John C. Hull
OPTIONS, FUTURES, AND OTHER DERIVATIVES
It is sometimes hard for me to believe that the first edition of this book, published in
1988, was only 330 pages and 13 chapters long. The book has grown and been adapted
to keep up with the fast pace of change in derivatives markets.
Like earlier editions, this book serves several markets. It is appropriate for graduate
courses in business, economics, and financial engineering. It can be used on advanced
undergraduate courses when students have good quantitative skills. Many practitioners
who are involved in derivatives markets also find the book useful. I am delighted that
half the purchasers of the book are analysts, traders, and other professionals who work
in derivatives and risk management.
One of the key decisions that must be made by an author who is writing in the area of
derivatives concerns the use of mathematics. If the level of mathematical sophistication
is too high, the material is likely to be inaccessible to many students and practitioners. If
it is too low, some important issues will inevitably be treated in a rather superficial way.
I have tried to be particularly careful about the way I use both mathematics and
notation in the book. Nonessential mathematical material has been either eliminated
or included in end-of-chapter appendices and the technical notes on my website.
Concepts that are likely to be new to many readers have been explained carefully and
many numerical examples have been included.
