Customer Reviews

LEAPS: Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securites: What They Are and How to Use Them for Profit and Protection

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I read this book from the context of a long-term buy and hold, value-oriented investor. Although I take what options/LEAPS experts say with a grain of salt because their perspective is so often technically (read: chart, volatility) oriented, at the end of the day I must concede that Harrison Roth's claim that there is an options/LEAPS strategy for every cloth is accurate. Roth's book is much funner to read than the average investment strategy book. Rereading "LEAPS" is hardly a chore --and readers will likely find themselves rereading, with pleasure, as new investment opportunities arise.

If you like options you'll love this book. In fact, you absolutely have to have this book. If this dosen't get you excited about Long- Term Equity Anticipation Securities, then roll over, you're dead!

"Leaps" covers strategies from basic to advanced. Very importantly, it explains the differences between Leaps and ordinary options.

Beginners and experienced traders will benefit from this well organized and very humanly written book. The author takes the reader step by step through each strategy by richly illustrating it with examples and a summary in which risks and rewards are clearly explained. I liken his style to a Guru who sits down with you and, in a very conversational style, takes you step by step from the very basic to the most complex of strategies. The author discusses strategies suited for the most conservative investors as well as the more speculative investors.

This book is truly a treatise which takes a complex subject and beautifully reduces it to simple terms. Like the Bible, you will find beauty in each chapter and you will want to read it over and over again. I have read at least five other books about opitions, but none come close to this book.

Joseph P. Klein, Sr.

I read everything I can get my hands on. No matter how you choose to trade options (buying, selling, spreading, stradling) you will find insight in these easy-to-read pages. Although written with the LEAPs investor in mind, ALL of this book is applicable to shorter term option trades. The author's clarity is superb, and includes excellent examples. I have used the LEAPS Money Generator and covered straddles (chapter 13) with 1 and 2 month options with great success. Don't pass up this book on options because of the L (for long-term)in its title. You can apply every technique to any time frame! The bonus is that if you never considered LEAPS option trades, I think you will find a new respect and use for them in your trading plan.

This book is excellent for those who want to pursue ADVANCED strategies with LEAPs. However, if you just want to buy in- or at-the-money CALLs because you think a stock is going to rise, don't buy this book. You already know everything you need to know. If you didn't understand anything I said in the previous sentence, don't buy this book. Instead, buy an introductory options book such as "How the Options Markets Work" by Walker.

This book, published in 1993, is now a classic and the definitive guide to trading LEAPS. It provides an excellent introduction to LEAPS and takes the pain to explain how LEAPS differ from traditional options. If you already have knowledge of options, this book will be a breeze to you, thanks to the author's lucid and humorous writing style. Do keep in mind that LEAPS are more than just longer-term options; pricing them using BS, for example, would be quite wrong.

Which brings us to the drawback of this book from the early 90s. Much as changed to LEAPS -- the demand, the valuation methods, the trading mechanics -- since 1993, and this book would have remained great had it been updated. As it stands, you should definitely use it in conjunction with the web to make sure you get the latest info on these securities.

One last thing: if you are set on trading LEAPS, make sure your broker can accommodate it. My online broker is great for trading options, but it turns out they won't allow LEAPS for accounts less than $50k, which include mine.

In short, I recommend this book highly as a primer to LEAPS. Read it from cover to cover and make sure you duly understand all the RISKS involved, not just the potential gains. Good luck!

LEAPS is a helpful manual and it can be followed by readers who have basic knowledge on options. Roth analyzes in a very vivid and enjoyable way LEAPS and offers to the investor all the necessary background. I really enjoyed reading it.

This book is clearly written and was well worth buying. I wish I could benefit further from this man's work and knowledge, but unfortunately he died several years ago.

If you want to learn about the many LEAPS trading strategies in existence, this book is for you. If you want to learn the theory behind LEAPS (and options) then you have to buy a different book.

This is probably the worst written book I have ever read. The author obviously understands the topic but it is one thing to know a subject and another thing to teach it. I am a physician and I have read my share of books.