The 7th edition of Langford's Advanced Photography brings this bestselling advanced guide bang up to date. Efthimia Bilissi maintains Michael Langford's renowned level of technical detail, balancing art and technique, whilst adding information on all the latest digital technologies. This book covers it all; from cameras, lenses, digital imaging sensors and films to insights into photography as an industry and how to kick start your career. Genres are explored, from portraiture and fine art to aerial, and broad coverage of digital manipulation, film processing, colour theory, archiving and storage provide everything the serious photographer needs to extend their art into professional realms. Exciting new areas such as infrared, underwater and stereoscopic photography are included, with a key section on business practices covering how to manage accounts, charge for jobs and self-promote. The book benefits from a full glossary, charts and inspirational images throughout, with a summary and projects to try at the end of each chapter.
A comprehensive guide to digital and film photography for the serious amateur, student or training professional
Fully updated to cover new digital technologies, workflow and methods from image manipulation to colour management and archiving
The ONLY comprehensive guide to photography at an advanced level
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #586062 in Books
Published on: 2008-01-21
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
432 pages
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Lecturer in Image Science at The University of Westminster, UK. Previous Editor in Chief/Technical Editor on Fotografia and Imaging Pro magazines and winner of The Royal Photographic Society's Selwyn Award. Michael Langford, renowned author, teacher, and practitioner, is a legend because of his skill that balanced art and technique. He inspired and taught thousands. As Photography Course Director at the Royal College of Art, London, UK, his key involvement with photography courses and exams set the standard worldwide.
Langford's Advanced Photography, Seventh Edition by Efthimia Bilissi
Portrait Photographer's Handbook by Bill Hurter
Combining time-tested practices with contemporary methods, this guidebook details the fine art of capturing formal and casual posed images. With advice and guidance from the finest and most decorated portrait and wedding photographers in the country, this instructional discusses subjects such as lighting in the studio and on location, improving improvisational shooting techniques, and how to retouch images in the post-production process to create truly flawless looks. A chapter addressing the common problems in taking portraitures—from working with subjects with glasses to subjects that vary in size, facial features, and skin tone—is also included.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #5195 in Books
Published on: 2007-08-01
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
128 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
"This guide offers excellent advice on how to master the complex art of portrait photography." —Shutterbug
About the Author
Bill Hurter is the editor of Rangefinder and the author of more than 12 photography books, including The Best of Wedding Photojournalism, Group Portrait Photography Handbook, and The Portrait Photographer’s Guide to Posing. He lives in West Covina, California.
Customer Reviews
excellent overview
Overall, an excellent introduction to portrait photography, including tips for DSLRs, lighting, and post-photo editing. My only suggestion would be for it to include more illustrative bad/problematic pictures, along with the successful/correct versions, to help with debugging problems.
Great pictures and tips in this book...
I have purchased many photography books from Amazon in the past several months. Unfortunately, while the advice in most of them useful, the sample pictures are often very poorly done, lack variety or real inspiration. This book, however, is full of gorgeous portraitures that clearly demonstrate poses, lighting techniques, etc., while still being very nice to look at. The author gives shot details in the caption of each photo, and there is a very nice range of different styles and techniques that have given me a lot of ideas on what I'd like to shoot for myself. The text itself is clearly written and the inclusion of illustrated diagrams really helps visualize proper set ups for lighting.
The only caveat is that there are some glaring editing/layout problems in the introduction. The first page includes a couple paragraphs of the introduction, and the page it's supposed to continue onto starts the entire introduction over again. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on! But other than that, excellent book, wonderful and useful pictures, clearly written text, gorgeously laid out. I definitely recommend it.
Excellent overview of portrait photography
My good friend Bill Hurter has done it again. The third edition of The Portrait Photographer's Handbook is loaded with information and beautiful images from some of the best portrait artists in the world. Bill has acquired an incredible wealth of knowledge about photography over the years and gently guides the reader through what could easily be an overwhelming amount of information. He has chosen some absolutely gorgeous photographs to illustrate his points and, rather than lecturing his readers, it is as if he were sitting with you talking over each point. Bill took on a difficult task: he had to create a book that would cover essential components of posing, studio lighting, outdoor lighting, basics of exposure in the digital world, corrective techniques and some very useful Photoshop retouching techniques. The concern would be that each topic would not be handled with enough depth to make it a worthwhile read. The result is quite the contrary: beginners and advanced amateurs who are looking to venture into professional portraiture will have PLENTY to chew on here...and once they have done their homework and PRACTICED, will be ready to tackle books that take a more in-depth look at each of his topics. There were also some valuable tips for old dogs like me! One note of minor concern: there seems to have been a glitch in the introduction. The intro starts twice on two pages and there seems to be an unfinished thought in the same section. Don't let this bother you--go read, learn, shoot and learn some more.
The Practice and History of the Art of Photography. by Henry H. Snelling
Published on: 1970
Binding: Hardcover
Day Trading Systems and Methods by David Lucas
Using your computer to Day Trade has never been more popular. But it can also be risky business. Benefit from the simple truths LeBeau and Lucas provide - and stay on the winning side of the score sheet more often! This compact little booklet really packs a punch. Two top pros cover all the day trading essentials including:
1) What it is
2) How to get started
3) Costs of doing business
4) Maximizing profits
5) 12 major systems and methods for day trading success
Plus, a demo disk assists readers in using their PC and analytical software when making any trading decision. DEMO Disk Included: The enclosed demo disk will enable you to quickly and easily apply all the methods and techniques outlined in the book and put them to work for you. Its an essential tool for becoming a better, consistently successful day trader - and will keep you on the cutting-edge of this fast-paced and quickly changing arena.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #1459692 in Books
Published on: 1999-04-01
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
Customer Reviews
Weak methods
Not even sure that I can recommend this to a beginner, as these methods are very simple, very vague and often have no money management. The only positive is that it's a quick read and cheap.
Honest
I know Charles Lebeau because I meet him at Dr. Tharp's seminars about building a winning trading system that fits you. He is honest in that saying daytrading isn't for everyone. It increases the opportunity and the cost. If your like most traders and make classic mistakes the increased cost and # of transactions will deplete your account. If you understand the rules the ideas in here may help increase your profits. I would reccomend buying the orginal Market Wizard's book by Dr. Tharp called Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom and then you might have something to work with by reading this book.
Worth the money
The book starts out with a word of caution, which is almost a refreshing break from the hype that has risen up around day trading. For those of us who have been trading for years, these words ring true. If you want the "holy grail" watch an informercial, if you want some ideas for trading, buy this book.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The timely and critically acclaimed debut novel that's becoming a word-of-mouth phenomenon...
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #15 in Books
Published on: 2004-04-27
Released on: 2004-04-27
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
400 pages
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In his debut novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini accomplishes what very few contemporary novelists are able to do. He manages to provide an educational and eye-opening account of a country's political turmoil--in this case, Afghanistan--while also developing characters whose heartbreaking struggles and emotional triumphs resonate with readers long after the last page has been turned over. And he does this on his first try.
The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. ("...I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.")
Some of the plot's turns and twists may be somewhat implausible, but Hosseini has created characters that seem so real that one almost forgets that The Kite Runner is a novel and not a memoir. At a time when Afghanistan has been thrust into the forefront of America's collective consciousness ("people sipping lattes at Starbucks were talking about the battle for Kunduz"), Hosseini offers an honest, sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always heartfelt view of a fascinating land. Perhaps the only true flaw in this extraordinary novel is that it ends all too soon. --Gisele Toueg
From Publishers Weekly
Hosseini's stunning debut novel starts as an eloquent Afghan version of the American immigrant experience in the late 20th century, but betrayal and redemption come to the forefront when the narrator, a writer, returns to his ravaged homeland to rescue the son of his childhood friend after the boy's parents are shot during the Taliban takeover in the mid '90s. Amir, the son of a well-to-do Kabul merchant, is the first-person narrator, who marries, moves to California and becomes a successful novelist. But he remains haunted by a childhood incident in which he betrayed the trust of his best friend, a Hazara boy named Hassan, who receives a brutal beating from some local bullies. After establishing himself in America, Amir learns that the Taliban have murdered Hassan and his wife, raising questions about the fate of his son, Sohrab. Spurred on by childhood guilt, Amir makes the difficult journey to Kabul, only to learn the boy has been enslaved by a former childhood bully who has become a prominent Taliban official. The price Amir must pay to recover the boy is just one of several brilliant, startling plot twists that make this book memorable both as a political chronicle and a deeply personal tale about how childhood choices affect our adult lives. The character studies alone would make this a noteworthy debut, from the portrait of the sensitive, insecure Amir to the multilayered development of his father, Baba, whose sacrifices and scandalous behavior are fully revealed only when Amir returns to Afghanistan and learns the true nature of his relationship to Hassan. Add an incisive, perceptive examination of recent Afghan history and its ramifications in both America and the Middle East, and the result is a complete work of literature that succeeds in exploring the culture of a previously obscure nation that has become a pivot point in the global politics of the new millennium.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-This beautifully written first novel presents a glimpse of life in Afghanistan before the Russian invasion and introduces richly drawn, memorable characters. Quiet, intellectual Amir craves the attention of his father, a wealthy Kabul businessman. Kind and self-confident Hassan is the son of Amir's father's servant. The motherless boys play together daily, and when Amir wins the annual kite contest, Hassan offers to track down the opponent's runaway kite as a prize. When he finds it, the neighborhood bullies trap and rape him, as Amir stands by too terrified to help. Their lives and their friendship are forever changed, and the memory of his cowardice haunts Amir as he grows into manhood. Hassan and his father return to the village of their ancestors, and later Amir and his father flee to Los Angeles to avoid political persecution. Amir attends college, marries, and fulfills his dream of becoming a writer. When Amir receives word of his former friend's death under the Taliban, he returns to Kabul to learn the fate of Hassan's son. This gripping story of personal redemption will capture readers' interest.
