Rating: 
Summary: Tanenbaum needs new publisher and editors
Review: Andrew Tanenbaum might be the best there is when it comes to the study of computers but, unless you're a "thorough geek," you'd wish other technical writers would step into the fore.Tanenbaum's books all use the same single technique to help students remember important ideas: bold letters. That's it. You'd be hard pressed to understand the main concepts most of the times because, like a forgetful professor, he'd sometimes mention it in passing (without bold font) that you think they weren't that important. Until one pops up in one of his chapter problems, then you're through. He does not provide any solutions at the end of his books. One gets the sense he wrote his books for the instructors/professors who are too lazy (or uncreative) to come up with their own sample problems for the students. I wish they'd write computer science books the way mathematicians write their books: They assume their students are "mathematically-challenged" so they go that extra mile to make sure the students get the point. They provide answers to odd-number problems, for one. They also make sure the layout of their books are arranged so that students don't miss the main ideas. With Tanenbaum, you'd have to dig everywhere; you don't know whether to search in the current, previous, or the following chapters for help in answering the problems. I still have a few more semesters of computer science; I'm almost sure all the textbooks would be written by Tanenbaum (again!). I dread the thought. So, Tanenbaum, if you're reading this: Please, please, look for another publisher and editor who would help you in the layout of your book. And please, please, provide some answers to some of your problems for the students. At over a hundred bucks, I want my money's worth!
Rating:
Summary: Tanenbaum needs new publisher and editors
Review: Andrew Tanenbaum might be the best there is when it comes to the study of computers but, unless you're a "thorough geek," you'd wish other technical writers would step into the fore. Tanenbaum's books all use the same single technique to help students remember important ideas: bold letters. That's it. You'd be hard pressed to understand the main concepts most of the times because, like a forgetful professor, he'd sometimes mention it in passing (without bold font) that you think they weren't that important. Until one pops up in one of his chapter problems, then you're through. He does not provide any solutions at the end of his books. One gets the sense he wrote his books for the instructors/professors who are too lazy (or uncreative) to come up with their own sample problems for the students. I wish they'd write computer science books the way mathematicians write their books: They assume their students are "mathematically-challenged" so they go that extra mile to make sure the students get the point. They provide answers to odd-number problems, for one. They also make sure the layout of their books are arranged so that students don't miss the main ideas. With Tanenbaum, you'd have to dig everywhere; you don't know whether to search in the current, previous, or the following chapters for help in answering the problems. I still have a few more semesters of computer science; I'm almost sure all the textbooks would be written by Tanenbaum (again!). I dread the thought. So, Tanenbaum, if you're reading this: Please, please, look for another publisher and editor who would help you in the layout of your book. And please, please, provide some answers to some of your problems for the students. At over a hundred bucks, I want my money's worth!
Rating:
Summary: A very frustrating book
Review: At times this book had some interesting points to make, but it was mostly nightmare to try to learn from. I agree with all of the previous negative reviews that mentioned the book's vagueness and lack of answers to the chapter's questions! I found myself frustrated when I repeatedly read the same page over and over again. It is possibly one of the worst text-books I have ever read. I actually read this book in my class and I received terrible grades when our tests ended up being based on those end of chapter questions without answers. When I wondered how the rest of the class got good grades, it turned out because most of the class was cheating (many got caught during the final!) and getting the answers from google searches. So maybe I learned something from this book and maybe I didn't, but I would recommend against buying it unless you have to.
Rating: 
Summary: The Book
Review: Does any one know of a solution mannual for this book? The questions at the end of the book are nice and all but they are really hard to solve.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent !!!!!!!!!!
Review: Every computer specialist should read it. It gives you the basic ideas about how a computer works inside. The outline of the book is not very simple but the language is clear and the explannations complete. Just read it !
Rating:
Summary: This book makes everything click!
Review: Granted, there are quite a few typos in this book; however, it provides a fantastic overview of computer architectures. I have a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering and I can honestly say that this book tied all of that knowledge together in 600 pages of material. The puzzle pieces are now fully assembled! Get this book! It is a must for anyone interested in knowing exactly how a computer works, right down to the transistor level.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: I am currently a computer science student, and unfortunately, this is a textbook for my Computer Systems class. This class is intended to be the first class in the computer science discipline, and students are not expected to have any previous knowledge of the materials discussed in the class. This class is also a prerequisite to many other computer science courses. Although the material in the text is understandable, the questions at the back of the chapters are totally out of outer space. Unlike a math text which will give you examples and information that will allow you to extrapolate what you need to answer the questions, this book gives you only the text with no examples, and you are expected to make a giant leap on your own to be able to answer the questions at the end of the chapter. Even if you are able to answer the questions, you will have no way of determining whether you have the correct answer, as none are provided at the back of the book. It is very frustrating, time consuming, and difficult, and I have not heard one single person say they thought this was a good textbook. If you are choosing a textbook for a beginning level computer science course, please please choose a different one.
Rating:
Summary: This book needs to go through an editor!
Review: I am very surprised that this book has even made it to the publishing desk. The text is full of typos and grammatical errors. Not to mention technical errors in various tables and appendices. It is confusing to understand what the author is trying to explain, given that the book isn't even written in correct grammer! Just because one is a technical guru doesn't mean that one can write a textbook. I am very dissapointed, but I am stuck with this textbook for the remainder of the semester. How frustrating to come across incomplete sentences and run-on sentences in the middle of a long study session.
Rating:
Summary: Poorly written piece of trash.
Review: I don't know what they were thinking when they printed this book. The grammar is awful. The book is littered with typos and unclear explanations. The information is thrown any old place. For example, Page 183 has a PCI bus section, but it gives full detail on ISA. Wouldn't you put ISA stuff under ISA? Hello? The questions at the back of each chapter give you nearly impossible problems to solve given the garbled English statements. Sometimes the English is so bad that the questions actually create a new question, leading to a frustrating waste of time. If you do solve the problems, you will have no idea if they are right because there is no way to check (No odd answers). If you are a teacher, please choose a better book for your students. If you are a student, try to take the class with a teacher that uses a better book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Information Textbook
Review: I enjoyed the author's humor and subject matter knowledge. I found problems, however, at the end of every chapter. Although this book provided me with good information it left me scratching my head as I reviewed the author's end of chapter questions. The text also did not explain anything about an AMD processor, which I had hoped to learn about. Bottom line...good textbook, but a good instructor is also required to fill in the author's "blanks."
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