Cisco Systems Books

I just passed the BCMSN test but not thanks to this book. This book is fraught with errors, fortunately I was using Cisco materials and the Switching Exam Cram to find out the errors. They skipped over important information and not nearly enough on trunking etc. I had approximately 9 questions on the test about trunking and where was the information? Not here that's for sure. Oh and try the practice test on the CD, useless. It asks poorly and obscurely written questions that have nothing to do with the test. Buy something else

The authors seemed to have rushed this, and so did the proof readers. There are several mistakes in the Q&A sections, and some areas that are treated quite superficially. I suspect that there are some gaps in the authors' knowledge - this may explain confusing and at times incorrect statements in the text, such as their explanation of VTP Pruning. Look around, I'm sure you'll find better than this.

I would be careful when reading this book there are several errors, and if you don't know what you are doing I wouldn't even bother using the self test as it will put incorrect answers in your head. There are at least five questions that are just obviously wrong. If you take the self test I would go over to CCO online, and verify that any answer the software gives you is correct. I am amazed that they allowed so many errors to make it into the final pressing of the CD.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to expand their knowledge of Multilayer Switching as well as preparing for the Switching exam. While I did find errors in the exams, John Bass responded promptly (in a matter of hours) to my questions regarding the errors and directed me to the fixes. Could you ask for much more? Nice job, Thomas, John, and James!

I'll give this book credit for the fact it is easy to read but that's about it. I had thought the Cisco Press book was lacking until I read this one. It's a decent book on switching but I didn't find it very useful for passing the CCNP switching exam. I would recommend the Cisco Press and the Todd Lammle books. Reading the two of them will surely prepare anybody for the exam. The McGraw Hill book just doesn't have the depth and isn't very accurate. I also noted that the technical editor is a CCNA/DA. I find it hard to believe that a technical editor can provide much insite on a study guide for a certification that is beyond what he has. Spend your money on Todd Lammle's and Karen Webb's books and let this dog lie.

I bought this book as a quick study guide before taking the ACRC exam (after failing with the CiscoPress ACRC book). I read only a few chapters and this is my view: This book contains many errors with some information being just plain wrong. They give command examples in abreviated form which is not allowed on the Cisco ACRC exam. Not a good thing to have stuck in your mind as you're heading for the exam. Ignore this book BTW: I did pass on the next shot at the ACRC exam after re-reading the CiscoPress book.

This book is an excellent overview for the ACRC exam. It doesn't go into great depth, but states the objectives and essential information clearly in addition to providing some sample questions. It is extermely well laid out and easy to comprehend. If read along with the course notes and the Cisco Press ACRC Exam Certification guide it will provide you with enough detail to pass the exam. Skim through it the night before the exam as a quick refresher !

This book is for review only ,I think you won't be able to pass the exam with this book. You need to have other books to go more in depth. I was disappointed by the questions type which they were far too easy comparing to the real test. I passed the exam studying mainly in the official Cisco ACRC course.

I studied Laemmle's CCNA exam notes for two days and passed the CCNA. Unfortunately, the ACRC exam notes book is not the same. It reads as if a non-technical person edited it. It seems every other page has an error - and typographical errors in a technical text can spell death when studying for an exam. I gave up on this one and went back to the Cisco Press certification guide. The CP book is a lot longer and more tedious, but at least I can rely on the information inside.

My copy had an ENTIRE chapter missing, I discovered this after buying it. But the publisher made up for it I guess by giving me TWO Chapter 3's. This book barely covers what is important. You can find it all in the Chappell ACRC book. I'd highly recommend buying her text, not this one. I passed the ACRC on the first try by downloading the objectives from cisco's site, and reading the Chappell text. Lammle's Exam Notes for this test is definitely not a tool for success on this exam. Don't buy it.

I only gave this book 4 stars because of the numerous typos. Bottom line is, it's an easy read--a much easier read than the Sybex book or the Cisco Press. If your goal is to pass the BSCN, and if you want a book that's straight forward, with the authors not trying to impress you with unnecessary technical mumbo jumbo, then this is your book. With this book, and the study questions from cheet-sheets.com, you're sure to pass. I passed with an 816 only reading this book once, reading two chapters a week. Just remember, you only need 690 to pass. Good luck.

