Technology Books

In engineering, what in truth wins out and why?

-Nonverbal thoughts or unambiguous verbal desciptions?
-Art or science?

The answers to such questions can be found within the pages of this book. Nonverbal thoughts are a kind of art. And both of them will, based on history, win out.

Actually, seeing a vision that involves a win-win between art and science is the correct approach. To account for many current engineering fiascoes, Ferguson often sites late 1950's changes in curriculum at top universities as they chased after "science-orientated" federal funding.

Post world-war II misconceptions between what is science and what is in fact technology (art) have resulted in problematic media reports and poor federal policy. From MIT to NASA, our top technology institutes torture themselves in the name of "science." For instance: from the lunar landar to the space-shuttle, space-craft are almost pure technology (art). Naturally, current technologists need to be able to check themselves with fundamental science principles and that is a purpose of ABET B.S.-type engineering degrees.

A strange, new badge of intelligence seems to be the ability to see through all this.

This gave me a better understanding of the history of the my profession than any other book I have. It also pointed out gaps in my education which I hadn't even realized I had. All engineers should read this.

This book should be required reading for all engineers. It reviews how the art, practical and design type courses were taken out of the engineering schools in the 1950's and how those schools are now correcting the situation.

The author reviews the importance of practical experience and the ability to sketch... particularly for chief engineers.

Most impressive and perhaps most important was the panoramic history of engineering, design and creativity. The book has beautiful pictures and an extensive bibliography.

I found interesting that Leonardo's notebooks were only part of the many notebooks prepared during the Renaissance. And, that many of them copied drawings of earlier works. Lots of pictures of these notebooks are included, along with pictures of the extensive use of models (mostly fortifications) used at this time... and all the way up to WWII.

The author discusses how CAD systems really help on the productivity but include so many limiting asssumptions that they may stifle creativity. Particularly bad from the author's point of view is the over reliance on math. He points out that most engineering problems are messy, and not amenable to a clean mathematical solution. And, that we have all these younger engineers looking only for clean problems so they can put their math training to work. Unfortunately, nature is not so co-operative.

His solution: more drawing and more practical experience. For example, budding engineers should get out into the field and go see the problem, or visit other plants. They should build prototypes and learn how to operate a lathe. In this regard he likes Dutch and German engineering schools best.

This is a great book that any engineer should add to his permanent collection.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

...is more important than knowledge." This fine book examines the deep roots of this simple and wise truth. The author takes us on a journey of discovery within our [engineering] profession and shows us where we originated from, and [unfortunately] where we are headed. The author has the courage to come out and say what many, if not most, in the field of engineering would like to say, but for one reason or another have not: Academia is producing more and more clinical analysts, and less and less true engineers. He examines and clarifies the difference between the two and goes on to explain how we have arrived at this strange place so far away from the road that we should be on. He further offers some of, but certainly not all, the solutions for getting ourselves back on track as a profession.

I found this book to be wonderfully entertaining and incredibly insightful about the field(s) of engineering and how we think, communicate, advance in our profession(s). Being a graduating senior in a dying breed of EEETs at Montana State University, I have generally found the author profoundly on the mark, and recommend this book for everyone even associated with the field of engineering and most especially, the educators!

A short, nicely written book. A must read for those with an interest in history of technology, engineering or education. Time well spent for almost any intellegent reader. A lot of "bang for your buck" with this one!

If your company hasn't already tapped you to be involved in its environmental management effort, your reaction to the mention of ISO 14001 may range from dismissal (What's it got to do with me?) to dispassionate interest (I guess it's a good idea, but my plate's already full.). Gabriele Crognale explains in simple terms why many companies have embraced the concept of environmental management -- and why today's managers need to be aware of what's happening in this field. The book identifies opportunities, management practices, methodologies, and innovative strategies that organizations can implement to improve their environmental management performance. The logic is that if organizations display a strong commitment to sound environmental practices, they can defuse the traditional "command and control" enforcement applied by regulatory agencies. In a total quality organization, sound environmental practices are a shared commitment that makes good business sense. This book explains the issues and provides solid, hands-on guidance for helping your organization as it takes the next step in improving environmental quality.

