Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Options and Futures, 2nd Edition

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let me start by stating that Scott Barrie does a great job converting the subject matter in this book to something that a casual, perhaps even disinterested party, can understand. I have never read any of the other Complete Idiot's Guides, but if this is how they deal with the incredibly complex subject of Commodities Trading, I wont be buying any of them again for other subjects. This was the third book in my commodities trading education. After book's one and two, this book taught me nothing. Not one thing. It does not provide enough depth on any of the multitude of subject matters that are required knowledge of the trader. However, it does touch on nearly every matter that a trader should be deeply knowledgeable about. This book was so short on details that if you were to read this book and then attempt to trade even a single transaction, it is my opinion that you would have NO IDEA what you were doing. If you are interested in Trading, a better first book is Futures 101. That will give you a better understanding if you know nothing. This book really is for people who know nothing about trading. And dont have an interest in trading either, but are interested in the subject as hobby of sorts.

This book reads like the first draft of something better that will arrive in a future (no pun intended) edition. Despite the title, the book is really solely about futures; options are discussed only insofar as they pertain to futures, so the book does not really cover much about, say, options on stock or on financial derivatives (other than futures). The book is riddled with typos and errors, both mathematical and grammatical, making it difficult to follow what is happening, and it reads as if it were hastily written and sloppily edited, with frequent repeats and occasional poor organization. There are some bright moments -- occasionally the book has a really insightful definition or a clear, carefully worded example. Overall, though, you are probably better off trying a different book, especially if you want to understand options really well.

I found this book very much appropriately named. This book is very good at explaining the basics of futures and options which can be quite complex, and yet at the same time containing many idiotic mistakes, true irony. I was completely suprised by the number of mathmatical and grammatical errors contained in this book. The editor for this book appears to have done a very poor job.

Aside from a few gramatical errors, this book does exactly what the title insinuates. It was intented to cover the basics of commodity trading in an easy to read format and that is exactly what it does.

The information in this book is worthy of 3-4 stars for a novice investor if it had been presented in a coherent, accurate manner. As it is published, the mis-worded sentences and mistakes have the reader constantly going "huh?" Given that the premise of the book is an introduction to basic concepts, I'd say that the blatant mistakes in the book might really confuse anyone who needs this level of information, and if you have the level of basic understanding that allows you to sort through what's stated correctly and what isn't, you probably are ready for a more advanced book. Example mistakes are using the word "sell" where the word "buy" was clearly intended (and vice versa - oops don't make that mistake with real money!), and redundant inconsistent units ( "$X.YY cents" is a confusing expression used repeatedly throughout the book). The sloppy editing aside, if you know very little about options and futures but are literate, trust your own common sense, and realize that there are "silly" mistakes which you must correct in your head or with a pen/pencil as you go along, you can probably sort things out and benefit from this book.