When I passed the CCNA exam a year ago I used the CCNA Study Guide by Todd Lammle and passed the exam with a 924. Had I had this book I am positive I would have done even better. Lammle is the first name in Cisco Certification exam material and judging from the content of the book there is no doubt why.

Lammle approach to the exam is by far the best I know of and studying the book in the order presented gives you the best chance of passing the exam on the first try. With Internetworking basics like the OSI model and topologies like Ethernet are the very beginning to the CCNA certification.

From there Lammle has you working with switching, which I like because switching should come before routing. Then you move to the internet protocols, IOS, IP routing VLANs and router management. Lammle again makes sure that far more information than the exam requires is included.

After that you then start working with IPX, Access lists and then WAN protocols like HDLC, PPP, Frame Relay and ISDN. Each section has review questions, the new thing I am very happy to see is both written and hands-on labs.

The cd included has over 400 practice questions, over 300 flash cards for both the PC and the palm devices and entire e-book. Lammle again takes the opening and adds not 2 but 4 additional bonus exams.

Finally as part of the study process is the use of an actual router and since this can be an expensive investment, Lammle has given you a Router Fundamental Simulator and practice labs. All this in one book and at a price that should make everyone happy. Whether certified or not, whether looking to refresh you skills this book is a must have for every router technician.

When I passed the CCNA exam a year ago I used the CCNA Study Guide by Todd Lammle and passed the exam with a 924. Had I had this book I am positive I would have done even better. Lammle is the first name in Cisco Certification exam material and judging from the content of the book there is no doubt why.

Lammle approach to the exam is by far the best I know of and studying the book in the order presented gives you the best chance of passing the exam on the first try. With Internetworking basics like the OSI model and topologies like Ethernet are the very beginning to the CCNA certification.

From there Lammle has you working with switching, which I like because switching should come before routing. Then you move to the internet protocols, IOS, IP routing VLANs and router management. Lammle again makes sure that far more information than the exam requires is included.

After that you then start working with IPX, Access lists and then WAN protocols like HDLC, PPP, Frame Relay and ISDN. Each section has review questions, the new thing I am very happy to see is both written and hands-on labs.

The cd included has over 400 practice questions, over 300 flash cards for both the PC and the palm devices and entire e-book. Lammle again takes the opening and adds not 2 but 4 additional bonus exams.

Finally as part of the study process is the use of an actual router and since this can be an expensive investment, Lammle has given you a Router Fundamental Simulator and practice labs. All this in one book and at a price that should make everyone happy. Whether certified or not, whether looking to refresh you skills this book is a must have for every router technician.

Awesome book. I have moderate experience and a lot of this was childs play, but he goes further than what you need to know, which is good because it will help you with the trick questions which are probing you to see if you just memorized answers. I'm going for the gusto CCNP and CCIE for the next 6 months so i bought the simulator. it's cool, and is a cheap way to get a lot of hands on experience without your boss screaming at you for bringing the network down (I had that problem, jobless now though). If you just want the CCNA and are on a budget then you don't need the simulator if you can visualize doing the commands. but get it if you're going further than CCNA. my only beef with the book is that a CCIE obviously didn't proof read it, the author shouldn't proofread his own work because things slip and about 4-5 times i found myself stumped and going through the book to find some correlation only to found that it was a typo, not a misspelling but a false double negative statement (he must have changed his mind on how he was going to say it and didn't complete it), i found a couple of them, and a couple review questions with the answer being contrictory to his explanation. so if you're find a contradiction, look it up and write/scratch the sentence.
Good luck!

I have looked at most of the available CCNA books. It isn't worth it, you just get confused. This book is enough to pass the test and learn about the basics of Layer-2 and 3 theory.

There are a LOT of mistakes in the first addition. The errata on the sybex.com website has all the mistakes, but whew!

The e-trainer is a frustrating tease. I was so fed up with it after the first lab that I was about to purchase a used router. Even the most basic lab(chapter 4) doesn't have all of the functions supported. However, like I said, it is a tease. The point of the e-trainer is to give you a path to Mr. Lammale's partner: RouterSim. If you have your invoice from this package, RouterSim will cost you $130 extra as an upgrade to e-trainer, or $230 without. So the minute you order this, I recommend going to routersim.com and picking up your updated copy because you won't have the annoyance of e-Trainer to deal with during the labs.

Buy this set, get the upgrade, make Sybex and Todd rich, pass the test, start your path to being 1% as rich as Todd!

