Trading Books

After reading a lot of trading books, this one made me come back to this essential truth I forget : any stocks can always be classified in one phase, the position of price related to 50 and 200 moving average is a fundamental information. Chuck Dukas give us the synthetic view about trend and phases, his book is the natural continuation of the book of Stan Weinstein, these two are foundation for trading knowledge.
Thank yu chuck.

Wow, this book is great!!!...I read it in two days because it was very helpful in explaining the boom and bust cycles of financial instruments...I have read 200 to 300 books on the stock market and this one is definately one of the best.

This is an interesting book. This book gives definitions of bull and bear markets and their phasis in exchanges, and suggests certain trading methods in each phase. You may take it or leave it, but in any case, this book is an anjoyable read.

It's a sign of a novice trader when they bash books that present core concepts of trading/investing rather than fluff such as "revolutionary" indicators, or "new concepts in trading." Yes, this book is short and simple, but it presents a concept that most wannabe traders totally miss. Dukas shows you an elegant but simple strategy of providing a framework to price action (similar to Stan Weinstein) that, if anything, serves as a guide post for your trading decisions. This was what I have been missing. Does Dukas illustrate specific trading setups in the book? No. He provides the framework and then leaves it up to you to design a approach that fits you. If you don't want to do the work to design your own strategy then you shouldn't be in this game. The more years that I get behind my belt, the more I realize that 99% of the trading books out there are useless. Sure, they are packed full of pretty graphs or trading setups, but they don't get you to think for yourself and help you truly understand what drives price movement. In summary, if you're looking for a framework to guide your trading decisions, then this is the book for you. Highly recommended!

I'm a day trader and trade stocks, ETF's, and options. I always looking for new ideas to help me screen for "buy candidates." I thought this book might have some new twist on technical indicators. When I opened it up, I was disappointed. I literally read the book, cover to cover in 10 minutes. I went though it quickly because the material was so simple. Basically the theory in the book is as follows: 6 phases of a stock. Recovery Phase (50SMA < 200SMA, Close > 50SMA), Accumulation phase (Close > 50SMA, Close > 200SMA, 50SMA < 200 SMA),etc.... same simple concept for the other four phases. Then for the grand finale,the last chapter "Putting it all together"...drum roll.... Was a review of the previous six chapters.. happy holidays.

I really liked West Side Story because I love books about gangs. Also most books you can tell what's going to happen in the end but this book was a huge surprise for me. Actually when I was in the middle of this book I went out and bought a copy of the movie.
West Side Story is about a gang called the Jets who really hates a gang called the Sharks because they are Puerto Rican. The Jets feel that the PRs invaded America and they don't like it so they try and give the PR's a good kicking whenever they get the chance. But what happens when the ex-leader of the Jets falls in love with a PR? Then they have an all-out rumble to see who's the toughest one and too see whom gets to own the street. Will any one be able to stop the rumble before it goes to far?
I think readers who would like this book is someone who likes books about gangs like The Outsiders.

When I first saw that they had made a novelization of West Side Story, I was thrilled. West Side Story is my all-time favorite musical, and possibly my favorite movie. Ever since I did the play I have been completely in love with it.

I just finished this book this afternoon, and I must say I was EXTREMELY dissapointed. The first act of the story was not horrible, but the second act, the MOST IMPORTANT part of the story, was completed in only 30 pages. The death of Riff and Bernardo was one paragraph total. Tony's character was comppletely off, and Anita wasn't much better (Which saddens me, because Anita is my favorite character in the play).
There were key elements of the play and movie that were much different in the book, and even though it is a novelization, they could have EASILY been written. The final scene was terrible as well. Tony's death was lifeless and boring in every possible way, and Maria's monologue was pretty sad as well. Every time I watch this movie it makes me cry. Many books make me cry. This book left me bored and strongly annoyed at how terrible it was.

I strongly considered giving this book 2 stars instead of 1, for the fact that it was still West Side Story in general. But I strongly look at details, and that's what makes the play great; the small things that make it a true tragedy. The good points of the play lacked in this book. To be blunt, it sucked. Obviously you can't novelize the dancing and singing, but you can do a better interpretation than this book.

If you are interested in reading this novel, then by all means, do.
But if you are a die-hard West Side Story fan like I am, I suggest not wasting your time. It's a sad excuse for the play, and disregards it in every way.

