Windows NT in a Nutshell

Rating:
Summary: The first really good book on NT
Review: "Windows NT in a Nutshell" by Eric Pearce (O'Reilly; ISBN 1-56592-251-4) is the only microcomputing books that I remember reading in along time (maybe ever) which I'm excited about. Unlike most PC books (especially those written about Microsoft products), the author has notbeen brainwashed into thinking that if it is from Microsoft then everything about it must be good. In usual O'Reilly style, the book blunts states what is good and bad about Windows NT including the potential dangers of the bad parts.

After a short introduction chapter, much of the rest of the book is a series of reference chapters. Some cover how to admin NT through the GUI interface. Even more interesting is the "Using the Command Line" chapter, which is by far the best reference to the command line interface to NT I've seen.

There is a meaty chapter on RAS, which I personally skipped since I have no personal need for RAS though others do. Finally, it ends with a most unusually named chapter "Uncommon Sense". However, it is perfectly named for the material contained without which is a lot of random pieces of information and tricks about NT that would not be obvious to the average person.

The one word summary of this book is "Wow!". This book is a great start for O'Reilly to become the premier publisher for the NT market that it already is for the UNIX market. If you haven't gotten the point, I highly recommend this book for any semi-serious (and above) NT user.

Rating:
Summary: The most valuable NT resource you can have.
Review: Eric Pearce has done in one book what others have failed to do in hundreds. All the information you need to effectively use Workstation or Server is at your fingertips for less than $20. Being a person who has to support NT on a daily basis, this is the only reference that never leaves my side.

Rating:
Summary: NT book that won't sit on the shelf
Review: There are some books that sit on the book shelf and others that become dog-earred through usage -- my book is pretty worn with usage.

I found the section on NT command line reference to be the most useful. The command line can be more convenient an doesn't rely on the GUI NT overhead and can be utilized in batch scripts.

I didn't utilize the GUI navigation charts very much, since I tend to learn navigation through pratice and hopefully relevant navigation labels.

The author doesn't show any bias toward Microsoft and speaks in plain language. This is a pleasant contrast to many of the technical authors that seem to deliberately confuse the new user to make an impression that they are a master of the subject.

Rating:
Summary: good, but not too involved
Review: This book carries on the tradition, I have NEVER been disappointed by a book from O'Reilly. This book is a great "one-stop" reference for tasks concerning Windows NT. My favorite part is Chapter 7 "Uncommon Sense." It is full of helpful NT tips and tricks. This will stay on my desk as long as we are running Windows NT.

Rating:
Summary: This book is exactly what the tittle implies
Review: This book is exactly what the tittle implies. It is a reference book for system administrators. It is not everything on NT or it would have to be three feet thick. It is not just a theory book. There are practical steps with clear graphics on how to. How to what you ask? How to do the things needed by an administrator and shows the administration tools needed for such items as Backup, DHCP, Disk admin, and DNS Manager Internet service. Because the NT is not as intuitive and straight forward as UNIX you need a book like this to tell you what they were thinking when they put NT together.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Reference for NT 4.0
Review: This book reaffirms O'Reilly's reputation as one of the best publishers of quality computer books in the industry today. It thoroughly describes the various NT command-line utilities (which most other NT books gloss over) and elaborately diagrams each of the "windows" in the NT GUI, making it easy for an administrator to determine the best way to accomplish a task. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to any professional NT administrator, or to any person who is studying for the MCSE.