Stock Options: An Authoritative Guide to Incentive and Nonqualified Stock Options (2nd edition)

If you're lucky enough to be granted employee stock options--and if the stock is actually worth something!--consider spending a little extra to purchase Robert Pastore's pricey primer on options. Stock options can be quite lucrative, but "while the intention of management and the board of directors is to motivate and reward people through stock options, the reality is that much of the potential wealth that could come from those options is wasted. Why? "The answer is simple," continues Pastore. "Options are complicated. If people maximize the value of their options, it's usually by luck ... blind luck." Thankfully, he writes with the layperson in mind, pinpointing ways to maximize earnings with textbook-like clarity. He explains the difference between incentive and nonqualified options, including charts showing how tax consequences vary, depending on exercise date. Pastore spends considerable time on tax issues, detailing the ramifications of long-term capital gains, alternative minimum tax (AMT), and disqualifying versus nondisqualifying dispositions of stock. Clear and thorough enough for both options newbies and tax professionals, Stock Options should help make blind luck less than necessary for success in the options process. --Rob McDonald