One big difference between a novel that is made into a movie and a novelization of an existing movie is that you can take the thing to work enjoy during lunch. I mean, the actual story you saw onscreen. Also, it's still there in the bookcase years later. The problem is that novelizations normally go out of print almost as soon as the second-run theaters stop running the flick. Maybe there's a new edition if the networks run the film, usually not. If not for the title, it would be too easy to write this book off based on its shortness, but you have to remember that the story itself only covers a few days. Also, in this book, our cast gets last names that aren't in the stage production or the film: Riff Lorton, Tony Wyzek, Bernardo and Maria Nunez, Chino Martin. One adult gets a real name--youth center operator Murray Benowitz--we used to only know him as "Glad Hand". Drugstore owner Doc doesn't get one, though. The cops--Schrank and Krupke--don't get first names either. One other thing this book proves--Jerome Preisler and Jack Gregory didn't invent the reverse process of the bringing of a story from the screen to the page. Like the play and the movie, this one is simple, but it's great.

Personally I think that this is proboly the best book I have ever read. This Story tells a tale based on a modern day Romeo and Juliet. Although the story is based on the dramatic story Romeo and Juliet, I find A West Side Story well writen and very touching. The book is set in New York City, and tells how two rival gangs (the Jets, and Sharks). The 2 gangs are fighting over a section of the city. When one member of the Sharks finds love in one of the Jets' sister, the Jet gets very angry. In a street fight the Shark kills his lovers' brother, the shark retreats to a local hide out. later that night the Shark is gunned down by a rival gang member. In the end the 2 gans realize that there is no reason to fight. I love the book.

West Side Story by Irving Shulman is an excellent book about two rival street gangs in New York City. The Jets are the white gang; the Sharks are the Puerto Ricans. Barnardo, the leader of the Sharks, has a younger sister named Maria. Problems arise when Maria falls in love with Tony, a member of the Jets. I've seen the movie and read the book. I love them both.

This book is an excellent addition to a collection of a small investor who wants to learn about the benefits of international investing. However, it is also a great reading for somebody who is just starting in the field of Finance. It explains basic concepts very carefully, so that a good base is established for further explanations. Yes, to a certain point it concentrates more on non-U.S. markets, but I believe this is only because U.S. market information is readily available to us every day. The book is very well written and deserves a full five-star rating.

A recent amazon.com reviewer states incorrectly that Barbara Rockefeller's 24/7 Trading fails to note that the increasingly wired world raises volatility and affects the correlations among global stocks because this is one of the main points in the book. To wit: "...the developed world is so wired together these days that a drop in the Dow and the Nasdaq is often followed by an equivalent drop in the Nikkei (225 (Japan), DAX (Germany), CAC (France), DTSE 100 (UK) and other major indices." (p.187) She continues, saying that the benefits of international diversification may be exaggerated because a bear market in the United States contaminates other markets, at least in developed countries.

Note please some additional points on this topic. One is that the author advises that many portfolio diversification exercises use only classes of securities, rather than the securities themselves, which she describes as a sub-optimal practice because the same class of securities can contain a highly volatile security as well as a `placid' security.

The second point is that the author could have gone a lot farther in criticizing financial planners who create "optimal" portfolios for customers that are nothing of the sort. She perhaps should have warned much more strongly about paying an advisor to create an optimal portfolio. You will not always get what you think you paid for.

Finally, Rockefeller says clearly that no website today will give you the correlation of any two securities easily. You have to do it yourself, if you can get the data. Data on foreign stocks is hard to get, and, often, is not free; and, useful websites come and go, all of which the author acknowledges.

Why should US investors care are about non-US stocks? Because the new US administration is western states-oriented, investors should be prepared for future US dollar weakness that will presumably favor western states' exporters of commodities - grain, oil, beef and timber. With US dollar weakness, non-US stock will presumably appreciate in price versus US stocks. This means that savvy investors should be taking far closer looks at non-US stocks in the next four years than they have been taking in the last four. For serious investors, 24/7 Trading could not have come at a better time. Reading it is fair warning for the future.

Desmond MacRae New York City

Whereas this book definitely has its good points, the title is quite misleading. As a matter of fact its focus is quite limited mostly to foriegn markets and evaluating these investments combined with trends within the many international markets. On a general level this is discussed fairly well but the details are explained in a matter where it is assumed that you have taken a good number of economics classes. In addition, the different chapters seem to touch back to the same point that when investing overseas you have to look at not only the stock market but the state of affairs within the country both ethically and economically. You must be a good follower of the currency markets as well. This is not easy for most investors to understand on an in depth basis which is needed to trade overseas.

