Option

This was the second book I read on financial markets. There is a wealth of information on all kinds of financial stuff.
I specially liked the Options chapter. I think the Stocks chapter was an overkill but still there was much useful info.
Pretty organized and fairly unbiased. The retirement piece at the end of the book was definitely underdone but I don't think this book was meant to cover retirement anyways.
The author doesn't try to portray the financial markets as a road to riches. He lets the reader draw his own conclusions from the topics covered. An educational read overall.

I learned a great deal from this book and I can tell you it is worth every cent of its price, which I considered high before purchasing. The author has a very creative style and yet is able to explain even the most complicated information in an easy to understand and often humorous way. Even if you don't think you will take advantage of all the knowledge you will gain from reading it, I suggest you do read it all, as you never know what may prove useful in the future.

I had the pleasure of having Mr. Questa as a guest lecuturer in a Fixed Income class. This book was used as the text, prior to its publication. The book is a great intro-intermediate fixed income book. It also covers the advanced stochastic models well. It is one of few books that also integrates the foreign exchange market into the analysis. In a few areas the book is difficult to follow however after a careful re-reading it sinks in.

Non ho avuto il piacere di leggere il libro ma il nome dell'autore mi piaceva tantissimo...... è il mio (omonimia) Giorgio Questa

This book is a continuation of volume 1 - being that it is purely focused on financial markets and financial products. I was looking for a book on managing risk surrounding the development of new products (i.e. goods) and services for the market place. These issues are VERY different than those surrounding financial products in a nearly efficient market. I'll keep the book for the excellent content, but beware - it's probably not what you might expect!

The chapters on Interest Rate Option Models (Riccardo Rebonato) and Calculating Risk Capital (Thomas Wilson) are great critical surveys on their respective topic

This is a good book. I had the privelege of recently attending a seminar by Lowell Catlett. He is pragmatic and thorough and yet, at times, witty. This book is written much the same way.

The book is very thorough. It takes you through the history of markets, how they evolved and how they are used today. It provides insights and some "Dos" and "Don'ts". He really makes you think.

It uses a lot of examples that are clear and very helpful. This makes it an excellent reference book for future trades.

The only negative I found in the book is one of its virtues, it is too thorough. I think some of the discussions, such as grains and livestock, are similar. The book could have been shortened by about 10 - 20 percent by combining similar options , commenting on the differences and providing an example.

Overall, I rate this an excellent book! I recently got an MBA from a top school and I learned a ton. This book is a must for the serious options trader who wants to build a good understanding of the investment methods.

Dr. Catlett's book covers futures and options with real life situations. Real life situations include hedging against losses from various situations. I had the opportunity to have Dr. Catlett for a Professor, teaching financial futures markets class at New Mexico State University.

The book covers how to hedge and how not to hedge. He walks you through all of these topics to fully understand the process. There are tables and charts that to help understand the process. After completing the book you will have a great understand of futures and options markets.

The book is a great reference for futures & options trading!

This is a 100% trading psychology book. No FA, no TA, but ten chapters or the author's so called principles on trading psychology, which are

1. The market is always right.
2. It's all in your head.
3. You cant prepare enough.
4. Supply and demand rule the markets
5. Commit your thoughts to paper
6. Developing and perfecting your trading shtick
7. Enhancing your shtick
8. Discipline
9. Staying the course
10. On becoming the ideal trader

Though the above can be commonly found in most trading books, the author had done it relatively well by drawing many uncommon analogies, stories, idiomatic phrases that put life into the book. In particular I like his description of successful traders as captains in the oceans, mice in the laboratories and actuaries in insurance companies.

