Option

This is a good book if you already have a grasp of the basic concepts of covered call writing but are more interested in the details of why covered call writing works rather than how to use the concept to make money. The author spends a lot of time going through esoteric details on black scholes models and comparisons between the buy and hold and covered call strategy but little time is spent on providing real market examples on how to use the concepts in the book to make money. As an investor and trader my main purpose of reading any book is to learn the "how to" practical concepts that work in real market situations to enhance my profits and this is where this book is deficient. Furthermore this book does not get into the art of picking the right stocks and the timing criteria needed to decide when a covered call is a good strategy and when it is a losing one.
This book deserves at least 4 stars for explaining the covered call concept in great details and proving its usefulness. To make the best use of this book you need to couple it with one that will give more practical examples on using these concepts in real life situations in addition to strategies of picking the right stocks to write covered calls on and critical timing strategies. The book that worked best for me was the recently published September 2003 Second Edition "generate thousands on your stocks without selling them " By Elias. Elias's book has extensive real market examples with many innovative and profitable concepts.

I expected a bit more from these authors. There is a wealth of data (too much) showing the viability of this strategy. This book provides convincing evidence that covered call writing is an excellent strategy - a stratgy I discovered last year after reading THE SHORT BOOK ON OPTIONS, which I also recommend.

The short book goes deeper into the basics of options. Lehman's book is for the more advanced options student.

Read both books and adopt this investment strategy. You won't be sorry (based on my profitable first year of using options)

As a professional in this industry, I was impressed with the book though it is hard to be certain how much was written by McMillan... There are better books to be sure, but it is tough for the average investor to start their education in options with a tome like "Options as a Strategic Investment" by McMillan (though it is fairly comprehensive and well written.) This book does a great job helping a stock investor transtion to an options investor by introducing some "baby steps" coupled with "grown-up" concepts. Covered calls are a preferrable start over more agressive strategies for those who are new to the subject matter. This book will serve new options investors quite well, and remind experienced options players of the important fundamentals.

I read this book in one night. Unfortunately, there was nothing "new" in it to help me with my IC. It was basically just an overview of what IC is and some treatment options. I would not recommend buying it, you can find any of it's information on any IC website of pamplet.

Personally I would prefer to avoid surgery but this book provides good information surrounding the condition as well as offering practical tips for prevention.

If you are newly diagnosed with IC, you need this book. It gives an overview of all the conventional treatments, and tells you what to expect from the tests you'll be having.

If you are the type of person who doesn't automatically trust conventional medicine, weigh carefully the pros and cons of the tests - eg even in this very conventional book, the author admits that a cystoscopy and bladder distention under anesthesia(the first test you'll inevitably have) doesn't really help establish whether you have IC or not. And it can cause a lot of people pain (and some people, a benefit).

The author discusses what he calls "pelvic floor dysfunction", and if you think this might apply to you, you should read the book "A Headache in the Pelvis".

Good luck, people do get better!

This is probably the worst written book I have ever read. The author obviously understands the topic but it is one thing to know a subject and another thing to teach it. I am a physician and I have read my share of books.

This book, published in 1993, is now a classic and the definitive guide to trading LEAPS. It provides an excellent introduction to LEAPS and takes the pain to explain how LEAPS differ from traditional options. If you already have knowledge of options, this book will be a breeze to you, thanks to the author's lucid and humorous writing style. Do keep in mind that LEAPS are more than just longer-term options; pricing them using BS, for example, would be quite wrong.

Which brings us to the drawback of this book from the early 90s. Much as changed to LEAPS -- the demand, the valuation methods, the trading mechanics -- since 1993, and this book would have remained great had it been updated. As it stands, you should definitely use it in conjunction with the web to make sure you get the latest info on these securities.

One last thing: if you are set on trading LEAPS, make sure your broker can accommodate it. My online broker is great for trading options, but it turns out they won't allow LEAPS for accounts less than $50k, which include mine.

In short, I recommend this book highly as a primer to LEAPS. Read it from cover to cover and make sure you duly understand all the RISKS involved, not just the potential gains. Good luck!

LEAPS is a helpful manual and it can be followed by readers who have basic knowledge on options. Roth analyzes in a very vivid and enjoyable way LEAPS and offers to the investor all the necessary background. I really enjoyed reading it.

I`ve played AD&D for many years and I must say that this is one of the worst books I`ve ever seen published by TSR.

The massacre they`ve done with those subabilities is downright silly.In my opinion it`s nothing more than an excuse for some minimaxing.

The new character point system - well, I really need to say a few words about this.Halflings with detect magic innate ability, getting extra points for not using certain armor types - that is really absurd.This also goes for the new mastery rules.(In fact this mastery stuff is a much more complicated question.If you use PHB rules that only fighters can specialize and,hence, become masters with a weapon, you get vastly more powerful fighters in comparison to other warriors.But if you allow all warriors to become masters, then the balance is shifted to the other side.Not to mention what happens if you use that absurd optional rule that ALL classes can specialize in a weapon).