I found the book extremely helpful in terms of clearly explaining the overview of the concepts to be studied. But it was lacking in down & dirty detail and as many people have pointed out was filled with typos and other errors. Using it together with the Cisco Press book really worked for me. If the typos are fixed, great, but I still wouldn't count on it as the only book to study from.

Bottom line, folks. I passed with 885.

The text was very well written. It treated some topic (like VLSM) with a few pages, but I got everything I needed to pass the test.

I would have given it 5 stars, but there were some glaring typos and errors that made studying a bit more challenging.

Overall, I think that's the best book on the topic right now.

This is the most error ridden of all the many books I've used to achieve MCSE,CCNA,CCDA and CCNP certs. I'm upgrading my CCNP to 2.0 and so have already completed the former ACRC test. But, if I had no prior knowledge of this material, I would still know it was flawed because of the contradictions in this tome. BIG mistake buying this book!

Well it is obvious that I have the newest printing (purchased December 00) Mt. Thomas has obviously taken reader comments to heart and fixed every problem in their errata so the printing I have is excellent. I think that this book is excellent and I look forward to passing my test next month.

The Cisco CCDA is a highly respected Cisco certification, although not as popular as the CCNA. The CCDA certification was created by Cisco for professionals seeking the path of a network designer.

As one would expect, Cisco Press comes to provide another fine title that will help any CCDA candidate succeed in their path to conquer the exam. While there are quite a few study guides out there promising to help you, this is perhaps the only one written by Cisco CCIE's with more than 10 years of experience.

The book is populated with around about 650 pages and 20 chapters full of great information and material that will surely cover beyond the CCDA exam needs. Of course, as with every Cisco Press title, the book is decorated with a very nice hard cover and the well known white-dark green colour combinations.

At the back of the book, you'll be happy to find a CDROM containing more than 200 practice questions for the CCDA exam and the full text in electronic format so you can carry it with you wherever you might be.

Neatly organised, the chapters are broken down into 5 main groups of which each one covers a specific range of topics related to each other:

Group 1: General Network Design

Group 2: LAN and WAN Design

Group 3: The Internet Protocol and Routing Protocols

Group 4: Security, Convergence, and Network Management

Group 5: Comprehensive Scenarios

What really amazed me is that each topic discussed contains numerous examples and adequate diagrams to ensure the reader understands what its talking about. Various questions that might popup are answered in most cases, proving that the content has been thourghly reviewed so no gaps are left.

The authors tone through out the book is comfortable and helps the reading process no matter how long a chapter might be. At the end of each chapter, you'll find the helpful `Foundation Summary' that will help you quickly revise the key points on the chapter you've read and then comes the great Q&A section which consists of around 20-25 questions to test yourself on.

Overall, I admit the book has left a very positive impression. Easy to read and follow with plenty of examples, questions and answers to help you get through the CCDA experience.

If you believe that a book is a good companion for your professional success, then this one will surely become one of your favourite!

A well earned 4/5 without hesitation!

I'm a big fan of Cisco Press material, which I bought to prepare the CCNA exam. I used this book for the CCDA exam and did not come even close to the passing score.

There's so much problems with that book, I don't know where to start. Its biggest issue is that it misses several key exam topics. Usually Cisco Press offers up-to-date complementary material to download from their web site. That's not the case here.

There are more issues. It's poorly written, so you get frustrated reading it and trying to figure out what the author really meant. Many sections are repetitive and some facts are simply incorrect.

I'll buy the other Cisco Press book - Diane Teare's DESGN - to get ready to repeat the exam. I believe that Cisco Press should simply no longer offer this book, stick to a single title for the CCDA and most importantly, keep it up to date.

There's a lot of interesting material in this book. It does a good job covering different LAN and WAN technologies, routing protocols and voice over IP technologies. The problem is that it doesn't cover the same material as the exam. I read this book cover to cover and studied until I knew the answers to all of the review questions in the book and on the CD. Then I went and took the test. I was very surprised by the material covered on the test, because it wasn't what I had studied at all.

The exam has been significantly updated while the resources for it have not. This book is seriously out-of-date compared to the exam, and the exam is the reason you are looking at this book, right?

I recommend you look elsewhere to pass the exam.