What is also annoying besides the constant redundancy of this book, is the matter in which the author sites references and website addresses for more information. The author must have included at least fifty if not a hundred sites that support each single example. What would have helped the overall presentation of this book, if the author included a list of helpful web sites to locate key information at the end of the book rather than interspersed within his blah blah blah commentary.

There is some useful information in this book and one who likes to explore new web sites might find more value here. However CNBC could have made this book reach a wider audience by organizing this book in a more easy to read manner. Therefore a 2 1/2 star rating fits the bill.

Barbara's book is a much needed addition to the trader's library. As currency, bonds, and stock index futures are now traded around the clock, the need for more information on how to deal with this fast-paced environment is much needed. Barbara's real expertise is in the currency sector and the information in the currency chapter alone is well worth the price of the book. As a CTA and investment advisor, I find Barbara's information highly useful and would highly recommend this book.

Although Barbara Rockefeller's attention to detail and obvious knowledge of the inside world of the life of a stock trader are quite phenomenal, I found the story lacking direction, and the climax weak. The characters of George Soros and Abby Joseph Cohen, for example, are minimally developed at best, and unnecessarily verbose at times. But Rockefeller has most certainly done her homework in terms of setting the stage for her story, an example that more contemporary writers should heed. All in all, however, this was a quite satisfying read!

Very touching story of parents realizing that it is ok to have a deaf daughter and that she is no less of a person than her older brother. Many of the misconceptions are brought out in the story of their wanting nothing but the best for their daughter. Highly recommend this book for anybody that has a hearing impaired child or know of parents who are struggling with this in their family.

This book, the true-life story of parents who struggle to do the best they can for their deaf child, is one of the most concise and important books ever written on this subject.

The book doesn't tell hearing parents what decisions they should make for their deaf child, but instead tells this family's story in an easy to read and engaging first-person narrative, written from the point of view of the child's father.

Lynn Spradley's revelation at the dinner table, after her parents teach her the first signs they've learned at a night school class, is heart breaking and revealing. 'Name me?' she demands to know. What is my name? Without sign language, there was no way to bridge the gap between parent and child, and she was five years old before she knew her own name.

Deaf Like Me is a story of 2 young parents struggling to raise their deaf daughter, Lynn, in a hearing world. Written by Thomas Spradley, Lynn's father, the book begins before Lynn was born with her mother's fear of rubella. The book takes you through the fear and waiting for the pregnancy and the eventual realization of Lynn's deafness. The story is written in a simple, straightforward manner, yet conveys the emotions of the new parents. The descriptions Thomas gives are often lacking in vibrancy and inventive vocabulary, but at the same time he conveys honest, true-to-life emotion.
The first 80% of the book is focused on the Spradley's attempts to raise Lynn to succeed in the hearing world. Thomas agonizingly describes the auditory training and constant schooling that he and his wife give Lynn, only to have her barely speaking 4 words at the age of 5. The constant movement of the family portrays varying experiences that Lynn and her parents go through as they try to teach her lip-reading and speech. It is not until the last 2 chapters that the Spradleys finally realize that communication with their daughter is more important than their dreams for her success as a `normal' hearing person and begin teaching her sign. These last two chapters show Lynn's character developing its own independent personality. Lynn also begins to explore a new deaf culture that neither her nor her parents have any experience.
My fault with the book as that I feel it ends just as the story becomes interesting. The eighteen chapters of oralism, which are shocking and disturbing, are painful lesson in futility. An impatient reader would most certainly give up on the book after the seemingly thousands of failed attempts at oralism. The dedicated reader however, is rewarded with touching moments of a family that finds its `normalcy' through the common language of sign.

"Deaf Like Me" is one of my favorite books of all time in any genre, and I heartily recommend it to anyone who comes across this page.

The book is a richly detailed autobiography of one family's struggles to grow up with deafness in mid-1960s America. As such, it provides a terrific introduction into a key moment in the history of deaf education when deaf children were still suffering from a wrong-headed emphasis on lip reading and vocalization, rather than sign language. Members of the deaf community have long heralded the book for this reason.

But "Deaf Like Me" isn't a book just for deaf people and others interested in deaf culture. To the contrary, I think, it's a book for anyone who grew up in 1960s America, and possibly for anyone who has struggled to communicate with loved ones ever.

