5 comments about Stock Options for Dummies.

1. This book is a review of employee options. I was hoping for a more comprehensive review that would explain options buying , trading etc.
   It is adequate for the topic of employee options , but nothing else.



2. This book, to me, was completely worthless. I purchased it thinking, like others commenting, that it was about options trading (puts, calls, etc.), not about "employee stock options" (which is what the book should be titled).
   I did read the author's response to criticism about the title, and I think he has some valid points; and in return I would like to sell him a coffee table book entitled "Cats" with a cute little kitten on the front. When he opens it I'm sure he'll be happy to see that it's full of pictures and information about catepiller industrial equipment.
   Also, his argument that anyone who looked at the table of contents would know what the book is about proves that he does not realize who his audience is: This is a "for dummies" book; it should be assumed that the reader knows very little about options. So, how would someone who knows extremely little about options know that chapters entitled "Stock Options: What you need to know right off the bat", Exercising your stock options", and "Finding stock option information online" are not what they are looking for?
   While this book may be very useful for someone wanting information about EMPLOYEE stock options, it was completely worthless to me. Make sure it's what you're looking for before you purchase.



3. This book is aimed at employees elegible to receive stock options in the company they work for from their employer.
   
   It is NOT for investors wishing to buy and sell stock options through a stock broker.



4. First, disregard the 5-star rating. *I* think the book is good of course, but that's not why I'm writing this comment.
   
   To the two recent reviewers who complain that the book isn't about puts and calls but rather about ISOs, NQSOs, etc. - look, I'm sorry for your inconvenience but if you had taken about 2 minutes to skim the table of contents and the editorial review on the amazon.com page ("...your company's stock option plan..."), you would CLEARLY see what type of stock options this book discusses. In fact, taking less time to do so than it took you to write your complaint-reviews and give the book a poor review would have saved each of you $20 or whatever the book cost you.
   
   So my sympathies to you for your misspent $, but come on: blaming the author and publisher for your own haste and, further, feeling the need to do so publicly on an amazon.com review with one- and two-star rankings? (At least the other reader who did the same thing back in August, 2003 had the courtesy to give a 5-star ranking because of the reselling experience on amazon.com to rectify his/her error.)
   
   I sincerely hope that if you do begin to dabble in puts and calls - the other kind of stock options - that you do so with much greater care than you took in making your respective book purchases. Otherwise, you should really think twice about that side of the investing world.
   
   To the one reader who is looking for a beginner's book about the other kind of stock options: see "Futures and Options For Dummies" by Joe Duarte. But do your homework first before buying!



5. I was misled by the title of this book am disappointed. This book is NOT for individuals who want to take their investing to the next level and start trading options on the open market, as I had expected -- rather, it is for people who are offered stock options through their employer.
   
   If anyone knows of a good beginner's book for trading stock options, please clue me in.

5 comments about Paul Wilmott Introduces Quantitative Finance.

1. I have gone through this book to try to get a better understanding of derivative pricing. Math is kept easy but often the author leaves out steps in his reasoning. In fact, I have find Hull's book more explanatory and easy to follow on topics like stochastic processes and the creation of Ito's lemma than Wilmott's. This is disappointing as Hull gets pretty detailed in his explanations. I am not an Einstein so I will not and do take out pencil and paper to derive results to make sure I understand. I have not been successful in several instances with this book. However i would still recommend this book to be read as reference for certain topics that are better explained in this book relative to the other similar ones



2. Those that criticize this book as not "mathematical enough" are missing the point. There are plenty of mathematics books out there with loads of detailed math language and rigorous proofs. If you want that it's available. This book is about getting acquainted with difficult material in a compact and human format, and it stills deal with some pretty diffcult topics in an efficient manner. Great book. Buy it. You'll like it.



3. The book disapoints in presenting very few mathematical details. Perphaps this is
   popular for some students but in order to learn quantitative finance there are no
   highway options and math cannot be avoided to the degree as presented here. It provides a good understanding of how the market actually works, but there are other books such as John Hulls that provide a similar practical understanding and a better level of math.
   
   Reading the back flap of the book, the author is presented as a cult writer not caring about academic prestige etc., implying that the rest of the books in the area are accused of being written only for academic reasons trying to impress colleages. I have a great respect for many of the books and authors in the area and I honestly think that the statement is false and quite pathetic.
   