Although it contains useful information but does not come close to covering the exam objectives. The new CCDA exam (640-861) tests extensively on design and other topics such as VoIP and IPv6. I read the book cover to cover, went through all the questions at the end, covered the scenarios, but all that prep just wans't enough to cut the mustard.

Having said that, I would say at least an order of magnitude better than Lammle-Brkl book by Sybex press. That was a complete waste of some unfortunate tree.

Going with Self Study guide and Top Down design by Cisco press. Use the Exam Cert Guide as a reference but don't rely on it to pass the CCDA test.

This book just pastes in the output of Cisco commands without any adequate explainations. Obviously the authors know less about the material than many of the readers...

Notice that all the "positive" reviews give no details as to what's good about this book. I guess Lammle and Co. are going to have to submit more "reviews" to compensate for this bit of realism...

I bought this book as a companion to my Cisco Press troubleshooting book, but in the last few weeks, I found myself referring to this book less and less.

There is some good information, but if you are taking CIT as your last or next-to-last exam, a good deal of material is copied directly from the earlier Sybex books in the series. Nothing wrong with going over the material -- after all, you're learning to troubleshoot the material you've learned previously -- but I felt like a lot of this book was simply regurgitating earlier books instead of giving me fresh insight.

As I said, there were some good points. The chapter on troubleshooting methodology had some good examples, and having screen output for the commands helps those who don't have routers of their own to experiement with. Even that goes to extremes, though. At times there are pages and pages of redundant screen output when they need to be putting more solid information in.

Also, there's not much information on the actual contents of frames in different protocols. For those of us working with CCIE in mind while working on our CCNP, that's detail that shouldn't be left out. Overall, the lack of detail in this book really surprised and disappointed me.

You might very well be able to pass the exam with just this book if passing the exam is your sole goal. For those of us looking for more detail (and the exam has plenty of that!), I would recommend the Cisco Press book over this one.

This is not the usual Sybex study guide quality but it's still a good book. I purchased it with the expetation of being a great book and it fell short. To me there was a lot of filler that didn't need to be there. I would have liked to have seen more meat and less potato's...I know potato's fill pages but the meat is what you need to pass the test.

This book will help you prepare for the CIT exam but will not get you there.

Hear me know, believe me later: There was not one subject on the CIT exam that was not covered in this book! Be forewarned, it doesn't prepare you for the ridiculous phrasing and grammer used in the test to throw you off. I don't think any book can do that. Only real world experience can help you though those. If you used this book as your main study guide and failed the test, it is because you didn't study enough.

This somes up every chapter in this book: Pages and pages full of unexplained cut and paste show commands. Tuns and tuns of show commands listed in line, no real-world troubleshooting experience given to add some meaning to the commands.

The book reminds me of my college essays I used to do: Filled with padding to get to that mimumim required number of pages, and done at the last minute, without having done any 'real' research.

This is a good book, but not by my standards. After reading I still did not understand some abstract concepts, I have to find some other books to clarify the confusion. It seems to me it was written for those people who already know the subjects quite well.

I picked this up on a whim and found it rather hard to read due to the level of plain detail. The first few chapters especially about SS7 were exceptionally dry and a bit of a snoozer. They read more like an RFC rather then a teaching tool.

This book does need some prior knowledge. If you are a beginner and lack knowledge about telephony and networks; you will read it and probably not pickup much.

Even towards the end; I found the chapters didn't explain much. More like a list of features.

I found the case studies a little interesting.

The amount of information the authors were attempting to cover needed more detail. This book should have been at least twice it's size with a little more lesson oriented approach.

Overall, it's an ok book. Again if you are a beginner, you should wait and build your knowledge before attempting this book.

I've read many certification books, but this one was far and away the driest book I think I've ever read. On every page I'm thinking, "Oh, no - not another page..." The book is great on technical-ese; but the authors don't seem to get it when it comes to readability. No personal notes, no analogies to help keep the reader's interest - only pure technical information, and the more detailed, the better. Woe to you when you get to the SS7 section!

I don't really have anything good to say here, unfortunately. I'm about to order a different CVoice book to study. Anything could only be a step up. If anyone says that this book is easy to read, well, they've been paid by Cisco Press to say it, IMHO.

Very well written. I am learning quite a bit about VoIP. Highly recommend it.