Many environmental management books in print today, and even some books on the new wave of sustainability, lack the depth and detail that the author provides in his book. His choices of co-authors are a good blend to the mix and depict practical insight into their operations and how they address environmental management and sustainability issues. Practical insight can be gleaned from such diverse companies and industries as HP, Gilette, IBM, ST Microelectronics, Chevron and Texaco, and how each of them addresses environmental management issues as well as how they applied their lessons learned to improve.

Of note, one local university uses excerpts of the book in one of its environmental maangement classes, and was impressed with how specific chapters lend themsleves well to these classes, here in 2007.

Very interesting! A must-read for an environmentalist

Environmental Management Strategies, The 21st Century Perspective, Volume 5 is an asset to any environmental managers' bookshelf. It is very readable while being stuffed with applicable information pertaining to environmental management. It offers a good picture of recent business trends that incorporate environmental practices that often go beyond straightforward compliance. The book also illustrates the possible benefits of companies applying forward thinking regarding environmental management using case studies of successful companies. In addition practical information pertaining to OSHA, EH&S, and EPA requirements are included.

This book offers a unique look into the issues and responsibilities that environmental professionals in companies face on a daily basis. The Editor used finesse in weaving the case studies of other environmental professionals into a smooth flowing book where each new chapter complements the previous chapter. So what you get is good reading instead of dry, dull technical reading. The Editor also includes extensive additional material in the endnotes, references, etc., brings rich value to this book as a suitable reference source for all readers, whether students like me, or professionals in the workplace. It's VERY conservatively priced for what you get, and is easy to read. I enjoyed the book for what it offers, and I recommend it to you.

Walters' comprehensive knowledge of the world of IT and incredible ability to explain complex concepts make this book a fascinating read for any gadget geek interested in how stuff actually works. And he doesn't settle for simple, surface level explanations. Instead of shying away from the details and tech-speak, Walters takes you one step further than you thought you could ever go through insightful examples and meaningful analogies.

In addition, his ability to put technological developments in context allow the reader to see the larger factors and trends that have and continue to drive change. A seemingly chaotic and overwhelmingly fast-changing industry suddenly seems logical and "trackable" after reading Walters' book. In this way, it's easy to forgive the fact that the text is a bit out of date. Everything I've read about today's technology I've easily been able to connect back to the ideas I learned here.

Truly one of a kind.

It is very cool book, I would say valuable book to build up your understanding of IT in general. It converges many technologies into one coherent pattern so you start to understand many things. I combined reading of this book with "UNIX Essentials" DVD and it nice to explore many of the conceptions in action. If you are lacking some evenness with your IT knowledge pick this one it is nicely shape your vision of it.

With 6+ years marketing management experience and an MBA, I feel this book was very helpful in understanding the many facets of technology and its evolution through time. The book is a must read for anyone who needs to build or brush up on a solid but basic understanding of technology. However, many of the newest trends in technology are only briefly covered. This is due, I believe, to the fact that many of the pervasive technologies and collaborative applications now being pushed in the marketplace didn't make the editor's draft of the book even though the published date is 2001.

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO COMPUTING is simply an extraordinary achievement. It reflects a breadth of knowledge and clarity of presentation that is remarkable. It makes every effort to distill knowledge about computers and computing in an easy, reader-friendly, memorable way. For computer users everywhere -- in organizations, schools, colleges and universities, and individuals -- this volume gives multiple ways of getting to know more about computing in its fast changing environment. First, you get to know the foundations of how computers and computing works in practical, everyday language. Second, you get a reference book that explains key terms, key workings, and key interconnections among the parts.

The most noteworthy aspect of the book is its superb coherence in presenting vast amounts of computing knowledge arranged in for easy understanding. Information and explanations in one chapter are referenced in subsequent ones, never failing to explain connections among them, with a view to present an overall picture of how computers and computing works.