Penny Stevens, Andover College, Portland, ME
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Customer Reviews
Mesmerizing
This book draws you in from the first pages. It is an excellent account of life in Afghanistan. I really had no interest in it until I saw all the hype and let me tell you, it meets it. You do not have to have any curiousity about Afghan life - the story is what gets you. It would be great no matter where the story took place. The books keeps you interested in every chapter and I found it very hard to put down.
Captivating!
Seldom has there been a book that grabbed my attention like this fascinating story--from the very first page, I was hooked. I felt I got a rare view into Afghan culture--yes, but the story itself was powerful. What makes this novel so compelling is that it touches on universal themes. Doesn't matter that it takes place on the other side of the world.What binds us and what divides us from one another is something every human can relate to.
I thoroughly recommend, along with SIM0N LAZARUS--another equally captivating read that -despite its opposite cultural portrayal (American)--touches on life's universal and unshakeable truths.
WOW ! A great masterpiece !
I must admit I first took a look at this book because the movie was in theaters and I was curious about it. WOW ! I was not disapointed. After taking a short look at the reviews and the book itself, I bought it right away. Then I read it in 4 days and I have never been so much taken away by a book (I usually take a 3-4 weeks to get slowly through a 500-page novel).
This book has it all. Friendship, love, family, redemption, history facts, great narrator, great writing, and most of all truly authentic and lovely characters tight to each other by powerful links. I never truly get emotive while reading a fiction book. This one almost made be cry.
To the opposite of numerous novels, this one doesn't contain any "fills" to increase the number of pages. It could even have been longer. Usually I'm quite impatient to see the last page. While reading this story I felt like time had stop.
The mix of fiction story and true historic facts (mainly about Afghanistan of course) is very interesting. I also felt the book is a very accessible read, it is a great story to read for almost anyone.
With the low-priced paperback available, this one is a must !!! I'm looking forward to read the author's second book, "A thousand splendid suns".
DeMark On Day Trading Options By Day DeMark, Thomas DeMark
The option day trading blueprint you've been waiting for!
Options day trading is no walk in the park. But it is your most potentially profitable way to take advantage of the day-trading phenomenon. Put the odds in your favor with Demark on Day DeMark and Thomas DeMark, Jr. Forget complicated formulas! Instead, this nuts-and-bolts guide gives you a set of option trading techniques, indicators, and rules to limit risk without sacrificing profit. You're shown how to:
*Select, design, and build your own highly-personalized trading model
*Use filters and screens to select optimal option trading candidates
*Identify low-risk entry points in up, down, or even sideway markets
You get savvy tips for buying puts or calls based on market, industry, or underlying security ù even get a phone number to get a free, updated TD Indicators demonstration disk. For three decades, traders using breakthroughs like the DeMark Indicators have made fortunes. Now it's your turn!
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #403348 in Books
Published on: 1999-05-01
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
358 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities Magazine : "This book is the option day trading blueprint you've been waiting for."
Download Description
Electronic day trading of Internet stocks may be making the headlines ... but the entire field of day trading has exploded! DeMark on Day Trading Options is the first book to combine two of today's hottest trading phenomena -- day trading and options trading -- into one exciting blueprint for making money in volatile markets.
After first reviewing the basics of options. Tom DeMark -- renowned as a pioneer in technical analysis -- breaks new ground by introducing methods and techniques specifically designed for day trading options. He provides insights on selecting the best options to trade for specific markets. details how traders can accurately predict market movements and introduces the ingenious option trading variable he developed.
From the Back Cover
Proven DeMark Market Timing Techniques Applied to Today's Fast-Turnaround Day Trading Markets. "Tom DeMark is the consummate technician - a trading system developer without peer."- Futures Magazine.
"Tom DeMark's research and market timing techniques demonstrate a unique and insightful approach into day trading options. The concepts and methodologies described are a must-read for anyone professionally or individually interested in option trading!"- David Rodrigues, Co-CEO Deltasoft Financial Technologies, Inc.
"Tom DeMark provides traders with many interesting new insights and methods to explore in his newest book."- David Caplan, President Com-Op Publishing.
THIS BREAKTHROUGH BOOK REVEALS: All new predictive indicators - plus options settings, qualifiers, and applications adapted for day trading impact; Strategies to ignore prevailing market sentiment - and intuitively know each inflection point where trends will reverse; Battle-tested techniques for limited risk - and unlimited gains - that can be plugged into your own trading sytle. Over the past three decades the DeMark name has set the standard for low-risk, high-profit trading techniques. And traders, fueled by breakthroughs like the DeMark Indicators, have amassed stunning profits. Now, the DeMarks set their sights on today's hottest market phenomenon - day trading. Their options day trading methods, outlined for the first time anywhere in DeMark on Day Trading Options, consistently identify low-risk entry points in up, down, or even sideways markets - and give options-savvy, risk-averse traders a distinct advantage over the emotional, easily-confused day traders flooding today's markets.
Customer Reviews
This book is great
The previous reviewer cites the perception of the author's inflated ego. I too was distracted by the author's tendency to refer to "TD" indicator this and that and this disturbed me. However, i had the good fortune to meet the author at a Bloomberg seminar and the author explained why he chose to preface his indicators with the 'td'. The justification he gave was that his attorney wanted him to trademark and control the indicators and that was the effective way for him to accomplish that goal. I accept that reason and more than that I can overlook the petty complaint that it is distracting by concentrating upon the value I find in the indicators. I say call them whatever the author wants to since bottom line they are the best I have seen in my 35+ years in the industry.
Ummmmmm...
You may want to think twice about this one. Not to be negative, but it is very hard to follow. Clear and concise dialog is absent in favor of unnecessary "branding" if you will of common techniques mixed with completely unverified and difficult to back test methods for trading the markets. This is trading celebrity gone wrong. I would love to know the remaining balance of an investment account traded with these "TDious" indicators. You can at least save yourself from this trade.
Prescription for successful trading from a true genius
My trading partner introduced me to the author's work. He told me that the author had worked closely with Paul Tudor Jones, Leon Cooperman, Steve Cohen and other industry titans. To be associated with these guys, he had to have something of value. After reading his books, my conclusion is that he truly possesses a creativity and market awareness that is unmatched in the industry. Although the ideas he presents can be profitably applied, I am certain that he does not share everything he knows with the reader. Regardless something is better than nothing.
Liquidity Black Holes: Understanding, Quantifying and Managing Financial Liquidity Risk From Risk Books
http://rapidshare.com/files/79742734/Liquidity_20in_20Forex_20Markets.rar
This cutting-edge volume brings together a range of leading academics and market practitioners to help you define, understand and measure liquidity risk and "liquidity black holes".
Fully explains "liquidity black holes" as episodes where, across markets where liquidity is normally healthy, buyers disappear, and price declines do not help to bring them back - such as in the "Long Term Capital Management crisis".
Presents evidence that smaller liquidity holes are appearing more routinely in a range of markets.
Specifically written in order to help practitioners and policy makers identify and thus avoid markets prone to damaging liquidity black holes.
Additionally covers trends and issues in market liquidity, liquidity risk and disclosing positions, liquidity public policy, liquidity in relation to credit and currency markets, and many other issues.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #1403425 in Books
Published on: 2003-12
Binding: Hardcover
272 pages
Editorial Reviews
Robert Parker, Vice Chairman, Credit Suisse Asset Management
"The clearest explanation yet of the impact on markets of volatility in liquidity and what happens when liquidity dries up."
Robert B. Gray, Chairman, International Primary Market Association
"This volume will do a great deal to improve market participants' understanding of the factors driving liquidity in our markets."
Alan Brown, Group Chief Investment Officer, State Street Global Advisors
"This book fills a much needed gap."
Managing Credit Risk: The Next Great Financial Challenge (Frontiers in Finance Series) By John B. Caouette, Edward I. Altman, Paul Narayanan
The first full analysis of the latest advances in managing credit risk.
"Against a backdrop of radical industry evolution, the authors of Managing Credit Risk: The Next Great Financial Challenge provide a concise and practical overview of these dramatic market and technical developments in a book which is destined to become a standard reference in the field." -Thomas C. Wilson, Partner, McKinsey & Company, Inc.
"Managing Credit Risk is an outstanding intellectual achievement. The authors have provided investors a comprehensive view of the state of credit analysis at the end of the millennium." -Martin S. Fridson, Financial Analysts Journal.
"This book provides a comprehensive review of credit risk management that should be compulsory reading for not only those who are responsible for such risk but also for financial analysts and investors. An important addition to a significant but neglected subject." -B.J. Ranson, Senior Vice-President, Portfolio Management, Bank of Montreal.
