19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Inaccurate and overly brief, 14 Oct 2001
By H. Adkins - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: CISSP Exam Cram (Exam Cram (Coriolis Books)) (Paperback)
This book is filled with inaccurate or misleading information. In the first 3 chapters alone I have found over 11 errors. It is clear that the author is not an expert on this subject and that the book was not edited or proofread by someone knowledgeable in the area of security. Additionally, the information given is anemic. Sometimes giving only a few sentences to important topics and failing to make points regarding information on the exam.
I find it hard to believe that the author passed the CISSP test, and if she did, then that might speak to the reputation of the certification.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Very light reading, 28 Oct 2001
By Tod Beardsley "Security Dork" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: CISSP Exam Cram (Exam Cram (Coriolis Books)) (Paperback)
I spent a weekend in commercial airline purgatory reading the new Exam Cram CISSP book. This is the first book I've read for CISSP study prep, and I have to say, it's pretty basic. On the 50 question self-test at the end, I got 100% on my first try. (Not counting the two errored questions, of course -- every Exam Cram book has a couple wrong answers, which is to be expected.)
I know I'm not that smart, so the only other explanation for my phenomenal performance is that the material is really basic, and lacks the depth of the real test. This is reflected by my first attempt at the 10 random question test on cissp.org, where I scored a pretty pathetic 60%.
I also found the end of chapter "for more information" URLs annoying -- every chapter mentions securityfocus.com. Like it's one big ad for SecFoc.
So, the Exam Cram book may be useful for someone who's never, ever worked in InfoSec before, and is thinking of starting a career with an eye towards CISSP certification (I imagine the crypto stuff might be hard for someone who's never worked with/studied modern crypto, for example). Can't say it's useful for current professionals, though.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
So, So, Not Up To The Author's Capabilities, 22 Nov 2001
By James W. S. Ludwig, CISSP - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: CISSP Exam Cram (Exam Cram (Coriolis Books)) (Paperback)
I had studied Mandy's "Surviving Security" book in preparation for my taking the CISSP exam. When the 'CISSP Exam Cram' became available, my expectations were sky high because of her previous book. Regretfuly, the 'CISSP Exam Cram' did not meet my expectations. I found the book to be extremely limited based on the breadth of the CISSP examination and that it contained little to no depth of subject. I could have done just as well reading a good security terms definition list. And I even memorized the 50-cram statements (they may have helped me answer 1 of the 250 questions on the exam). Therefore, the time I spent studying the book did not pay the expected dividens. The author's "Surviving Security" was more on target for preparing a person for the CISSP examination.
My hope is that the author will revise the 'CISSP Exam Cram' and make it more on target (Readers deserve a good return on their purchase and study time investment). Perhaps preparing an Exam Cram type book is not her cup of tea. I know she has the knowledge and capability to prepare a good Cram Book; this isn't it.