Book excerpt: This book tackles the concepts, technical architecture, recent developments, and future opportunities in the new field of "direct access" electronic markets. The author provides a comprehensive coverage of electronic market models, exchange platforms and networks, while describing ways in which professional electronic traders make money. Professional Electronic Trading is one of the few books that deals directly with the issues that industry professionals confront every day, making it an ideal reference and training tool. David James Norman (Chicago, IL) is Director of Electronic Markets Development at the Center for Law and Financial Markets at IIT. New technology and the advent of electronic trading have opened the floodgates to both foreign and domestic markets. Traders need the wisdom of industry veterans and the vision of innovators in today's volatile financial marketplace. The Wiley Trading series features books by traders who have survived the market's ever changing temperament and have prospered - some by reinventing systems, others by getting back to basics. Whether a novice trader, professional or somewhere in-between, these books will provide the advice and strategies that are needed to succeed today as well as in the future.