With companies like Vonage beginning to advertise for broad based end user sales on television, VoIP must have become of age. I do notice, however, that Vonage still charges by the minute. I guess they think that this is what customers are used to paying so why not.

This book is aimed not at the Vonage type end user, but at the technically savvy individual. It aimed at three types: people who know circuit switching and want to know more about packet switching, people who know packet switching and want to know more about circuit switching, computer types who know computers but are not expert in communications.

It starts with how the traditional phone system worked and then moves to explain the difference between the old circuit switched system that Ma-Bell developed to the newer packet switched systems of today.

Most of the equipment being discussed is Cisco, as is fitting because it seems that they have just about the most complete line, and because this book is put out by Cisco Press. This is a resonably high level book, it is not intended for the absolute beginner who wants to use VOIP, but at the person who wants to understand the underlying technology. You'll learns lots of new With companies like Vonage beginning to advertise for broad based end user sales on television, VoIP must have become of age. I do notice, however, that Vonage still charges by the minute. I guess they think that this is what customers are used to paying so why not.

This book is aimed not at the Vonage type end user, but at the building of a comprehensive understanding of VoIP and would appeal to the sophisticated home user and to the corporate network engineer charged with moving his company to VoIP. It starts with how the traditional phone system worked and then moves to explain the difference between the old circuit switched system that Ma-Bell developed to the newer packet switched systems of today.

Most of the equipment being discussed is Cisco, as is fitting because it seems that they have just about the most complete line, and because this book is put out by Cisco Press. This is a fairly advanced book. It is not intended for the person who wants to set up a system, but for the person who wants to understand the underlying technology. You'll learn lots of new algorithms.

I think this product is good for what it is. That is to simply practice some advanced ip routing scenarios. It is another tool that you can use to help reinforce your understanding of certain concepts. Like all simulations, it has its limitations but Cisco has the right idea. The only way to seriously prepare for CCIE Lab exam is to practice with a rack of real Cisco equipment.

With this in mind, you can go through lots of complex scenarios and build on your knowledge and experience.

Finally, simulations are good to use when your are still building your lab or if you want to practice basic scenarios from scratch at the click of a button.

I actually liked this little product, but it's clear they've had to defray the cost of developing the "simulation environment" by skimping on the lab exercises. I'd like to see them offer an upgrade for $50 with 10 more labs.

I must say that while the command set is limited strictly to what you need, the environment really does behave like a real router. I see it as a sanity check for people who think they're 20% ready for the CCIE lab (mileage may vary - I haven't taken the lab yet).

I was really surprised that Cisco considers this "Expert" material. I am no where close to ready for my CCIE exam but I ripped through all five labs in 2 hours. There are no difficult puzzles to solve here; It's all very straightforward configurations. It's not bad, it just needs more labs and more difficult scenerios.

These labs do not come close to reflecting the complexity of the CCIE one-day practical lab. I finished this entire CD (all 5 labs) in under an hour before breakfast. These exercises are not at an intermediate/advanced level as advertised. Very disappointed - an absolute waste of money.

I dont know why some rate these CIMs so poorly. They are much better than routersim by far. Where else will you find training with narration and the number of routers you get. Although these CIMs are very structured in the commands available for individual the labs I feel what they are trying to do is teach you a specific topic without allowing you to stray away from the intended lesson so you better understand what is being taught. If you read any of the books and the use the CIMs you will have a greater understanding of what you read and some hands-on to back up the theory. Yes it's a little pricey but I find the much more enjoyable to learn from than dry read the page routersim.

Many reviewers have given this Virtual Lab harsh reviews because it isn't quite the router simulator they were hoping for. However, the product DOES deliver what it promises: it is a router sim developed to cover the topics on the CCNA exam, and that's it...It does not say anywhere that it is a COMPLETE router simulation solution....So, if you're looking for an additional study tool, give this one a try...

I purchased this product brand new and was only able to use one of the two licenses supportedly available with it. Then I was able to log-on only once and was locked out with an authorization error. I have repeatedly attempted to contact this company, it appears they are not supportive of their product. The one time I did get into the program it seemed to be vague and very simplistic with prompts for upgrade purchases. To avoid an unnecessary headache, save your money and do not buy this product.

