Telecommunications for Managers (5th Edition)

Rating:
Summary: OK book
Review: A relatively good introduction to Telecommunication for starters.

Rating:
Summary: Def not a good book!!
Review: I and many others in my IT Management program were forced to buy this new text book for our intro to telecom course. All I can say about this book is that it is far to broad!

Didn't teach me anything new!!

Rating:
Summary: This book is NOT worth it.
Review: I had to buy this for my intro to telecom class as some of the others. This book (stinks), unless you are an art major and want to learn all the basics about telecommunications. If you are SERIOUSLY looking to get into telecommunications, or networking theory, check out Computer Networks by Andrew S. Tanenbaum. It gives you MUCH more theory, in detail, and a hell-uv-alot less (...), for less money!! (...) This is the book we should have been using. Too bad this 300 level class was for beginners. Should've been a 100 level class.......I have been doing networking and System administration for about 5 years now, and this book is great overview, really really bad for networking concepts. Even managers should know what the hell their employees are doing on a deeper level....this book skims over the important decision making processes that any good "manager" would be asking of their top engineers. Of course, if the manager would have bought a better book, they probably wouldn't need to ask!!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Intro to Telecom
Review: I have used this text and look forward to the new edition.

Rating:
Summary: Weak. Lacking technical detail.
Review: Recommend a pass on this text. Good overview, but far too broad, and lacking in essential detail.

Rating:
Summary: Informative Introduction to Telecommunications
Review: This book starts with the very basics but eventually gets into some interesting information. If you are an experienced telecomm person, you may want to stand clear of this one because it provides lengthy coverage of some basic subjects.

On the other hand, if you are new to telecommunications it is an excellent text to start with. It gives the reader a good foundation knowledge of coding principles, client-server, OSI Model, packet and circuit switching, ATM, the list goes on. Most subjects are covered in more detail than just a quick overview, so you actually gain an understanding of the subject matter.

My favorite chapters were on network management, and network design and implementation. Also, the book is quite up-to-date with discussions on xDSL, Gigabit Ethernet, GSM, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Other texts are deeper
Review: We got the book for a course in Introduction to Networking. The only thing the teacher could say was, "I wish that GWU didn't require this book, there are better, and cheaper at that." It really does not deliver in detail. It is just a superficial vision. Skip it if possible.