Each chapter highlights technical terms related to computing and information technology, provides an overview of specific aspects as for example "An Overview of How Storage Works" (Chapter 2, p.40), and highlights in grey explanations of widely used terms such as "Disks From a User's Perspective" (p. 56). Each chapter also ends with a summary list of questions that focus on self-evaluating one's grasp of the chapter's contents.

E. Garrison Walters' book will continue to enrich the understanding of all who enjoy working with computers at work or for pleasure. I wish this book had been available to guide me in computing long before I found it, and, that I had written it ! It is a remarkable achievement!

There is a great breadth of information presented in a very lucid fashion. The material is easy to understand, and the author adds a great sense of humor.
However, with the rapid advancements in technology, the book is a bit dated. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a gain a great breadth of knowledge in the field of Information technology, in a short period of time.

Over the years, I have bought a pile of "How to" books on After Effects,Première Pro, Photoshop and Illustrator and I did not feel any urge to write anything about these books before buying Ms Hartman's Illustrator guide.

I liked the writing : unpretentious, simple with a warm tone that clicks with the reader.

The first lesson in itself, is worth more than half the price of the book.

This book honestly is like a guide line. Especially if you need to look up something you can't remember, you can probably find what you need in the book.

This book really showed me, step by (illustrated) step, the way to make the most out of using Illustrator. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes the hands-on approach to learning. In the very first lesson, the author helped me create a logo that was really great looking, which gave me a boost of confidence to go on and do more. This book is just great for a beginner, to learn all the essentials of Illustrator.

This book is a guide to learning Adobe Illustrator CS and digital illustration. The approach is divided between reading sections and step-by-step exercises. Each chapter is divided into several short lessons with accompanying images describing the steps. The key combination and minor interface differences for Mac and windows are explained when necessary.

Overall, this was a good book that provided a smooth experience to learning Illustrator and design in general. The basics of Illustrator are easy to understand through the reading and exercises provided. Although the lessons are short, there is plenty of opportunity to practice on your own. You are initially walked through an exercise, but then usually given a chance to finish part of it on your own. The "Exploring On Your Own" sections provides extra practice and places to look for more information on the various topics discussed. The rest of the book in dedicated to providing useful information on design concepts such as color chords and art principles (line, fill, value etc). The color chords such as analogous, dyad or monochromatic will definitely help on my color choices on my next project. The CD provides all the needed lesson files and any additional samples for practice.

As for problems, most were really minor with this book. There were only a few minor errors spotted such as steps with missing detail or incorrect menu paths. Also, I did think the review questions at the end of each chapter would have been more helpful if the answers were provided. Actually, the biggest issue I had with this book was the novel sized format it was published in. The book is small and the pages are difficult to keep open. Even my document holder was barely able to keep the pages open. For most of the book I had to use one hand to keep it open while working the mouse with the other. I am probably just being a little finicky since most of these minor problems had little effect on actual content.

In the end, this is still a fine book to quickly get up to speed with Adobe Illustrator. The coverage on related design principles was just a bonus. Since this is a short book, do not expect deep coverage on Illustrator techniques. If you need more advanced concepts and/or less on design, then another book will probably work out better. However, the material that is covered is done so well and it should provide a good start for any beginner.

I am a computer programmer/web designer familiar with adobe photoshop, but I wanted to learn more about designing with illustrator. I knew how to get around the program, but was not confident in using it. This book was wonderful - it's great for beginners, and I love how it encourages you to use keystrokes to get things done, instead of the mouse (much faster).

The Georges Bank lies about 120 miles east of Cape Cod. It is no place to be in a small boat; especially when the weather turns bad. Wind-driven waves building from the fetch of the Atlantic collide with the shallows beyond the continental shelf and can build to frightening proportions. And weather in the month of November on the Georges Bank can be extreme. Ordinarily, automated buoy data provide the National Weather Service with information that enables relatively accurate forcasting. But in November 1980 the National Data Center's Georges Bank Buoy, located 170 nM east of Hyannis, MA, was not functioning. It had not been for some time. With inadequate data, the National Weather Service issued a benign forecast. Based on this forecast, four deep sea lobster boats headed for the Georges Bank. They did not expect a killer storm packing 100 knot winds and 50-60 foot seas. One boat pitch-poled; it's lone survivor spent 50 frightening and misearable hours in a rubber raft before rescue. Another boat badly damaged by a rogue wave and leaking badly fought on and eventually limped back to port. Brave men and women of the U.S Coastguard, in spite of fatique and grave danger to themselves, doggedly attempted to rescue the crews of these vessels. Fatal Forecast is a story of survival, duty and triumph of the human spirit. The book is well-written and grabs you from the Prologue and does not let go. In fact, I read this book at a single sitting. I could not put it down. When I got to the end I read the Epilogue and even the author's notes. I did not want it to end.

