Option

An extremely basic treatment of futures and options. Hedging strategies explained are inadequate at best with no explanation or regard to the cost of the hedge as it would relate to risk vs. return. Author tries to tell you that if you have an overnight position you should hedge so that you can sleep better. Author also describes the 30 or so different commodity contracts very briefly with no fundamental insight whatsoever. You can get more from looking at the exchange web sites. I recommend that you skim the book in the bookstore and then leave it there !

In my view the best book about commodity trading I have seen so far. Easy to read, and with many examples, it offers an excellent guide for the beginning trader, and a valuable reference source for the experienced.

George Kleinman's vast experience in the markets, enables him to focus in his book on those aspects of trading, analysis, and money management, that really matter to become a successful trader. I trade for quite a few years now, and still take his book to hand regularly.

The stories and anecdotes that George offers us throughout the book would be a reason in itself to buy it, and could only come from somebody who knows the exchange floors.

Let me preface this with the fact that George and I had a falling out a few years ago and haven't spoken since.

With that said, if you want a solid fundamental understanding of how and why the futures markets work - this is the book for you. George has an uncanny ability to break down the market into vey easy and understandable terms. He even throws in some stories that not only make this an educational read but a fun one.

I really wish this book was around before I studdied for my Series 3.

Kevin Cotter, former publisher of the Cents Financial Journal

PS As to the dummies comment that was made by another reviewer - big words and fancy formulas do not make for substantial portfolios.

This book contains some very useful information for people who write options and wonder if their profitability is sustainable over the long run (hence the title "options edge"). Although Gallacher states that the edge between writers and buyers is zero (based on his empirical evidence); he illustrates that writers still can make consistent positive return on their trading, as long as they sell implied volatility which exceeds historic volatility and as long as they cover their short positions in options with futures at strike. Unfortunately, Gallacher doesn't compare LEAPS to futures as a way to cover short positions in options. An easy and enjoyable read!

This book contains some useful information for option writers who wonder if their profitability is sustainable over the long run (hence the title "options edge"). Although Gallacher states that the edge between writers and buyers is zero (based on empirical evidence); he illustrates that writers still can make consistent returns if they sell implied volatility which exceeds historic volatility and if they cover their short positions with futures at strike. The book is easy to read and I finished it in half a day.

The research work is better than most available and the writing very good (See his other book as well). However if somebody can answer the following: Isn't there a risk of blowing up the strategy with a string of limit days? They may be rare, but their effects are extreme (see Nassim Taleb's site and/or book). At one point limit days are mentioned; they are handled by using the price at the limit. This assumes that one can trade futures at the limit price, which is not a guaranteed thing. Otherwise, the new and refreshing look at option pricing is excellent. Clearly accuracy is more important than precision in markets with bid/ask spreads and Mr. Gallacher is able to cut to the core of the issue. Lots to consider, but that one problem remains.

This book is incomplete and written to fullfil a minority fantasy. Huge forces and factors are almost ignored to set the stage for the Brit. 8th army,& Gen.M. so they can save the planet. Also it seems edited by a student with a spell checker and little knowledge of the other armies. I couldn't overlook the poor writing.

The premise behind The Moscow Option is to change two recorded events in WWII and speculate as to how these changes would have impacted the rest of the war. While I didn't have a problem with these two changes, they were plausible enough, I disagree with the author's speculated consequences on two points.

1. The Red Army had built up significant reserves and launched a counter-attack to throw the Germans back in several areas just as the attack on Moscow was called off. It seems to me that these reserves were ignored. I have made a study of the Eastern Front and cannot accept the casual dismissal of these forces by the author.

2. From what I have read about the Pacific War, including the very interesting speculation by Hector Bywater, the Japanese fleet simply could not have performed the missions proposed by the author in the latter part of the book.

If you are not that read up on either the European or Pacific theatres of WWII, this book may be of interest. For me, the assumptions were too thin for me to suspend disbelief.