This has to be one of the worst hundred bucks I've ever spent. Thank goodness my employer reimbursed me for it. Things that suck:

1) you're limited to soo few network devices not a huge deal but why? It's kinda lame

2) The amount of supported commands and features are far too small. I was able to do basic routing protocols, but even with those the commands were very limited. I was unable to do NAT which really disturbed me. Everything I WANT to do, I cant do because this software doesn't support the features. This is decent at best for the first half of the CCNA course where you only cover the basic basic routing protocols, anywhere past that this is completely useless.

3) There's more but this software isn't worth my time to spell it all out.

Dont waste your money on this, seriously I'm very disappointed.

Took this test this morning. I went through EVERY lab in this simulator and read through the Sybex book a total of three times before taking my test. I was confident in my answers until I got to the simulation questions. ALL...not one...ALL of my simulations were on NAT. Out of all 11 chapters in this simulator, not one of them went over configuring NAT. Not only was I surprised...I was a little upset because of the money spent to be confident in nothing. I went through the website for the upgrade to RouterSim 4.1 thinking maybe that's what I should have done before I took the test..and that too has NO labs for NAT.

Please don't get me wrong. I learned a lot from these simulators and am not completely upset about the purchase, I just assumed that the labs covered by this simulator went over basically EVERY situation the test covers. My fault for assuming...fool my once right? So...just a heads up for whom ever plans on using this tool for a test they will be taking soon...use this in conjunction with another simulator..and pay attention to NAT....it was a pretty HUGE portion of my test!

This product is frustrating! It has a number of bugs and wasted my study time as I had to keep fixing my labs. It also crashes heaps. I'm happy I didn't pay for it and work did. It's ok for a basic tool, but I would keep looking. I'm at the point now where I'm looking to buy another product. I don't recommend it!

Like the previous reviewer stated, this book isn't for everyone. The text is very hard to read due to a lot of jargon that is unnecessary. Most terms aren't even explained until after they are used chapters before being defined. This book also does not correspond well with the online tests very well.

You would think that with a little determination and this book, you'd be able to ace all the online tests. This is not true, however, as this book fails to explain a majority of the test questions. (I actually rely on my instructors notes over the reading the book when necessary)

Don't get it unless you have to.

I am satisfied with the cost of the book, however, the delivery period was a problem but thank God it finally came.

wish Amoazon well.

This book has so many errors in it. I,ve spent hours reviewing material that ended up being incorrect. I took the CCNA class online through the Cisco academy and there is quite a bit of questions that are only in the book and not in the curriculum. Cisco has a long way to go. Hope this helps someone.

I checked twice to make sure I was reading reviews of the book I am currently reading(now on Ch 8), because this is an excellent book. Before I begin - one caveat - I have the the Networking Basic, CCNA 1 Companion Guide (cc 2006) not the CCNA 1 & 2 Companion Guide. However, judging by the contents and excerpt it appears that Part I of this book is the same as the book I am reading.

This is perfect for self study as it is heavy in pedagogy and takes real pains to make sure key concepts are conveyed with special notation, graphics and some repetition. There are plenty of illustration and excercises you can do with the included network simulator to drive home concepts and practice some practical configuations of devices and experiment with topologies.

I can't understand how anyone would think this is too technical assuming they are interested in acheiving a working understanding of networking. At times I wished they would dive just a little deeper, but I appreciate that this is not an engineering text, but rather is written on what I would call a technician level.

I have had no trouble understanding any of the concepts and found it to be one of the more readable texts I have encountered. Good explanations and a logical flow to the text. Prior to this book I had read one book on the subject; it is non-technical (in as much as is appropriate when covering a technical topic) but covers a wide scope so that I would get an nice overview before delving into details - Sam's Teach Yourself Networking in 24 hours.

I have a BS in Electronic Engineering so I can appreciate that those without this kind of background might find the CCNA CG more challenging, but if you are attempting to be a professional networker then I suspect you may be in over your head if you find this book too difficult. I don't want to imply that my BS gave me an advantage in terms of knowledge of the material since I had no networkin courses, but rather I am just used to reading much more difficult texts and solving much more difficult problems. The only portion so far that my EE degree gave me an advantage in was the explanation of the physics of cable and fiber transmissions. The books explanation is written on a 9th grade level and would be simple reading for an arts major IMO.