   We are living in the times where things must be "light", anything from food to classical music, and increasingly so also academic books. This book is very light, which may please some student, but it will be inadequate for teaching purposes.
   Read it as a complement to other more rigorous textbooks to get knowledge about how the financial markets operate.



4. One of the few books for which I think I wasted my money. It is poorly written, often I would say it seems as material is even poorly understood or (most probably) there is a very limited capability in writing/explaining/organizing concepts. If you're looking for an understandable and intuitive intro to finance (or quantitative finance) this is the wrong book. If you're looking for something more deeper, precise and technical, this is *definetely* the wrong book.
   
   This book is far from being intuitive: even simple concepts such as VaR (value at Risk) are treated poorly and in an extremely complicated manner. Hull does a far better job in providing an intuitive approach to stochastic calculus, for instance. Often subjects are incomplete and almost always they lag intuitive and substantiated arguments; after one reads he/she will not understand much on the subject, unless they already know the subject matter very well and then would realized what little attention and competence has been put into this book.
   
   I bought it because of the somewhat good reviews and I the title and I am really surprise anybody can say this is a good book. Do not rely on this book. Keep looking elsewhere. These are my 2 cents.



5. It's great!!! I'm so happy, the book is so easy to read and understand it, I think it is the best book of derivates, it's better than Hull, it's highly recommendly if you are studying finance

5 comments about Lessons from the Greatest Stock Traders of All Time.

1. A wonderful book that summarizes the methods of 5 of the best traders who ever lived. Definitely read the originals too, but this is great for summary of How I Made $2,000,000 and other epic classics.



2. The key aspect from this book is analyzing the common procedures from all these successful stock traders: loss cutters, trend followers, determination and active stock traders, among others attitudes. 80% technical 20% fundamental
   
   The book could have been written in less than a half of itself. Anyway it is quite easy to read, because it is well organized and it has almost no advanced-technical vocabulary.
   
   I recommend it!



3. This book doesn't go into techniques, but it is great for motivation and basic concepts... really important book to read and then re-read. Great job by the author.



4. This book looks at five historically successful stock investors -- Loeb, Baruch, Darvas, Livermore and O'Neil. The book looks at each of these individual's approaches to trading and you'll discover that they are very similar. They all believe in cutting loses short, buying at new highs rather than buying a stock because it's "cheap." Boik examines and summarizes their strategies or rules for trading. The book is a good introduction to these traders' ideas. If you want to learn more about each of these traders' methods in depth, fortunately each have written their own books.



5. If you are an investor, this is a must read. After all, who better to learn from than the most successful investors of all time. Granted, some of those profiled here aren't investors. In their own words, Livermore and Baruch called themselves speculators. But their goal was to make profits for their money.
   
   It is very interesting to note that the 5 profiled cover investing in the stock market for nearly a century and that all the prinicples apply to this very day. John Boik has made a service by compiling the life stories of these five great traders/investors. It is inspirational for those who want to succeed in the market to read about these indiviudals, their life mission, their strategies, their successes, their failures, the lessons learnt.
   
   I don't want to state what is all in the book. What is great is the opportunity to read about all these five in one place. The last chapter is well written summarizing the strategies of the five. The book itself is an easy read without you having to beat your brains out trying to remember all you read. The lessons are very crystal clear to sink in. The chapter on William O' Neal is a bit longer compared to others.
   
   The book does not explain a combined system of trading, nor does it capture all the trades for every year each of these traded. This is not the point. The point is about the rules/strategies they followed and the lessons learnt. If you are new to trading or even if you in those initial years where you rely on tips and/or using another person to invest for you, you have to know what makes money in the market. For that, this book is a must read and a must addition to your investing library.

5 comments about Cashing in on Covered Calls. Investing with Stock Options.

1. I am relatively new to the world of options. After selling a few covered calls on stocks I own and a few I liked, I was interested in finding a better way to locate quality stocks for writing options. That is when I found Alan's book. And it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Not only did it get me thinking about options in a different way (smaller, steady returns vs looking for the "big catch"), but he details a very straightforward and easy way to find the best of the best in the stock world. After running some paper trades using his system, I have already seen the great potential. This is not a get rich quick scheme. You will not become a millionaire over night. What you will get though is a system that can help you generate steady profits each month while minimizing risk.
   
