Rating: 
Summary: Depending on what you are after...
Review: If you are after a paractical book with plenty of real world examples then this isnt your book. Try The Software Project Manager's Handbook: Principles that Work at Work by Dwayne Phillips. This book reminds me of Info Science text books - plenty of information about things you should do, but little actual depth on how to do them. The book is mainly theory but still has some reasonable points. I wouldnt recommend anyone rush out and buy it though.
Rating: 
Summary: Concise Advice
Review: Mr Murch has written a guide which provides concise advice on what works and what does not when you are tackling one of the great problems of technology "the successful project". Like the real estate bible location location location, this book shows that for Project Managers the mantra is planning planning planning. I have been running large projects for some years and found many NEW pointers to success in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A good text on Project Management
Review: Mr. Richard Murch's book on Project Management can very well serve as a textbook for any beginner venturing into the area for the first time. All the same, for organizations, which impart project management training to its seasoned developers, this book could be a useful guide. Richard Murch has presented the subject with such dexterity that gives you a feeling of reading a travelogue- a real journey to Project management, from initiation to rollout. Few books on Project management dissect its application into various SDLC areas, carefully giving pointers to best practices, key process areas, tools, methodologies and vivid examples. The special topics and appendices also give you a good insight into trends and additional references. For any successful project Manager, it would serve as a checklist of what they are practicing
Rating:
Summary: Hits the nail on the head . . .
Review: Much of what is written about project management misses the whole point. When managing a "project", you are simply managing people. All the metrics and project management software in the world will not make a successful project. It's the efforts, motivation and skill of the people involved that yield success. Mr. Murch's project management approach begins with people - understanding the necessary skills for the PM, clearly defining project team roles, devoting an entire chapter to team motivation and retention, exploring ways to involve and empower end users. The metrics and methodologies are presented as well, with case studies that clarify and emphasize important points. The book also covers the tricky topics of problem management, risk management and crisis management. I also found the sections on configuration management and release management beneficial. This is project management presented by someone who's lived it in the trenches and truly has "best practices" to share with other professionals and students of the field.
Rating:
Summary: Hits the nail on the head . . .
Review: Much of what is written about project management misses the whole point. When managing a "project", you are simply managing people. All the metrics and project management software in the world will not make a successful project. It's the efforts, motivation and skill of the people involved that yield success. Mr. Murch's project management approach begins with people - understanding the necessary skills for the PM, clearly defining project team roles, devoting an entire chapter to team motivation and retention, exploring ways to involve and empower end users. The metrics and methodologies are presented as well, with case studies that clarify and emphasize important points. The book also covers the tricky topics of problem management, risk management and crisis management. I also found the sections on configuration management and release management beneficial. This is project management presented by someone who's lived it in the trenches and truly has "best practices" to share with other professionals and students of the field.
Rating:
Summary: Great blend of people & process, reflects real issues
Review: Skillfully blends the people and process aspects of project management into a systematic approach. This is important because emphasis on people to the exclusion of metrics is a sure way to have high morale while losing control of the project. Conversely, emphasis on process and metrics to the exclusion of people will result in alienated people who will express their low morale in the form of missed goals and in many cases fabricating metrics. This book provides the necessary ingredients for managing the people and the processes, and gives excellent techniques for setting and managing to scope, and focusing on the end goal of the project - to deliver a system - by using task/deliverable combinations. These are mature practices and, despite the growing number of certified project managers (PMP, PRINCE2 Practitioner, etc.), are still missing from most projects. I agree with a previous reviewer that by not using earned value project management techniques (which are now a part of the PMI PMBOK) the author has left a large gap with respect to controlling projects. It's up to the reader to recognize this and either obtain information about earned value from the PMBOK 2000 or from a book such as "Earned Value Project Management" by Quentin W. Fleming and Joel M. Koppelman. Despite the gap this is an excellent book that accurately portrays the challenges of managing an IT project and gives you the tools, techniques and advice necessary to successfully deliver a system.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, not great - can't decide on the audience.
Review: The book is very broad and shallow overall, however, in a few places (like Risk) there is significant depth. I would suggest that future revisions provide a consistent level of depth in order to peg its audience more specifically. Other books have been more professional and useful for my purposes in terms of a project manager in need of guidance, checklists, detail and examples.
Rating:
Summary: Mile Wide, Inch Deep
Review: The book reads like a mediocre project plan; the Mr. Murch attempts to enumerate all aspects of project management, but provides no personal insight. Showing a complete lack of orginality, the writer accompanies the lists with common, useless fillers. ATTENTION MANAGEMENT BOOK WRITERS: The world does not need another two pages on Maslow. Granted, the book has thorough lists of tasks involved in the Software Development Lifecyle. Keep in mind, however, that the book doesn't really explain HOW to do any of the tasks. If you're looking for a clue on how you can avoid another behind-schedule, over-budget fiasco, look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Too general for an IT professional.
Review: There are too few of real world examples on how the activities or standards are applied. Although no doubt that human communication is important, but I think some good examples will make the technologies understand better on how to manage IT projects in a proper way. I think, this book is more suitable as keynotes instead of a primary reference book. If you are serious about putting some standards to your IT projects, try to check out the book titled "Quality Software Project Management", ISBN#0130912972.
Rating:
Summary: Solid, general, but not much new
Review: This book is a great book for the reader who looks for some general guidance to survive IT projects. However, the reader who is familiar with the general software development lifecycle (such as the unified software development process) won't find much new information in this book. I was a little disappointed about the amount of project management specific information.
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