Rating: 
Summary: Accessible and Easy to Understand
Review: This book is a thorough treatment of equity derivatives and is easy to understand. I especially liked that the book didn't get bogged down with detailed math, but illustrated the key concepts and products. It didn't cover equity related credit derivatives, however, so I gave the book four stars. For total return swaps used by hedge funds to create more leverage, CDO equity, and credit derivatives often used to hedge equity positions (and vice versa) I recommend "Credit Derivatives and Synthetic Structures by Tavakoli.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice book for starters...
Review: This book offers readers, who have little knowlegde about structured products, the insides of it. It is easy to read and easy to understand. I bet the reviewer from New York and Seattle are in this business themselves, as to give this book such low ratings. These people are probably affraid that their clients will buy this book and find out later that they got ripped of by their ruthless bankers. If these people are in the business, they should not have bought the book it in the first place.... Go ask your colleagues!!!
It is true that the math is non-existent, but again there are loads of books written in english with loads of formulas in it that even most english speakers don't have a clue about, and most importanly, how to apply it. This is definitely a book on the side of the consumers of these products. Buy it, you won't waste your money!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Finally!!!! A definitive guide for common sense people
Review: This book offers readers, who have little knowlegde about structured products, the insides of it. It is easy to read and easy to understand. I bet the reviewer from New York and Seattle are in this business themselves, as to give this book such low ratings. These people are probably affraid that their clients will buy this book and find out later that they got ripped of by their ruthless bankers. If these people are in the business, they should not have bought the book it in the first place.... Go ask your colleagues!!!
It is true that the math is non-existent, but again there are loads of books written in english with loads of formulas in it that even most english speakers don't have a clue about, and most importanly, how to apply it. This is definitely a book on the side of the consumers of these products. Buy it, you won't waste your money!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A nice book for starters...
Review: This is definitely a very useful book for students taking financial engineering courses or complete newcomers in the aera of structuring. The book's written in a very clear and approachable manner and the author doesn't bother you with obscur mathematics. However, being myself a structurer of derivative products, I must unfortunately say that this book didn't really improve my knowledge in the field of structuring. But since I believe that Dr. Kat's main objective was to primarily target newcomers in the area of structured products, and not any professionals working in the business, I still think that the book is a respectable achievement.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite a terrible little blue book
Review: This is one of those books with whose review, like the reviewer who goes "Oh Gosh!", I am going to have to not so relucatantly agree. This book is regurgitative, and tells you how to make selling potatoes cheaper by reducing the price tag. So how do you want to make your structure cheap? Add in a knock out feature! Wow! And how to make it cheaper?? Add in a lower participation rate!! Double Wow!!! So how does this enlighten me? With what Dr. Kat calls "common sense". Well I never! So it seems every one who works in this field cannot use his common sense! What arrogance... This books offers close to nothing. To be exact, absolutely nothing other than a plethora of regurgitated "lets make things cheaper" bla bla. Of course it does discuss some of the latest structures, but then, as the author states in his review below, this is common knowledge. So with what are we left? Another so-called definitive guide to this-or-that. I guess this is suspiciously like sales pitch ... I bought this book with high hopes, but I found little knowledge in it that I couldn't get from my own colleagues. And now, where is the value of reading a long book if all your colleagues know it from the word go? Is this author really talking cutting edge, or is he just kidding himself? I would guess the latter.
Rating:
Summary: Great introduction & overview
Review: This is still a great introduction to the subject. Being familiar with the majority of current financial 'engineering' texts, I can honestly say this is still a very good book. It does what it claims to do - and sticks to the intended audience.
Rating:
Summary: Good job Dr Kat!
Review: Very good book on structuring of derivaties. Yes, this book is mainly on structuring not pricing and some reviewers seem to forget about that blaiming it on the lack of mind-boggling maths! Good one for someone who is new in the area or read some introductory books as Hull; everything is really decomoposed into easily understandable pieces so that you can understad every possible structure. Strong recommendation for those who want to _really_ understand structuring of derivatives.
Rating:
Summary: Good job Dr Kat!
Review: Very good book on structuring of derivaties. Yes, this book is mainly on structuring not pricing and some reviewers seem to forget about that blaiming it on the lack of mind-boggling maths! Good one for someone who is new in the area or read some introductory books as Hull; everything is really decomoposed into easily understandable pieces so that you can understad every possible structure. Strong recommendation for those who want to _really_ understand structuring of derivatives.
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