This is excellent for us who want to learn on Cisco Routers and Switches and who are interested on CCNA exams. Certainly this is the best book, well written most of the topics, easy approach.

e-trainer is remarkable, incomparable for those who have no routers, no experience. Todd is giving us a virtual router setup with a hidden instructor. I am an MCSE with little router experience. I have found this helpful. Thanks

I passed my CCNA exam after using this kit. I am an MCSE and MCP+I and now a CCNA thanks to these materials. The kit covers the vast majority of what you need to know to pass this exam. After using several other books to prepare for other exams, this is by far the most thourough. The simulator did have some bugs, but it was still a valuable tool to simulate hands on practice. You can pass the exam using this kit alone, but I would recommend some hands on experience, or another book to supplement the material included. (No single book covers it all, but this one was close.)

I passed the Networking Essentials Exam with a score of 862. I felt the book assisted in my preparation but was weak in alot of areas. If I was new to networking I would have failed this test with just this book as a study guide. It is however a very easy book to read and the test questions are ok, but were nothing like the test. MS had alot of Senerio questions on this test, none the less I would recommend this book along with other to prepare for the exam.

Great book and to the point. This book was perfect to understanding what is needed to pass the exam. The questions at the end of each unit made it easy to study and then pass the test.

I initially read the Exam Prep book, ISBN 1576102378 by Ed Tittel and David Johnson to get a deep understanding of networking terminology, and then I used this book for test review. This methodology paid good dividends as I passed the test with a score of 900 (Passing was 776, and there were 30 questions). I found the content of this book much more current than Exam Prep's. I also liked the format based on the test objectives. This book also helped me understand other important topics such as WINS and DNS, which were barely skimmed on the Exam Prep book (and which appeared on the exam in more than one occasion) You will notice that the book is full of study questions and sample tests, which definitely are a plus for test review, although I honestly tell you that I skipped most of the fill-in-the-blanks, True-False type of questions. On the other hand, I literally memorized every multiple-choice from the sample tests in the book, and there were plenty. I recommend following the author's guidelines about using this book: Complete and review all the sample tests, including the final review, with the expected results (85% or more correct answers) and I assure you that it works. The exam was not even close to the final reviews from this or the Exam Prep book, but with the practice obtained, I was able to tackle the 70-058 with confidence. Get this book, it goes straight to the point, covers everything on the test and it is an excellent test review source.

I bought and read this book while visiting New Orleans which made the book a very enjoyable read. Remini starts with Jackson's early War in the South. A forgotten American war hero, Jackson manages to win decisive victories in the Creek war, repulse the British at Mobile, and capture Pensacola from the Spaniards before scurrying over to New Orleans to save the city from an ignominious fate at the hands of the Duke of Wellington's army.
The story itself is fantastic - Jackson's few regulars and Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky militiamen, allied with New Orleans society men, free blacks, and Lafitte's pirates wind up outfighting the finest and most disciplined army in the world (who defeated Napoleon, by the way). The book includes helpful campaign maps and is well written even if some of the author's claims are a bit overblown (?America's first military victory?).

I tend to agree with all the previous reviews of this book, both the good and the bad. That may sound a bit strange, as this is a well told historical account of the Battle for New Orleans. The book's narrative is fast and snappy, the story is well told and presented in a way that it reads like a novel. The author, Robert V. Remini certainly loves this period of history and has a deep respect for Andrew Jackson, which shows throughout the book, maybe too much so. One of the previous reviewers mentioned the fact that the story was a bit too much like "good versus evil".

I found on occasions that the American forces could do no wrong while the British were blunderers. For example, the chapter 'The Night Attack' shows Jackson throwing his troops, inferior in numbers and without full knowledge of the British forces in a spoiling attack against the advance guard of the British forces. Certainly the spoiling attack is a sound military move and paid good dividends in this instance. Jackson is shown as a daring commander however when the British forces do something very similar against the American positions they are made to sound like bumbling fools. Why is one commander a daring master and the other an idiot?

On a similar note, when Jackson showed caution on a number of occasions throughout this battle he was commended but when the British leadership showed this same caution they were castigated. I agree with the author that the British leadership was ineffectual at times but that is making a judgement in hindsight. The author made mention of Jackson's burning hatred of the British and their contempt for the American forces, maybe a little of this has rubbed off on the author?