Spellbinding! An amazing true story of a fishing trip that turned into a disaster. Excellent writing and the author weaves multi-tales of many people caught in this non-forcasted storm. Very readable, the book you can't put down!

Probably my favorite catastrophe book yet! Very well written, making it so hard to put down once you start reading. I got this for Christmas and finished it within 3 days! Tougias not only rendered an awesome account of a real life dramatic fight for survival but also relayed vividly the other events that occurred in the lives of the men and families affected by the disaster at sea. A must read for those who enjoy seeing man triumph over the most trying adventure.

Well written, gripping account of tragedy at sea. Worth reading if you like the "disaster book" genre, but not quite as good as The Perfect Storm.

If you liked "The Perfect Storm," you'll love "Fatal Forecast."

Michael J. Tougias' book is a gripping page-turner about fisherman fighting for their lives amid a severe storm off the New England coast.

Tougias' taut storytelling puts the reader in the middle of the action. Like the best survival stories, you can feel yourself in the characters' place, trying to figure what to do next.

I also like that Tougias includes related stories of fishing boat disasters (and near-disasters).

I do have one small complaint. This book, like many of this type, includes a batch of pictures in the middle. I suppose it's cheaper to print the photos altogether like this rather than insert them at the appropriate place in the story. But in this case, if you look at the pictures (and what reader wouldn't?), some of them give away the ending of the book.

That said, it's still a great story. Allow yourself plenty of time when you pick up "Fatal Forecast" -- it's hard to put down.

Beautiful contemporary photographs balanced by just the right amount of historical photos and insightful quotes from the men who flew and fought in them. The best photographic study I have seen.

All shots were superb, specially the dual aircraft, great dynamics, brillant colors, contrast and claraty. Can't ask for better!

Bernardo

This great book is loaded with brilliant and breathtaking photographs of some of the most famous Allied and Axis aircraft of World War II. There are twenty chapters in the book, each being devoted to a different aircraft. From heavy bombers such as the B-17 Flying Fortress to nimble fighters such as the P-51 Mustang, photographer John M. Dibbs brings each one of these warbirds back to life. Accompanying each series of photographs is an informative textual background describing each aircraft and some of the great missions for which it was used.

I found this book in a bargain bin, and what a terrific find it has turned out to be. The photos are simply dazzling, while the text does an excellent job of describing each aircraft in expert detail. My six-year-old son loves to flip through the pages of the book with me, and he's very eager to know about each of the aircraft in the book.

I give this book my highest recommendation. This fine book brings the images of some of the most popular Allied and Axis aircraft to life, and the text is very informative. Open up this book and watch as some "old ghosts" leap off the pages.

As a rabid hobbiyst avaition photog myself I am always interested in seeing what everyone else is doing. And this book makes my best efforts look amatuerish. His sense of composition and editing is nothing short of amazing, his ability to capture the spirit of the aircraft is stunning. Something that I thought was interesting is that most of these images where shot on film originaly.. If you are looking to see what realy skilled aviation photog can do with his camera. This is the book to buy!

...this book has glorious mainly color photographs and interesting text too...watch out though, if you order both this and "Warbird Legends", you will have the same book twice! not that it is such a bad thing!

These books are a favorite with my 9-year old boy. His only complaint...there aren't enough books in the series!