   I highly recommend this to those just getting into options and even those who are looking for a way to find better quality stocks.



2. In mid 2008 I decided to get to know about the stock market. It was a completly new thing to me. I seriously knew nothing about this, except that it existed. My motivation was 'Have my money work for me, not me work for money'... (I never wanted to be a slave to money, I wanted money to be a slave to me...)
   
   So, this ignited an investigation into the stock market. In the space of 12 months I spent over $5000 on investment seminars, books, home dvd seminars, mentoring ect.. I loved it. I learnt sooo much doing all this.
   
   BUT, I still wasnt satified. Something was missing. I wanted some very specific information. All I knew was 1) The information existed and 2) I hadnt found it- yet.
   
   Looking on Amazon I saw this book was available, but decided not to buy it. I just checked out Alans web site and youtube vids. I even emailed him numerous times each time he have me excellent responses. In the 2-3 months of doing this I learnt allot of things that would have costed $$$ from seminars, ect.. I figured that if I could learn this much from free information, it was worth investing $20...
   
   The book is written very proffesionally. Its not filled with any crazy jargon, making it easy to understand. Alan will walk you through a step by step program that achieves 2 things.
   1) Minimise Risk
   2) Maximise gain
   
   Upon reading the book you will find that you will have the confidence to do these 2 things in the stockmarket.



3. The book on covered calls. No more needs to be said. Buy it if you can.



4. I have been writing covered calls for over 10 years with some success but not getting the results I wanted to achieve. I was looking for a covered call strategy which uses Investors Business Daily for stock selection but was unable to find one until I found Alan Ellman's website. I have spent literally thousands of dollars on trading seminars, etc. which did not lead to success. Alan's 'Cashing In on Covered Calls' book is a real blessing to me and was exactly what I was searching for. I now look forward to a fantastic retirement as a successful covered call writer.



5. This is a good book for beginners to familiarize themselves with covered call writing. A weakness I noticed with most introductory books on this subject, this one included, is that they seem to accentuate the positives but overlook the negatives of using covered calls. If you write covered calls against a stock and collect a premium but the stock keeps moving lower and suddenly you are facing a 25% or more loss in the stock; the small premium you collect is of little value. This is especially a problem with sudden bad news or down gaps. My point is that holding the option until expiration may not be the right strategy in many cases. In addition using technical analysis to time entry and exit is critical to maximize option premiums as well as paying special attention to implied volatility of the underlying security . Many other factors including open interest ,short interest on the stock etc .give clues to option behavior. It is thus necessary to continue your education by reading other books that focus on volatility, timing , as well as technical analysis.

2 comments about Financing Real Estate Investments For Dummies.

1. As a "seasoned" real estate investor, I did not expect much from this book. Considering the typical "Dummies" format, there woudn't be much in there for me, right?
   
   Wrong. I was pleasantly surprised to find a well thought-out detailed approach for evaluating investment properties, and various financing options. While time and the market have changed some of the finance options, the content on NOI and cost evaluation are right on, and the authors did a terrific job in making sure that novice investors understand that this is a BUSINESS decision, not an emotional one. The bottom line is that the numbers have to work.
   
   I have enjoyed other books by Chip and Ralph, and was glad to add this to my collection. It would be a great place to start for any individual just getting started in the real estate investment game - and there's even some good stuff for us old pros ;-)



2. Typical of a "Dummies" book, the format is easy-to-read and follow, with a LOT of great content.
   
   Authors use a lot of examples and provide good formulas for calculating value and NOI numbers. Does not go into enough detail for larger properties or more complex deals, but again, understand the "format" is for beginners.
   
   Added this to my bookshelf as I have enjoyed other books by the authors, and looking forward to more material in the future. Definitely recommend this for anyone starting out in investment real estate.

5 comments about Option Trading in Your Spare Time: A Guide to Financial Independence for Women.

