Customer Reviews

Stock Options For Dummies

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

 

 

First, disregard the 5-star rating. *I* think the book is good of course, but that's not why I'm writing this comment.

To the two recent reviewers who complain that the book isn't about puts and calls but rather about ISOs, NQSOs, etc. - look, I'm sorry for your inconvenience but if you had taken about 2 minutes to skim the table of contents and the editorial review on the amazon.com page ("...your company's stock option plan..."), you would CLEARLY see what type of stock options this book discusses. In fact, taking less time to do so than it took you to write your complaint-reviews and give the book a poor review would have saved each of you $20 or whatever the book cost you.

So my sympathies to you for your misspent $, but come on: blaming the author and publisher for your own haste and, further, feeling the need to do so publicly on an amazon.com review with one- and two-star rankings? (At least the other reader who did the same thing back in August, 2003 had the courtesy to give a 5-star ranking because of the reselling experience on amazon.com to rectify his/her error.)

I sincerely hope that if you do begin to dabble in puts and calls - the other kind of stock options - that you do so with much greater care than you took in making your respective book purchases. Otherwise, you should really think twice about that side of the investing world.

To the one reader who is looking for a beginner's book about the other kind of stock options: see "Futures and Options For Dummies" by Joe Duarte. But do your homework first before buying!

By far, the best, most thorough, and most honest book on stock options I've ever read. Even though other books (such as Pastore and Thomas) cover taxes on stock options in more detail, the author definitely provides more than enough information, including considerations I've never seen elsewhere - ordinary income tax and AMT implications of working in multiple states, for example. And he covers the dreaded AMT trap of ISOs with detailed scenarios, better and easier to understand than I've seen anywhere else. But by far, this book's greatest value is in the author's no-holds-barred discussion of - as he puts it in one of the chapter headings - the good, the bad, and the ugly of stock options, including an entire chapter on stock option agreements and what to watch for. Like most Dummies books, there is humor and sarcasm, but the author doesn't overdo it; it just makes the book extremely readable. Even those who have had stock options in the past - whether or not they made money or not - will find value in the author's fresh perspective and post-crash look at just about everything about options.

I was looking for a "dummies" book on options trading (puts, calls, volatility, etc.) so I ordered it. What I got was a comprehensive review of the ramifications of owning stock options issued by the company that employs you. In short, I felt like a dummy for not researching further before purchase. Don't make the same mistake I did. There is a silver lining, though. I promptly repackaged the book in the shipping box that I received it in and sold it through Amazon, recouping almost all of my original cost. If you have any books you don't need or want, I wholeheartedly endorse Amazon's used book marketplace. I gave it 5 stars because of this experience, and the fact that it is another top-notch example from the excellent Dummies series, just not what I was looking for. Incidentally, if you're looking for what I was looking for originally, you can't go wrong with anything Larry McMillan has written.

A well rounded discussion on almost every facet of options, from how to understand the legal implications of the stock option plan to taxation. Simon explains preIPO, IPO, lockup periods, blackout periods, Rule 144 stock in detailed and desciptive ways. The chapters on taxation give an excellent overview - even of the 83b election and is probably sufficient for most. For more comprehensive discussion and tax strategy read Pastore's book.

This book has great layout, good writing, and simple presentation. Unfortunately, it also has a number of technical erorrs about how stock options work, as well as an excessive focus on options in pre-IPO comanies (most employees with options do not work for pre-IPO companies, or even technology companies).

This book is a review of employee options. I was hoping for a more comprehensive review that would explain options buying , trading etc.
It is adequate for the topic of employee options , but nothing else.

This book is aimed at employees elegible to receive stock options in the company they work for from their employer.

It is NOT for investors wishing to buy and sell stock options through a stock broker.

This book, to me, was completely worthless. I purchased it thinking, like others commenting, that it was about options trading (puts, calls, etc.), not about "employee stock options" (which is what the book should be titled).
I did read the author's response to criticism about the title, and I think he has some valid points; and in return I would like to sell him a coffee table book entitled "Cats" with a cute little kitten on the front. When he opens it I'm sure he'll be happy to see that it's full of pictures and information about catepiller industrial equipment.
Also, his argument that anyone who looked at the table of contents would know what the book is about proves that he does not realize who his audience is: This is a "for dummies" book; it should be assumed that the reader knows very little about options. So, how would someone who knows extremely little about options know that chapters entitled "Stock Options: What you need to know right off the bat", Exercising your stock options", and "Finding stock option information online" are not what they are looking for?
While this book may be very useful for someone wanting information about EMPLOYEE stock options, it was completely worthless to me. Make sure it's what you're looking for before you purchase.

I wanted a book that went through the publically traded options market.
Almost everything in the book deals with employee stock options.
There is very little information about trading options on the open exchange. The real title of this book is "Employee Stock Options for Dummies".

I was misled by the title of this book am disappointed. This book is NOT for individuals who want to take their investing to the next level and start trading options on the open market, as I had expected -- rather, it is for people who are offered stock options through their employer.

If anyone knows of a good beginner's book for trading stock options, please clue me in.