Now in its fifth edition, this is a classic introduction to futures markets. Practical discussions cover exchange trading, margining, floor vs. electronic trading and regulation.

Citing many original research paper, the book delves into theoretical issues of arbitrage pricing vs. market expectations pricing, normal backwardation and price discovery. There are dedicated chapters on agricultural, bond, interest-rate, stock index and foreign exchange futures. Two chapters discuss options on futures. I recommend this book for people who are new to the futures markets. Note that much of the material on financial futures also appears in Kolb's (1999) book on futures, options and swaps. [Review based on the fifth edition.]