In short, if you wanna read a good trading psychology book, this is it. If you want TA or FA knowledge, look somewhere else.

p.s. The seven cardinal sins of trading in the last chaper is a favorite of mine. They are:-

1. Pride, which challenges the first rule of trading: The market is always right.
2. Greed, holding onto trades hoping for more and more profits while all TA signals are telling you the party is over.
3. Envy, drains positive energy from their psyche, leaving them mean spirited and weak.
4. Anger, that when Greek gods decided to destroy a human, they got him angry and let him destroy himself.
5. Lust, equates to ignoring key defensive rules or self control. The unbridled gambler is the epitome of lust, doubling up after every loss.
6. Gluttony, a lack of focus. Trading becomes obsession They eat and sleep trading.
7. Sloth, that a lazy successful trader is an oxymoron. He or she just doesnt exist.

I have read other books by Mr. McCafferty and have found this one to be the most valuable, not to mention entertaining. It seems as though most of the newer books out there are just a rehashing of commonly known techniques and offer little valuable insight into how the market actually operates, that is not the case with this fine book. Mr McCafferty seems to understand the way the markets operate and the players in the trading community. He mentions several successful traders and their methods and explains them very well, probably better than those traders could themselves, which is a true testament to his ability as a writer. I learned specific strategies that have changed the way I trade and have been surprised by how well the simple things Tom mentions (and many of us overlook) have worked for me. I can say that I am a more profitable trader because of what I read in this book and for the [$$] it cost me, that is an unbelievable deal. Thank you for unselfishly sharing your trading experiences with us Tom, my life has been enriched because or your words.

This book discusses the financial mathematics from the view of martingale approaches. It is good for someone who want to price derivatives by martingale approach. Unfortunately, this book lacks talking about exotic options like average options,lookback options and passport options.

Does an excellent job of presenting the mathematics WITH RIGOR. The mathematics is more mature than Bingham & Kiesel, but the book is more accessible and far more readable than the similar texts by Karatzas & Shreve and Musiela & Rutkowski.

The Millennial Maze provides a helpful and readable introduction to eschatology, the study of the last things or the end times. Grenz introduces his work with a brief biographical section where he recounts how he became interested in and realized the importance of eschatology. Although he grew up in classical dispensationalism, in seminary he moved first to historic premillennialism and then to amillennialism. After this introduction, Grenz makes a brief foray into historical theology, giving an overview of the various changes and developments in eschatology throughout church history. He then proceeds to outline the four major eschatological theories: Postmillennialism, Dispensationalism, Historic Premillennialism, and Amillennialism, including the criticisms that each school of thought has for the other three and what Grenz sees as the shortcomings of each. The final two chapters present Grenz's view on the significance of eschatology for the Christian church and its work in this world. This is a valuable and fairly objective analysis of contemporary options in eschatology. My only criticism is that I wish it would have dealt more with the growing optimistic amillennialism/partial preterism that Gentry, Chilton, North, and Sproul have endorsed. Overall, though, Grenz's work deals well with the key themes that are common to all eschatology: hermeneutics, philosophy of history, and the nature of the kingdom.

Grenz has accomplished the impossible in this small volume. He has become one of the first authors to present the different perspectives on this debate in a fair and even-handed manner. Typically in books on eschatology, opposing viewpoints are caricatured rather than described and mocked rather than carefully criticized. Grenz avoids all of this nonsense.

In the first chapter he introduces the Biblical background of apocalyptic literature which frames the whole debate. In chapter two, he presents an overview of millennarianism in the history of the church. The following four chapters deal with postmillennialism, dispensationalism, historic premillennialism and amillennialism respectively. The seventh chapter asks the question, "So what?" by dealing with the significance of the whole debate. The book concludes with a chapter explaining how eschatology should shape us here and now.

This book and the Counterpoints volume edited by Darrell Bock "Three Views of the Millennium and Beyond" are the two must read books for those desiring a good overview and explanation of the millennial debate.