The phenomenal growth of the credit markets has spawned a powerful array of new instruments for managing credit risk, but until now there has been no single source of information and commentary on them. In Managing Credit Risk, three highly regarded professionals in the field have-for the first time-gathered state-of-the-art information on the tools, techniques, and vehicles available today for managing credit risk. Throughout the book they emphasize the actual practice of managing credit risk, and draw on the experience of leading experts who have successfully implemented credit risk solutions.
Starting with a lucid analysis of recent sweeping changes in the U.S. and global financial markets, this comprehensive resource documents the credit explosion and its remarkable opportunities-as well as its potentially devastating dangers. Analyzing the problems that have occurred during its growth period-S&L failures, business failures, bond and loan defaults, derivatives debacles-and the solutions that have enabled the credit market to continue expanding, Managing Credit Risk examines the major players and institutional settings for credit risk, including banks, insurance companies, pension funds, exchanges, clearinghouses, and rating agencies. By carefully delineating the different perspectives of each of these groups with respect to credit risk, this unique resource offers a comprehensive guide to the rapidly changing marketplace for credit products.
Managing Credit Risk describes all the major credit risk management tools with regard to their strengths and weaknesses, their fitness to specific financial situations, and their effectiveness. The instruments covered in each of these detailed sections include: credit risk models based on accounting data and market values; models based on stock price; consumer finance models; models for small business; models for real estate, emerging market corporations, and financial institutions; country risk models; and more. There is an important analysis of default results on corporate bonds and loans, and credit rating migration. In all cases, the authors emphasize that success will go to those firms that employ the right tools and create the right kind of risk culture within their organizations. A strong concluding chapter integrates emerging trends in the financial markets with the new methods in the context of the overall credit environment.
Concise, authoritative, and lucidly written, Managing Credit Risk is essential reading for bankers, regulators, and financial market professionals who face the great new challenges-and promising rewards-of credit risk management.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #662849 in Books
Published on: 1998-11-03
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
464 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
“…I recommend this book to anybody involved in the management of credit…a very worthwhile addition…” (Credit Focus, August 2005)
Book Info
Examines the major players & institutional setting for credit risk, including banks, insurance companies, pension funds, exchanges, clearing houses, & rating agencies, & offers a comprehensive guide to the rapidly changing marketplace for credit products. DLC: Credit - Management.
The publisher, John Wiley & Sons
This essential resource draws upon financial insights derived from the S&L crisis of the 80s, as well as newly emerging financial practices in today's derivatives markets, to illustrate today's most innovative and homogenized approaches to controlling credit risk. The author exhaustively reviews every important, emerging technique of credit risk management and evaluates its impact on today's global financial markets.
Customer Reviews
Executive Summary on Managing Credit Risk
This book is good overview on current status of the credit risk management. I recommend it to those who need to get quick overview on what it takes. It compares classic credit analysis with new approaches, explains the credit culture etc. However this can not be used as a single source of information. You will need additional books. Do not expect to get mathematical formulas in this book. There is only very few of them, which is benefitial here, because the book is easy to understand. What you will get is a vision on how the credit risk should be managed. If you seek specific advices on how to manage credit risk than there are better books like Managing Bank Risk: An Introduction to Broad-Base Credit Engineering from Morton Glanz.
Too good to be true?
While the recent comment "Comprehensive Resource on Credit Risk Management" is very good in many ways, I wish it explains more in the low yielding instruments, like the wit it shows in the treatment of high yield.
Innovative approach to Managing credit risks
This book popularises the new portfolio management approach to managing loan portfolios.The attempt is to mark the value of loans to market. This assumes a vibrant market for securitised loans , strips etc.It is a very good introductory book an the subject which is now evolving.It should be read by regulators and those who have supervisory roles.It is easy reading not much encumbered by obscure mathematical equations
This is good value for money and should be on every credit administrator's bookshelf
The Postitive Parent: Raising Healthy, Happy, and Successful Children, Birth-Adolescence By Kerby T. Alvy
Raising children in the 21st Century is both parenting in the worst of times and parenting in the best of times. The Positive Parent is an essential resource for navigating the challenges and opportunities that today's families face. Dr. Alvy shows parents how to help their children reach their full potential through the power of positiveparenting.
With humor and passion, Dr. Alvy provides important skills, helpful resources, and 16 highly practical guidelines to help you become a Positive Parent. Learnhow to:
1. Give Children Warmth, Acceptance, and Respect
2. Enjoy Your Children's Development and Be Alert to Special Needs
3. Use Firm and Fair Leadership
4. Avoid Corporal Punishment and Verbal Aggression
5. Start Early in Preparing Children for School
6. Create a Home Environment That Supports Education
7. Be an Active Partner with Your Child's School
8. Manage Your Child's Obesity and Eating-Related Problems
9. Teach Children about Their Own and Other Cultures
10. Teach Children about Substance Abuse
11. Teach Children about Sexuality
12. Teach Children to Be Financially Successful and Giving
13. Manage Your Children's Exposure and Use of Media and Technology
14. Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
15. Nurture the Relationship in Which You Are Raising Your Children
16. Set a Good Example of Life Long Learning
The Positive Parent includes selections from "The CICC Discovery Tool"--a series of age-specific questionnaires for tracking the development of children birth to 5 years of age.
Advance Praise for The Positive Parent:
"The Positive Parent is an invaluable, urgently needed resource."
--Katharine Bensinger, Community Counseling Centers of Chicago
"Don't guess. Don't lose sleep. Dr. Alvy provides the tools needed to identify and solve
those vexing issues faced by parents everywhere."
--Paul Petersen, President and Founder of A Minor Consideration
"Dr. Alvy offers depth for professionals with practical advice and techniques for
parents. Parent educators will welcome this book."
--Jack C. Westman, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin Medical School
"A wonderful resource for all parents. Dr. Alvy does a terrific job of taking complicated research and presenting it in every day language. What a comprehensive,
easy-to-follow book!"
--Jody Kussin, author of Catch Them Being Good
"Kerby Alvy shares his encyclopedic knowledge of parent education in an easy-reading resource. Guaranteed you'll learn 'stuff' that helps your work with parents--a recommended desktop reference."
--Don Dinkmeyer, Jr., Professor of Counseling and Student Affairs, Western Kentucky
University, Co-author, Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) Programs
"Alvy's book provides many practical parenting tips and ideas to help make parents more
confidant and effective in shaping their children's growth and development."
--Karol L. Kumpfer, Professor, Department of Health Promotion and Education, University of Utah
"An outstanding resource....It is practical, because it offers solutions to common parenting challenges and special parenting issues. It is informational, because it offers lists of educational resources and programs parents can trust."
--Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW, CFLE, author of the
award-winning book, The Parent's Toolshop
"With meticulous care, insight, and skill the ingredients that are necessary for rearing
children are delineated in all of their variety."
--William S. Epps, Editor of the National Baptist Voice Magazine
"Dr. Alvy does it again. He raises our awareness of parenting in the new century and challenges us to invest in our country's future while focusing on the most important job we will ever have--parenting all of our children. Thank you, Dr. Alvy."
--Anne S. Robertson, National Parenting Education Network (NPEN)
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #182110 in Books
Published on: 2007-11-15
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
264 pages
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Product Description
Raising children in the 21st Century is both parenting in the worst of times and parenting in the best of times. The Positive Parent is an essential resource for navigating the challenges and opportunities that today's families face. Dr. Alvy shows parents how to help their children reach their full potential through the power of positiveparenting.
With humor and passion, Dr. Alvy provides important skills, helpful resources, and 16 highly practical guidelines to help you become a Positive Parent. Learnhow to:
1. Give Children Warmth, Acceptance, and Respect
2. Enjoy Your Children's Development and Be Alert to Special Needs
3. Use Firm and Fair Leadership
4. Avoid Corporal Punishment and Verbal Aggression
5. Start Early in Preparing Children for School
6. Create a Home Environment That Supports Education
7. Be an Active Partner with Your Child's School
8. Manage Your Child's Obesity and Eating-Related Problems
9. Teach Children about Their Own and Other Cultures
10. Teach Children about Substance Abuse
11. Teach Children about Sexuality
12. Teach Children to Be Financially Successful and Giving
13. Manage Your Children's Exposure and Use of Media and Technology
14. Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
15. Nurture the Relationship in Which You Are Raising Your Children
16. Set a Good Example of Life Long Learning
The Positive Parent includes selections from "The CICC Discovery Tool"--a series of age-specific questionnaires for tracking the development of children birth to 5 years of age.
Advance Praise for The Positive Parent:
"The Positive Parent is an invaluable, urgently needed resource."
--Katharine Bensinger, Community Counseling Centers of Chicago
"Don't guess. Don't lose sleep. Dr. Alvy provides the tools needed to identify and solve
those vexing issues faced by parents everywhere."
--Paul Petersen, President and Founder of A Minor Consideration
"Dr. Alvy offers depth for professionals with practical advice and techniques for
parents. Parent educators will welcome this book."
--Jack C. Westman, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin Medical School
"A wonderful resource for all parents. Dr. Alvy does a terrific job of taking complicated research and presenting it in every day language. What a comprehensive,
easy-to-follow book!"
