Leg the Spread : A Woman's Adventures Inside the Trillion-Dollar Boys Club of CommoditiesTrading

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time or money!!
Review: Forget even reading this book -- if I could give it less than 1 star, I would. This woman plays a clerk for two years at the Chicago futures exchanges and then proceeds to gossip rather than tell you anything real about the exchanges or markets. She makes up stories and information but portrays it as real: anyone who trades knows that the Employment report and Triple Witching never occur on the same day -- contrary to what she says. She talks about a woman who was supposedly a top European fashion model but then comes back to work in a Wisconsin honkey-tonk that can't even afford a cash register! Gee, that must have been a huge change of lifestyle! And how about the part that some guy is going to pay her to be his clerk for two years when she doesn't do anything but wander around the exchanges collecting gossip. She tells you how she stands in the pits and talks with other peope but not doing any real work -- millions, if not billions, of dollars are changing hands every day in these pits -- they don't let you just stand around and gawk and certainly not for two full years! She uses some real names and she changes others but she doesn't tell you that she has fictionalized some of the names -- which, therefore, leaves you to conclude that she has made everything up. If you want to read fiction go buy "Bonfire of the Vanities," if you want to read about something real go buy "Liar's Poker" or "Barbarians at the Gate" but don't confuse this book with what it really is -- a piece of fiction and not even a good one at that. Spend your time and money reading something else -- anything else!

Rating:
Summary: Truth is Stranger than Fiction
Review: Having been on the floors of the Chicago Board of Trade and the CBOE, and after working for many years in the "upstairs" OTC trading rooms of several brokerage firms, I can tell you that Cari Lynn has captured the essence of the trader mentality. While she may have been merely a clerk, or just an observer, she conveys the sense of things so well that I could barely pull my nose out of her book. It gave me the same rush that being right on a trade used to when I was making markets, and I've recommended it to all my former female compatriots. Believe me, we all endured the same crudities of male traders that she describes, and learned to give as well back in order to survive.

Rating:
Summary: this book sucks
Review: i don't believe for a second that cari lynn was just at the merc to clerk for a friend (and what exactly did she do for her friend? it seems all she did was walk around and try to meet people). i think she either 1. was there looking for some action or 2. knew that she was writing a book to begin with, thus creating or looking for stories/drama/characters that might be a good read. unfortunately she failed.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I've read in a long time
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It grabbed my interest from the first page and I was sorry when it ended. The trading floor and the women and men who thrive there are so interesting to read about. I especially enjoyed that Cari Lynn told about not only her experiences but also the experiences and testimonals of a wide variety of veteran traders and brokers. She also captured the sense of being right there as all the excitement took place. Beacuse she was new to the world of trading, she was able to keenly pick up nuances that seasoned traders would have missed (assuming any of them could have had the writing ability to put out a book like this in the first place). "Leg the Spread" is exciting and well-written. I can't wait to read the next book Cari Lynn writes!

Rating:
Summary: amateurish
Review: poorly written, very little knowlege of the basics of trading makes it painful to read, and mostly filled with gossip.

Rating:
Summary: Waste of Money, Bigger Waste of Time
Review: Reads like a "tween" gossip column with little or no real foundation on the futures markets or the exchanges that are represented. Probably a bigger waste of time (other than reading this book) was the 2 years the author spent schlepping back and forth from both exchanges in search of "tidbits" worthy of a high school drama queen. She definitely listened to the wrong people. Avoid.

Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: This book is the perfect combination of beginners trade manual and sociological study that captures the essence of a sub-culture most people in the non-trading world have never experienced. I appreciated how Cari Lynn brought in multiple perspectives (male and female, young and old, experienced and inexperienced, "retired" and those still in the "pits") to present as unbiased a picture of the culture of trading as possible. Cari Lynn's fascination with the trading lifestyle (highlighting the drive for money, risk taking, and power at the expense of peace of mind, contentment and happiness) combined with her obvious expertise as a journalist make this a must read for anyone wanting to learn more about another profession, especially one that appears glamourous to some of us in less-profitable professions!

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but Not an Insider's View
Review: This is not a bad book. However, the promotional copy is blatantly false. Lynn never actually had a "job" at the Exchange, as is claimed in the jacket copy, and while she did "learn ... the hand signals used to generate trades" she never used them, since she never performed any kind of actual work other than talking to people for this book. She has a number of entertaining stories, but I don't like being lied to about the contents of a book I'm buying.

Rating:
Summary: Cari Lynn Tells It Like It Is...
Review: What a book! I've 'been there, done that' and her characterizations of life in 'the pits' is spot on. I was a female trader at the Merc in the 80's and 90's and not only could identify with what Cari experienced, but could actually identify each one of the traders whose 'names were changed to protect the innocent' (or not-so-innocent) as I knew each and every one of them. Not everyone (male or female) experiences the same thing, but to be down there and not SEE what is going on around you is impossible. Anyone that says the book is inaccurate is either blind or full of it--when it comes to sexism, it seems to be one of the last 'acceptable isms' left down there--not only do the men dole it out or turn a blind eye to it, but so do many of the women!
Definitely not any sort of how-to manual, but instead a great George Plimptonesque view of 'A Day In the Life Of' with some great insights and interesting anecdotes. A good, entertaining read for anyone, male or female, that wants to know things about the markets that you won't find in the Wall Street Journal.

Rating:
Summary: Fiction all the way!
Review: While the author's writing is colorful, she has not done her homework. This book should filed under Mythology...An "A" for effort but a failing grade for her research. She has repeated largely fabricated stories. While they make good reading, the fact and true stories would have been far more concise and enjoyable. I was in those pits, yes a woman for twenty years. The author failed to interview me....hmmmm, I did very well in uncharted territories. I was treated well and respected by my fellow traders....Not at all like what the author portrays for women. Shame on her! If one acted like a lady, one was treated like a lady! 'Nuff said!
GK