That's because there are so many parallels between this little family's struggles to learn how to communicate with one another against a background of changing norms and great uncertainty, and the difficulties that many American families went through in the 1960s to speak with and understand one another on issues ranging from civil rights to the Vietnam war. Such struggles afflict most generations everywhere.

None of this is to suggest that I think the authors of "Deaf Like Me" intended to write a metaphorical treatise on 1960s America much less humanity. To the contrary, I believe the authors' sole focus was on the Spalding family's particular struggles. One of the authors was a trained anthropologist, and that comes through in the book's unerring attention to details as opposed to generalizations. It's these details in large part that bring the book to life.

Nonetheless, as a hearing person with no deaf family members, I found myself identifying with this book a lot. I suffered as the little girl Lynn and her parents suffered. And I rejoiced in their discovery that everyone in the family can express themselves and be understood if only they learn to "hear" one another in the different ways that each of us has to communicate.

Strongly recommended.

Many people find this book THE book to read in regards to a deaf child's experience (of course, that includes her family as well). And this book is very good at showing you what a hearing family goes through when a deaf child is born into it. It tells of the "typical" struggle between raising their child strictly oral or letting them sign, too.

Many doctors and therapists tell hearing parents that to allow their deaf child to sign would be to hinder their ability to speak, lipread, or progress intellectually. All of this is hogwash, but, nevertheless, that is what this book is about. What should we do with our child?

If you're looking for that kind of informative read, this book is sure to please. For me, it was just another book about the same old issue and I found myself skimming often just to get to something original. As harsh as that may sound, that's just this deafie's opinion. :v)

I loved this book and I'm sure I smiled all the way through it. Everyone loves nostalgia about the good ole days -- meaning, we ALL have our own good old days. But the times he writes about are especially delightful and innocent. The music was great and something everyone and anyone could sing along with. The movies were dreamy. The radio was great and innovative. And best of all were Mom's final words to the young on summer days: Be home before dark! Yes, we used to go out and play. We didn't have play dates; we just played with whoever was there on that day. Sometimes we played kick the can, or tag, or jump rope, or went on long bike rides, or went to town to the small store to look at magazines and comic books and drool over the candy in the glass counters. We may even have had a nickle in our pockets to buy something.

In any event, I grew up in basically the same circumstances as young Charles describes in this book. The book is short and sweet, something to smile about on each and every page. I wish it was longer -- Both the childhood of the 1940s and this book. Both were great.

I envy Charles Osgood. He saw and experienced a Baltimore I never did. The stork didn't drop me off in B'more until 1955. I had such a good time in seeing things I remembered from a different perspective. If it's possible, I loved my city just a bit more after reading this. Thanks for the memories and insights.

I was drawn to pick up this book when I saw the cover--the picture of the author as a young boy is irresistible. Although the content was interesting, I found myself quickly becoming annoyed by the author's numerous slurs towards our younger generation. I found his words to be increasingly mean-spirited and I finally put the book down for good when he made light of both children and their parents who are faced with the struggle of bipolar disorder. The author reminds me of many older Americans who can't see that the world has changed greatly since the 1940's and that our younger generation has many redeeming characteristics.

This delightful read, one year in the life of a 9-year old boy, may be the most enjoyable book I've read in years. And I read a lot of stuff. The year was 1942 and Charles Osgood describes it magnificently as lived by most of us the same age. I laughed with tears in my eyes on almost very page. This book should be enjoyed by the children and grandchildern of those of us that were children during that incredible year, 1942. Memory lane was never better documented. Enjoy.

Osgood's wit and rich tribute to his 1940s boyhood results in an enjoyable, worthwhile read, even better if you get the audio version, read by Charles himself. I did find his criticisms of today's children (and their excessively competitive parents) a bit grating. It made me think of a book that could have been written when he was a child, something like, "Radio?! Who needs that! Why when I was a boy we didn't need all those special effects and people shouting at you from a wooden box! We had books, like Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. And they were never spoiled by silly toothpaste or hair tonic commercials."

The problem with nostalgia is that it can create an abnoral yearning for an irrecoverable past, and is often excessively sentimental. Tempis fugit...

I've seen both the authors speak at an IOC seminar on equity derivatives. They make a difficult subject understandable. I highly recommend the book, or even better, to see them speak in person.

It's about time that someone writes a well-written book about the greeks. Now I understand the stuff.

This book reads to you like you are a baby. It taught me the greeks in a simple manner.