--Jody Kussin, author of Catch Them Being Good
"Kerby Alvy shares his encyclopedic knowledge of parent education in an easy-reading resource. Guaranteed you'll learn 'stuff' that helps your work with parents--a recommended desktop reference."
--Don Dinkmeyer, Jr., Professor of Counseling and Student Affairs, Western Kentucky
University, Co-author, Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) Programs
"Alvy's book provides many practical parenting tips and ideas to help make parents more
confidant and effective in shaping their children's growth and development."
--Karol L. Kumpfer, Professor, Department of Health Promotion and Education, University of Utah
"An outstanding resource....It is practical, because it offers solutions to common parenting challenges and special parenting issues. It is informational, because it offers lists of educational resources and programs parents can trust."
--Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW, CFLE, author of the
award-winning book, The Parent's Toolshop
"With meticulous care, insight, and skill the ingredients that are necessary for rearing
children are delineated in all of their variety."
--William S. Epps, Editor of the National Baptist Voice Magazine
"Dr. Alvy does it again. He raises our awareness of parenting in the new century and challenges us to invest in our country's future while focusing on the most important job we will ever have--parenting all of our children. Thank you, Dr. Alvy."
--Anne S. Robertson, National Parenting Education Network (NPEN)
Review
An invaluable, urgently needed resource. --Katharine Bensinger, Community Counseling Centers of Chicago
Review
An engaging text with practical advice and techniques for parents. --Jack C. Westman, M.D., President, Wisconsin Cares, Inc.
Customer Reviews
A Lifetime Of Expertise
Dr. Kerby Alvy has synthesized a lifetime of experience and knowledge into a practical guide for today's busy parents. The book is a virtual encyclopedia of information and tips, covering a broad range of highly relevant topics. Dr. Alvy has hit a "homerun" with this timely guide for parents facing the challenges of contemporary child rearing.
Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach by Ross W. Greene
The first comprehensive presentation for clinicians of the groundbreaking approach popularized in Ross Greene's acclaimed parenting guide, The Explosive Child, this book provides a detailed framework for effective, individualized intervention with highly oppositional children and their families. Many vivid examples and Q&A sections show how to identify the specific cognitive factors that contribute to explosive and noncompliant behavior, remediate these factors, and teach children and their adult caregivers how to solve problems collaboratively. The book also describes challenges that may arise in implementing the model and provides clear and practical solutions. Two special chapters focus on intervention in schools and in therapeutic/restrictive facilities.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #4516 in Books
Published on: 2005-10-18
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
246 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Greene and Ablon have done it again. This book illustrates their clinical acumen, conceptual sophistication, and scientific rigor--all at the same time! This is an uncommonly useful book for students and for therapists at all levels of experience. The authors' collaborative problem-solving approach takes into consideration the delicate dance between poorly regulated children and their frustrated and sometimes poorly equipped parents. These children and their families require special interventions, and this innovative book goes a long way to helping us in our clinical practice, teaching, and research.”--Thomas H. Ollendick, PhD, Child Study Center and Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech
"Provocative, conceptually grounded, and clinically wise. The CPS approach looks at a range of common, vexing parent-child problems and applies sound individual and family strategies, innovatively framed in the context of children's deficits in executive functions, communication, and emotion regulation. Loaded with case examples, this is essential reading for all those who work with 'externalizing' children."--Stephen P. Hinshaw, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
"This cutting-edge book provides a practical and easily understood guide for treating explosive children and adolescents. It presents an innovative, compassionate model that is very helpful in improving the quality of life for these kids and those who care for them." --Michael S. Jellinek, MD, Child Psychiatry Service, Massachusetts General Hospital; Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
"Greene and Ablon's CPS approach is an excellent integration of theory, research, and clinical wisdom. The authors present a thoughtful clinical framework and specific procedures for interpreting and managing children's explosive, noncompliant behavior. This book belongs on the bookshelf of every clinician who works with these youngsters."--Howard Abikoff, PhD, Institute for Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity and Behavior Disorders, NYU Child Study Center
"Describes practical, developmentally-based approaches for solving everyday problems with these children....Offers practical strategies that should be useful to clinicians seeking to help those who struggle to care for children with these difficult challenges."--The BrownLetter on ADD
"An invaluable reference to all parents, highly recommended reading regarding children who are struggling to find a comfortable level of self, and who may express themselves through aggressive, defiant, or erratic physical of verbal display....Painstakingly researched and offers an indispensable guide to taking proper care of an uncooperative or argumentative child, and takes a very deep exploration into the reasoning and psychological aide which one might take as probable course for action. A work of seminal scholarship....an excellent addition to the library reference collection of any teacher, parent, or child psychotherapist."--MidWest Book Review "One of the greatest benefits of the book is its case examples. There are several "scripts" in which its approach is illustrated in different situations--schools, family therapy, and treatment facilities. These examples provide the reader with excellent demonstrations of the model....The book is well written and easy to read for both professionals and parents. The book's points are emphasized and re-emphasized so that there is little possibility for confusion. Treating Explosive Kids can most certainly be a useful resource for psychologists in schools, private practice, and residential facilities and for parents and teachers."--APA PsycCRITIQUES
About the Author
Ross W. Greene, PhD, is Director of the Collaborative Problem Solving Institute in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, Codirector of the Center for Collaborative Problem Solving, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. In addition to providing outpatient care, he consults to schools, inpatient units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities. Dr. Greene's research focuses on the classification and treatment of explosive children, long-term outcomes in socially impaired children with ADHD, and the impact of teacher characteristics on school outcome for elementary school students with ADHD. He has written extensively on behavioral assessment and social functioning, school- and home-based interventions for children with disruptive behavior disorders, and student/n-/teacher compatibility. Previously, Dr. Greene served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at Virginia Tech and as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.
J. Stuart Ablon, PhD, is Associate Director of the Collaborative Problem Solving Institute, Codirector of the Center for Collaborative Problem Solving, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He specializes in the treatment of explosive, inflexible, easily frustrated children and adolescents and their families. Like Dr. Greene, Dr. Ablon consults extensively to schools, inpatient units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities. He has authored numerous articles, chapters, and scientific papers on behavioral assessment and psychosocial interventions for children with disruptive behavior disorders. Dr. Ablon's research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Psychological Association, the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Institute, and the Endowment for the Advancement of Psychotherapy.
Customer Reviews
Insightful and compassionate approach
I'm a clinical therapist with 18 years' experience. Several years ago I attended Dr. Green's training and was very impressed. So much in the mental health field, for working w/ behaviorally challenging kids and parents, focuses on rewards and consequences - basic behavioralism - which only works part of the time for part of the population. This is a wise and effective alternative, and one in consonance with what we're learning about why explosive kids are that way. My specialty areas are complex trauma and attachment disorders, which aren't mentioned as root causes for the difficulties in self-regulation skills for (I believe) a majority of explosive kids, which I think is an oversight. However, Dr. Green's creation of interventions which address the effects of these skill deficits remains an outstanding acheivement. His "Plan A, Plan B, Plan C" model is easily explained by clinicians and understood by parents. His model keeps parents empowered, gives them reasonable guidelines for which plan to use when, strengthens both kids' and parents' abilities to problem-solve in a connective, caring way, and gives kids hope for their own growth and change.
Too Technical to be Helpful
In my line of work as a behavior consultant, I read A LOT of research journals. However, this dry book was much harder to plow through and so I gave up and ordered a different book! For a parent or professional who is trying to help an especially difficult child, this is just NOT a user-friendly book.
Refreshing Ideas
Greene and Albon present some fantastic ideas about what makes kids behave the way they do and how to respond to them. It is a well written, thought provoking book. I found it to be an extremely easy read but loaded with conceptual richness. It is not an intellectual work as much as a wake up call to the understanding and treatment of children.
Professional Web 2.0 Programming (Wrox Professional Guides) by Eric van der Vlist
Web 2.0 architecture opens up an incredible number of options for flexible web design, creative reuse, and easier updates. Along with covering the key languages and techniques of Web 2.0, this unique book introduces you to all of the technologies that make up Web 2.0 at a professional level. Throughout the chapters, you'll find code for several example applications built with popular frameworks that you'll be able to utilize.
You'll first explore the technologies that are used to create Web 2.0 applications. This includes an in-depth look at XHTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, and Ajax. Next, you'll gain a better understanding of the protocols and formats that enable the exchange of information between web clients and servers. Ultimately, you'll discover exactly what you need to know about server-side programming in order to implement new ideas and develop your own robust applications.
What you will learn from this book
How Web 2.0 applications are developed
New ways to get the major client-side technologies to work together
The new class of emerging tools
All about HTTP and URIs, XML, syndication, microformats, and Web Services
Techniques for implementing and maintaining your URI space
How to serve XML over HTTP
Steps for building mashups to aggregate information from multiple sources
Methods for enhancing security in your applications
Who this book is for
This book is for professional developers who have a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and XML.
Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.
