There are basically two types of options books: mathematical
books on valuation that tend to be filled with solutions
for ever more exotic contracts, and books for traders that
go over the practical workings of positions in various
concrete scenarios. Cottle is definitely of the second type.
There's not really much math in it, unless you're intimidated
by three-dimensional graphs. What it does have is an incredible
wealth of insight, from experience, into the tricks and the

exceptions--the rent-a-call, the dividend plays, contract
risk and post-expo deltas, complicated synthetics, the
interrelations between greeks.

That said, what moved me to write a review was to take
exception with a previous reviewer's comment: "No lazy
editing or prose here". The prose is okay, but the editing
is worse than lazy--it's horrendous. Flipping my copy open
at random I come to p.151-152 on Break-Even analysis. Try
finding column 7 in exhibit 4-23, or the supposed arrow in
column 4. It's all a mess. That's an extreme case, but
throughout the text, it's hard enough trying to pick up
the bond options lingo (futures in 32nds but futures-options
in 64ths--all "ticks"; and the different multipliers for
indexes and futures), without having to deal with missing
words, inaccurate references, etc, etc. But ultimately, working
to figure it all out gets you to understand it all the better.

With five years of floor trading as an equity options market
maker, and having read and reread and rereread... Natenberg,
Baird, Hull, Connolly, Cox Ross Rubinstein, Chriss, Taleb--and
others--I'd say Cottle is clearly the best book. That said,
however, I don't know how much use a non-professional--someone
who doesn't manage a large, actively traded book of options--
will get out of it. It should be intellectually rewarding if you
can figure it out. Maybe inspire you to go look for a minimum
wage clerking job in Chicago, NY, Philly, or SF to get abused
for a year or so and then maybe get a badge.

I read Options: Perception and Deception at least 3-4 times before many of the advanced concepts began to sink in. This is not a book for an options novice; in fact, I would suggest that most people read Natenberg's book on options prior to engaging in this incredible text. While many of the advanced 3-D graphs were beyond my grasp, I particularly liked Cottle's description of "real world" options positions, how he executed them and how he managed them throughout their duration. Of particular interest to many readers should be the concept of "gamma scalping", and the section on wingspreads and adjusting positions. This text is so far beyond "mainstream" options books, that words do not describe how important this book will become.

This book is certainly not a tome to learn about the world of options. The author gets straight to the meat of the attributes of options, and the repercussions of the risk they entail. So, I would certainly not recommend this book to a beginner - confusion and discouragement would likely result. However, once one has read some more straightforward option books, and gotten enough of a handle on options to have a good intuitive grasp of ideas like their volatility, multi-position strategies such as spreads, etc, then this book opens up serious opportunities. I'm very impressed with how the book is organized, the completeness of material, the examples (sometimes real-world based, which adds interest to a potentially dry subject). Much of the meat behind the materials is (rightly) mathemetical, so beginning calculus, and plenty of algebra and a fair amount of analytic geometry are definite prerequisites to really get a good understanding of the underlying concepts of ideas like "the greeks" and all the wonderful (2 and 3D) graphs presented. Lastly, I was very impressed with the accuracy of the data. No lazy editing or prose here. If you are contemplating becoming a "serious" options trader, by all means, read this FIRST. The price is small for the potential impact on your effectiveness in options trading. If you are already a serious trader, based on Cottle's observations (the "Perception and Deception" part of the title is no accident - consider the myriad implications of synthetic positions) I'd still be surprised if you don't learn something. I've read or scanned an estimated 30 books on options. I haven't found a peer for this effort.

We have just been introduced to this author by a friend and can hardly wait to read her next book. She is the most up and coming children's writer we have seen in a while. And we just love the pictures, the stories, the everything....this will probably be our new favorite Christmas present to give.

I read this book to my Grandchildren (ages 3 and 5) five times in a row. They loved it. Miles shows that you can make mistakes, but in the end he finally gets it right. The illustrations have bounce and zip.

Silly, fun and happy read. Lots of bright and detailed illustrations. I found it on the American Book Sellers Association Kids Pick of the List for Spring 2001.

We just love this book!!

We were certainly able to relate to Miles Away from Home. We have a Golden Retriever and our family is just like Miles' family. Avila our dog, is always getting into trouble, too!! We love her just like we've become attached to Miles.

Brimner's book is pure fun and will have kids counting by ones and tens in no time at all. On our school district's list of recommended "100s" books, kids in my classroom cluster together like ants to count the little critters on each page. We've had so much fun with this title that I don't understand the Horn Book comments above, although it may be that they have never been a classroom teacher or simply lack a fundamental understanding of children.

Tom Cottle brings to this book a generous heart, a brilliant mind, and a deep understanding of adolescents and the world they must navigate on their way to maturity.

