Options - complex or not?

GETTING STARTED IN OPTIONS -- 5th Edition
Author: Michael C. Thomsett
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2003
Trade paperback, 358 pages




From the author:

Option investing is thought to be extremely complex and risky. This book is not complex; it also proves that some forms of option investing are quite conservative, in spite of the usual high-risk rap.
It is important for everyone to know all about risk before investing in any product. Options can be very complicated and risky, but they can also be very low-risk and consistently high-yielding. In this book I have attempted to explain options for "real people" and not for high-level traders or for academics.
The book is currently in its 5th edition and a 6th edition will be published in 2005. To date, the book has sold over 200,000 copies and I think this is so because it is written with practical uses in mind. I like to define terms as they come up. I also use a lot of graphs, examples, and "Smart Investor Tip" sidebars. This makes the book easier to use and highly visual.

Contents:

Introduction - An Investment with Many Faces
Chapter 1 - Calls and Puts
Chapter 2 - Opening, Closing and Tracking the Option
Chapter 3 - Buying Calls
Chapter 4 - Buying Puts
Chapter 5 - Selling Calls
Chapter 6 - Choosing the Right Stock
Chapter 7 - strategies in Volatile Markets
Chapter 8 - Selling Puts
Chapter 9 - Combined Techniques
Chapter 10 - Choosing Your Own Strategy
Glossary
Index

My writing philosophy: Keep it simple, provide examples, define terms, and most of all, respect the reader.
-- Michael C. Thomsett, author

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