The New Options Market Hardcover – January 15, 2000

The edition I received on this order was not the one pictured here (but no picture was in the ad). I received the original 1975 edition this time and the advice is still timely.The service was good.

The book is a very good introduction of options for the very beginners. You won't find there advanced strategies like "Short Iron Butterfly", but the basic strategies are covered in a very friendly matter. The book assumes that you are already familiar with the stock market to some extent and have traded stocks but not options. If you need a much deeper book on options, I would recommend "The Options Course" by George A. Fontanills and Richard Cawood.Pros:- Simple strategies like selling covered calls vs naked calls are very well covered;- The book is quick to read, only the most essential topics are covered, in concise way.Cons:- Appendix chapters about selecting the right broker, or about computer software, are outdated;- An important technique of selling puts as a way of buying the underlying security is not covered in this book. If you are interested in this issue, read chapter 19 of "Options as a Strategic Investment" by Lawrence G. McMillan.- Doesn't have a single reference to other books.

Uncommonly well written, thorough.

Mr. Ansbacher has done what seemed impossible: he has written a book about the complex world of commodity options- and more specifically S&P 500 index options- that doesn't require a Ph.D. to understand. And to boot, the ideas in the book actually work.I am a professional commodity broker, and like many of you I've bought books about the complex world of futures trading, only to get home and find that a background in computational physics was required to get any further than the introduction page. What Mr. Ansbacher has done is to demystify a subject that many people (even professionals) don't really understand, even though they've read books on the subject and pretend to know: option trading.Mr. Ansbacher's approach isn't what one would call simplistic. To the contrary, his approach is very exacting, methodical, and concrete. It's just that he has avoided lapsing into language that most readers couldn't grasp. And his approach will make many people who speculate in commodity options think twice about what they are doing.The complex world of commodities is one where the investing public is constantly pitted against the professional traders, with predictable results. Mr. Ansbacher attempts to show the average (losing) trader the folly of what it is he's doing, and provide a roadmap to success and greater understanding. Anyone who wonders why he is losing money trading options should close his account, buy this book, and "go back to school." Highly recommended.