My son loves the Magic Tree House series and Caption Underpants series---and now this one too. I especially like that these books star a girl, yet appeal to boys. In terms of reading level, this series is easier and less "serious" then the Magic Tree House series---it's closer to Caption Underpants (lots of scribbles and drawings, goofy antics, and not too much text on each page).

My 2 older boys (ages 6 and 8) have been enjoying these books. They seem to have a good mix of kid-like silliness as well as a reading challenge and a good message.

Franny is a bit of a loner who marches to the beat of her own drum. In one of the books, she tries to change herself to fit in, ultimately realizing she is happier as herself. This theme follows throughout the series - she is different than her classmates, but likes herself and learns to make friends as the mad scientist she is.

Each book involves Franny "saving the day", using her scientific capabilities. Sometimes it's her experiments that create the problem in the first place, but none of her peers seem to hold that against her.

The reading level is a bit simple for my 8 year old, but he has enjoyed them anyway. He's able to read them through in one sitting, so these books are an alternative for him to the long chapter books that take a couple of weeks for him to read.

My 6 year old and I read them together, trading off chapters. The chapters are usually only a few pages, and simple illustrations help keep him interested as well. He and I usually require 3 sittings to complete a book (15-20 minutes per sitting, trading off chapters).

This package includes the first 4 books in the series. Two subsequent books exist as well, however I couldn't find a box set with more than these 4 original books.

One of the beautiful things about Franny K. Stein books, is what they inspire in my 6 yr. old little girl. I can't wait to see what invention my daughter will draw after reading a Franny book. After reading "The Invisible Fran", for instance, my daughter drew her very own robot that had new and different things than in the Franny book! After reading "The Fran that Time Forgot" we went around laughing about Fran's middle name for weeks!
Franny, that adorable little scientist, is PASSIONATE about science! She cannot understand why her schoolmates are not as passionate as she is! She gives our little ones permission to be passionate about the subjects that they like best!
Franny is wholesome, hilarious, and educational. (and I have not read the captain underpants series) I think that Franny can stand alone as a championess for science! Franny's zeal for science and discovery is contagious and I'm glad, I want my daughter to be encouraged and inspired by books.
I'd like to shake Mr. Benton's hand for creating such a lovable little "mad" scientist like Franny. Franny K. Stein is a fun and funny read, perfect for kids who love science and even those who don't love it so much.

My boys are 4 and 6 and they loves these. My 6 yr old can read them with no problem but they like for me to read to them both and we got The Fran with Four Brains just yesterday and they had me read the entire book to them last night. They are excited about the fact that i have ordered them this boxed set, and when it comes I am sure we will be reading them till we have read them all. I hope the author starts more in this series of books so they can continue to have a Great series that they enjoy that pulls u right in.

This is a great on site guide for any one looking for a simple and accurate guide to building rafters.

I had a copy of this book when I worked as a carpenter. I rebought it for my son who is in the trade, and is planning to start cutting roofs in Montana. This will be a very valuable asset !!!

I have probably ruined five of these books, due to rain, losing them, etc. I just keep on buying them. After you measure spans you do not have to go back up on the roof. This is the best roof framing book of all. Five stars.

Trig calculators are for guys who wear visors, carry framing axes, and use sinker nails because they don't know how to drive a common nail. This is the book that the salty old man who takes pride in the fact that the house aint a quarter out; it's plumb level and square keeps on hand. I bought an extra copy for the old man who wore his out after 35 years, and taught me the value of doing things right. Read it and use it and you can frame any roof based on the principles it effectively teaches.

I learned to be a carpenter from my grandfather, and other master craftsmen that I worked under during my five-year union apprenticeship in Southern California. That was during the time when a lot of the carpentry teachers were still wearing white-bib overalls instead of the toolbelts we wear around our waists nowadays. This book review is derived from many sources: The various conversations I had with some of those long-gone master craftsmen from years ago, the good things that master framer Larry Haun said about this book in his Framing Roofs DVD, the use of this book by master roof cutter Steve Peters in his video series, "The Art of Roof Cutting," and a few other things that I learned along the way while researching this text, carpentry history, and this author.