The only reason I gave this book one star is the new proficiency system.I think it`s much more logical than the old one - the checks don`t depend solely on the abilities anymore.

All in all - look at the title.

My gaming group owns two different copies of this book. One is a first printing and the other is a second printing, both in hardback. The second printing is more concise than the first, but there are still plenty of ambiguous paragraphs where you simply hand the book to a lawyer and ask for an interpretation. But it's still better than the first printing of the book, which we use under the short leg of the table. There are more errors, omissions, and conflicting passages than in the US tax code. Example: first printing does not give a limit to the number of points that can be gained from taking disadvantages. Second printing, if you read far enough, eventually says that the limit is 15 points. When this discrepency was found, half of our group had used one printing and the other half had used the other, and the differences in the characters created was fairly extreme.

Despite the problems, we still use Skills and Powers more than the Player's Handbook, mostly because of the ability to customize the characters with different abilities. One note however, when customizing wizards and clerics, I've found that you're better off using Spells and Powers as your primary source.

The updated psionics chapter was a nice touch, and I realize it was meant for Dark Sun more than anything else, but it would have been nice if they had updated to a system that was still mostly compatible with the Monstrous Compendium entries, as opposed to having to completely revamp a psionic creature so that it is consistent with our psionicist PC before being able to use it.

This Book is great, yes there are errors but that is to be expected in a large book. You have to push past all that look too the content. This book has so many possibilities that every time you create a character you can make it different. Also it has great spells for priest and Wizard a like. Advisory to GM's I being a player and a Fledgling GM have found with skills and Powers you can Minmax a character fairly quickly. You can also personalize a character too where they are completely different and unique. Lets face it, new players want to play characters that are unique and have depth. This book is a must for all it's aspects from armor info, crit tables and extra combat rules. ENJOY!!!!

If you really believe that the Eastern philosphy of Tao/Taoism can enhance your success in trading, buy and read "The way of the warrior trader, the financial risk taker's guide to samurai courage, confidence and discipline" by Dr. Richard D.McCall. Dont waste your time and money on somebody who knows so little about tao and just copies and pastes Chinese adages and his own old writings here and there.

p.s. I am sorry that I had read Koppel's other books before and had rated them as two or three star stuff. I am sorry that I have not disciplined myself enough to stop making another unnecessary loss by being attracted by the appealing title of the book. The good thing is: I borrowed this one from the library.

Mr. Koppel does an interesting job of matching Taoism with trading. He opens your eyes to the necessity of following your intuition and creating your own path to success with trading. That being said this book is not for everyone. Those traders that do not buy into touchy feeliness and who want hardcore mathematics and statistics you will be sorely disappointed.

As the author of three futures trading books I know it is hard to appeal to everyone in the audience, so you simply do your best.

My hat's off to Mr.Koppel

This is an excellent book. It almost reads like a poetry book for traders. It is not merely about the Tao...it unfolds and reveals ideas and insights like the Tao itself. This may sound somewhat strange but if you are interested in creativity and trading and its relationship to some of the great insights of the East the subject matter here will be found useful and worthwhile. Also, check out Mc Call and Steinhardt.

A classic text on Real Option Theory. In comparison with Mr Copelands Text on Real Options, Trigeorgis has more depths, but Mr Copelands book is easier to read, as Copeland targets practitioners. The chapter on Real Options for the analysis of competetive strategies is worth reading, and much better than Mr Copelands remarks on that topic, but possibly not fully up to date. The future of real options seems to lie in their combination with game theory, CFROI and dynamic oligopolistic markets. Mr Trigeorgis describes that field of research in its baby stage, as the book is 6 years old, but his theories are still much better, than many other books on that topic.

Real Options is the study of how to value potential business based on the real options they create rather than on discounting a simple stream of (erroneously) forecasted cash flows. Any business venture can be seen as a tangible corollary to a financial option, most commonly the Call or Put Option. For example, when Toyota and Honda build electric-fuel hybrid cars, they are not counting on an immediate stream of cash flows from hybrid car sales. Instead they are establishing a "Real" American Call Option on the ability to go to full hybrid car production ahead of the competition when the market for such vehicles manifests itself. How much they spend on their hybrid car programs is determined by finding the value of this option.

Lenos Trigeorgis shows how this is done. Conceptually, one can follow it well enough, but Lenos is merciless with the math. Still, one can grasp the basic concept by studying this book. A good read on the subject.

It's a very good book, which has changed my way of thinking in

some sense. Real options method is an exciting and challenging

subject in corporate finance.For sure, it deserves more

attention. Thanks for Mr.Trigeorgis'good job.

