Customer Reviews

Options For The Stock Investor: How Any Investor Can Use Options to Enhance and Protect their Return

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

 

 

I picked up the book this morning and found it contained the same info you can get for free at the Chicago Board Options Exchange website. Furthermore, you can download the options calculator (Windows version), along with a slew of other training material, for free. I gave it two stars because it's in bound form, while the 300+ pages I printed off the cboe website aren't.

"reads great, and it's less filling" Basic option theory is presented in a clear, concise way; however, because it lacks the theory, a novice investor would probably have his lunch eaten if he entered the fray with this book as his only background. And, good lord, do not be swayed into buying the book for its accompanying software: it's @#$%^. The book was published in 1997, and the software is a @#$%^ DOS program. ???

A simple, straightforward overview of options of every flavor and combination. Bittman advocates use of options as a complement to regular, non-speculative stock investing. He relies heavily on profit-loss diagrams to make the performance of option positions crystal clear. Only elementary math is involved, which may be a disappointment to those who are not scared off by the mere mention of standard deviations.

The software included is based upon the Black-Scholes theory of option value and pricing. It's useful for playing around with the numbers, but don't expect a sophisticated user interface with lots of analytical capability. For that you'll probably have to dish out some real bucks

From the beginning pages, the explanations are flowing and account for all levels of competency in options. When you finish the very readable book, you will no longer need to depend on others for advice; you become your own advisor. The graphs are excellent while the mathematical concepts are carefully explained. I now have confidence in my knowledge and my decisions. Hats off to Mr. Bittman! Only downside is that the software is out dated, but it was written in 97.

Despite being an author, I do not buy many books, but I snatched this one up. The book clearly describes options, how they work, how to use them, and includes software I find invaluable for evaluating them. In my mind, this is the best book I've read on options and it is well worth considering.

Thomas N. Bulkowski, author, "Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns," (Wiley, 2000) and "Trading Classic Chart Patterns" (Wiley, due in spring 2002)

The software for option pricing is old, but the book is well written and useful.

While the book was well thought out and written, it lacked real "Meat" to teach others the art of profitting with options. Options could be for everyone even the novice of investors if someone would just write a book on "Options for Dummies"

James Bittman's book "Options for the Stock Investor" provides a good overview and practical guide for using options in conjunction with a stock portfolio. Of any of the books I've read about this subject, this is by far the best as the others often tend to leave out strategies and/or ignore the importance of measuring overall rate of return. Written by an industry insider (Jim Bittman works for the Chicago Board Options Institute), it's the best book of its kind.

There are things you can do with options that you can not do with any other investment tool. This book, and most of the others, do a good job of explaining the theory behind options and their math. This book is no exception, and neither is the software.

This book is a great tool for any investor who is wanting to increase and protect their winnings! It is extremely easy to understand and gives phenomenal examples that will teach the reader. I recommend it to anyone wanting to make big bucks!