This book is also available as part of the 4-book JavaScript and Ajax Wrox Box (ISBN: 0470227818). This 4-book set includes:
Professional JavaScript for Web Developers (ISBN: 0764579088)
Professional Ajax 2nd edition (ISBN: 0470109491)
Professional Web 2.0 Programming (ISBN: 0470087889)
Professional Rich Internet Applications: Ajax and Beyond (ISBN: 0470082801)
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #252595 in Books
Published on: 2006-11-29
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
552 pages
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
Web 2.0 architecture opens up an incredible number of options for flexible web design, creative reuse, and easier updates. Along with covering the key languages and techniques of Web 2.0, this unique book introduces you to all of the technologies that make up Web 2.0 at a professional level. Throughout the chapters, you'll find code for several example applications built with popular frameworks that you'll be able to utilize.
You'll first explore the technologies that are used to create Web 2.0 applications. This includes an in-depth look at XHTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, and Ajax. Next, you'll gain a better understanding of the protocols and formats that enable the exchange of information between web clients and servers. Ultimately, you'll discover exactly what you need to know about server-side programming in order to implement new ideas and develop your own robust applications.
What you will learn from this book
How Web 2.0 applications are developed
New ways to get the major client-side technologies to work together
The new class of emerging tools
All about HTTP and URIs, XML, syndication, microformats, and Web Services
Techniques for implementing and maintaining your URI space
How to serve XML over HTTP
Steps for building mashups to aggregate information from multiple sources
Methods for enhancing security in your applications
Who this book is for
This book is for professional developers who have a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and XML.
Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.
About the Author
Eric van der Vlist is an independent consultant and trainer. His domain of expertise includes Web development and XML technologies. He is the creator and main editor of XMLfr.org, the main site dedicated to XML technologies in French, the author of the O’Reilly books XML Schema and RELAX NG, and a member or the ISO DSDL (http://dsdl.org) working group, which focuses on XML schema languages. He is based in Paris and you can reach him by mail (vdv@dyomedea.com) or meet him at one of the many conferences where he presents his projects.
Alessandro Vernet has been involved with web and XML technologies from day one. Prior to co-founding Orbeon, he worked at Symantec Corporation as part of the VisualCafe team, working on the next-generation RAD for web applications. He is the co-author of The Best of Java, received the 1998 Logitech Award for his master’s thesis on Jaskell, and is one of the architects of the open source Orbeon PresentationServer (OPS) project. His current interests lie in XML technologies and web applications. He recently implemented an XForms engine using Ajax/JavaScript, co-authored the XML Pipeline Language specification published by the W3C, and is active in two W3C Working Groups: the XForms and XML Processing Model Working Groups. He holds an MS/CS from the Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Erik Bruchez has extensive experience in the software industry as a software architect and consultant. As a former employee of Symantec Corporation, he contributed to the VisualCafe for Java product line. In 1999, he co-founded Orbeon, Inc. (www.orbeon.com), where he is now an architect of Orbeon PresentationServer (OPS), an open source web platform for form-based applications that builds on technologies such as XForms and Ajax. Erik participates in the W3C’s XForms and XML Processing Model working groups. He is the author of articles about web applications and XML technologies and has been a speaker at conferences such as JavaOne, ObjectWebCon, and XTech. Erik holds an MS/CS degree from the Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland. He spends most of his time between Switzerland and California and can be reached by email at ebruchez@orbeon.com.
Joe Fawcett started programming in the seventies and briefly worked in IT after leaving full-time education. He then pursued a more checkered career before returning to software development in 1994. In 2003 he was awarded the title of Microsoft Most Valuable Professional in XML for community contributions and technical expertise. He currently works in London as senior developer for FTC Kaplan Ltd, a leading international provider of accountancy and business training.
Danny Ayers is a freelance developer, technical author, and consultant specializing in cutting-edge Web technologies. His motivation is the belief that with a little encouragement, the Web can be significantly more useful and interesting than it is now. He’s been a blogger for some five years (http://dannyayers.com), with a tendency to post material relating to the Semantic Web or cat photos.
Technical Editor Micah Dubinko is an experienced software architect and writer working for the Mobile Platform group at Yahoo! Inc. He has been programming since the third grade—at the time on a computer with only 2K of memory. Micah served as an editor and author of the W3C XForms specification, publishing a book in print and online, and eventually being awarded the InfoWorld Innovators 2004 award for his effort. Since then, he has contributed to and edited numerous Web 2.0 books and articles. His blog is at http://dubinko.info/blog/. Micah lives with his wife and two daughters in Silicon Valley.
Customer Reviews
Terrible book
Basically this book will hardly teach you anything you don't already know. They assume prior knowledge about almost every single topic they cover. They say in the preface that this book is not about java-script DOM, XML, AJAX or any specific technology for that matter. This book is more like some overview of all the technoligies that are used in Web 2.0 sites but none of them are explained in a way that someone without prior knowledge would understand. This book may only be useful for you if you are an experienced web developer with thorough knowledge in both backend and frontend technologies and just looking for some better practices and tips.
Unfortunately there aren't so many people that fit that description.
Not recommended
Here we go again, another book from Wrox press written by multiple authors from multiple disciplines. Professional Web 2.0 Programming is another deception for me in that it only provides high level details about web 2.0 and the book contains several chapters of subjects already mentioned over and over again in other books already. Let's start with Chapter 2. Here we have an overview of HTML, CSS, XHTML and DOM. I mean, why is this mentioned here? Is this a WEB 2.0 book or Web 1.0 book? Chapter 3 is about JavaScript and Ajax. What a waste, I already have a JavaScript book no need for half a chapter on JavaScript undefined objects. The other half is about high level design philosophies about Ajax. If this is what is referred to as a professional book on programming I'm really disappointed. Chapter 5 is a rehash of XSL with a mix of SVG. Chapter 6 is a waste of time about rich client applications providing little value to the reader. Chapter 7 is a rehash of the HTTP protocol URI. Chapter 8 is a rehash of XML. Chapter 9 talks about Syndication. Ha! Finally 15 pages worth of WEB 2.0 information via a high level definition of the RSS format. Chapter 11 is about web services, a rehash of other books on the subject.
A little bit of everything leads to nothing
As per the other reviewer, this book uses one chapter for each topic: eg. HTML/CSS, Javascript, Design Principles, and sometimes not even a whole chapter eg, Chapter 5 includes SVG, XSLT, XPATH, XFORMS, and the discussion about HTML 5 and XHTML 2.0.
Each section only really makes sense if you are already familiar with the topic. If you are familiar with the topic, then the relevant section will only bore you. The areas where you are not so familiar will confuse you.
It seems this book is an attempt to explain Web 2.0 technologies in a really short sharp fashion, from the beginning. Unfortunately, each topic is worthy of its own book. Shrinking 10+ books down to one doesn't work very well.
However, I do think an advanced book that assumes knowledge of these technologies and explains how to integrate them together would be cool.
NIH AWARDS KPMG CONSULTING FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE UNDER CIO-SP2 CONTRACT.: An article from: Federal Computer Market Report From Millin Publishin
This digital document is an article from Federal Computer Market Report, published by Millin Publishing, Inc. on April 29, 2002. The length of the article is 521 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: NIH AWARDS KPMG CONSULTING FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE UNDER CIO-SP2 CONTRACT.
Publication: Federal Computer Market Report (Newsletter)
Date: April 29, 2002
Publisher: Millin Publishing, Inc.
Volume: 26 Issue: 8 Page: 5
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Product Details
Brand: The Gale Group
Published on: 2002-04-29
Released on: 2005-07-30
Format: HTML
Binding: Digital
Editorial Reviews
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
KPMG Consulting, Inc. (Nasdaq: KCIN), one of the world's largest consulting and business systems integration firms, has received an award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Outstanding Performance under the Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners II contract, known as CIO-SP2. In its first year as a prime contractor, KPMG Consulting was one of the top three revenue winners among the 48 companies competing under the contract.
Mathematical Systems Theory in Biology, Communications, Computation and Finance (The IMA Volumes in Mathematics and its Applications)
Mathematical systems theory is a vibrant research area in its own right. The theory has an impact in numerous applications areas including aeronautics, biological systems, chemical engineering, communication systems, financial engineering and robotics to name just a few. This volume contains survey and research articles by some of the leading researchers in mathematical systems theory. Many authors have taken special care that their articles are self-contained and accessible also to non-specialists. The articles contained in this volume are from those presented as plenary lectures, invited one hour lectures and minisymposia at the 15th International Symposium on the Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems held at the University of Notre Dame, August 12-16, 2002.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #32295 in eBooks
Published on: 2003-09-02
Format: Kindle Book
Number of items: 1
Mastering Value at Risk: A Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Applying VAR (Market Editions) by Cormac Butler
Value at Risk (VAR) is rapidly emerging as the dominant methodology for estimating precisely how much money is at risk each day in the financial markets. Traders and managers use it to monitor the financial risk of a portfolio. This book provides an objective view of VAR, analyzing its pitfalls as well as its benefits.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #141180 in Books
Published on: 1999-04-25
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
288 pages
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
“This book provides a solid foundation for an understanding of Value at Risk from both an internal and a regulatory perspective, which should be invaluable as both an initial read and also as a continuing source of reference. Keep this by your side as a roadmap through the jungle of competing models, mathematical formulae and erudite statistics.”
- Dr Richard Flavell, Director, Lombard Risk Systems
“Cormac Butler has the distinct advantage of being a trainer in the subject, which is definitely the best assurance that he is fully up-to-speed in this complex and constantly changing field.”