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this book, it's a great story and my own country's history has no love of the British but I don't like it to show so one sided in any book I read. Beside that, the maps supplied (3) were of a high quality and a pleasant change but once again even the maps seemed to be one sided. The map showing the positions of the opposing forces for the attack on January 8, 1815 (page 135) show in great detail the American positions with the units indicated but nothing as detailed for the attacking British forces.

Having said all that, it was pleasing to note that the author paid tribute to the brave soldiers on both sides of this terrible battle. Overall this is an excellent story, told with verve and passion and it's a great book to read. I hope that the remarks above do not offend anyone, they are not made with that intention. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys history and would like to learn about this turning point in America's history.

Remini has filled a gap for lovers of American history. The War of 1812, which the Battle of New Orleans ended convincingly (allowing the previously negotiated Treaty of Ghent to be accepted by both the British and our side as negotiated), has had too few treatments in recent years.

Yet the Battle of New Orleans, as the author argues, perhaps was the event that convinced hostile Europeans that America was here to stay as a free nation. I would not completely agree with Remini's contention that the Battle of New Orleans was America's first major victory over European arms (he dismisses Yorktown and Saratoga as mere surrenders doing in my opinion a disservice to the aggressive American commanders and troops who did fight and convincingly beat the British at Saratoga). The author makes a case that this neglected Battle of a forgotten war earned our country the grudging respect it would need to grow unmolested over the next few decades.

That having been said, the book is a very well written account of a stirring and fascinating story. General Andrew Jackson, after defeating the Creek Indians and punishing Spanish Florida for aiding that foe as well as the British, leads his American volunteers to Louisianna to defend against the expected British move on New Orleans.

The British proceed to the bayous of the Mississippi delta and engage in another European style campaign against wiley American back country fighters. One wonders why the English high command did not learn the lessons of Gen. Braddock's defeat in the French and Indian War or numerous defeats during the American Revolution. Doctrinaire plans and rigid troop handling along the lines of European war were not very successful against citizen soldiers who know how to use their weapons with skill and fight from behind cover.

Using first person sources to illustrate the events in December 1814 to January of 1815, Remini gives voice to the events and people who helped make New Orleans a stirring American victory. Unsurprisingly, this biographer of Jackson paints a good portrait of the man whose talents and traits were sorely needed by our side in facing British regiments who had recently faced down Napolean's best troops. The hodge-podge of defenders are given colorful treatment. The pirate Laffite brothers and their outlaw band who manned our artillery, backwoodsmen in buckskin (giving the name the British used for our troops -- 'dirty shirts'), freed blacks, Creols and New Orleans first citizens all manned the barracades to await the onslaught.

The British, with their straight ahead determination, poor avenue of attack and lack of planning aided the American cause. But Jackson earned much of the glory that surrounded his victory. He cajoled troops and supplies, built a well fortified line, attacked before the British were all up and ready and worked to keep together an army that in reality was more like today's UN peacekeeping forces than a coherent American corps.

The battle scenes are well told, particularly the Jan. 8th main assualt in front of New Orleans. Remini's writing is good enough that the unfamiliar (to most) details of an unknown battlefield come alive in the reader's mind. So do the personalities on both sides. His descriptions are aided by three very good maps that allow one to fully picture the terrain.

This book is a quick read. The author tells just enough of the main charactors to separate them from one another in the story without bogging it down with a lot of background. The battles themselves come alive and are given a full description and dramatic rendering. You'll enjoy this book.

This book is very frustrating...if I have to read the word "powerful' one more time in reference to the program, I'm going to puke! I've used much more difficult 3D programs before...Lightwave, SoftImage and Imagine. What is it about this text that makes this... shudder...supposedly "powerful" program so difficult? The very first tutorial launches into no less than twenty-two (!) functions, some of which are extremely advanced and specialized tools that I know I'll never use again. (Q scale Noise Float?) All the tutorials should start from scratch. How am I going to learn how to perform tasks by scratch if the material on the CD starts them for me? There are files missing on the CD also. I'm a professional animator, experienced in both 2D and 3D mediums, and even when I skipped over to the animation section I thought I'd be covering familiar ground. Wrong! This book is written in such a convoluted way that even basic facts like frame rates (video vs. film) could hardly be more confusing. I could go on, but all I'll say is...don't try to learn 3D studio Max 2 with this book alone. You'll only be in for a world of hurt and frustration.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It makes you aware of the unlimited possibilities of Max, but nothing more. You keep wanting to know exactly how things can be done. It is a very good starter though. A little more attention could have been given to the material and mapping section. I really recommend this book to anyone who wants to get started seriously with 3D design.

