Essential Books on Options
While there is a fair amount about options online, I think that it's easiest to start off with a good book. After reading various comments and paging through various books, I came to the conclusion that the three or four books listed below form the core reading requirement for trading options. There are, of course, many other easier books about options but I think that the books listed below are reasonably accessible and will have significantly more lasting value. I've shown list prices for each book followed by more reasonable prices at which each should be available.
Options : Essential Concepts and Trading Strategies
The Options Institute (441 pages - 3rd edition - June 21, 1999)
$55/$38.50 (Amazon)
This book isn't nearly as dry as it appears. While there isn't that much depth on strategies and some of the chapters on institutional activities aren't very helpful to most of us, I would recommend this book as a solid starting point.
Option Volatility & Pricing: Advanced Trading Strategies and Techniques
Sheldon Natenberg (470 pages - August 1994)
$59.95/$41.96 (Amazon)
If you're new to options then you might be intimidated the first time that you start paging through this book. Once you get started though you'll want to go past the basics and this is a great book to get you through some of the more advanced concepts.
McMillan on Options
Lawrence G. McMillan (608 pages - October 7, 1996)
$69.95/$49 (Trader's Library)
Unlike McMillan's other book, Options as a Strategic Investment, this book is easy and pleasant to read. After you've gone over advanced concepts with Natenberg, you can start thinking through strategies with McMillan.
Options as a Strategic Investment
Lawrence G. McMillan (896 pages - 4th edition - June 2001)
$65/$45 (Amazon)
While Trader's Library says that it is scheduled to arrive in November, Amazon lists it for sale in June and says that the title usually ships in 2-3 days. Many would probably consider this to be the essential book on options and if you're trying to learn everything that there is to know about options then that would probably be true. For most of us, however, I think that this is probably more of a useful reference than an essential reading. |
