Three decades ago, the nascent futures industry received scant attention and even less respect, largely because its practitioners were viewed as reckless speculators who operated in a wild, esoteric world where luck reigned and sound trading techniques played almost no part. Leo Melamed has radically changed that perception. Through his innovative work as head of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and his subsequent stewardship of the International Monetary Market, Melamed created and shaped the futures industry through innovative thinking, hard work, and the bold application of effective trading techniques, sparking a futures revolution that has taken on international dimensions. Now the widely acknowledged "father of the futures industry" guides you - as no one else can - through the exciting, controversial, risk-laden world of futures markets - their birth, turbulent growth, and seemingly limitless future. Far more than a mere historical chronicle, this book pinpoints the many lessons to be learned from the dizzying ups and downs of the industry - and how you might apply those lessons to your own trading to ensure long-term profitability. In so doing, Melamed explodes many myths about futures markets, demonstrates how success in the industry is founded on rock-hard principles, and provides a wealth of sage advice based on his own quarter century of trading experience. Leo Melamed on the Markets offers you an uncompromising look at what goes into becoming a successful futures trader. Melamed shows you why it is crucial to romance rather than fight against the market - and why such flexibility will pay dividends more often over the long run. He demonstrates that you must not only possessthe proper tools - among them, the necessary risk capital, a gift for deciphering economic trends, and skill in applying a technical approach to trading - but must have the necessary psychological makeup as well. The subsequent portions of the book - from coverage of the birth of the futures market to a discussion of global markets - provide object lessons and issue warnings that savvy futures traders will have to heed if they are to succeed in today's emerging and often uncertain new world order. Enhanced by a foreword by Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, who offers close-range insight into Melamed's methods and thinking, Leo Melamed on the Markets provides you with an utterly unique, first-hand perspective on the past, present, and future prospects of the futures industry - and what it will take for you to play an active and profitable part in it. As such, it is essential reading for every current and prospective trader and investor in the futures industry and a fund of invaluable information for every forward-thinking financial professional.