Customer Reviews

Derivatives: An Introduction

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

 

 

This is a really good book for those who have no background in equity derivatives. It explains in a very concise and understandable layman's terms. Thank goodness for this book. It was recommended from my class instructor.

I find it hard to believe that anyone would find this book difficult to follow or undertand. I have been teaching derivatives at the graduate finance level for 13 years and have never seen a better book. Most of the books I have reviewed are useless as a teaching tool. They tend to be nothing more than one writer/professor showing his colleagues how smart he is. I could not recommend this book more for anyone needing a solid introduction to derivatives.

Excellent book. I disagree with the previous reviewer. I believe it is well written. Remember this is a text book, and part of the author's goal is to get the reader (student) to think. The author's style is somewhat informal and conversational, which I think makes it easier to read and comprehend. Also, unlike Hull's text, this book presents a unique binomial pricing methodology which is more intuitive (and clever). Perfectly suited for general MBA students looking for an introduction to derivatives.

I am using this book for a financial derivatives class and it is very poorly written especially for someone new to derivatives.

** The book does not have complete definitions, explanations on topics or clear examples:
I have had to buy a couple of other books to understand some of the concepts he talks about. Either he will just define and let you figure out on your own why a trader might use that particular strategy or give you some information but no example of how it would work in real life.

** He jumps all over the place:
I found it difficult to understand some of the concepts as either he would abruptly stop talking on a topic and start on something else or mix things which I feel do not make a whole lot of sense. My classmates feel that he just collected a lot of material from other books or online and chopped and slashed the material till he reached some size. (maybe his publisher/editor told him there is a word limit ;) ).

** The questions in the back of the chapter are either not clear or not easily solvable(cannot be answered from the material in the chapter or deriving it from the material in the chapter)
I have had to spent time at CBOE, wikipedia and other websites to understand what he talking about and to answer the questions. (Had to do it for class)

After reading 6 chapters and spending countless hours trying to answer the questions at the end of the chapters, I feel that I have not gained anything from this book other than a list of topics to search google on.

Just to clarify, I am used to books on complex topics (3rd Masters) but have not seen a more confusing book.