The authors appear to know their subject well. I would recommend this as a beginner-to-intermediate introduction to fundamentals except for the numerous errors.

Some errors are like "typos" such as 6 instead of 60, some are more serious and subtle such as specifying a call when a put was meant, and some are fundamental structural problems with the book. For example, the Quiz answers don't match the chapters to which they purportedly provide answers, and in some cases only some questions are answered anyway.

The errors are so numerous, and some of a type that they won't be caught by the average beginner, that it might be dangerous for a beginner to rely on this book as a reference or as an only introduction to options.

I'd really like to have a completely "cleaned up" copy, as I think that could make this the best introduction that I'm aware of.

As an instructor in equity options for a major market making firm, I've been looking for an introductory text to supplement the lecture material presented in our training classes. While MacMillan and Natenberg have written great books on the topic, the former is not specific enough to our market making business and the latter is too advanced for the beginner. In looking for something in between these two fine works, someone suggested to me the Williams/Hoffman book. It has been unsatisfactory in several respects. Explanations of some concepts appear out of context with the material being covered, some others are very muddled, and some are just plain wrong. The book also suffers from a trait common to many traders-turned-authors in that while the authors may be very knowledgable about their subject they aren't very good at conveying - at least in book form - that knowledge to others. While students with previous exposure to options concepts may be able to overcome these deficiencies, I wouldn't recommend this book to the beginner. The beginner would be much better served by picking up MacMillan's timeless classic.

Finally, a book about options that is understandable and helpful. The book has been reprinted so the errors that the other readers referred to have been corrected. I loved it!

Not so well written, a little manual-like and hard to read.
Written for the beginner it tries to cover too much but misses out some important basic information.
Have read many books on trading and had hoped to fill-in the details on the futures area fundamentals. Have to look for another book now though.

I am new to futures trading and I found this book to be very helpful and easy to understand. It is well written and covers a wide variety of trading terms and techniques. I did notice a typo or two, but they are obvious and do not detract from the message of the text.

Most "investment advice" books suffer from poor editing, both of the 'grammar & syntax' variety, and, more distressingly for this genre, flat-out incorrect information. Klines's book is no exception- the grammar & syntax are fine, but her book is replete with factual errors and misstatements. For example, on page 207, she defines a synthetic long futures as "sell a call option, buy a put option." Wrong. That is a synthetic short position. Similar errors pervade the book.
One useful feature is chapter 3, which presents futures contract specifications. However, even here, some of the information is occasionally confusing or misleading.
This book is published by McGraw-Hill, a highly reputable house. My surmise is that McGraw-Hill has no financial experts on its editorial staff; otherwise, it wouldn't tolerate the publication of such a sloppily-edited piece. Disappointing!

This is a very good book if you are looking for a career in futures. Whether you will be a trader or a broker, there is a ton of helpful information inside that you can't find anywhere else. There is an entire chapter called 'Tips of the Trade' that walks you through some of the nuances and quirks of markets like soybeans and the E-mini S&P. The book explains how to determine the future expectation of interest rates by using the Fed Fund futures. There is information on how margins work and an entire section on options. The part that I found to be most unique is the discussion of order placement - where mistakes often occur and how to prevent them. I recommend this book to anyone who is getting started in the futures industry.

If you are new to trading, or are interested in learning about the futures markets, then you will not be disappointed with this book. I was definitely impressed with the amount of market information that it covered. The History of the Futures markets, fundamental & technical analysis, mechanics of the trading floor, margins, interpretation of news, are all explained. In addition, it contains a great section on trading techniques for each specific commodity market. This would make a great reference textbook for seasoned traders and brokers as well. I would definitely recommend this book.

This is from far one of the best trading books highlighting the psychological side of trading. Many thanks to Mr. Koppel for this great great book!

This is a very under-rated book.Probably the best book on trading psychology available.For professional and serious traders much more focused than anything else out there including the Disciplined trader which I enjoyed but didn't feel was as effective as The Intuitive Trader.

A friend of mine turned me on to this very insightful book.I Have been trading in the bond pit at the CBOT for over 15 years and found the Intuitive Trader to be right on the mark.It has helped me tremendously to get in a peak performance state of mind.

A friend of mine turned me on to this very insightful book.I Have been trading in the bond pit at the CBOT for over 15 years and found the Intuitive Trader to be right on the mark.It has helped me tremendously to get in a peak performance state of mind.

