Zero-Sum Game: The Rise of the World's Largest Derivatives Exchange

Zero-Sum Game: The Rise of the World's Largest Derivatives Exchange

Zero-Sum Game is a well-written and very informative book. The author, a former Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) employee Erika Olson, does an excellent job describing the merger of two bitter rivals; the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the multibillion-dollar bidding war between the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the InterContinentalExchange (ICE) for control of CBOT. Olson also does a great job interweaving the history of the exchanges, the mechanics of the exchanges and giving us amusing insight to the Who’s who of the industry, all in a very easy to read format.

Being involved in the industry I was drawn to the book, I thought I was buying a book that would provide me insight to the history & cultures of the CBOT and the CME; I never thought that I was also buying a thrilling page turner which the book turned out to be! 

This book is a must read for anyone in the futures industry, I would also recommend this book to anyone interested in the politics of a merger.