Fundamentals has to be the best book for a first-time user of Studio MAX 2. I myself had never used the interface before and only after a few minutes I was creating objects and pieces of a scene. I feel that this book accomplished what it intended, and that was to provide a begining, fundamental book. The book has a vast 17 chapters dedicated to vital aspects of MAX 2. From simple geometry creation to applying textures and materials and finally to rendering and animation. The cover alone of the book is awesome. From reading how Steve Burkes created it made me excited to learn the ability myself. If you are new to MAX, Fundamentals is the first book you need to read. I could not imagine trying to figure MAX out without it. I probably would have given up and scrapped the dream of becoming a computer animator. Don't get me wrong. When you are done with the book, you are not going to be a master of MAX, but you will be a lot more advanced. I just ordered Inside 3D Studio MAX 2, Vol 1, and can't wait to get it.

I have many programming books and all of them assume you know all about the subject matter. This book is the first one I have read that assumes very little on the readers part. It walks you through each step thoroughly.

I like the fact that most of the code is covered in multiple areas. Since I tend to jump around a lot when reading a book, it helps me from missing something.

I have seen some other people complain about lack of sophisticated content and do not agree with them. I found information on synchronization, packet-loss, UDP, and other topics. Some of the super difficult stuff is not covered, but what do you expect, it is not for someone who already knows about multiplayer development.

I really like the fact that the author gives you two working game examples to follow. I have already modified the SpacePirates code with many additions.

I recommend this book to anyone who needs help getting started with DirectPlay.

How many books have you bought for DirectX that "forget" to include Direct Play? I have bought many and every single one either A) Doesnt include Direct Play information or B) Includes very little about it (mainly repeating what is in the SDK documentation.)

This book is the first one I have ever read that covers tons of information about Direct Play and making games for the Internet. It's all there: Peer-to-peer, client/server, custom packets, packet queues, synchronization, etc. Even 3D is made amazingly simple to understand.

Before reading this book I didnt much like Direct Play. But after seeing how DirectX 8 uses a completely rewritten DPlay system, I am now an advocate of it. DPlay is amazing! It has almost everything you could ask for in a communication API and much more. On that note, I never would have realized how cool DPlay is if I hadnt read this book. The SDK documentation does not come even close to explaining it like this book does.

Now that I understand the core of Dplay, I am hoping that Advanced Multiplayer Game Programming will be released. One reason I cant wait is that the author answered my email questions very promptly. Other authors could learn from this guy what customer service should be like for all tech books.

I found this book to be amazing. I purchased this book because I wanted to learn more about multiplayer programming, but I soon found out that Barron wanted to assure that his readers had enough knowledge to build a complete game. This book covers the basics behind Direct3d, DirectSound, DirectInput, DirectPlay, as well as windows programming. I got the Direct3D book that many people reccommend, but you have to understand windows programming going in, this book assumes no previous knowledge and teaches you EVERYTHING you need to get started.

Sample code is amazing! It all compiles, and even though it IS often duplicated, it is a very helpful approach to including code samples, because when he dulplicates code, he bolds changes in the code so you can sort of see the code being built as he walks you through it.

Intermediate C++ experience is reccomended. This is an API book, so you gotta know the basics before coming into it. Personally though, I like a book to explain things to me in detail. Even if I KNOW the material, review is always good, and I find myself nodding with familiarity when reading some of it. Barron's tone is very relaxed, and comical at times to help the read go quicker (it's pretty thick). In the end, you'll have created two online games, a peer-to-peer game, and a server-controlled game (for MMO games).

In Short: Easy read, and covers much more than Multiplayer Programming. All good stuff.

this book covers all bases with suprising depth. The way it is written hammers home the important points without becoming boring (well, not too boring). I used this as my sole study guide along with a large amount of practice tests and passed first time. The last 2 chapters have a lot of info that is not on the exam but are useful in the 'real' world of proxy. the book did a good job of clarifying the differences between the 3 services. Recommended!

Unfortunately, Proxy Server has very little documentation from Microsoft. The docs consist only of online documentation in the form of web pages. These docs are both not organized in a way conducive to learning, nor portable, unless you are willing to print out the hundreds of pages.

Sybex solves these problems with the Exam Notes. This book organizes everything you need to study for the exam. I wouldn't recommend using just this one book to study, but instead to use it as a roadmap while working with the product to gain overall experience.

