3 comments about Options. Plain and Simple: Successful Investment Strategies Without the Rocket Science.

1. In preparing for the Series 7 General Rep Securities Exam one of the most covered topics is on Options. This book did a much more thorough job of explaining the idiosyncracies of options trading than anything else I tried. Made a very complex topic easily understandable. Thanks for helping me get licensed!!



2. This is book is that damn good!
   Better than Courtney Smith's, Better than McMillian (unless you want the math). Better than ...

   Thanks Lenny. Pick up a couple of good pointers.




3. This book has recently crossed the 5,000 sales mark, despite distribution problems and minimal advertising. The reason is that private investors and market professionals find that it clearly explains what options are, and especially, what they do. It is practical, the language is straightforward, and the math is basic.

   I wrote OPS after trading options for ten years in Chicago and London. I have also given many training seminars over the years. The trainees found that all the options books were either too advanced, too theoretical, or poorly written. I finally got fed up and wrote my own.

   This book has sold well because it supplies a demand. If you want to read what other investors have said about it, check out amazon.co.uk. And yes, it covers bear market strategies.

   Good luck in your trading.

   Lenny Jordan

1 comments about Options Made Easy: How to Make Profits Trading in Puts and Calls.

1. I bought this book "Options Made Easy," in haste as a father's day gift. My retired dad's new hobby is investing. This book Options Made Easy is a VERY dated! Its author was born 50 years before my dad, (W.D. Gann's was born in 1878, died 1955.) The author may be an icon in investing history but this book is poorly written and so dated that it is a JOKE! I presumed that W.D. Gann's theories were updated to the modern era of real-time Web trading and low cost transactions. Why did I assume that the book was updated? Because it says copyright 2007. The material is comically out of date. There is nothing in its description to clarify that it is dated and I conclude written in the early 1930s. Examples of Dated Content,
   There is no mention of the Internet or the Web; the book says "if you live outside of NYC you can give an order to your local broker and he will buy puts and calls for your account...when you want to sell, the broker will take care of the transaction for you." WOW! The section titled Put and Call Brokers on page 24 is laughable. Then page 25 states that you can send your check or money order to your Put and Call Broker and he will buy puts and calls for your account.
   Someone at the Richest Man in Babylon organization, slapped this old material together with a 2007 copyright date. They could have hired an editor to update the content to current options market reality or at least make clear that is was written in the 30s. Page 25 notes that you can get quicker service using Postal Telegraph or Western Union! The book talks about buying Chrysler, GM and U.S. Steel at $100. Pages 34 and thereafter mentions Chrysler on February 3 1936 to June 5 1936. Page 69 Douglas Aircraft...there is a piece of history...ancient history. Save your money! Do NOT buy Options Made Easy...unless you are buying it for a bit of history and some laughs. The concepts have not changed but the systems certainly have changed and have empowered the individual investor.
   
   Fortunately, I also bought my dad Understanding Options by Mike Sincere...so this Father's Day I can contribute to my dad's continuing financial education.

1 comments about The Forex Options Course: A Self-Study Guide to Trading Currency Options (Wiley Trading).

1. This is a fundamental approach that will not help a trader. Save your money if you trade.

2 comments about The Complete Guide to Futures Trading: What You Need to Know About the Risks and Rewards.

1. This book is an excellent example of the financial industry specialists getting together and writing a compendium of information about a particular market investment strategy. It covers all the 'concepts' of trading but from the angle of the Financial Advisor's world. In other words, if you have money to invest, and you would like to understand the issues that pertain to investing in the commodities world, this book will help you ascertain what the commodities investment vehicle is all about. It does not advise a person to use a managed account, nor does it advise to trade on your own. However, if you are a typical 'investor' who is looking to build up a 401K or what have you, this book will help you decide if adding some funds to a managed commodities account makes sense, with your spare $XX,000.00. The book does have a few relevant charts for beginner traders that can be of assistance if you are looking to trade commodities on your own. It also includes some good summaries of trading styles, and charting types, but again, it is designed to help educate a investor class person more so than build a trader types knowledge base.



2. This is a great publication for those interested in learning about futures. Even if you're not considering actually trading these financial instruments, this book is still useful. Most people are aware of the inherent risks of futures. However, they are completely unaware of the reasons, given their lack of understanding of leverage, which this book does a great job of explaining.
   
   Other characteristics that make this book useful is its thorough review of charts. One cannot trade commodities successfully without being able to find opportunities based on chart reading, and with this book, you can master a variety of technical indicators, from moving averages to stochastics. If you have questions about how the tax code treats profits garnered from futures trading, this book provides a full chapter on the subject.
   
