Books on options trading generally come in two varieties. First, there are the bloodless, esoteric academic treatises that reach truly substantive and innovative conclusions, but never bother translating that quantitative research into strategies that are useful for the individual options trader. Then there are the dumbed-down, gimmicky how-to guides that explain what covered calls and calendar spreads are for the hundredth time, but don’t even attempt to discuss the relevant theory that underlies options trading.

Happily, there are rare exceptions to these two unhelpful categories, and Augen’s book is one of those exceptions. Augen strikes a perfect balance between theory and practice: he allots plenty of space to the presentation of tradable, interesting strategies, but without skimping on any of the relevant theoretical discussion...