- Dr D C Gardner, Chairman, Birchin International plc
The estimation of potential losses that could arise from adverse changes in market conditions is a key element of risk management. For financial institutions and corporate treasuries across the world, Value at Risk (VaR) is rapidly emerging as the dominant methodology for estimating precisely how much money is at risk each day in the financial markets.
However, the communication and application of VaR is a field in which the signal to noise ratio is not high. There is neither a widespread intuitive understanding of VaR in the market, nor an appreciation of the practicalities of its implementation and limitations.
Mastering Value at Risk will close that knowledge gap, introducing this potentially powerful methodology to those most in need of its benefits, and helping all those who encounter VaR to use it wisely.
Key topics examined include:
A practical introduction to Value at Risk
Value at Risk as a Tool in Supervisory Regulation
A profile of VaR methods, how matrices are used to calculate VaR and a comparison of the variance covariance approach with other methods
VaR on forward rate agreements
The risk sensitivities of options
Applying VaR principles to Credit Control
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Preface
There is little doubt that, over the past four years, the profession of Financial Risk Management has grown considerably. Banks have set up specialist risk divisions whose function is not only to measure risk, but also to control it. Value at Risk has an important role to play here. Those who have a sound grasp of its principles, and who understand the unique nature of derivative risk, are in a better position not only to trade properly, but also to avoid contributing to the huge losses that many major banks have suffered in the last few years. Value at Risk is not only of interest to risk practitioners, but also to traders who want to trade profitably and, of course, to graduate and post-graduate students who want to become derivative traders, or who want to specialize in risk management. Recently, the Futures and Options Association has recommended that directors of major banks become actively involved in policies of risk management, rather than to delegate them, which is the current practice of many banks. A good grasp of VaR is, therefore, essential for this sector as well.
Mastering VaR is designed for the practitioner. Today, most practitioners recognize the importance of an interactive book, which encourages active as opposed to passive learning. Mastering VaR uses Excel spreadsheets to achieve this. If you have Excel available, you will be guided toward setting up a simple but illustrative VaR system. If you do not have Excel, the examples are designed so that you can follow them with relative ease and so at least understand how VaR systems operate.
A common complaint among practitioners is that, although there are many books on VaR, few are accessible to the non-academic. As one colleague put it, "It seems as though all writers in risk management are academic professors trying to impress more senior academic professors." In a practical world, many of the articles and books on VaR will lose the attention span of busy traders and practitioners who do not have a post-graduate degree in mathematics or statistics. Clearly, there is a gap in the market for a book which sets out, in digestible blocks, what VaR is, its limitations, and how to apply it.
The book is designed to give readers a practical insight into VaR and what this latest risk-measurement system is trying to achieve. In the first chapter, the concept of VaR is explained. You will be introduced to the concepts of volatility, normal distribution, and correlation. There are a number of practical but simple examples of each of these concepts. By the end of the chapter, you will have an intuitive understanding of the basics of VaR.
In Chapter 2, we examine why regulators and banks have found it necessary to develop a VaR system. We give you the regulators' perspective and the need for banks to "self-assess" their own risk with a view to calculating capital adequacy. We examine the role of the capital adequacy and why the existing framework is not the most suitable for measuring risk. The chapter also gives some insight into the Basle Committee and the evolution of self-assessment in terms of risk measurement.
In Chapter 3 we get down to the practical issues of risk measurement and build your knowledge of volatility and correlation (already introduced in Chapter 1). The idea behind this is to show you various approaches to the measurement of VaR and to illustrate the computational challenges of dealing with large portfolios. This chapter is to a large extent an interactive chapter where you can (if you have spreadsheets) build up a VaR measuring system which almost incorporates the broad features inherent in real VaR packages. Those who do not have spreadsheets will nevertheless to be able to follow the examples without any difficulty. Although the chapter appears very mathematical, we assume only a basic knowledge and direct nonmathematical readers to two small appendices which explain in simple terms how matrices operate.
In Chapters 4 and 5 we illustrate how fixed income products are "decomposed" and mapped onto weighting matrices for the purpose of risk measurement. Swaps, swaptions, and forward rate agreements are discussed in detail, in order to illustrate the complexities and how we can exploit natural hedging. We also compare VaR risk measurement with the more traditional forms of risk measurement, such as duration and convexity.
Chapters 6, 7, and 8 concentrate on risk measurement for options. In Chapter 6 we illustrate the unique risk nature of options and emphasize the "Greeks". In Chapter 7 we outline some of the popular strategies in which option traders engage and their risk implications. Chapter 8 then illustrates the weaknesses with the standard variance covariance approach and introduces a new method of risk measurement: Monte Carlo simulation. The principles of VaR are not just confined to market risk. In Chapter 9, we show how we can apply VaR principles to the estimation of credit risk. In particular, we look at CreditMetrics and the growth in the use of credit derivatives.
In Chapter 10, we concentrate on volatility forecasting and estimation. We illustrate the unique nature of volatility and the various models used by practitioners In particular, we talk about GARCH and compare this method to the exponentially weighted moving average method, as adopted by RiskMetrics. Finally, in Chapter 11, we look at the particular problems with modeling risk in general and in, particular, the pitfall of overreliance on models to measure risk.
Questions & answers
We have launched a new website, answerback.org, to deal with the most popular questions and queries that readers have raised, after reading Mastering Value at Risk. If you are stuck on any area, please send your question to us via the website. You will also see questions and answers from other readers.
Customer Reviews
Failed Potential
This book would have been 5 stars if it had been edited and proofed properly. There are *FAR* too many errors. I would still recommend that one purchase and read this book, which is a good introduction to VaR for the uninitiated, but the error count is just ridiculous. There are significant errors nearly every other page.
There are:
* currency sign errors, which render examples meaningless;
* repeated formula errors, which require the reader to guess the correct formula;
* text errors, which change the meaning of the sentences to their exact opposite;
* errors in punctuation;
* errors in grammar;
* numerical errors in the text next to examples that show the correct numbers.
If there were going to have been a second edition, it would already be out by now, so I'm not hopeful that a new edition will appear to correct the many errors.
I am QUITE surprised that the author doesn't have an errata page at the website he put up for questions on this book at [...]
File this book under "Failed Potential".
Very helpful for beginners
I'm chemical Engineer and I'm working on my thesis on to get the Master in Sc. I had no clue in VaR, this book help not only to understand it but to apply it further pure finances.
Until something better comes along. . .
The other reviewers are correct about the errors. The results of Mr. Butler's formulas sometimes don't match the formulas themselves which in turn don't match his results in the spreadsheets. Also, the grammar, particularly the punctuation, leaves much to be desired. This book had either a poor editor or no editor.
However, Mr. Butler is the only author to write a book that shows actual real-world VaR calculations. The other books give plenty of theory, but never enough detail to enable you to do your own VaR calculations. So until something similar and better comes along, this book will have to do. And really, the errors in the spreadsheets are not that hard to spot if you just follow the text and if you are aware that the errors are there.
A Geometric Approach to Differential Forms By David Bachman
The modern subject of differential forms subsumes classical vector calculus. This text presents differential forms from a geometric perspective accessible at the sophomore undergraduate level. The book begins with basic concepts such as partial differentiation and multiple integration and gently develops the entire machinery of differential forms. The author approaches the subject with the idea that complex concepts can be built up by analogy from simpler cases, which, being inherently geometric, often can be best understood visually.
Each new concept is presented with a natural picture that students can easily grasp. Algebraic properties then follow. This facilitates the development of differential forms without assuming a background in linear algebra. Throughout the text, emphasis is placed on applications in 3 dimensions, but all definitions are given so as to be easily generalized to higher dimensions. A centerpiece of the text is the generalized Stokes' theorem. Although this theorem implies all of the classical integral theorems of vector calculus, it is far easier for students to both comprehend and remember.
The text is designed to support three distinct course tracks: the first as the primary textbook for third semester (multivariable) calculus, suitable for anyone with a year of calculus; the second is aimed at students enrolled in sophomore-level vector calculus; while the third targets advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students in physics or mathematics, covering more advanced topics such as Maxwell's equations, foliation theory, and cohomology.
Containing excellent motivation, numerous illustrations and solutions to selected problems in an appendix, the material has been tested in the classroom along all three potential course tracks.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #137282 in Books
Published on: 2006-08-30
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
133 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
From the reviews:
"[The author's] idea is to use geometric intuition to alleviate some of the algebraic difficulties...The emphasis is on understanding rather than on detailed derivations and proofs. This is definitely the right approach in a course at this level." MAA Reviews
"This book is intended as an elementary introduction to the notion of differential forms, written at an undergraduate level. The book certainly has its merits and is very nicely illustrated . It should be noted that the material, which has been tested already in the classroom, aims at three potential course tracks: a course in multivariable calculus, a course in vector calculus and a course for more advanced undergraduates (and beginning graduates)." Frans Cantrijn, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2007 d
Customer Reviews
A geometric approach to differential forms
Easy to read, but not too deep in theory or algebraic properties of differntial forms. Interesting for many exercices to solve ( with solutions !) Useful to grasp an intuitive approach to the concept, but if you are seeking a thoroughtly book on the subject this is not the book.
A Very Accessable Intro to Forms
I highly recommend this text for anyone looking for a "gentle" introduction to forms and manifolds.