1. First let me say that i have attended many of Wendy's classes at [...] I was pointed to her book by a few memebers over there. Pound for Pound this is the best book for entry level options trading i have read. If you have no experience trading or have attempted trading options and failed then this book is for you!!!! It does not cover the more technical way of trade options such as spreads,strangles etc... It does however do a GREAT job on playing calls and puts. I have read her book and can say that i have been doing very well on my paper trades and also have made a good money on the real money plays i have made!!! I would recommend buying her book and then popping in over at [...] and registering with them. The goodies has FREE classes and Wendy is avaliable to answer any questions or concerns you have regarding her book or any other options questions you might have!!!! I dont wanna go on and on about how excellent this whole arrangment is(it should be obvious you buy the book then speak directly to the author!!! how can you miss with that combination??) Also if you are wondering about the content of the book. It covers everything you need to purchase call/put options.. The greeks,volatility,buying in the money ,outa money,near the money etc.... Also i would like to point out that I am not being paid to either endorse this book or [...] I am just simply explaining the way i started out trading options and the path i took to learn(and so far i have been sucessful)Also that being said i would also like to point out that any of the fellows turned off by the title should simply ingnore it haha. I am not a woman and this book ROCKS!!! I also know alot of other fella's that own it.



2. Thank you, Wendy, for demystifying the markets. So many trading books (and I've read tons) try to make things unnecessarily complex. She's straight forward with the basics of chart reading & how to read option chains. She also has some money management strategies in her "Recognizing sell signals" chapter. She shows you what to look for and then helps you build a plan in the chapter "Putting it all together."
   
   If you're looking for more complex option strategies as straddles & strangles this isn't it. And she doesn't want it to be. This is how to build a dependable straightforward trading plan and then trade your plan.
   
   Wendy gets 5 Stars ***** for support. You can ask her questions on her forum [...] & talk to her & other traders at her chatroom [...]. She also teaches classes for free on Stockgoodies.



3. I wanted to get back into trading options - tried once before with not very good results. This book shows me what I did wrong the first time, and the right way to proceed. And its all business - no hunches, friends tips, throwing darts at the stock column - just sound chart-reading techniques and great advice. Although addressed to women, the principles are sound for men too. I started virtual trading and so far so good. And its fun to read - for a very dry subject, it keeps your interest.



4. In Option Trading in Your Spare Time, Wendy Kirkland and Virginia McCullough present a clear and comprehensive guide not only for the beginner, but for those like myself who had previously ventured into trading only to discover they lacked certain essential keys to success. In this book, I have found the missing keys to developing both confidence and a sound knowledge base from which to make wise trading choices. Many thanks to the authors for this wonderful offering.



5. I'm stationed overseas and have limited access to books...this one happened to be the only option trading book around, so I sheepishly picked it up and purchased it. It's great! Not only did it clarify the not-too-easy-to-understand world of options, it taught me a lot about chart reading/technical analysis for my regular stock purchases. Using the information in the book, I've made one options trade, and several stock trades I never would have attempted before, and have made significant gains. Great book, highly recommend it!

5 comments about Trade Your Way to Wealth: Earn Big Profits with No-Risk, Low-Risk, and Measured-Risk Strategies (Wiley Trading).

1. The product is good and worthwhile. It took too long to receive considering it was supposedly in stock.



2. Well, this book was boring to me and haven't added almost anything to my useable list of strategies.



3. I bought this book at the end of last year. I just finished my first reading and begun my second reading with more detailed notes. I feel that I wish I had this book long time ago. I have been treading for many years, but not very successful. I want to improve myself. After reading this book, I felt I learned a lot form the book. I modified my trading plan and fine-toned some charting techniques according to the suggestions from this book. I might post some of my detailed reading notes on author's newsletter's forum after a few month of trading.
   
   To make a long story short, I'd say that this book is not for the beginners. It's not a primer for investment. It better fits to the people who have some knowledge about trading and want to improve themselves. This book lists a lot of detailed trading practices/examples, not the fake stock XYZ as a generalized scenarios. These examples are very useful, at least to me for better understanding the techniques.
   
   At the end, I would say that I highly recommend this book to anyone who want to improve themselves.



4. This book is a definate keeper. I really enjoyed the open straight way in which Bill Kraft presents his stratigies in this book. I was looking to lower my risk and develop more advanced stratigies to my trading rules. This book helped me to do this.



