Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for the Online Trader
Review: After reading this book several times (mostly on planes, it is not a 'heavy' read considering the topic) and scanning options chains online, I understand that options investing can be a very, very risky way to make money in the market.I also discovered that options can be a very conservative way to not_lose_money on existing long positions, as well as discount the purchase of stocks that I would take long positions in. If you are not the best stock picker in the world, options can be very useful as a hedge. The book has an enormous amount of example trades. I could have used a few sample conversations between broker / trader to help with the lingo, but having said that the 'nuts and bolts' portions of this book (e.g. option symbols) got me far enough where I called my broker and my first options trade went perfectly (and fast). I was speaking the language and I am very confident in my knowledge. The book is cheaper than a single options trade, it is worth every cent and has paid for itself many times over in money that I haven't lost ;-).
Rating: 
Summary: Very Very Basic Stuff
Review: Although he does introduce you to options that is about it. He tells you very little, spends much time discussing Calls Puts with load of examples but never moves beyond that. Nothing on volatility, nothing on different options trading strategies, such as Straddles. Very very basic. Never talks about how a stock could jump 6 points and the option price doesn't change. I don't understand how anyone who has spent anytime at all trading options could rate this book as five stars. I've referred the to the book several times over the past year and have found nothing in it that helped. Unfortunately I can't recommend any good books, If you want to trade options look for free material on the web, there is a lot of good stuff out there. 21st century options education offers an excellent and free options course that simply blows this book out of the water! My own opinion is that unless your very carefull, Options are a great way to lose money fast! Me I'm going to stick with Stocks, at least for the time being.
Rating: 
Summary: Fair but Not the Best
Review: Explaining options from the ground up is hard, and Thomsett gets most of the particulars right... but the book itself is not well designed, making it harder to read than need be. Since no beginning options book is perfect, this one is worth buying. No matter where you start, you'll need to read more than one book.
Getting Started in Options does have some very strong points for beginners... presenting the results of a complex trade in a table format (if the stock goes to $40, you make $X; if it goes to $45, you make $X...) instead of the usual cryptic risk profile graphic is good. On the other hand, there's peculiar misinformation such as the claim that the "striking price" (read strike price) is always divisible by 5. Not true, options come at 7.50, 12.50, 17.50 etc. strikes. And then there are the weird post-split prices. The major points are OK, though.
However, the reviewer below, who complained that she (he?) stopped reading when Thomsett told her that if she bought a put she wanted the stock to fall, which outraged her, was completely off base. She needs to read this book again, or another. Puts have multiple roles, and Thomsett give several uses. Thomsett started with the simplest case, trading puts. You certainly do want the stock to drop when you buy a put in that case. But if you owned the stock or similar stocks before buying the put,that's a different purpose with a different objective. That's a hedge, which is an insurance move, and the reviewer is right... we usually don't want to collect insurance.
But this is the kind of mistake that can happen when reading this book, and it is more the publisher's fault than the author's. It's a case of very poor design and somewhat tatty organization. Wiley is an indifferent publisher... if a manuscript comes in strong, OK, but if the author needs a professional editor, Wiley's not the place to find one. In this book, some key points will sail right by the beginner, others are hard to find. I have the third edition, which even has barely readable light green type.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Overview For Many Audiences
Review: Getting Started In Options is a very helpful Investment Guide. Michael Thomsett spends a good deal of time discussing Puts, Calls, and Advanced Strategies by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each scenario. This neutral tone is certainly a breath of fresh air when comapred to the many books out there by snake oil salesman types whose prime objective is to get you to attend one of their Thousand Dollar Sessions. This book gives many easy to read examples whereas even an advanced beginner can comprehend Bull and Butterfly Spreads. On top of all that, the glossary at the end of the book gives a clear definition of the key terms in the Options World. The only minor issue is that Thomsett should emphasize that a Written Covered Call that expires worthless can significantly add to the percentage gain on a specific transaction. Otherwise, Thomsett gives his audience many good ideas for maximizing one's profit in the Options Market. An excellent reference book that will yield many returns.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent in it's simplicity & use of examples
Review: Great starter book. As a new concept is developed, the author provides many examples to help make the concept sink-in.
Rating:
Summary: solid, but could be better...
Review: I found the information presented in this book to be the solid and simple basics of options, but the presentation itself needs a lot of improvement. There are numerous errors (mix-ups between the terms "put" and "call," and several erroneous examples), and the book is HIGHLY REPETITIVE--so repetitive as to be extremely de-motivating. I think this book could have easily been compressed into a pamphlet; at its current length, only people who learn best through repetition of scenarios and examples will enjoy this book. Perhaps if the author had enlarged the scope of the book to increase the information density of the book, I'd find it deserving of a permanent place on my bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: Best book to start learning about options!
Review: I read this book over a year ago and now i'm training to be an options trader in the CBOE pits. It opened a whole new world for me. The options world is enormous and this book is the best intro for someone who wants to learn about options. Prior to reading this book, I had heard that trading options is the way to make a lot of money but I didn't have a clue as to what options were. A friend suggested I read this book and I did. This book will not teach you everything about options nor will it make you an expert on options. What it will do is explain the basics of options and some strategies that are commonly used. And it does this magnificently! Its an easy read and everything is explained very clearly.
Rating:
Summary: Very repetitive
Review: I stopped reading this book when I read: "When you buy a put, your desire is that the underlying stock's value will fall below the striking price; the more it falls, the higher your profit." I was afraid the author would try to convince me that, after I buy insurance for my car, I should hope for my car to be crashed. OK. I understand this book is written for people that do not know much about options (like me). But this does not mean the author has to write things that are not true. I buy puts and I hope the stocks I buy puts on to soar.
Rating:
Summary: Getting Started in Options.
Review: I strongly agree with those reviewers who suggested that this was an excellent introductory book on option trading. Like many, I had no idea what's option and how to make good use of it. I've benefited from this book because it presents concepts clearly by giving examples and charts. However, if you've not new to option trading, this book may be too basic for you. I've begun to apply some of the trading methods introduced and already made some money. However, like the book has reminded me, pick a good stock and use option wisely. Good luck to all of you.
Rating:
Summary: Very good for novices
Review: The book uses simple and easy way to explain the concepts of long/short stock options. Giving a lot of simple examples to let you understand the profit/loss on a simple long/short call/put, time values, intrinsic values, premium. If you are a novice on options, I strongly recommend this book to you as a first book on options. The book do not express much on professional terms like delta, gamma, theta,..... No detail usage of options strategies like straddle, strangle, butterfly spread, condor..... If you are well known on the concept of options, this book is not your choice.
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