I agreed with the guy who gave this book a star. When I saw the book, it looks good. But when I started to read it, I realized more than 50% of the book are definitions. It is way too simple.

Honestly, there aren't any good books on SSF.

I liked the strategy section of this book talking about how to use the futures in practice not just about what they are. I have used the buy-write strategy that the author talks about and have done very well so far. I just wish these contracts were more popular so the liquidity would be better.

This book covers more advanced strategies that were interesting like pairs and buy-writes. Also good for learning about hedging large equity holdings in a single stock. I have read all the books available right now on the topic and this one had the most substance and information.

Mr.Schwager is intensely passionate about the markets. This comes through in his thorough analysis of the markets. He has no problem dissecting the fundamental and technical aspects of the market as easily as Michelangelo would paint the Sistine Chapel. His style is heavily influenced by statistics and high level mathematics. His entire voice is centered around the belief that the market can be predicted through analysis of the numbers. Unfortunately, for most people that is not the case. It also seems not to be the case for Mr.Schwager as well, since he admits in his book that he is not a good trader.

That being said, his book is a great reference tool that gets the average trader to stretch himself mentally and look at the markets in a different way. This book ... can be invaluable for the trader that is simply looking for a new perspective besides simply "flags", "candlesticks", and "elliot waves".

Schwager's textbooks while not specifically about spreads are comprehensive and complete about futures. This book has a small section about trading commodity futures spreads.

This book could be renamed as "The Mathematics of Trading". The traget readers are traders who use lots of Mathematics and Statistics.

The experience of Schwager helped me a lot. He said he was good in analysis but not trading. Many people, including me, thought Mathematics, Statistics and Economics were essential for good trading. So they went to college, studied hard, got a degree and hope they could make money in the market. This simply never happen! Otherwise everyone should got a PhD before trading. You still need to develop a method or system. But what is vital is to control your ego. Admit mistakes quickly. This was the most interesting and useful conclusion that I got from Schwager.

This is definitely not an easy reading book. It's essentially a dry college textbook, drier then most Physics textbooks. I am not too sure why people like this book. It's rated fairly high, which was why I initially bought it, but now I regret it. The book is written by multiple authors, therefore some chapters are better then others. But overall it's difficult to read because in some areas, the descriptions are too terse, in others too detailed to the point of confusing. I've owned this book for almost three years and I've never been able to consistently read through it. I will drop it because it's too frustrating. Then I try again a couple of months later and I drop it again. I essentially gave up and decided to go ahead and read Lawrence McMillan's Option book. His book has a better flow because it's the same author throughout, and he does a pretty good job of explaining the subject. This book is only good for probably a reference book, but not for advancing your techniques of Options trading. I am going to try and sell this book instead of using it as a reference.

This book is somewhat like 'A Random Walk Down Wallstreet" only applies to option trading, not just Wall Street and goes beyond.To the nit wit that blasted this book, I seriously doubt if he took the time to read it.I also recommend Safety First Investing and Wall Street Money Machine for more option techniques.Good books.

Wow, amazing, excellent, insufficient superlatives to describe my feelings - this one and Sheldon Nattenberg's Option Volatility and Pricing and you know more than most of the wall street professionals in my opinion. I found it practical and insightful, particularly with respect to the institutional trading strategies and how the trading floors operate.

If you're looking to read and assimilate information about options and then test yourself on the information just acquired - this is the exact wrong book!

This book contains only questions and multiple choice answers. The answers are in the back. The learning method is to take the tests blindly and then see how many you guessed correctly. It is learning in reverse.

I was hoping for an explanation of a term or concept and then a follow up test. There are only tests. As such it may live up to the letter of its title but it fails miserably as a teaching tool. For what it purports to be and for what it delivers it seems ridiculously overpriced.

A very unsatisfied customer.

This book contains 90 pages of (mostly) multiple choice questions with the answers at the back of the book. It is the type of material that routinely follows a chapter in any textbook. Though the questions are to the point, my objection is that it is published as a separate book at the price of many complete works. Properly published, these questions would not add 90 pages to the original text which was itself under 300 pages. The questions did not help me understand the material, only tested my recollection. I feel that publishing this material as a workbook is only a marketing ploy and cheapens the product.

I have bought this book and the Options Course Book. This book is designed to directly relate to the hardback book (Options Course Book) and has no application to be read on its own.

The author has used the workbook to test your knowledge of the hard back book. The work book pulls the salient points out so that you ensure you got what you need.

The tests are accompanied by the answers at the back of the book. I thought it a great idea to combine the two books as I never know if I got it all when I read a book.

This book has no practical use on its own and should have been bought with the Course Book.

Great idea. However, if you are looking for the detail you should buy the Options Course Book.