An early settler and carpenter, born in 1889, by the name of Augustus Frederick John Riechers wrote this book, "Full Length Roof Framer," and published it in 1917. Then, in 1944, he renewed the copyright for a second time right around the same time as D-Day, on June 6th, 1944, when Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy to fight for the liberation of Europe during the Second World War. I'm also told by a family member of Augustus that this book received its last renewal copyright in 1969 before it changed hands to a new copyright owner in 1992.

Augustus Riechers was born during a time in architectural history when the Victorian style homes were still enjoying their success on American soil as well as Great Britain. These old Victorians, especially the Queen Anne styles, were a true testament to the incredible craftsmanship and talents of carpenters at that time. Sophisticated rooflines and elaborate turrets adorned these homes like jewels never again to be replicated! These were the master carpenters that Augustus learned his trade from, and they didn't have the fancy scientific calculators that we do today with their sine, cosine, and tangent functions to cut those roofs and turrets.

Even so, according to what some of the long-gone carpenters and my grandfather told me many years ago when I was an apprentice, was that they did utilize one little booklet titled, "The Carpenter's and Builder's Practical Rules for Laying out Work." This book was written by a brother carpenter named Milton N. Rogers in 1901. I'm also told that in its day, it was very popular with carpenters because it contained useful information such as reading a steel square, rules for kerfing, along with information concerning common, hip, jack, and valley rafters. In addition, I was told that the carpenters back then really liked how this book fit into the pockets of their bib-overalls along with their carpenter pencils. However, this booklet, as popular as it was, did not cover enough information specifically for cutting roofs, so they just relied more on their good-ole framing squares or drylines.

Let's continue on with some important dates in the history of this book. It's 1944, what is happening in our country? Well, for starters, we're still at war with the Japanese, and Americans are looking forward to getting back to normal life. However, it will still be just over a year until the Japanese surrender. Then, finally, it happens! The war is over! The Japanese sign the surrender agreement that's referred to as V-J Day, on September 2, 1945. Victory over Japan!

With the Second World War finally over, life in America was about to change dramatically again. Returning veterans by hundreds of thousands now back home wanted to secure jobs and start new families. Married veterans desired the same aspirations with the wives and children they had left behind. Factories that were converted to producing supplies and materials for the war effort could now begin switching back to their normal operations, and the millions of courageous women that we refer to as "Rosie the Riveter," that ran those factories during the war, could once again return to their homes to be with their families. With these situations going on, however, we now had another growing problem: How in the world are we going to build enough houses fast enough for these thousands upon thousands of families?

Enter again now, the carpenters. They now have the enormous task of building homes for literally hundreds of thousands all across America! How are they going to keep up with the huge demand? That's where resourceful carpenters like the author of "Full Length Roof Framer," as well as many other talented craftsmen, took on the challenge and began developing newer methods for building homes more efficiently. This book, by Augustus Riechers, was certainly one of the tools that they came up with and utilized. At last, the carpenters had a book that could be carried inside a pocket, and still give every rafter length that was needed to get the houses built faster to meet the demand!

Now, and in conclusion, here we are today in the 21st Century. We're much faster production framers than our brother carpenters were in those days with our nail guns and roof trusses, but it's still nice to have a little book like this around for the times when we do stick-build a roof or two. At any rate, the next time you hear about this book, or read a review on it, consider owning it for nothing else but the short history behind it and its place in carpentry history. In addition, don't fret about which is better, calculators or rafter books. It's just a simple matter of preference. To some, calculators are faster. To others, rafter books are faster. I recommend this Library edition because it's very thin and compact. It fits nicely in the pouch of your toolbelt and it doesn't care if you get a little sawdust on it or drop it like my construction calculator does. I'll close this review with this: I own two copies of this book. One to use on the job when needed, and one to keep safely wrapped in our family's hopechest for our children.

This book review is dedicated to the memory of this legendary master carpenter named Augustus Frederick John Riechers, who passed away in October 1978 in Palo Alto, California. I, as well as countless other carpenters worldwide thank him for taking the time, and effort, to write a book like this to make the carpenter's job a little easier. It's also dedicated to the long-since-gone craftsmen in their white-bib overalls that left the rest of us a legacy and example to follow, and to keep this tradition going by passing along what we have learned to all carpenters far and wide.