Koppel's book, "The Intuitive Trader" provides excellent insights into the ways to combine left-brain (logical) and right brain (intuitive) skills to gain the competitive advantage. Koppel interviews established masters and shows how each of them rely on both the left and right sides of the brain. An excellent book for anyone in the world of professional investing.

Disseminates the elements of ki and aikido training and philosophy eloquently

Tohei is great martial artist and instuctor but this one put me to sleep. Dull

After years of Aikido training I reached the conclusion that Japanese cannot articulate their thoughts about KI simply because, in so doing, they would have to admit that all the KI "stuff" comes from China. Even in this book Tohei sensei talks about positive and negative energy because he eventually doesn't want to use the terms Yin and Yang. This having said, this book offers an interesting perspective about the body energy as it is envisioned by Japanese. Tohei sensei reportedly is a man with immense KI. He is the only Great Master who received the 10th dan from O Sensei M. Ueshiba.
In conclusion, if you want a Japanese perspective on KI, buy it. If you are a beginner and want to get started on your inner energy cultivation, I strongly suggest you to buy "Opening the Energy Gates of your Body" By Kumar Frantzis. If you are experienced in this field ... well you already know what you want to do.

Here is the deep left field point of view.
Qi, Ki or whatever its name is such an abstraction, and its experience so subjective to even attempt to say anything about it is futile at best.
Tohei was a great instructor, but the branch of practice that "only studies that which fosters ki" is fallacious at best. EVERYTHING ought to develop and foster Ki, propery practiced.
So... there.
Interesting to read, but better and deeper works out there.

I found the book to be very helpful in understanding some of the principles and concepts in ki-aikido. As a beginning practitioner of this art form, I found this book to be an excellent guide as to the various techniques and also it has provided me a better understanding on some of the concept of ki-aikido in general. Definitely a must read for all beginning practitioners or would be practitioners!

I purchased this book as a possible resource for a client who wanted to learn about the options market, and, after reading it, I began to recommend it to everyone I know who's into or has investments. This book explains, in 'plain' language, how to use options to protect the value of the stock you own, and make money with anxiety-free options trading. The presentation of the material is clear and straightforward, as it should be, because it is designed to be a working manual for the TradeKing service. It was a stroke of genius to call this a playbook, because work it is not. The convenient format makes it possible to lay it out flat - the book is very well designed.

This book may be too simple for those, who like me, are skilled at predictive methods and the math behind the markets, but, for new investors and those who want to make more out of their current investments, it has plenty to offer. This playbook is a much better investment than one of the courses sold on TV or the internet that cost more than 10 times as much, and is one of the best first steps on the path of options trading that I've ever seen.

Brian Overby is an extremely helpful teacher of the science of options. The videos that he does with the Chicago exchange make this very clear. In addition, his material at TradeKing addresses almost any question you could raise and in a clear and cogent manner.

In this book, you will see laid out in the simplest possible manner all of the major option strategies. It is a very effective introduction to a very complex topic, which is often made more complex by the proliferation of words and superfluous information given in many other books.

I was disappointed for 3 reasons.
1. There was a coupon with the book which would have put money in a TradeKing account for me but I couldn't use it because I already had one. So don't open your account first if you are thinking of it.
2. Although it's great to be simple, it would have been nice to have a little bit more text in this book. Perhaps a FAQ or some very basic chapters on things like money management, etc.
3. For what I got, I felt it was too much. This book should sell for $15. At that price it's really a gem. At $35, it's a bit of an overpriced reference.

The "Option's Playbook" is straightforward in explaining the basics of options and options trading. It also lines out the different strategies and what their purpose is.

This book is an excellent reference and I find I refer to it often. The author spares the theory and gets right to the point of each "play." The trades and positions are explained very well and categorized for you. The book also provides insight and recommendations of the skill level needed to manage the various trades. You can lose all your money when trading derivatives such as options, all you control is how much you risk. The book also provides tips on setting up the trade, risk management, margin requirements and recommendations on the types of securities suitable for the trade discussed. It rates each play to the skill level required and if you are new, I would not start out with Veteran or All-Star plays. The diagrams really help you visualize what you are trading and how to see your position play out. For studying topics like being delta-neutral or negative gamma, I'd recommend Jeff Augen's book.

I bought this book hoping to find all my favorite volatility plays neatly arranged for ease of reference. But the double-ended spread orders featured are practically all stability plays, wherein the trader profits when the underlying stock holds steady. Nice book but I'll wing it for now.