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Rating: 
Summary: This is a GREAT text!
Review: As an instructor at a technical college, I'm constantly looking for textbooks that actually teach my students. So many books are just "cookie-cutter" types that merely regurgitate the same exam prep information found in all the others. I needed a textbook that went beyond that. The A+ Guide to Hardware (and it's companion book, A+ Guide to Software), by Jean Andrews, is that textbook. I'm very happy with it's accuracy and currency and the students actually read it! The text is very understandable and well written. My students are passing the practice exams with flying colors and several have received their A+ Certification as a result of this excellent text. I highly recommend this text for anyone desiring to understand and pass the A+ Certification exam!
Rating:
Summary: This is a GREAT text!
Review: As an instructor at a technical college, I'm constantly looking for textbooks that actually teach my students. So many books are just "cookie-cutter" types that merely regurgitate the same exam prep information found in all the others. I needed a textbook that went beyond that. The A+ Guide to Hardware (and it's companion book, A+ Guide to Software), by Jean Andrews, is that textbook. I'm very happy with it's accuracy and currency and the students actually read it! The text is very understandable and well written. My students are passing the practice exams with flying colors and several have received their A+ Certification as a result of this excellent text. I highly recommend this text for anyone desiring to understand and pass the A+ Certification exam!
Rating:
Summary: Very solid material, expertly presented
Review: As someone who has documented hardware and software--and who has taught a number of technical classes--I appreciate a course book that presents accurate information in a readable, straightforward way. This book does precisely that. The information is accurate, well organized, and maps very well to the CompTIA A+ Upgrade Core Hardware certification curriculum.
I especially like the overall presentation of the material--the design, photography, and artwork in the book. This is an area where publishers tend to skimp, but this book has a rich art program, with lots of appropriate call-outs. The book also has a number of nice editorial features, including notes, A+ exam tips, cautions, and brief sections called "applying concepts." The book has a useful organizational feature, where pages in the book are highlighted to show where the information maps to core objectives in the CompTIA curriculum.
Finally, the book is tied to a the www.course.com Web site, where readers can correspond with author Jean Andrews through an Ask Jean feature (www.course.com/askjean).
Overall, this is a very solid book, where accurate information is presented very well.
Rating: 
Summary: Sorry, but this is not a good book. VERY unorganized.
Review: I am a student of technology at a university currently enrolled in an A+ preparation course. This is the book that was required for the course. One thing that I really did not like about this book is that the chapters are not well organized and they are not in a logical sequence. Why cover PC components before covering the basic concepts of electricity? Why are floppy drives and memory in the same chapters by themselves? I just don't see the reason for that. I will give the book credit for being thorough in explanation, but a lot of the "extra" explanation is useless for the A+ exam. I gave this book ONE star because of the trivial organization and the rediculously long chapters. I currently own "A+ Training Guide, 5th Edition" by Charles J. Brooks and it is a superior book (Mike Meyers books are also excellent) and I highly recommend it over this "A+ Guide to Hardware" being reviewed. Besides, with the Charles J. Brooks book, you get the benefit of having a CD-ROM that actually has A+ related materials on it. The book by Jean Andrews (the one being reviewed) doesn't even give you a sample test on the CD. In my opinion, a good A+ book should be accompanied with a sample test. Another thing about this book is that it ONLY covers hardware. I know that is the focus of the book as stated in the title, but that is only half of the A+ certification. There are MUCH better books available than this one and I recommend looking for a different book, especially one that will cover the COMPLETE A+ certification.
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