When learning a topic, I believe that it is important to develop both computational proficiency and a deep conceptual understanding. I have come to understand that manipulating symbols is not sufficient and that whenever possible, understanding the underlying geometry is critical.
For whatever reason, I struggled to understand forms from other sources. (Maybe I was too focused on the algebra of the wedge product.) However, Bachmann's exposition was easy to follow and very insightful. It was a revelation that all integrands are not differential forms. Also, I had read elsewhere that forms are a basis for the tangent space of a manifold. I could say the words but they contained little meaning for me. Within the first couple of days with Bachmannn's book, this as well as some other basic ideas became crystal clear. I particularly liked that he at times presents more than one geometric interpretation of an concept.
Anyone who has already seen some vector calculus and now wants a very quick introduction to forms with a minimum time investment can benefit greatly from this text. In total, I spent about a month reading, A Geometric Approach to Differential Forms and I am now confident that I am ready to tackle more advanced texts on the topic.
A word of caution, in the book's Preface, it is suggested that there are three possible tracks one can take with this text. In addition to an upper division track that focuses on forms and manifolds, one is a vector calculus track and another is a multi-variable calculus track. In either of the latter two cases, if that is your main interest, I would recommend a text like Marsden's Vector Calculus. It encompasses a broader base of material and it is also very well written.
Visual Guide to Lock Picking (Third Edition) By Mark McCloud; Gonzalez de Santos
The Visual Guide to Lock Picking has been the definitive guide for learning the art of lock picking. The Third Edition updates all of the illustrations with new, high quality, computer graphics. Over 100 new pages have been added. Inside, you will find interesting material and lock picking how-to for pin tumblers, warded locks, wafer locks, tubular locks, combination padlocks, and lever locks. This acclaimed guide reveals the secrets of the trade and makes learning the art of picking fun and easy. You don t have to waste time guessing how it s done, reading some amateur s theories, or trying to learn from the movies (they always get it wrong). Now you can get accurate information that the professionals use to give you the edge. What really sets this book apart is the quality of illustrations, which make lock picking easy to understand. The visual approach makes it easy to see how locks really work. Each type is completely dissected, exposing every moving part. Step-by-step instructions are given for picking each kind of lock. You will be lead through the entire process, from introducing the necessary tools, to explaining several techniques that will lead you to that satisfying click as your lock springs open! This book is the premier guide on picking locks. Even if you already know how to pick some locks, this book covers tips and techniques. Exercises are also explained to help you hone your skills. From simple locks, to high security pins, almost all modern lock types are covered; making it the perfect locksmith s companion. Now, you can understand the technology that has kept thieves at bay for centuries. Since the time of antiquity, within the halls of the great pyramids, tomb raiders found their untold treasures behind surprisingly sophisticated locks. Today s locks inherit from these same designs. We give you the keys to their secrets. How many times have you, or someone you know, been locked out? Now you don t have to be helpless in th
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #154548 in Books
Published on: 2007-01-01
Released on: 2007-01-01
Binding: Perfect Paperback
208 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
This book made it easy to get started, and walked me through step-by-step. That first click was amazing! --The LCN Review
Customer Reviews
Fantastic book
A fantastic book with lot of pictures very descriptive. Recomended to everybody who would like to learn the basics of lockpicking.
101 Easy-to-Do Magic Tricks By Bill Tarr
Abundantly illustrated, easy-to-follow guide shows beginning and veteran prestidigitators how to successfully perform over 100 tricks, including The Inexhaustible Hat, The Cut and Restored Turban, The Chinese Rings, The Rising Cards, Steel Through Steel, Fingers That See and dozens of other remarkable feats—each graded according to difficulty.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #202577 in Books
Published on: 1992-12-21
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
224 pages
Editorial Reviews
Card catalog description
A step-by-step guide to performing 101 magic tricks using easily available objects as props.
Customer Reviews
101 Easy-todo-magic-tricks
Well, the title of the book pretty much explains the book. For me, It was a litle too easy, but I'm 16 years old. This book is better suited towards kids. But if you are interested solely in card magic, I recommend not getting it. This book only has self-working card tricks. Although, if you are only interested in a couple easy cards tricks to impress people, then that is what this book offers. This book also contains other tricks, such as dolar bill in a lemon, chinese wands, chinese rings, the inexhaustible hat, the rising cigarette, ring on a string, and the great matchbox escape, to name a few. This book isn't very long. I didn't enjoy the book that much, because I am interested in street magic, and these tricks are not suited to that type of magic, because they all require set-up and need a table or are too angle sensitve, ect. But overall, I would have to say that you shouldn't buy this book (because there are so many better books that hold more information) unless you are a kid. If you are older and a beginner in magic I recommend another book.
Top Beginner Book
This is one of the best magic books a beginner could buy. Just as he does in his other books, Bill Tarr teaches in a way that is so easy to understand and follow. These are some of the best classic magic tricks; every magician should know them. I recommend this book to even advanced magicians. If you don't have it on your shelf, you're missing out.
Good
This book was absolutly great! All the magic tricks were so easy to do! I loved enterraining my two younger sisters with these tricks.
The Standard & Poor's Guide to Measuring and Managing Credit Risk by Arnaud de Servigny Product Description
Today's most complete, up-to-date reference for controlling credit risk exposure of all types, in every environment
Measuring and Managing Credit Risk takes you far beyond the Basel guidelines to detail a powerful, proven program for understanding and controlling your firm’s credit risk. Providing hands-on answers on practical topics from capital management to correlations, and supporting its theories with up-to-the-minute data and insights, this authoritative book examines every key aspect of credit risk, including:
Determinants of credit risk and pricing/spread implications
Quantitative models for moving beyond Altman’s Z score to separate “good” borrowers from “bad”
Key determinants of loss given default, and potential links between recovery rates and probabilities of default
Measures of dependency including linear correlation, and the impact of correlation on portfolio losses
A detailed review of five of today’s most popular portfolio models—CreditMetrics, CreditPortfolioView, Portfolio Risk Tracker, CreditRisk+, and Portfolio Manager
How credit risk is reflected in the prices and yields of individual securities
How derivatives and securitization instruments can be used to transfer and repackage credit risk
Today’s credit risk measurement and management tools and techniques provide organizations with dramatically improved strength and flexibility, not only in mitigating risk but also in improving overall financial performance. Measuring and Managing Credit Risk introduces and explores each of these tools, along with the rapidly evolving global credit environment, to provide bankers and other financial decision-makers with the know-how to avoid excessive credit risk where possible—and mitigate it when necessary.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #43457 in Books
Published on: 2004-03-26
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
388 pages
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
State-of-the-art tools and techniques for controlling credit risk exposure of all types, in every environment
The oldest risk in world financial markets--credit risk--has become a leading source of problems and confusion, not just for bankers and investors but for all finance professionals. The Standard & Poor's Guide to Measuring and Managing Credit Risk will help you understand every aspect of credit risk, and provide you with today's most up-to-date techniques and models for identifying, measuring, monitoring, and controlling your organization's credit risk exposure.
Praise for The Standard & Poor's Guide to Measuring and Managing Credit Risk:
"de Servigny and Renault have written a valuable reference book on the analytics of credit markets. Theory and data are integrated seamlessly throughout the manuscript. The mathematical treatment is complete, though not overbearing. The economics, pricing, structuring and capital allocation aspects are artfully combined into a coherent whole."
--Jamil Baz, Global Head of Fixed Income Research, Deutsche Bank
"This is much more than just a 'how to' book--it is analytically complete in that it looks at the microeconomics of industry structure to understand why credit risks have to be measured and monitored as well as being comprehensive in covering all the different approaches used to monitor and measure credit risk."
--Bunt Ghosh, Global Head of Fixed Income Research, Credit Suisse First Boston
"This extensive work, really clear while dealing with sophisticated methodologies, is right in the heart of today's concerns."
--Jean-Pierre Mustier, CEO, SG Corporate and Investment Banking
"de Servigny and Renault provide a comprehensive treatment of all aspects of modern credit risk measurement, management, and mitigation, not only for large corporations but also for retail and small business (with an excellent chapter on credit scoring). This book is an absolute must for both academics and risk professionals, especially those struggling with the implementation of Basel II."
--Michel Crouhy, Head of Business Analytic Solutions, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Fast-changing regulations, transformative technologies, and today's go-for-broke business mentality present investment banks and other lenders with default problems that are both unprecedented and daunting. To keep pace with this change, finance professionals are finding they must continually review and upgrade their credit risk management tools and techniques.
The Standard & Poor's Guide to Measuring and Managing Credit Risk takes you far beyond the Basel guidelines to detail a powerful, proven program for understanding and controlling your firm's credit risk. Providing hands-on answers on practical topics from capital management to correlations, and supporting its theories with discerning data and insights, this authoritative book examines every key aspect of credit risk, including:
Determinants of credit risk and pricing/spread implications
Quantitative models for moving beyond Altman's Z score to separate "good" borrowers from "bad"
Key determinants of loss given default, and potential links between recovery rates and probabilities of default
Measures of dependency including linear correlation, and the impact of correlation on portfolio losses
A detailed review of five of today's most popular portfolio models--CreditMetrics, CreditPortfolioView, Portfolio Risk Tracker, CreditRisk+, and Portfolio Manager
How credit risk is reflected in the prices and yields of individual securities
How derivatives and securitization instruments can be used to transfer and repackage credit risk
Today's credit risk measurement and management tools and techniques provide organizations with dramatically improved strength and flexibility, not only in mitigating risk but also in improving overall financial performance. The Standard & Poor's Guide to Measuring and Managing Credit Risk introduces and explores each of these tools, along with the rapidly evolving global credit environment, to provide bankers and other financial decision-makers with the know-how to avoid excessive credit risk where possible--and mitigate it when necessary.