This is a good alternative history I've been looking for. It gives the reader a short history written in a War College manner by someone who is familiar with the events he lived through. It spares the reader an overlay of bogus romance and cliched action/adventure. This isn't another version of "Winds of War" with the historic changes in the background. Just the facts of what happened in those crucial years, 1941 and 1942. In this hisotry Hitler is out of commission for six months or so while the German army is approaching Moscow. This counterfact spares his Generals from folowing through the then successful Russian campaign and the Japanese get lucky and win the Battle of Midway. America is now subjected to a real bombing of California from the Japanese Navy.

The author makes two well thought-out changes and leaves everything else the same. He does avoid giving the Axis any more freebies. All the weaknesses in Hitler's Germany and Imperial Japan are still there: overlooking some key technoligies because Hitler wasn't interested in them, a lack of a economic base on the part of Japan, and the racist ideology that precluded Germany from taking advantage of potential allies such as the Arabs and Russians. The Allies prevail but a much higher cost.

Operation Barbarossa almost achieves its stated objectives and Japan does more than anger America but inflicts real damage on its advesary. As a result, World War II lasted one year longer than in real life. It would seem from Downing's asides that Germany was in much worse shape after the War which ended in 1946. Indeed, all the combatants suffered more in this world. The post-war world would have been a much bleaker place had what Duncan wrote about happened.

My only disappointment is that Downing didn't go beyond August 1942. It does leave you guessing how Britain, which in this world didn't have the effective support it would have had from America, battled back from it's near complete defeat. America had to concentrate most of its resources defeating Japan. Downing alludes to the political pressure Churchill faced. I wonder how any of the allied leaders could have survived the great reverals in the period covered by the book. However, he went only as far as the fall of '42. He does leave some of the details to the reader. This is certainly a thought provoking book.

Nik Okuntseff explains the API well, however he should have left out the code to his C++ classes which takes up a good 35% of the book. Would have received 4 stars if he used plain easy-to-read 15 line or less example code.

This is probably the best book out there (well, actually, the ONLY book out there) for learing the basics of the NT security API -- however, its coverage is less than complete to say the least. For instance, it barely even mentions LSA!

If you want to understand the details of how NT implements security or need to build security into an application this book has the right stuff. This is not an administrators book. It describes the low level implementation of security in Windows NT. Great stuff. For an practical admin book take a look at Windows NT Security Guide by Stephen Sutton.

This book was written in '96 and as such, Easy Language could have been included since it was available then. The system requires high maintenance observation (in 1 minute, 5 minute, 15 minute and 60 minute charts in each future discussed) that would require programming assistance in the background. NB Another reviewer states he has programmed this in ELA & offers his email address.

There are many charts which take up half of the book, but since most of the time the chart being referenced in the text is on another page, it's a hassle to jump back and forth. The writing style could cure insomnia.

As in Larry Williams' daytrading book, this book would have benefitted greatly by inclusion of Performance Reports with Profit Factors, ROI, consecutive losers and the like. In fairness to the author, he provides the results of all trades in a month period for the different time periods (1-minute through 60-minutes) for various futures including the DM. These could have been enhanced with profit targets, it was surprising to see better than potential $1000+ trades allowed to turn into losers.

Once the single system was explained, the various futures could have been presented with 1 time frame Performance Report and the best value, on successive pages.

Unfortunately since Barnes limited himself to 1 month of trades, there is insufficient information on those time frames greater than 1 or 5 minute charts, to determine the validity of the system. One needs a minimum of 30 samples and in many instances there are only 3 trades for the time period presented.

Better editing would have enhanced the value of this book in making it more comprehensible and capable of the system being confirmed as being viable.

I used the system outlined in the book to develop a highly successful longer term system that makes very good returns with low drawdowns. It also recovers very quickly from losses. Enough said!

VERY HELPFULL BOOK FOR THE NOVICE. QUICK DELIVERY

I saw this book in a friend's bathroom and decided to buy a copy for myself. I found it to be pretty informative, but not in a monotone/lecturing way. Very helpful. A nice addition to my future library!