5. I have read many trading books and have been a profitable active trader for many years. Mr Kraft's book is without question the best book on the market today from which to learn how to actually do the trades and be profitable. Mr Kraft's emphasis on the importance of entering a trade only when there is a close clear exit is simple but tremendously effective. This book truly teaches one how to become wealthy using systematic, proven strategies. It also teaches one how to implement no risk strategies such as collars to protect assets and achieve a reasonable return. The reason this book is different from the many others I have read is that it teaches one how to actually do the trades in a simple straight forward format rather than discussing theories. Can't recommed this book highly enough. Mike Beebe

5 comments about The Encyclopedia of Trading Strategies.

1. I hate reviewing books like this. It would be awesome to say, "this is total nonsense; never, ever read it." However, there is actually good stuff in it, which makes me work at reviewing it.
   The good: the section on exits is quite good. It could be better, but I can't think of anything out there which actually is better. Selecting an exit strategy is *most* of a trading strategy. It matters a lot less when you buy than when you sell if you're into, like making a profit. I actually bought the book based on the recommendation of someone smarter than me, specifically for the chapters on exits, and I was no disappointed in this part. The sections on technical analysis and standard indicators aren't bad either, though like most treatments of this sort of thing, TA comes off looking like magic rather than what it properly should be thought of; which is to say, lousy non stationary filters which might inform other traders you should be trading against. His statistics aren't exactly right, but they're not always completely insane either.
   The bad: this book is mostly an exercise in data mining and hindsight bias. Genetic algorithms? Optimizers? Give me a break! He doesn't deal with real issues in doing this sort of trading; for example, signal to noise ratios of various kinds. He doesn't properly deal with issues of overfitting (yes, you must test out of sample, but there is a whole lot more you can do to reassure yourself you haven't just fit to a bunch of noise). There is a chapter on fitting to solar and lunar cycles, which is, of course, data mining lunacy. The software he uses is of course all antiquated stuff which was out of date before I could legally drink alcoholic beverages; no help there. Risk management? Money management? These are also crucial pieces of any trading strategy: they're not covered at all here. I guess the book is oriented towards data mining punters who don't care so much about such niceties, but, well, I find such things important. I'm not sure I'd trust what the author had to say about such things, but it's something everyone with money on the line should be worrying about. Also: this is hardly anything resembling "an Encyclopedia of Trading Strategies" -so don't expect it to be, and you might not be disappointed.
   So, this book can be useful if you already know enough to know which parts are nonsense. I guess this is an issue with all books and papers dealing with this subject; you can often take a chapter here and a section there, but books of this nature seem to have a lot of red herrings. Sometimes it's hard to tell if they are there on purpose, or as filler to sell the good sections. I dunno. Anyway, don't try to make a zillion dollars using genetic algorithms like they talk about in this book: you will fail.



2. This book needs a complete overhaul.
   
   Markets have changed, tactics have changed and the whole internet and technology boom has had a tremendous effect on markets. There are other books on trading strategy that are more current, and ones that focus on specific markets...such as stocks or currencies. You would be better off with something updated. Generally, from a 'big picture' point of view the book still holds up...but you can find general big picture info at the numerous websites offering free education and lessons.
   
   A new, up to date, well tested and proven version of this is needed.



3. As a software engineer I needed a book that will teach me some trading strategies that I can program and bought this book hoping to find a list/ideas of trading strategies, as you expect from Encyclopedia. Unfortunately this is the most not practical book I have ever read, if you think you'll be able to trade after reading this book you're wrong!
   It has academic theoretical discussions about trading systems by testing the most simple and basic setups just to tell you that they don't work if you trade them automatically (crossing MAs, breakouts etc). I'm sorry but you don't need to have Phd to know that, they don't even try to come up with a strategy that work!
   
   Who can benefit from this book? If you are in your Master/Phd studies and looking for theoretical trading academic book, no doubt this is for you, all the rest try something else...



4. Anyone planing on or currently trading using technical analysis should read this book. The lessens inside can help prevent loss of savings.
   
   This book takes a careful look at various types of technical indicators and trading strategies that use technical analysis, the types of methods commonly found in charting software and technical analysis books. For me the bottom line is that making a consistent income from trading, using technical analysis, is difficult. (Losing money is not so difficult).
   
   The software referenced in the book and available for a relatively small price, is in my opinion very powerful, but difficult to master (C++ source code that must be compiled, debugged for your compiler, and modified to create useful systems).



