As a consultant, my motto has always been, "learn fast or die." Fickle customers simply don't want to pay you to figure things out. As a result, when a project involves something I'm not intimately familiar with, I beg, borrow, or steal every book I can get my hands on. I compulsively try to learn everything I can to become an expert, or at least be able to speak authoritatively.
This time around, a SCSI project landed on my desk. So how did this book stack up against the others? Here is my opinion.
This book is, hands down, the best written introductory book on SCSI available. The authors take pains to clearly describe the evolution of SCSI, why you should use it, how to connect SCSI devices, and troubleshooting. They even describe why a cable has to be terminated, in detail. Administrators and technicians studying for the A+ exam will simply love this book.
Programmers, on the other hand, will come up wanting. The actual protocol isn't discussed, only ASPI. Examples are given in assembly (for DOS), and Delphi. ASPI is discussed for DOS, Win 3.1, NT, and OS2.
If you are looking for an introductory book that explains SCSI in basic, high-level terms, this is your book. On the other hand, if you are seeking a book to help you jump start your application development, look elsewhere.