Overall this is a really great book with lots of examples and good problems, however my complaint is that some of the problems haven't been covered in the examples and so they are too difficult to solve. For instance, in the chapter on node voltages, none of the examples covers floating voltage sources that have other components like resistors in series with them, yet a number of the problems involve such floating voltage sources. I had to refer to the Schaum's Outline of Basic Circuit Analysis (another very good book, btw) to find an example problem for that.
If you're looking for books on electric circuits, however, I would definitely recommend this one along with the Schaum's Outline book I mentioned above.

This is a decent start for novice engineers. Unlike other texts on the same subject it has very effective methodology of teaching the very basic concepts of electric circuits. A bulk of solved examples is there to help you understand techniques of circuit analysis. It really soothed me when I was suffering from "circuit phobia". This text is highly recommended by me for beginners.

I am very satisfied with Alexander's book. Compared with any other book in this field, the others actually don't really stand a chance. Why? Because you can actually teach from this book EFFECTIVELY. The pedagogy works here, whereas many other authors have unfortunately failed. The communication works; and the chemistry works too. I think we engineers really need to realize this important issue. And always try to improve.

This one book ist the best Engineer book for me since my undergraduate years. The great difference between this one and others are the very illustrativ problems. Charles Alexander is somewhat well known as an engineering educator - I could very feel this from the book's layout.

This is probably the most useful engineering textbook I have on my shelf. Not only is it very easy to understand, but as a reference, I like it even better! The math is lucid, yet never overwhelming, and in addition, the problems are quite interesting. I highly recommend this book, rather than Nilsson's. (I think one of the Authors of this book has written/edited an EE handbook as well, which I am less familiar with. Maybe I'd check that one out too)

While this is not a book for a graduate level computer science course, it is an excellent text for a general management audience or perhaps an undergraduate information systems curriculum. Canavan covers the right areas at the right depth in a very real and practical sense. Because of its practical nature, it may be a bit outdated in 3 more years, but since its release in 2001 it has been "on the money."

I do wish the price was lower, or that it was offered in paperback.

This Network security book is non-technical, yet it is detail enough to make you comprehend the material easily. Among other things, the book discusses in detail firewalls, intrusion detection, and the importance of policies. By pointing all the key points, you get what you must know to tie them all. It is an excellent book for someone who aspires to be a network security manager.

This Network security book is non-technical, yet it is detail enough to make you comprehend the material easily. Among other things, the book discusses in detail firewalls, intrusion detection, and the importance of policies. By pointing all the key points, you get what you must know to tie them all. It is an excellent book for someone who aspires to be a network security manager.

I am not an expert in all aspect of security, thus I find the book very informative. Security is a chain of process covering all inter-connected equipment and applications. The book not just descibed (briefly) network security, but also includes systems and applications. The title of the book could be misleading as it reads 'Network Security', it could have just been 'IT Security'. There are some misleading information in certain vendor specific systems, which I am familiar, causing me to doubt the accuracy of the other vendor specific information, which I am not familiar. The author could have kept all information as neutral and avoid treading on thin ice. I do not think a second edition will be published unless the book is re-written.

The book is well written and the concepts it covers are both current and relative. It covers the concepts of basic computer and network security and basic terminology to disaster recovery plans. One of the major concepts I found very interesting was the idea of how much is enough security. He reduces it to relatively easy terms; make the computer or network secure enough for any would be hacker to be discouraged and go somewhere else less protected. His explanation of symmetric (private key) and asymmetric (public key) encryption and digital certificates was especially helpful in helping me understand those concepts. The explanation regarding the different types of firewalls was also very informative. Toward the end of the book, the author covers a subject frequently left out of any discussion of network security - security policies and procedures. He stresses the importance of these for any administrator to be able to identify possible security leaks.

This is an excellent book for any potential reader who is looking for a text which gives an overall viewpoint of computer and network security without getting bogged down in the details of any one facet of security.