Rating:  - Essential knowledge for networking safety
Networked computers are now what makes the world go round. Whether they represent money, programs, or notes to your mother, the bits that pass from machine to machine now manage a large percentage of the world economy. In industrial societies, the majority of the populations are able to connect to networks from their home and a small but significant percentage have networks inside their homes.
When operating an automobile, there are some basic principles that you should know about the vehicle. Knowing things like how to check the oil and coolant, put air in a tire, change a tire, and how to recognize problems such as a weak battery are critical to your safety on the road. Working with computers that are connected is very similar. In the world of viruses, worms, and concern for personal privacy, knowledge is the only way to be safe.
This book is the networking equivalent to a book I read many years ago, "Auto Mechanics for Everyone." It contains all of the basics of networking presented at a level that anyone can understand, although experienced computer people will find nothing of value in it. High quality color pictures are used to explain the concepts with captions of text sequentially numbered in the order they should be read.
The material is separated into seven parts:
*) Communicating by wire
*) Mixing computers and telephones
*) Local area networks (LANs)
*) Links between LANs
*) The Internet
*) Networks for online business
*) Intertainment
so the coverage is fairly thorough in breadth.
The world of cyberspace is growing more dangerous every day, with malicious code and the creeps behind it lurking everywhere. One of the most effective ways of fighting back is to learn the basics of networking, and you can learn all of the fundamentals from this book.
Rating:  - Disappointing
After reading the reviews on Amazon, i went ahead and bought this book. This book's simplicity is misleading- the author' explanations are neither well thought out or well-written, concepts & basics remain unclear. The illustrations are a fright! Dark colors & unneccesary complexity amplifies the illegibility. I wouldve given it no stars at all, but, that' not an option.
It's sad that certain Certifications prescribe this as an essential textbook. I hope there are better, basic books out there which explain network fundamentals. Note for beginners, if you have had no experience with networking, this is not a book for you. Internet searches/sources will explain the basics much better than this publication.
Rating:  - Too simple, yet too complicated
This book makes the somewhat complicated technology of networks too simple to be of any real use in understanding what really goes on, but uses terminology that would confuse its target audience. It's a little like a tour guide who tells you how to get somewhere by telling you that the place you're looking for is right by the Foo, Bar, and Baz, Inc. Building--if you don't already know the city, you probably don't know where the Foo, Bar, and Baz Building is, either.
At times, the authors' noble efforts at simplification succeed even too well, stripping out so many parts that the explanation is misleadingly simple; the section on IP addressing is a good example of this. In addition, the pictorial section on "How the Domain Name Service Works" is just plain wrong--it cuts out an important piece of what makes the system work.
The pictures are simply there to appeal to visual learners. Unfortunately, they give so little information as to be useless. The mostly single-page introductions before the eye candy does little to fill in the gaping holes in the pictures.
The only reason this book receives two stars from me is its breadth. Although it gives a minuscule amount of information on each subject, it at least covers a wide variety of them.
Both Syngress and Sybex publish excellent works on networking ranging from beginner to professional level. In fact, most of their books on any subject are solid quality. I used many of their products while I was working on my A+, Network+, iNet+, Server+, Security+, CISSP, and MCSE certifications. At any rate, avoid this book.
Rating: - Elementary school returns
I bought this book because it was required (a textbook for a class I was taking). Because it was a college-level class, I was expecting a college-level textbook. That's not what it is at all. The book is filled with color illustrations that aren't even very helpful. I was hoping for more reading and explanation of terms. Illustrations are great if they are used right -- to compliment the text instead of replace it. I wouldn't recommend this book for someone who is serious about learning the ins and outs of networking.
Rating:  - Great Ongoing Reference Book for the Beginner
I borrowed this book from a friend and decided it's so clear and essential, I had to buy my own copy. I agree that it's for a total beginner (like me), so I teamed it with a $40 book called Understanding the Network: A Practical Guide to Internetworking (Networking) by Michael J. Martin. Now I have both the overview and as much depth as I can handle.
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