My Book Reviews

Despite the hype-ish title ("Sure Thing"), this beginner options book teaches the basics very well. Although the book is for beginners, it also does a nice job of exposing the reader to intermediate options concepts like straddles, spreads, and other stuff. The tutorials are well-written and are neither too technical nor too simplistic. They assume a high level of general comprehension, although no prior knowledge of options is needed.

Many people who give this book very high grades do so because it was a book they read 20 years ago and they can't help reminiscing how much it helped them at the time. But they are not adjusting the book's value for today (it was written in 1983). Because the book is part of the increasingly-crowded category of beginner options books, it has become a little generic over the years. It has the kind of information you can get from pretty much any book or web site that has decent introductory options tutorials. Also, there were other intermediate concepts not covered, like the importance of Implied Volatility.

If you are looking to get into options then you will surely learn a lot from this thorough introductory book. If you want it for cheap then go on Amazon and buy it for a penny + shipping. But you should follow it up with another one or two option books as well as internet research. Also, if you are going to get an education about options then you have to look at more than just option tutorials. You also have to learn about topics like money management, risk management, and market and trader psychology.

It should be noted that this book, like many other investment books, teaches "techniques", and not "strategy". Techniques are just specific actions you can take (for example, buying a covered call), while a strategy is a plan that that is based on an advantage that you have.