I was browsing through my library one day and saw this book. having use and interest for appliable psychotherapy, I decided to have a look at it. I was amazed at the care and thought put into it's compilation. they're comentary was complete and unbiassed. the book provides not only a good foundation for understanding psychotherapy, but teaches a good way to read other psychiatric writings.
the broad comparrison of techniques makes this book useful for professionals as well as laymens.

This book is exactly want the tittle implies. This is a concise encyclopedia of glass. Well laid out in 10 sections with an intriguing forward and an informative introduction. There is a select bibliography a section on care and conservation among other interesting finds. Color plates abound with concise descriptions.

If you only obtain one book on the diversity of glass, this should be the one.

Contents:

Pre-Roman glass

Roman Glass

Islamic Glass

Medieval Glass

The renaissance Period

The Eighteenth Century

Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau

Twentieth-Century Developments

Fakes and Forgeries

This book is an easy read, walking you through a comprehensive marketing program. From the receptionist through the managing partner, Cottle details how each of the pieces should look and act. Though the book does not offer creative ways to seek specific client or to target an industry, it does provide insight into building networks, getting referrals, pricing, proposals and more. There is a lot of detail on sales techniques and step-by-step help on the sales process. The CD had several documents I will use in my practice.

As a marketing consultant to CPA firms, I acquired the book as a reference mostly for the checklists, questionnaires and other documents found on the accompanying CD-ROM. I was pleasantly surprised at the direct and practical way Mr. Cottle covers so many topics critical to the success of a CPA firm from an operational standpoint. This is good stuff! I pick up this book at least once a month as a resource for presentation topics and background information to support my recommendations.

I just finished reading Grahm and Dodds Security Analysis, and
was completely overwhelemed. If you can read this book, understand everything in it, and be able to apply it, you are golden. However, if you do not really have much background in finance and accounting, it will be VERY hard to read certain parts. As a college sophomore, who has not yet taken any finance or accounting classes, i was only able to understand and benefit from perhaps 50% of the books content. This is a book where after further education in finance and accounting, it will be absolutley essential to successful investing. Also, because of the year the first edition was written, certain terminology, and examples (ie railroads) will not seem useful, however the principles those examples demonstrate are still very much applicable.
I would recommend reading the book to anyone who is interested in investing, however do not think it is something you can finish in a weekend or even a week. It took me a month.

This is book has been updated many times (through the fifth edition). If you have read the latest edition, and believe you have read anything like the original, go back and read this one. Once you have read 'Old Ben', you will find other editions very disappointing. That could be why Warren Buffet suggested going back to the original if you want to know what value investing is all about.

Current investment practice, and later editions of this book concentrate on the one thing that Graham said was, if not impossible, very non-productive - estimating future earnings. This book concentrates on understanding proven value. Where one spends most of its time on the income statement, this book spends most of its time on the balance sheet. There is a world of difference, and the difference leads to a much different portfolio, and future.

There is, as the author points out repeatedly, a difference between investment and speculation. There is also a difference between helpful discussion and meaningful analysis. The original edition is full of meaning, written by a practitioner who also could teach. Later editions (especially the fifth) make me wonder how much of the master's works the new authors read before starting. It also makes me question how much influence Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette and Autanet exercised in return for their grant to finance the book.

If you want a great book on investing read the original. It will give you much more insight and at least twice as much 'food for thought'.

Someone wrote reviews to this book indicating that the major downside to it is its age. The book was written in 1934 therefore it misses all the modern developments of finance - modern portfolio theory for example - and all the new techniques that Wall Street "experts" use today.

As an answer I give an anecdote from Warren Buffett's life:
When stock investments started to become popular, the volume increased ten fold, and the modern techniques to make a profit were developed, Warren Buffet was extremely worried. He remembered what happened in 1929. He loathed the new trends in investment that tried to predict the future price of a stock. Therefore he had a meeting with all his fellow Graham students, he expressly forbid to bring anything newer than the 1934 edition of Security Analysis.

This happened decades ago, but history repeats. We all know what happened 3 years ago. We all know how "experts" thought that the market was booming, and how they let it crash. We all know how they made a profit on the money that private investors lost.

Nowadays when I go shopping for a book I always look at the date of pubblication, if it is between 1997 and 2000 I'm very wary. All those books about "new economy", "digital era", "e-commerce", "dot coms", etc. have to be taken with the maximum attention. Usually they contain a lot of inflated ideas that as we look at what happened after they were written we understand how much those "experts" really understand about stock investments.

If they were wrong then, why should they be righ now?
Trust me, but more importantly, trust Graham, trust Buffett, (those that have been consistently right for 50 years) this is the book to buy, "anything newer looks suspicious."