In a market flooded with advice on interpersonal relationships and the conflicts inherent in relationships, Crowe's book is refreshing in its common-sense approach.
Part I, "Fundamentals of Understanding", focuses on understanding what makes difficult people so hard to deal with. The key is to recognize the difficult person's behavior and our reaction to it. The most thought-provoking question in this segment is "Do we attempt to change difficult people, or do we change our expectations of them. 'Difficult' is an opinion. We base our assessment of a person on our observations and expectations, and what we see as difficult, another may see as straightforward or decisive. Sometimes we have to step away from a problem, take a break to get some perspective.
Part II deals with "Personality Types and Patterns of Behavior." It categorizes different personalities by relating them to animals. The concept may be overused, but the content still has validity. There are nine types of difficult personalities. On the aggressive side, we have the lizard, who complains about everything. Crowe's advice is to steer them away from problems and into solutions. It may be impossible to completely stop complainers, but you can certainly stop them from taking up your valuable time. In the passive group, we have the donkey, who stays rooted in one place until forcibly led away - frozen, afraid to make a move. The challenge is to empower them to take some action on their own. Crowe's suggestion is to offer a set of choices, outlining the likely outcome, then let them choose. If their decision is unwise, hopefully they will learn from it. If their decision is a winner, they will gain confidence and hopefully break out of their passive mold.
In Part III, "Tools and Recipes" Crowe offers ways to deal with the difficult personalities that she has outlined. One technique mentioned is "Verbal Aikido." Aikido is a martial art in which the momentum of the attacker is used against them. Verbal aikido is the technique of redirecting a conversation with a difficult person in the direction you want it to go. Sample verbiage includes "Here are your options.." and "You make the choice." The advice is sound, although it may be hard to put into practice initially. Difficult people generally won't be boxed into making a choice, because then who would take the blame? That's exactly Crowe's point - let them decide, and then learn from the outcome.
This book offers simple understandable explanations of some common problems, ands some innovative ways to deal with them. I would recommend it to anyone needing a fresh perspective on interpersonal problems, especially in the workplace.

You should really read this no matter what your disposition. Everyone gets to a point when they want to strangle someone, the title in itself tells how light hearted this book is about a very oppressive subject. Controlling your anger is something most would like to avoid. I advocate this book during my workshops. Take the time to get this one and read it.

The book provides some useful information, but is written in such a way that the novice will find impossible to follow. The introductory chapters are particularly atrocious, and plunged right into the middle of things without so much as defining the terms and explaining the basic concepts.

But for someone who already knows the basics of futures trading, this can be a useful summary of the various markets.

This is one of two books which I would always recommend for beginners. There is a well prepared questionaire that lets you know if futures trading is for you or not. It helps to bring a lot of basic concepts about the market, choosing a broker, CTA etc. down to a simple easy understandable way.

Even experienced traders would find it quite helpful, especially the section that deals with the overview of several markets. This is really useful material in deciding on which markets to trade and their particular tendencies.

I bought this book when I was deciding on whether or not to get started in futures trading. I was not disappointed. Wasendorf & McCafferty clearly walk through the process of trading futures in enough detail to help you understand what its all about but the book is not overly full of jargon or complex snooze producing theory. Might be a bit too simple for very experienced traders but on the whole a great read.

During the collapse of the so-called Internet bubble, the legendary Dutch fiscal intoxication with tulips, called tulipmania, was widely cited as a lesson from history. The financial press hyped stories of deluded Dutch farmers who mortgaged all their worldly possessions to purchase a single prize tulip bulb, only to meet financial ruin when the bubble inevitably burst. Economist Peter M. Garber dug into history, and found that most of the common wisdom about the tulipmania was false. So, if you ever wondered how Dutch investors could have been so foolish, there is a simple answer: they weren't. Famous First Bubbles clearly evolved from a series of academic papers but, nonetheless, the book is entertaining. The primary focus on the tulip bubble makes the sections on the Mississippi and South Sea Bubbles seem like afterthoughts. We from getAbstract recommend this to iconoclasts who enjoy debunking historical legends and to bubble watchers everywhere.