Purchased this book in an effort to pass the proxy exam, and with the transcenders I passed just fine. The book does not have any fluff, it is very to the point, and still makes sense. The transcenders were just an added benefit. Put the two together and you will pass the exam.

I passed the exam last week using this book primarily to study....however, I also have attended the actual course and have experience working with many of the switch families. I would recommend this book only in conjuction with the CLSC exam certification guide by cisco press....should one use only this book to prepare for the test, they may only pass with a score in the low 800s (if it is important to you not just to pass the test but achieve a high score) and certainly not come away with much valued knowledge to apply to the field. Personally, I will be using only Cisco press books from now on in my quest for CCNP.

Although it is used for CCNP 1.0 exam, I think it is a good book anyway. It can give you a good explanation on the VLAN, especially the explanation on the product. You can get much information on Catalyst 5000/5500 series, 3000 series etc. That is the main point you should buy it.

This book has an awesome ATM section. The price of the book is worth that chapter alone. Although Sybex has an updated switching book out, this book has some seriously great information.

In studying for my CCNP/CCDP certs, I read the full set from Sybex and also the Exam Preparation Library from Cisco Press. I found that the Sybex books did a better job of introducing certain topics and laying the foundation for further study - further study from Cisco Press, that is. The switching book is better than Lammle's Routing or Remote Access books, and by that I mean it does a better job of preparation. Of course, that could be because the 640-504 was one of the easier in the bunch, at least for myself. As a previous reviewer stated, there's a TON of MLS ??'s, and this book doesn't really go deep enough for my liking. I'd still choose the Cisco Press equivalent for exam prep, as the language and wording will be very close to the real deal. Besides, the questions that come with the Cisco Press book are 10x better. Really.

Jayson Tobias
CCNP CCDP

This is an excellent book that covers all you need to know to pass the CCNP Switching exam.

Although it contained typos (consistent with most Lammle books) the material was presented in an easy to learn and mostly fun way.

I found that the book focused a lot on multi-cast and I had only 3 multi-cast questions on the exam (though you may have more).

I studied the commands but didn't have the hardware to practice on and still did very well on the exam, taking only 30 minutes of the allowed 75.

If you are looking for a good book for this exam this could be the one. The Cisco Press book is also supposed to be good but I haven't got it yet.

This would have been 5-stars but the typos and the fact that the book concentrated on some stuff that wasn't on the exam prevented me from giving it a perfect rating.

This book was very well written. I couldn't put it down. It was technical, but funny, and prepared me for the exam. The written labs, review questions, and flash cards were excatly what I needed to help me pass the exam. I scored a 910, which isn't bad since I hadn't worked on a switch before reading this book. The amount of in-depth information on the Catalyst switch series, mostly the 5000, was amazing. The exam had questions based on the Catalyst 1900 and 5000 series, and this book had everything needed on the Catalyst switch series to pass the exam. I am well pleased with all the Sybex books for Cisco certification.

This is a children's book and the writing/vocabulary is definitely aimed at the 9-12 year old market, with its large print, double spacing, and exclamation points. So if you're over the age of 12 and looking for a more in-depth autobiography, you'll be disappointed. The book is cheery, lightweight, and designed to entertain Tara's young fans. It is also a good "read aloud" book because parents will have fun with all those exclamation points.

I don't think this book was ever marketed as a book for the 12 and older crowd, so I'm a bit puzzled at previous reviews complaining that the book is "childish" because after all, it is a children's book.

My real criticism lies with the co-author Emily Costello and other parties involved in the creation of this book. Given Ms. Lipinski's busy schedule at the time this book was published, I doubt that she even penned one word. Ms. Lipinski has always been very confident in herself and perhaps she is justified, given all that she has accomplished. But in an effort to reflect Tara's confident attitude and her youth enthusiasm, co-author Emily Costello overdid it and made Tara sound conceited, self-serving and full of herself. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on Ms. Costello's writing...perhaps this book is more of a product of Tara's Publicity Grabbing/Media Hungry Parents and Agent rather than Ms. Costello's.

Hopefully Tara will hire a new team of writers/editors and actually write a more in-depth and mature autobiography once she becomes an adult and has experienced more in life than just figure skating.

OUTstanding! This book is great! It made me belive that I could be a figure Skater I just love this book. I would to anything to meet Tara.

I bought this book cuz of tara and TARA IS SO OPEN IN THIS BOOK! Its incredible for young skaters. A tRuE iNsPiRaTiOn!