As for preparation for the CNNA I can't speak with any authority since I have not taken the exam yet. Of course you will need other resources besides these books to prepare for the exam but I have to believe this provides a solid theoretical and to a some degree practical grounding in networking - assuming of course you also study CCNA 3& 4 CG's which I hope are as well written as this book.

I am teaching a networking course and am using the CCNA 1 and 2 Companion Guide as the required textbook for the class. I am very surprised that I am presently on Chapter 8 and I am still talking about Ethernet. I know Ethernet is an important subject matter, but it could be reduced to two chapters at best. The book,thus far, is way too technical for the students in my class. Thus, it simply isn't for students who are beginning their journey into networking. For the bang for my buck, I would recommend Todd Lammele's CCNA book, something to the point. The instructor could expand on the important material that the students need to know and the book would stress key points. I am CCNA and CCNP certified with practical experience so I believe I am qualified to know what is needed for students wanting to enter the networking field and like I said, the book has good info, but it is spread so far apart and is too technical for someone with little or no experience. I have talked to the Dean about this book and have recommended that another book be used. Cisco books are usually good for experienced people in the field.

I don't know if Jeffrey Young understands the *business* of networking, but he sure doesn't have much of a grasp on the technical details. That'd be okay, except that he seems to feel compelled to try to explain the technical details.

The cherry on top of the sundae of misinformation: "Moving data around in a network or through the Internet [...] is inherently better with one standard. In networking today, that standard is IP, or Internet Protocol based on Cisco's software: IOS." IOS is just one implementation of IP, and certainly wasn't the first. If Young doesn't understand that the Internet doesn't run wholely on Cisco software, it seems to me that the rest of the book is going to be pretty suspect.

This is hardly the only poorly-stated, unresearched remark that Young throws out. His explanation of the Internet was perhaps the worst I've ever read. I'm giving the book two stars instead of one because I enjoyed some of the insight into John Chambers and the rest of Cisco. Alas, given Young's technical gaffes, I really don't know if I can trust these parts of the book, either.

I spotted this book at a retailer and bought it with tremendous anticipation, both because it is a genre I enjoy (business "biography") and because it is about one of the most successful companies started in the last decade of the 20th Century. Regrettably, I was profoundly disappointed when I read it. Admittedly, I was expecting more of a historical accounting than a technology vision paper, so perhaps my disappointment was my own fault. Nevertheless, the book struck me as unabashedly written for marketability and to cash in on readers still interested in how companies benefited during the New Economy bubble rather than for information or entertainment value.

I had no beef with the fact that in the New Economy timeline, a book copyrighted in 2001 was probably out of date in 2002. What did surprise me was that I had to wait until page 165 to start learning about the actual history of Cisco, a problem in a book that is only 296 pages without the acknowledgements and the index. Also surprising was the storyboard built on anecdotal observations rather than detailed interviewing, the retelling of lightly edited stories, and solid research. Strangely, there are occaisional gems included on companies and individuals NOT associated with Cisco, but it obviously could't save the book.

A better execution of this type of book was writted by T. Boyle on GE and Jack Welch (At Any Cost). For reporting on the history of technology companies, one obviously has to mention T. Kidder's Soul of a New Machine on Digital's rise in the market. And finally, for a timeless approach to entertaining company biographies, I would be remiss not to mention C. Hilton's Be My Guest.

Used copies of this book are available for less than it will cost to ship it to you. My advice, take a pass on this one.

This book takes a look at the huge corporate monolith (also called "the Borg" by a few friends of mine who work there) called Cisco Systems. It starts off by giving a short story of the company's current status. And since this book is almost a year old now, of course it's a bit dated. This book came out before the economy took a nosedive, taking Cisco along with every other company. I'd be intrigued to see what the author would have to say about Cisco now. Even so, Cisco appears to have weathered the storm well.

It takes a long hard look at John Chambers, the "country boy" turned Cisco CEO and his quest to do "whatever it takes" to keep Cisco on top. Pointing out along the way that Cisco seems to have stayed on top due to the competitors' failures as well as acquiring at breakneck speed any "start-up" with the latest and greatest technologies that Cisco can capitalize on.

The book also details the stories of the competititors, like Lucent, Nortel, Juniper, and Redback and how they may yet cut into some of Cisco's sales. While I found this book to be very informative not only about Cisco and its history, as well as some background on its competitors, I got the sense the author is silently waiting to see Cisco fall. Whether or not this actually happens of course is another story, one that may take years to unfold.