   Overall, this is a worthwhile buy if you have any interest at all in the commodities and monetary futures markets. It's all about having the right knowledge in your grasp, and understanding the concepts presented in this book is a step in the right direction.

No comments about Market Neutral: Long/Short Strategies for Every Market Environment.

3 comments about A Course in Derivative Securities: Introduction to Theory and Computation (Springer Finance).

1. I definitely agree with other reviewers, besides answers are available. As a matter of fact, I request professor Back whether he has solutions somewhere. He prepared them and emailed to me. What a great person. As a non-quant, I find this book very accessible and clear. Also VBA examples provide useful insight into implementing models, also something I value highly.



2. I have read literally dozens of books on stochastic calculus and derivatives. This one is different in one aspect. It uses the change of numeraire technique wherever it is possible, to make complicated things simple. Most of the books treat it (and use it) only in a small chapter or only refer to the paper of Geman, Jamshidian, El Karoui. I understood this technique before, but here it is used so often that it actually becomes your technique and your weapon. Very powerful, I would like to thank the author. One star less because there are no solutions to exercises.



3. Dr Kerry Back in my opinion wrote one the best if not the best practical book in financial Derivatives. In such a crowded field where books are published at an exponential rate; finding a practical book is often a challenge especially since many of them repeat the same information over and over. The best feature of this textbook lies in the problems at the end of chapters. The problems are well chosen and very practical and require the use of VBA/Excel. This book does not get involved with complicated math as so many books in financial engineering do. I am doing a Phd degree in math, I deal with abstract mathematics on a daily basis so am looking for a textbook that will provide a good intuition to the concept of Derivative Securities without sacrificing too much Mathematical rigor. In this regard Dr Kerry Back did a very good job, the book requires only an understanding of non-measure probability theory, calculus, linear algebra and differential equations making it accessible to MBA students and undergraduates as well. I strongly recommend this book to math majors who want a textbook that explain Financial Derivatives well. I also recommend Stochastic Calculus for Finance II by Shreve for readers who want a measure theoric and PDE approcah to Financial Derivatives.

5 comments about Global Convertible Investing: The Gabelli Way.

1. I am unsure what book the rest of the reviewers are reading; but it was not this one. The book is not only ambiguous, but poorly crafted with topical transitions sloppy. I can comfortably say that there is not a single section of the book that adequately unveils the dynamics of various convertible instruments or their pricing. Indeed, the book reads more like a glossary than an explanatory text and for persons new to converts, the spate of regurgitated pricing theories will likely do more harm then good. Perhaps the one strength of the text is that it serves as a broad reference for readers truly interested in converts to seek out more educative pieces. For more informed readers, modest incremental knowledge seems to be the only gain.



2. Quite a few books have been written about the specialized subject of convertible securities, but Hart Woodson has distinguished himself by writing a comprehensive book that includes all of the latest types of convertible securities as well as the latest strategies--in plain language that a beginner could comprehend, and with sophisticated equations included for the sophisticated quant. Better still, the book is not simply an ad for convertibles nor for his employer, Gabelli Asset Management. The pitfalls as well as the potentials are described. Hart can write. Hart has broad experience. He puts it all together in this practical book.



3. A must read for anyone interested in a clear and consise review of all the relevant information regarding this timely topic. Mr. Woodson demonstrates his precise and broad understanding of all the issues surrounding convertible investing, and presents such knowledge in a profounding easy to read fashion. This one shouldn't be missed. Clearly one of the authoritative sources out there!!



4. This book is a fantastic resource for investors who are new to convertibles, convertible experts and everyone in between. It provides a great breadth of topics as well as a perfect amount of depth. It covers the full range of convertible products, the theory behind them and convertible investing strategies. I'll be keeping this book handy.



5. Hart Woodson has put together an easy to understand guide to convertibles. The book covers all aspects for hedge funds to outright purchasers of the product on a global basis. In depth enough for the seasoned professional and yet basic enough for those trying to understand convertibles for the first time.

1 comments about Structured Products Volume 1: Exotic Options; Interest Rates & Currency (The Swaps & Financial Derivatives Library) (Wiley Finance).

1. Structured products, especially those involving fixed income securities and mortgage loans, have been much discussed in the press in recent months, due possibly to the "subprime crisis" and its instigation of large losses accrued by many of the world's top financial institutions. A flurry of articles have appeared in some of the major financial publications that have as their topic the excoriation of structured finance and the credit risk modeling that goes along with them. Those involved in the financial engineering of these products or those aspiring to the profession, as well as those who are not financial professionals, may be taken aback by the content of these articles. What is needed then is a sound overview of the nature of structured products, if only to set the record straight on their risks and the culpability of those who manage them.
   
