Michael Noll Books

I work in data communications and until I read this book I found the folks at the phone company baffling.

This book captures well the technical culture of the phone company right before the Internet took off.

A lot of really great explanation of how things like analog modems work- with a lot of great pictures.

Given that electronic signals are central to both artificial computers and biological nervous systems, this easy-to-read reference on electronic signals may prove useful to readers of many backgrounds.

This book covers physical, information theoretic, and electronic issues in data communication. While the book is a bit dated, the classic material really hasn't changed that much. Pierce and Nolls give a masterful treatment of this material at an introductory to intermediate level. If you are looking for a book packed with equations and proofs or a book devoid of such things you will be disappointed. Rather, the book is heavy on qualitative understanding, with some analysis and equations following from the qualitative understanding.

When I got this book, I picked it up in a bargain bin, and thought that it was worth a ...gamble that it might have some content (it looked a little too accessible, not deep). After reading this book and Pierce's (same author) Introduction to Information Theory: Signals Systems and Noise, I have a new appreciation. Pierce is the kind of guy who can get a point across, and give an understanding of some deep concepts. This book is great, and I'm really glad I have it.

I read this because I wanted to learn more about telco equipment. I am a network engineer and work with switches and routers, but didn't know much about the telco stuff. I learned a lot from the book. The most practical things for me were the information on the different types of fiber (multimode, single mode) and how they are different, how voice is sampled (explains why DS0 circuits are 64K) and how calls get routed from point A to point B. It explains a lot about time division multiplexing, wave division multiplexing, and various types of switching equipment. Now I understand what it means to put in my router configuration a line like "isdn switch-type primary-dms100". I think it is a great book to read for someone like myself that is familiar with data networking but wants to know more about the telco side.

I liked the book because it helped me on a report. I got an A. Yahoo! Thank You very much

Had to read this to get a handle on new responsibilities at my company. I found this book to be full of information but the writing style is both dry and scattered. If it were put into a better format (easier to absorb) I am sure it would be much better.

For the scope of its subject, the book is quite small. Noll quickly goes over a large number of areas. From the history of various communications methods since the 19th century, to explaining about computers and the Internet. It is partly a history book.

It is not very technical. Seems to be aimed at a reader who is outside the engineering and computing field. But for such a person, Noll gives a good description of the key ideas and people who made it happen. Should be readily understandable to a wide audience.