Customer Reviews

Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Coming from a non-finance background, I was quite hesitant about the book. But I had heard that the book was a bible, and anyway, my professor wanted me to buy it. I needn't have feared. The book easily lived upto its reputation :)

This is *the* introductory text to have, in order to study options and futures. The amount of math is just right, and the language is easily understandable (at least I wasn't baffled by the jargon).

If you are new to the field, go for this one as your first book. You won't regret it!

This is an excellent book on derivatives and risk management. I would like to recommend it to anyone who wants to learn financial engineering. Prof. Hull is working on a new edition of this popular textbook, which will include much more on advanced risk management techniques, e.g. VaR and GARCH model.

This book ranks as my favorite book on derivative pricing. Though, it may be a little intimidating to one with little background but coming from an engineering standpoint it is the only book about derivative pricing that makes any sense. It is clear, no shortcuts are taken and nothing beyond simple ODEs are assumed. I especially like the appendices at the end of each chapter which gives the derivation of many of the models presented. It would be nice, however, if solutions to the problems would be provided. I have tried to read many books on probability, stochastic processes, and martingales but this is the only book I have found that does not contain a lot of formalized junk but yet is theoretical enough to make many generalizations for pricing other derivatives.

John Hull's options book is regarded very highly in the field and is often quoted as a standard text for this subject in both undergraduate and graduate level courses. It strikes a good balance between the mathematical theory of option pricing and the details of the markets, though it does not say much about the practical side of options trading. It is, however, an introductory text. It does not dwell on the theory, and leaves many of the results underived. His section on numerical methods for solving complex option pricing problems is very good, though there are better (such as Wilmott's book).

Hull gives a great general discussion of the theory of pricing futures, options, and even exotics. It could use a bit more mathematical rigor when doing derivations, but is better than the other books available on the subjects covered. I give it 5 stars.

This book is definitely a must for all people interested in derivatives. It is simple and sophisticated at the same time. Hull's approach of teaching basics aswell as pricing methods is unique. This book has helped me a lot at grad school & at work. Two Thumbs up!