   This volume, the second of a four-volume set on financial engineering, is a sizable one but can be approached by anyone needing information on structured products. The approach that the author takes is more descriptive, and so no advanced mathematics is needed to read the book. It can also be obtained separately from the other volumes for those who only need information on structured products and credit derivatives. The purpose of the entire set of course is to give a solid foundation for the instruments typically found in financial engineering, and as such is written as a research monograph or encyclopedia. Financial professionals will no doubt view it as such while students and those curious about the subject matter may find it approachable due to its length.
   
   Each article in this volume should not be viewed as independent from the others, and newcomers to the subject matter should be aware of this before reading a particular article. Some prior exposure to the theory behind structured products will be needed before the contents can be appreciated. This reviewer only read the chapter on credit linked notes and collateralized debt obligations and is judging the volume solely on this basis.
   
   As such this chapter gave a good overview of the reasons why these particular products arose and the financial strategies that lie behind them. Again, the financial press has devoted a lot of space to discussing these products recently, especially collateralized debt obligations since they are felt to play a major role in the "subprime crisis." Whether this is true remains to be seen, and only an in-depth, very involved statistical study can settle this for sure, but the information in this chapter will be helpful for those who need to assess or begin such a study.

5 comments about Covered Calls and Naked Puts: Create Your Own Stock Options Money Tree.

1. The book came within 7 days and came as described. I would deal with this seller again.



2. This book was horrible. Spoke more about the Rotary club than option strategies. Don't waste your money like I did. If you have never heard of an option before ....you might learn something. This book was an advertisement for their software.
   
   chuck



3. If you are in High School and want to learn about Covered Calls, great, this is for you.
   
   Otherwise this book was way too elementary. They added a silly storyline to make the 1/2 inch thick book thicker. Something about a long lost professor who shows his old former student "come with me on a journey" type explanation of covered calls.
   
   The book barely talks about Naked Puts, which is why I bought it.
   
   It talks about a system to pick the right stocks. This is still WAY too risky. I think one should only do covered calls on an index like SPY, and skip his system for picking the right stocks (but that is my bias).
   
   Oh yeah, the entire book is an infomercial for a software they want to sell you.
   
   Also he tries to pick the direction of the market, as opposed to making money regardless of the market.
   
   The only good thing was this chart that he had that predicted a collapse in 2007 of the stock market. That was dead on.
   
   I would stick to getting your info on the web for free. Unless you want a very 101 background. No actual investor would use this book and start doing covered calls.



4. I have ordered twice of these books, but I have not received them yet for some reasons. Please check it for me about my order. Thanks



5. This book is good for improving your speed reading skills as you scan the trite "story" for any useful nuggets. About 15% of the verbiage has anything to do with options. The rest is sophomoric prose representing the characters' acquisition of the keys to consistent 28% returns from the professor, which you too can obtain buy purchasing his simple software.
   
   The testimonials on the back suggesting the text could serve as an "academic supplement to hedging financial instruments" are especially ludicrous.

5 comments about Introduction to Futures and Options Markets.

1. I really must thank John Hull for this book. The way every topic is covered gives you basic knowledge to enter the depths that await you regarding futures, options and other derivatives. The book is so masterfully written that the approach to every topic is very fluid. Once you've covered the book, you are ready to go on with a more complicated book, including Hull's "Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives" which has a more anylitical approach than this introductory book. The examples are the easiest ones and you can understand everything so clearly I wish there were more books like this.



2. Hull wrote a classic book for the introduction to futures and options markets. It's for the serious reader who doesn't want to all the deviations and basics of option pricings. If, after reading this book, you're still interested in derivatives you cann proceed with Hull's "Options, Futures, and Other Derivative Securities", Kolb's "Futures, Options, and Swaps", or for the very ambitious student Wilmott's "Derivatives or Quantitative Finance".



3. The material is similar to his other book, Options Futures and Other Derivatives, but much more easy to read. With Brealy & Myers, this forms a good complementary text.



4. If you dont understand what the words Futures/options are and you want to know it, this is the place to start. hull(from McGil i think!) has excellently presented information on these subjects for the student as well as for the practitioner. As a student of MBA(finance) this was the prescribed text and I can safely say this compares with the best. sepcifically this book deals with the entire gamut of Futures/Options/Swaps with mathematical models where required. From CBOT to this day!!



5. I reommend readers who are familiar with the derivatives should buy Hull's "Options, Futures and other Derivatives" since it goes faster trough the basics and covers more advanced topics.