, this is a dynamic book to read. In trying times, most people give up - but Shackleton kept his employees going - always looking for way to keep spirits up and motivation high. I will use it in classes I teach going forward.



4. I can honestly say that I have never read a leadership book like this one, and I encourage everyone to experience this one-of-a-kind book for themselves.
   
   This unique book contained two powerful elements. First, the authors used the truly incredible, historical human adventure and survival story of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 `Endurance' expedition as their leadership laboratory. Then, their detailed research, astute analysis, clear writing, and logical organization of the material respectfully complemented this remarkable Antarctic exploration saga to highlight the leadership genius of a man who the authors described on page one:
   
   "He has been called "the greatest leader that ever came on God's earth, bar none," yet he never led a group larger than twenty-seven, he failed to reach nearly every goal he ever set, and, until recently, he had been little remembered after his death. But once you learn the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his remarkable Antarctic expedition of 1914-1916 you'll come to agree with the effusive praise of those under his command. He is a model of great leadership and, in particular, a master of guidance in crisis. That's because Shackleton failed only at the improbable; he succeeded at the unimaginable."
   
   It is one thing to do an `outsider's analysis' of someone's leadership, like almost all leadership books do, and it is quite another thing to analyze the perspectives of the people led by a particular leader. The authors were deeply inspired by Shackleton's crew members' own words in their diaries, and in their transcripts and interviews, about the leadership of the man they affectionately called, "The Boss." Reading their words and thoughts gave the authors their greatest challenge, and also their greatest opportunity. Fortunately, the authors seized the opportunity and delivered an honest and professional examination of what Shackleton did, and how his men thought and reacted to him.
   
   The book was organized into eight chapters, with titles that readily apply to many typical leadership scenarios (The Path to Leadership, Hiring an Outstanding Crew, Creating a Spirit of Camaraderie, Getting the Best from Each Individual, Leading Effectively in a Crisis, Forming Teams for Tough Assignments, Overcoming Obstacles to Reach a Goal, and Leaving a Legacy). Each chapter (except the last) contained many short sub-sections that reinforced the chapter titles and focused on Shackleton's actions and decisions. Each chapter finished with a one-page bulletized summary of the chapter's main lessons, followed by a 3-4 page section entitled, "Working It In," that contained a personal story of a successful private, business, corporate, government, or military leader who was inspired by or who demonstrated `Shackletonian' leadership. The last chapter concluded with a bulletized list of eight of Shackleton's thoughts on leadership, which concisely captured the spirit of the leadership analysis throughout the book.
   
   This book shows what constant, daily leadership is and what it can do in the most extreme conditions. Read it, and let it inspire you like it has inspired me.



5. As always, purchasing from Amazon was a pleasure. No problems, everything is always received on time and in great condition. The book is outstanding and I recommend it to anyone interested in leadership studies.