A nice collection of alternate realities where often the key factor lies in the after effects of a changed descision. Some of the chapters are better than others. The best ones are the ones which run closest to what actually happened with the smallest change amending the course of history Hofschroer,Elting,Haythornwaite,Gallagher,Elting all fitting nicely within this with strong possibilities the weakest in my opinion was Uffindell's who wrote a nice story but then ruined it by calmly stating that the campaign was a foregone conclusion and Napoleon would never have won. Read the other 2 two waterloo accounts and make your own mind up on this.

It was also enjoyable, after reading, to work out any other obvious 'changes' that could have changed history at Waterloo d'Erlon not being recalled and hence winning Ligny - all it needed was one order to arrive with Ney before he lost his temper at the second or Bourmont not defecting and hence Ligny starting 3 hours earlier. Junot in Russia blocking the Russian retreat etc etc.

All in all enjoyable and a mind opening book

I am not normally a fan of 'what if' historical books. I'll make an exception for this volume. Jonathan North has done a superb job here assembling ten reputable Napoleonic scholars, including himself, to write chapters on alternate solutions to episodes in the Napoleonic Wars.

Ranging from the Revolutionary period to the denouement at Waterloo, which gets three chapters on its own, including the last one by noted authority Colonel John Elting, which is my favorite, the authors give viable, believable alternate solutions to important, decisive Napoleonic events.

The contributors include Peter Hofschroer, Digby Smith, Jack Gill, and Paddy Griffith, as well as four other reputable Napleonic scholars, and all of these historians have contributed mightily to this little gem of a volume.

John Elting's is indeed the finest of the lot. He tells in graphic, realistically gritty prose of the rallying of the 7th Infantry Division at Quatre Bras by Napoleon after Waterloo, introducing two characters, tough little Captain Merle, and tall, wiry, experienced, and feral-eyed Sergeant Gros-Noir, both of the venerable 1st Hussars, all of whom combine to ambush Gneisenau's amateurish pursuit after Waterloo, capturing Gneienau himself. The ambush succeeds, Blucher is ridden down in Genappe by Merle's scratch squadron, while Gros-Noir, with a 'volunteer' Belgian guide, sows hate and discontent in the allied rear areas. Grouchy is on the march and at grips with the Prussians, and then comes the rumor that the terrible, greatly feared Davout is marching north...Ah, if only...

This is an excellent volume that does add to our knowledge of the period, as most of each chapter is at least somewhat factual. If not, it does give us plausible alternate solutions, and in the case of Col Elting's chapter, what Napoleon's 'old sweats' were like. Jonathan North has done us all a great service.

I've found this book to be as informative as any book written on equity options to date. Tompkins takes on a complex subject and makes it understandable . If I could make only one suggestion to the author , it would be " Talk more about takeovers " ; the effects on option pricing and volatility :...A definate buy for the person looking to understand the equity options enviroment.. J54B

Mr Tomkins walks the fine line between layman accessiblity and Rocket Scientist complexity in this well-written (and often suprisingly amusing) book with dexterity. Most of the competion are repetitive and trivial or ferociously mathematical. My only complaint is that this category of book is always expensive. However at least in this case one gets good value

I bought this book 7 years ago, and just recently took it back off the shelf to read/reread sections related to my current work. Book is packed with explanations that facilitate understanding of these complex instruments. And it's nice to see how the binomial model is developed by its inventors. I highly recommend this book to all seeking to understand how to price and analyse options. The reason I gave it 4 stars was that book has an equities focus.

Always an up-to-date work. The excellent analysis of every aspect of options ranks it a must for the researcher (speculator or agent trader) in order to comprehend thoroughly the real nature and forces of the derivative instruments of the markets and obtain a strong infrastucture for consequent reading on strategies and technical analysis. Mathematics of the book are plain and worth reading to the last equation, for they prove to be the key to the understanding and valuation of any novelty work on the subject.The authors' state-of-the-art multiple remarks and explanations on options prices,their factors and sensitivity factors makes it an everyday's book, besides its academic value. A stand alone book for traders that once you get it is to be read over and over in sequence with any new techniques to be tested.