Schwager is the starting point for any serious reading on futures and options trading. Disregard comments below on its being to quantitative. No, you don't need a Ph.D. in math nor high school calculus (there isn't a single integral or differential equation in the whole book). You should have a starting basis in statistics as well as some pre-existing intuition about markets.

It is well-written and clear,and truly encyclopedic in scope : every conceivable options trade, with all permutations thereof, is discussed and dissected, even inadvisable ones (they too are informative). A classic book whose age (mine is copyright 1984!) testifies to its enduring worth. To summarize, you can't really trade futures or options and expect to make money without it.

Mr.Schwager is intensely passionate about the markets. This comes through in his thorough analysis of the markets. He has no problem dissecting the fundamental and technical aspects of the market as easily as Michelangelo would paint the Sistine Chapel. His style is heavily influenced by statistics and high level mathematics. His entire voice is centered around the belief that the market can be predicted through analysis of the numbers. Unfortunately, for most people that is not the case. It also seems not to be the case for Mr.Schwager as well, since he admits in his book that he is not a good trader.

That being said, his book is a great reference tool that gets the average trader to stretch himself mentally and look at the markets in a different way. This book ... can be invaluable for the trader that is simply looking for a new perspective besides simply "flags", "candlesticks", and "elliot waves".

Schwager's textbooks while not specifically about spreads are comprehensive and complete about futures. This book has a small section about trading commodity futures spreads.

This book could be renamed as "The Mathematics of Trading". The traget readers are traders who use lots of Mathematics and Statistics.

The experience of Schwager helped me a lot. He said he was good in analysis but not trading. Many people, including me, thought Mathematics, Statistics and Economics were essential for good trading. So they went to college, studied hard, got a degree and hope they could make money in the market. This simply never happen! Otherwise everyone should got a PhD before trading. You still need to develop a method or system. But what is vital is to control your ego. Admit mistakes quickly. This was the most interesting and useful conclusion that I got from Schwager.

An old Chinese Proverb states that a mind all logic is like a knife all blade- in otherwords, tough to grasp. Schwager, an extremely intelligent and successful analyst, is a quant- the type of individual who enjoys crunching long series of numbers, sifting through data with a fine toothed comb, and finding hidden statistical correlations for their own sake. His writing style reflects this mindset.

While an excellent reference overall, Schwager at times tackles subjects of mind numbing complexity and strays into the realm of the pedantic. His example of how to fundamentally analyze the hog market is such a case. I was amazed at the level of esoterica delved into in certain places in this book. After reading this book early on (a trader interviewed in Market Wizards recommended it highly), I was worried that I might have to learn some high level calculus if I were going to be a successful trader. (Don't worry, that's not the case.) One of the things the successful trader has to do is learn to separate valuable information from noise, wheat from chaff. If you try to read every report and analyze every detail you come across, you will freeze like a deer in the headlights of indecision, buried under an avalanche of information overload. My overall impression is that Schwager approaches the markets the way a mathematics professor would approach a particularly thorny geometry problem: with logic, rigor and an utter lack of passion. His strengths are in crunching the numbers and laying out basic facts and theories with precision and clarity. Schwager's weakness, and the weakness of this book, is in poorly communicating the psychological and emotional elements of trading, which are critical.

This is not to say Schwager's book isn't valuable! It is packed with information, and also points out a number of the fallacies committed by traders skilled and unskilled alike. It is a good reference book to have, something like an abridged encyclopedia of trading, one that can be referred to many times over to brush up on the finer points of a certain strategy or technical method.

I recommend this book for those seeking quantitative knowledge of the futures markets and mathematical breakdowns of the strategies. But just know that if you read and buy this book, be aware that not all traders are so statistical and professor-like in their analysis. Schwager humbly admits that he is not a good trader himself. I think this is because he tries to hide behind rigorous analysis rather than dealing with his emotions and psychology directly, and this book reflects that attempt on his part. In conclusion I would say that this is an excellent reference guide, but I cannot agree that it is "complete" because it glosses over the critical psychological and emotional elements and does not deal with them as "completely" as it should.