About the Author
Arnaud de Servigny, Ph.D., is the head of Quantitative Analytics for Standard & Poor's. A popular speaker at conferences and seminars throughout Europe, de Servigny is the author of a number of books and articles on finance and credit risk.
Olivier Renault, Ph.D., works in portfolio modeling in the quantitative analytics and products team for Standard & Poor's Risk Solutions. Prior to joining Standard and Poor's, Olivier was a lecturer on finance at the London School of Economics where he taught derivatives and risk.
Customer Reviews
Must have for risk management
Yes, this is a must have. Written by S&P auther, it is the definitive guide, no question should be asked. cause they are credit king.
Many details on how to measure risk, quantitative methods in detail. Ideas and industry practice all in great detail. I could imagine some quants will use it as a cook book for their project.
overall, well written for easy read. both good for a glance at credit risk and for in depth learning of industry standard.
Most Appropriate for Basel II
If you are Banker/Banking Consultant then this book is the closest you will get to understanding Credit Risk from a Basel II perspective. Its clear & lucid style helped me understand the gamut of techniques used in Credit Risk Measurement. Unfortunately the Book does not get into the details of bulinding models so if your looking for a model building cookbook, look elsewhere.
a complete, robust and comprehensive valuable resource!
In Measuring and Managing Credit Risk, the authors provided a robust, complete and comprehensive treatment of several aspects of modern credit risk measurement and management. Written by two high talented practitioners, this book will become certainly a reference both for academics and practitioners thanks to its careful treatment of several not so known empirical issues which practitioners have to face everyday. At the same time, do not consider the book as a new recipes book for managing credit risk. Both authors already proved their deep knowledges of financial theory and establish once again, through this book, how advanced knowledges of theory combined with significant practical experience make leading researches. As a PhD candidate in Finance, actually writing on credit risk, I definitively adopted this book and higly recommend it for anyone dealing with credit risk issues either through a practical experience or through a theoritical work.
Paul Wilmott on Quantitative Finance 3 Volume Set (2nd Edition) by Paul Wilmott
Product Description
Paul Wilmott on Quantitative Finance, Second Edition provides a thoroughly updated look at derivatives and financial engineering, published in three volumes with additional CD-ROM.
Volume 1: Mathematical and Financial Foundations; Basic Theory of Derivatives; Risk and Return.
The reader is introduced to the fundamental mathematical tools and financial concepts needed to understand quantitative finance, portfolio management and derivatives. Parallels are drawn between the respectable world of investing and the not-so-respectable world of gambling.
Volume 2: Exotic Contracts and Path Dependency; Fixed Income Modeling and Derivatives; Credit Risk
In this volume the reader sees further applications of stochastic mathematics to new financial problems and different markets.
Volume 3: Advanced Topics; Numerical Methods and Programs.
In this volume the reader enters territory rarely seen in textbooks, the cutting-edge research. Numerical methods are also introduced so that the models can now all be accurately and quickly solved.
Throughout the volumes, the author has included numerous Bloomberg screen dumps to illustrate in real terms the points he raises, together with essential Visual Basic code, spreadsheet explanations of the models, the reproduction of term sheets and option classification tables. In addition to the practical orientation of the book the author himself also appears throughout the book—in cartoon form, readers will be relieved to hear—to personally highlight and explain the key sections and issues discussed.
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #40021 in Books
Published on: 2006-03-10
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
1500 pages
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
The first volume of Paul Wilmott On Quantitative Finance Second Edition, MATHEMATICAL AND FINANCIAL FOUNDATIONS; BASIC THEORY OF DERIVATIVES; RISK AND RETURN.
In this volume the reader is introduced to the fundamental mathematical tools and financial concepts needed to understand quantitative finance, portfolio management and derivatives. Parallels are drawn between the respectable world of investing and the not-so-respectable world of gambling.
Key chapters in this volume are
The Random Behavior of Assets
The Black-Scholes Model
The Black-Scholes Formulae and the â˜Greeksâ
Early Exercise and American Options
How to Delta Hedge
Fixed-income Products and Analysis: Yield, Duration and Convexity
Swaps
The Binomial Model
How Accurate is the Normal Approximation?
Investment Lessons from Blackjack and Gambling
The author has included numerous Bloomberg screen dumps to illustrate in real terms the points he raises, together with essential Visual Basic code, spreadsheet explanations of the models, the reproduction of term sheets and option classification tables.
In addition to the practical orientation of the book the author himself also appears throughout the book â in cartoon form, readers will be relieved to hear â to personally highlight and explain the key sections and issues discussed.
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The second volume of Paul Wilmott On Quantitative Finance Second Edition, EXOTIC CONTRACTS AND PATH DEPENDENCY; FIXED INCOME MODELING AND DERIVATIVES; CREDIT RISK. I
n this volume the reader sees further applications of stochastic mathematics to new financial problems and different markets.
Key chapters in this volume are
An Introduction to Exotic and Path-dependent Options
Derivatives and Stochastic Control
Equity and FX Term Sheets
One-factor Interest Rate Modeling
Empirical Behavior of the Spot Interest Rate
The Heath, Jarrow & Morton and Brace, Gatarek & Musiela Models
Fixed Income Term Sheets
Value of the Firm and the Risk of Default
Credit Risk
CrashMetrics
Derivatives **** Ups
The author has included numerous Bloomberg screen dumps to illustrate in real terms the points he raises, together with essential Visual Basic code, spreadsheet explanations of the models, the reproduction of term sheets and option classification tables.
In addition to the practical orientation of the book the author himself also appears throughout the book â in cartoon form, readers will be relieved to hear â to personally highlight and explain the key sections and issues discussed.
The third volume of Paul Wilmott On Quantitative Finance Second Edition, ADVANCED TOPICS; NUMERICAL METHODS AND PROGRAMS.
In this volume the reader enters territory rarely seen in textbooks, the cutting-edge research. Numerical methods are also introduced so that the models can now all be accurately and quickly solved.
Key chapters in this volume are
Defects in the Black-Scholes Model
Overview of Volatility Modeling
Volatility Smiles and Surfaces
Stochastic Volatility
Uncertain Parameters
Empirical Analysis of Volatility
Stochastic Volatility and Mean-variance Analysis
Volatility Case Study: The Cliquet Option
Crash Modeling
Static Hedging
Interest-rate Modeling Without Probabilities
Modeling Inflation
Energy Derivatives
Real Options
Life Settlements and Viaticals
Finite-difference Methods for One-factor Models
Monte Carlo Simulation and Related Methods
Numerical Integration and Simulation Methods
Finite-difference Programs
Monte Carlo Programs
The author has included numerous Bloomberg screen dumps to illustrate in real terms the points he raises, together with essential Visual Basic code, spreadsheet explanations of the models, the reproduction of term sheets and option classification tables.
In addition to the practical orientation of the book the author himself also appears throughout the book â in cartoon form, readers will be relieved to hear â to personally highlight and explain the key sections and issues discussed.
Customer Reviews
Clear and broad coverage
a good set of books. Clear , broad coverage and easy to understand but you may need some background in stochastic calculas / Ito lemma....but these concepts are all explained in the first book. One drawback is that you may find the mathematics are not rigorous enough ....but you can definite follow the suggested book list to deepen your knowledge...highly recommend to someone who need general intro to quant finance.
If you plan to work in quant interest rate derivatives, you *must* read it
I have used this book to teach a quantitative course on Fixed Income and Interest Rate Derivatives to those Master-of-Science students who are ready to enter the job market. Several of them got jobs in the quant finance industry as a result of this course. They told me what kind of questions they had on interviews, e.g., "derive the risk-neutral drift of the general HJM model." This interview question may sound intimidating to the uninitiated. But thanks to the extraordinarily simple exposition given in Wilmott, my students were able to answer this and many other such questions.
The math in this book is not complicated, if you read the book carefully. With some modest effort, you can figure out where the equations come from. Wilmott does a great job of showing only the relevant equations and hiding the less-important intermediate steps. Of course, if a reader bounces from section to section and expects to see everything clearly at the first glance, then he/she has unrealistic expectations of a quant book.
As for the comment by one of the reviewers about Wilmott's cartoons and jokes. There are quite a few of those. But you are free to ignore them if you think they distract you. It's always up to you what to read and what not to.
A big disappointment
I bought this book following all the good reviews Turned out to be a heartbreaker.
1. Artificially bloated -- too many cartoons, flippant and unnecessary jokes mask the whole purpose of the book. Bloomberg pictures are totally unnecessary.
2. Very complicated equations suddenly pop up from nowhere. Author starts from a sound theory. All on a sudden he jumps to completely esoteric equiation and the whole explanation is completely lost. It would be better to dispense with the whole analysis and just give out the final formula.