Rating: 
Summary: A cut above
Review: I used this book to pass the cisco exam. It's the only book besides the Cisco ICND books that covers the depth of knowledge necessary to succeed in the test.Unless you prefer dry and boring study materials, like Cisco Press products, this book is for you. Sybex and the other books just won't cut it. This book is practical, and explains all the concepts very well. As you read this book, you may wonder about things or ask yourself questions, only to find the answers clearly explained moments later. Some effort, this book, and the Boson or Cisco lab sim, and you are guaranteed to pass.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, easy to understand
Review: I'm not sure why some people don't like this book. I used this book and the Wendell Odom book and liked this book better--it was more concise, had more questions/answers, and had MUCH better labs. Actually, Richard's questions/answers and lab simulations where much closer to the real thing than Wendell's. When I took my CCNA exam, I scored 948. If you already have a basic networking background, then I would definitely recommend this book. If you don't have much of a networking background, then I would use Wendell's books and supplement Wendell's books with Richard's.
Rating: 
Summary: OK But too many mistakes
Review: It is clear to see that Richard knows his stuff and certain topics he has presented in a very simple but effective way. However it is also equally clear that this book was rushed to market. It is riddled with errors, some that only a keen eye can detect and others that are more obvious especially in diagrams. Example (Pg 583 refers to a Web server with an ip address that is different to that in the command example as well as the diagram).
The audio for the CertCam videos are recorded too low and though some of them are helpful, others are really meaningless. Richard also needs to speak with a little more excitement or just get someone else to do the recording. The worst parts of the package, however, are the Labs. Though they are a noble idea in terms of giving you hands-on practice, but they were obviously not thoroughly reviewed. Those at the beginning and towards the end are already resolved when you load them so that there is nothing to learn. Example (Exercise 15-2) - You are given this troubleshooting Lab and told that there are three configuration problems between the routers which you have to resolve in order to achieve connectivity between them. This Lab is supposed to test mainly ppp authentication problems however changing the state of the serial interface by issuing the "no shut" command on one of the routers, completely resolves the connectivity issues and the authentication aspect is never tested. I think that this book should be used more as a supplement for other material. I would not advise anyone to totally rely on this book unless you are experienced enough to sift through the mistakes and have a lot of patience.
Anyone who gives this book a five star rating is obviously related to the author.
Rating:
Summary: I am going to be a CCNA soon!
Review: Richard Deal's book is right on. I compared the books table of contents to the objectives on Cisco's website before I purchased and they matched. After the book came in the mail I loaded the included software the Boson Practice Test and Boson NetSim. WOW! To think if you purchase this book for $34.95 you get a practice test written by the author, along with the learning edition of the Boson NetSim. That is a $289.95 value!!! Anyone who is intrested in their CCNA is crazy to not buy this book. The author covers the material in a very easy to understand approach. I have only made it to chapter 4, but I am sure I will actually finish this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, recommended.
Review: This book is one of the best technical books I've ever read.
It helped me to make some complicated issues simple & clear.
Actually, I purchased this book after I read an official Cisco preparation guide, and found it much more comprehensive.
Rating: 
Summary: Quizz questions and simulations on the CD are very helpful
Review: This book is very thorough on the content of the CCNA exam. Sometime even a little too much. For example, you won't see any questions on the 1900 switch, although the topic is covered in the book. I took a CCNA boot camp class which had Cisco press reviewed material and the Deal's book seemed to be a little better as far as depth and explanations. Although, make sure you get the errata from the editor's web site. The book does contain quite a bit of mistakes (not all of them are in the errata though)which sometimes are misleading - although from what I read, all the CNNA books do! So...
One aspect of the book that I thought really helped me on getting ready for the exam was the simulation exercises. They are by far the best switches/routers simulations I worked on to prepare for what I had to achieve during the exam. Although the best, I still found the exam simulations harder in the sense that they would have you work on more than one topic at a time - like design IP addressing for a network while also configuring for a couple of different things. The simulations of the book concentrate on one aspect of configuration. Let's say a routing protocol for example. The troubleshooting exercices on the CD are also very useful to get ready for the exam.
Overall, this book has a good contents relative to the CCNA objectives although sometimes too in depth in a few instances - but the more you know, probably the better on the job! Good simulation material and very helpful quiz on the CD (multiple choices, free entry, simulations). I saw a few discrepancies with other books on the contents or explanation of certain things, so I think this book should probably be reviewed to eliminate the last few mistakes and remove the 1900 switches topics. But overall, I would recommend this book to anybody preparing for the CCNA exam.
Rating: 
Summary: I don't think it is well written and there are errors. Lots!
Review: Too many reviews that don't seem real to me. They all say what I can't find anywhere in this book. I don't find this easy to read, nor do I like the way he presents material. Especially subnetting. Simple typos, to glaring errors abound in this book, and if you are a new in the Cisco world, this is not a recommended book because you won't be able to tell which is right or wrong. The CD is nothing to consider when trying to find a study guide. Worthless simulation that makes you call a long distance call to register before it will open, then when it does open, you find it wasn't worth your call, because to perform any needed labs, you need to enter your credit card! YUP, you read that right, you must pay to use any labs that are worth while. I thought I spent enough on this book already, but nope, you need to pay more. Stick with Cisco press and Sybex. This just proves to me why I always stick to the orginals.
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