Commodities: 50 Things You Really Need to Know

Great book, packed with so much information.Each chapter is a topic of its own, and if you are new to commodities markets, there is so much great information that it is really easy to get lost in this book. As I was reading, I stopped to research everything I was unfamiliar with, and I have learned so much from reading this book.I love the quotes and Wall Street adages that begin each chapter. Peter knows how to write. He gives you all of the details in a special way that doesn't overload you with information while teaching you so much.Totally recommend this book

Cool book - I liked how it bounces around (the book is composed of many, many short chapters on different topics).

After reading the book I can remember only a few useful bits of info. Around 40/50 "must knows" were commonly cited generalities without enlightening examples, not really useful as such.The bits I found useful:1) Figuring out commodities' daily prices is really difficult and most quoted prices are in fact near term futures prices2) Iron ore is the only major commodity still traded wth long term contracts between producers and steel manufacturers.3) China just a short while back had 95% market share in rare earths and caused a shock (prices x 4) by imposing strick export quotas a few years ago. An interesting fact about china's power in those commodities4) Story why onion futures trading is banned in the US.

I bought the book as well the audio book. I will turn it back. While there are technical points which are simply of low quality like the number of pages which does not correspond to the index, the content leaves also very much to be desired. E.g. the chapter about "Precious Metals" focuses only on gold. I totally ignore the fact of the authors' disparaging attitude towards the yellow metal, but there is no information about silver, platin, palladium. Metals which can have an immense impact on our industrial future.

It has a wide scope but it was summarized in a very simple manner. The book is good for general understanding.

For investors looking for a life in the fast lane, for this is where commodity punts will place you, gaining a clear understanding firstly of the dynamics which drive commodity markets and secondly of the terminology used to describe these markets is to be strongly advised.Peter Sainsbury's book is therefore an excellent starting point for those wishing to demystify commodity markets and to better understand the interplay between what at first sight might appear to be the unrelated market events that drive these markets.The book is, as the title suggests, straight forward and to the point and takes the reader a step at a time into the complex world of commodities using examples from history to illustrate and explain the forces behind market reactions that to the casual observer may appear just perverse.Written in a style that is easy to follow and understand and thankfully largely devoid of complex charts and tables, this book is a must have for budding commodity speculators and armchair economists alike.

Useful reference guide that reminds you of some of the basics we can all lose sight of as well as running through some of the very important send and third degree thinking that is required when looking at commodity dynamics.

I thought I knew a reasonable amount about commodities, but actually reading this proved I didn't !The book is broken into good sized chapters, covering the basics of how commodities impact us daily. Lots of topical subjects, including climate change and price volatility.The pace of the book built my interest as I read along and all the topics were easy to comprehend (which hasn't been the case on other books in this space I've read).My favourite chapter is in Part 5: "The case for and against investing in commodity markets", although the "resource curse" chapter was the most eye opening !Overall: Excellent clear guide and very much "on trend" compared to other publications.