Customer Reviews

Essays in Derivatives (Frank J. Fabozzi Series)

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

 

 

"Someone told me that each equation I included in the book would halve the sales," said theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in his landmark book, A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME. "I therefore resolved not to have any equations at all." Such a philosophy seems to have been adopted by 47-year-old Don M. Chance, First Union Professor of Financial Risk Management at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. In his new book, ESSAYS IN DERIVATIVES, Chance prides himself on keeping derivatives simple. It's a "Strunk & White" approach to talking about derivatives, and it works well for him. Originally a collection of 41 easy-to-read essays that first appeared on the web under the heading, "Derivatives Research Unincorporated", the book now includes 70 essays written with only a minimal amount of mathematical equations. All of the essays, says Chance, were re-edited and purged of the informal tone they sometimes took with Internet surfers when it was only an e-book. The idea of writing a derivatives book for those who prefer words to equations (or should I say, those like myself who understand words but not equations) appears to bode well for Chance. The book is a breeze to read, but quite informative. The e-book has also grown in breadth since first appearing on the web. After all, when Chance sometimes failed to add additional essays on a regular basis to the first 20 he originally penned, a spew of phone calls and emails came from a growing cult of derivatives readers on the Internet. "I was beginning to feel like the Ann Landers of derivatives," notes Chance in the preface to his new book. Ann Landers he may be, but the book is better than just some free advice. It is solid information for the right price. And I recommend it.

I am just about done with my MBA, and I have to say this is must-have book for the shelf. I read it cover to cover and now I find myself going to it for quick reference. It is really comprehensive and very thorough. The language is not the usual dense "academese," and I am most thankful to have--set forth in three short essays toward the end of the book--the differences in option pricing theory. This is the best overview on option pricing I've read yet.