5. This book provides an overview on the type of strategies available and shows the results done on the different strategies. For system developers it is useful to know that most strategies - pure trending, oscillators etc do not perform well at all!
   What is lacking is a more thorough analysis of the different methods. Overall a useful book which highlight the pitfalls which system developers will fall into.

4 comments about High-Powered Investing All-In-One For Dummies.

1. I bought this book because my boyfriend works in Finance. He asked me to go with him to some event and I was a bit lost, everybody is talking about bond, investment..... I am not lost anymore! I don't pretend to be a financial expert but I can now follow the conversation....



2. The authors do an excellent job of explaining the
   various investment alternatives available in the
   current market. Samples are provided below:
   
   o silver ETFs called PAAS , SLW
   o GC most liquid gold
   o GLD ETF for gold
   o TK- crude oil transporter
   o ULCC- huge vessel company
   o RIG-offshore drilling
   o solar investments - ESLR and STP
   o LNT and AYE for natural gas
   o XLE- largest energy ETF
   o ACH-Aluminum of China
   o JSE and LSE- palladium
   o SWC and PAC " "
   o MICEX - NORILSK nickel
   
   There is an excellent website for gaining a perspective
   on how others view a particular stock. (marketvane.net)
   
   The authors provide guidance on how to execute certain
   purchases of stocks, puts, calls etc. For instance,
   the strike price + option premium costs + transaction costs=BEP
   (Break Even Price)
   
   This book would be an excellent investment for the novice
   investor. The acquisition is an absolute must for retirees
   in the current environment.



3. Great product if you need to remember definitions of certain terms and how things work in different types of markets. The technical analysis section is very insightful about trends and trend lines, but it does discuss any other type of indicators. A definite beginners book.



4. The Book gives a good overview of the variety of Investments available. Since I have seen the Book before I ordered it there were no surprises.

5 comments about How to Make Money With Real Estate Options: Low-Cost, Low-Risk, High-Profit Strategies for Controlling Undervalued Property....Without the Burdens of Ownership!.

1. I've made it about halfway through this book and had to stop. It was so dull and dry, full of lists of things to do to find and buy Real Estate options. Good information, but dull as could be. It would have been much better had the author included examples of how to go about using the techniques he lists. But once again, the information was good if that's all you're looking for.



2. As a beginner in investing I am at a point where I'm still learning the tricks of the trade. Though this book was infromative I still have to favor the others I have read specifically, "The Pizza Delivery Millionaire"..by Rick Vazquez. It's sold here on Amazon and also on their website for an affordable price..which I think is a great deal if
   
   1. you are intimidated by investing
   2. You want to start investing but have no idea where to start
   
   That book is great!



3. I don't know, I thought this seemed like a great idea. And maybe in some markets it is. In Philadelphia, it's different from the authors home of Florida and I just didn't get anything out of reading this book. When he says options are a little known used RE tool, he ain't lying! After reading Mr. Lucier's book I realized that this was a concept that was completely impractical for me. Some of his stories about finding warehouses that sat vacant for years, cleaning the floor and a coat of pain and voila! $25000 profit, well, they just seem totally out there to me. If you think you can make a go of it, yes, it takes little money but this concept is seldom used and not going to work in many places.



4. I've heard good things about Thomas Lucier's books, so I approached this one with high expectations and he didn't let me down. He illuminates the argument for this powerful investing tool -- namely, real estate options.
   
   Good even for beginners, Lucier starts with a basic introduction to real estate option investing before moving on to the details. I especially liked the chapter on how you can use options to profit from problem properties that other investors might shy away from -- knowing how to put deals together where other investors can't or won't can give you a leg up on the competition in a time when I'll take what I can get.
   
   In the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I am an attorney, real estate broker, investor, trainer, and author of another unique and highly readable book on real estate investing that can also be found here on Amazon -- The WealthLoop Series Beginner's Guide to Building Wealth Buying Houses: The Foolproof Roadmap to Real Estate Riches Without the Risks and Hassles of Landlording.
   
   Lucier has written an informative book that's worthy of your time. Buy it if you are serious about making a success of real estate investing.



5. This book is exactly what I was looking for. I was interested in getting started in buying and selling real estate options and this book gets to the heart of it. There are a multitude of great suggestions, tips, and instruction. I would be lost without it. There are even sample forms. Worth twice the price!!