Young is best at describing the personalities and backgrounds of Chambers, and the CEOs of Nortel and Lucent, Roth and McGinn, respectively. He's also adept at summarizing the key messages and sales pitches that Cisco, Nortel and Lucent make. He is weakest at understanding the technology, and competitive dynamics. Contrary to Young's assertions, Cisco has been able to price it's products at a premium, because Cisco's products are technically superior to the competition in most areas. Sure, other factors help (e.g., great service and support). But customers are smart enough to know the truth about product and technology leadership to overpay when it isn't necessary. And finally, the book is also poorly edited (e.g., the book mentions "Corvus" as an optical player instead of "Corvis"). Basically, this book is like a long, long, magazine article with some good quotes, and amusing anecdotes, but in the end, has relatively little substance.

Any discussion of Cisco Systems either now or in weeks to come may soon prove inadequate, if not flat-out wrong. When Young wrote this book, neither he nor anyone else at that time (including decision-makers at Cisco) could have predicted what has since happened and not-happened in the company and in its industry. It was once said of Soviet historians that they could predict the past with absolute accuracy. The comments which follow are based on the book as published, not as it would have been written with the wisdom of hindsight.

Young organizes his material within four Parts: The Cisco Myth, Competition at the Speed of Light, Fault Lines, and Into the Void. He explains that his book "is particularly;y concerned with the period from the beginnings of the dot-com frenzy in early 1999 to the industry's winter of discontent at the end of 2000. It is a portrait of an extraordinary company, its charismatic leader, and the world it is creating, discovering, exploiting, and fashioning. But there is also a dark side to the story, a hollowness at the core of this great company that is symptomatic of much of the Internet generation, and an arrogance that afflicts Cisco particularly." Young makes it very clear that what he presents is his version of the Cisco "story" as of when the book went to press.

John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, is one of the focal points. Young quotes Chambers extensively and, I think, does so with circumspection. For example, "Make no mistake about it", Chambers asserts, "the Internet is nothing short of the second Industrial Revolution. Industry is going to change. You have to make the change or you won't survive. They key is how to do it without your existing business. And one of the toughest challenges is figuring out the new channels. Timing is the key." This has been one of the key verses of Chambers' mantra for almost a decade.

Throughout the book, Young offers his own analysis of the nature and extent of Cisco's response to "the toughest challenges" under Chambers' leadership. He concludes, "Maybe Coyote Valley is where the future is going to be created. Maybe it will not. But it will happen on Internet time supplied by Cisco. John T. Chambers and Cisco, have created the first great empire of the Information Age by selling pickaxes, Levis, and quicksilver to the early miners. Now they're going to sell them to everyone else too. In the process [if they succeed], they'll fulfill the vision printed on the plastic ID card that each of its wears....'We are going to change the way people work, live, play, and learn.'" Chambers remains wholly committed to that vision. Obviously, the full story has yet to be told but in his book, Young has made a strong effort to understand and then explain both Chambers and his company. He shares several rather strong opinions of his own about Cisco's acquisitions (70 companies in five years), its outsourcing model, and its competitors such as Lucent, Nortel, Juniper, and Redback.

His readers must now ask questions such as these: Can and will Cisco regain ground lost during the past 6-8 months? What are the most serious barriers to doing that? Young asserts that Cisco has relied on a "dangerous business model." To what extent (if any) has that business model been modified in recent months? Even if modified, can and will it prove equal to new as well as on-going challenges which lie ahead?

My own opinion is that Cisco will continue to experience problems but that it will regain much of its momentum and cap value, if not to the extent it once possessed. I share Young's concern about what he calls "one glaring hole: succession" but based on what I have recently observed, Cisco has a rather deep executive bench and Chambers, meanwhile, seems much more inclined to develop that talent than he once was. So, what we have with this book is one man's analysis of a CEO and his company, based on extensive research. Will every reader agree with Young's opinions? Of course not. If there is a revised edition, Young may well modify (if not repudiate) several of his own conclusions. For those who read this book, he increases their understanding of a great company within a major industry. He raises some very important questions about both and then offers his own answers. Each reader must then take it from there. Fair enough.