Episodes as the Tulip Mania, The South See Bubble, the Crash of 1929 are going to leave a permanent trace in financial science. So they deserve close investigation. The Author has achieved to make really a very interesting and vivid one. His ideas are very controversial, but exactly they make the book amusing. However, I haven't seen anywhere in the book a formula, integral, etc. Perhaps the purpose was to give more informal treatment of the bubbles phenomena, but it will be very interesting a formal one to be made in future by fitting concrete rational expectations models in the historical data.
Vilimir Yordanov, Bulgaria

The author does an excellent job debunking the myth about the Dutch tulipmania from 1634 to 1637. He conducted detailed economics and historical research, and uncovered that just about everything about tulipmania as described in Charles Mackay book "Extraordinary popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" is either inaccurate, or exaggerated. The Dutch never mortgaged their entire properties for a single bulb. Also, Holland did not suffer a depression after the tulip market crashed. According to the author, very little net wealth was actually wiped out. Instead, the price of rare tulips was driven by rational economic considerations reflecting the short supply and the rising demand for this rare tulip bulb type. The price of these tulip bulbs at anyone time reflected expected investment returns from investors. Other economists have also documented that the price of tulip bulbs did go back up to similar level several centuries later associated with favorable economics change in this market.

The author goes on to further explain the rational economics fundamentals behind the Mississippi Bubble of 1719-1720 resulting from an attempt to swap French government debt for equity in a private company, financed by printing paper money. He similarly explains out in similar economics terms the South Sea Bubble of 1720 which was the equivalent of a leveraged buyout of the national debt of Great Britain. Both investment schemes ultimately collapsed, but their respective economics and strong government support at the onset gave these investment propositions very strong fundamentals. These investments are not so different than investments today in GSEs like Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and Sallie Mae. Because of accounting irregularities, the stocks in these GSEs have recently taken a beating. But, there is no ground for talking about a GSE stock bubble.

The author has strong credentials to support his iconoclastic thesis that is not that well known by the economics establishment. He is a global strategist at Global Markets Research at Deutsche Bank and Professor of Economics at Brown University.

The Internet bubble has often been compared to the three investment bubbles mentioned above. Sadly enough, internet stock investors were by far the most foolish among investors of these four different investment bubbles. This is because at the onset the fundamentals behind internet stocks were far weaker and speculative than the ones associated with the investments associated with any of the three other bubbles.

If you like this sort of thing sure go for it. I don't but well written

This book gets a 4 stars rating because of its expensive price (the book is only 220 pages and full of empty spaces). But, price is always subjective. You may treat it as the cost of your education.

Anyway, what makes this book so very valuable is the fact that it is easy to read, clear, definitive, and yes it has so many valuable information on what parameters to use for each indicator. How many of you left confused on what parameters should be used? This book will definitely clear away the clouds in your mind.

LeBeau has done extensive research on indicators such as ADX and his insights on other popular indicators are extremely valuable.

The title may be slightly misleading because bulk of the contents is explaining each technical indicator (120 pages), while only 45 pages on explaining how to build a trading system. Yet, it is clear and concise.

The final Chapter is also valuable. It deals with 12 Day Trading systems that the author has selectively chosen out of all day trading ideas he has or has received from other great traders.

I only discoverd this pretty old book recently. I am suprised to find there are quite a lot of trading tips. What make this book stands out of the crowd is the tips were very concrete and practical. The discussions about exit and stop loss are parcticular good. Many other books just said cut the loses quick. How quick? When? This book gives you some hints. The authors also give some tricks in using indicators which I hope I could know earlier.

Unfortunately nothing new at all: Bollinger Bands, RSI and typical chart patterns. Unprofessional lay out, a lot of unused space and many peripatetic explanations. Maybe some ideas for absolute beginners. I will short this book and rather spend the money on a new Harry Potter novel.

I think Joe did an excellent job of describing what seasonal/seasonal spreads are, but gave me little in the way of new ideas for trading them, or new research into spreads that really work. Most traders would be much better off with a subscription to Moore Research if they already know they would like to trade futures in this manner.

I have traded futures for almost 11 years, for my own account and as a broker. I have also written three books regarding futures investing. That being said I really do know how to separate the wheat from the chafe.

This book is all wheat. Ross, once again, breaks the silence on spreads and seasonal trading. Farmer, Hedgers, and life long futures traders, happily use spreads instead of options to limit their risk, market exposure, and margin requirements.

On the otherhand I have been looking at seasonal trades for years and their is only one realistic approach to them, don't believe they will work and plan accordingly. That means strong money management skills on your part. Great book. It made me believe in the seasonals once again and combined with my own money management strategies I am ready to give Ross the benefit of the doubt.