Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Options for the Beginner and Beyond

Author: W. Edward Olmstead

Publisher: Pearson Education/Financial Times Prentice Hall

ISBN: 0-13-172128-3

Options for the Beginner and Beyond is a 230 page, hardbound book, with a U.S. suggested retail price of less than $30.  This is likely to be less than the cost of a single round-trip option trade.  It is comprised of thirty chapters.  As the title suggests, the target audience is the “beginner and beyond.”

            The first 9 chapters, in Section I, are designed to be read by the beginner.  Chapter 10 through 25 (Section II) are devoted to trading strategies, where “advanced” strategy chapters are marked with an asterisk and may be passed over by beginners in their first reading of the book (p. xxiii).  Section III (chapters 26 through 30) is designed for those with options trading experience, or those who have mastered the earlier material addressed in this self-contained book.

            The book contains many illustrative examples.  I particularly enjoyed coverage of The Greeks in chapter 4, Leaps in chapter 6, and found the author’s coverage of Assignment Anxiety in chapter 7, complete with “Guidelines,” to be extremely well-written and superior in terms of instructional content.

            The author has included many insightful tips, likely to assist the neophyte in being successful in option trading.  For example, in chapter 8, where Broker Selection is addressed, the author recommends a question with respect to “Butterfly Spreads,” likely to provide “a good gauge” of related margin requirements (p. 61).  Similarly, chapter 9 contains Miscellaneous Tips, including the previously introduced recommendation for the “options calculator” (p. 67).

            I was pleased to see that the author included a chapter on end-of-year tax strategies (chapter 25), since option trades are more likely to be traded in a taxable or non-tax deferred trading account, and really enjoyed the chapter on day trading an index with options (chapter 26).

In all cases, I found the writing style to be both palatable and parsimonious.  The chapters are very short, designed to be read in a single sitting, and I would recommend that those interested in using this book to “tool up” on this topic “study” each chapter on their second and later readings.  I liked this book and recommend it to those interested in learning more about trading stock options, both as an introductory vehicle to “tool up” on the topic and, for the intermediate level or more advanced trader, as a permanent addition to their reference library.

The above review was contributed by: Anthony (A.J.) Cataldo II.    Dr. Cataldo holds a PhD from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , MAc ( University of Arizona)  unofficial minor in Marketing , BSBA  (University of Arizona). He is a Certified Management Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant:  Click Here to view Anthony's Reviews

Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Options for the Beginner and Beyond

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