25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This IS the Book to buy FIRST!, 11 Sep 2001
By Kurt Steiner, CISSP - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security (Hardcover)
It's been said many times that the vast ocean of the CISSP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) is fifty miles wide and two miles deep and preparing for it can be quite an overwhelming endeavor. Various on-line study groups and web sites have numerous suggestions and links where freely available materials and helpful hints may be found. Individuals share there study guides and suggest the best books to procure for the study quest. I myself have participated and contributed in these vibrant forums. It's been said many times over that NO one book can effectively cover the CBK and to prepare the CISSP candidate for the exam. I too have amassed a large collection of the most suggested tomes. Well The CISSP Prep Guide almost negates this statement. The CISSP Prep Guide is now the FIRST place to start! I wish it had been in print a year ago when I began my quest for the CISSP. It is a complete and affordable textbook covering the MEAT of the CBK. This book completely defines and explains the major points of the CBK. It is an extremely readable and understandable text. If you can't afford attending the ISC2 CISSP Seminar either because of cost or time away from work this book is for you. If you have already attended the CISSP Seminar this book is for you. I was blessed by having the opportunity in attending the CISSP Seminar yet I am still finding that The CISSP Prep Guide is building upon the materials presented in the seminar. I can see where my copy of The CISSP Prep Guide will quickly become a dog-eared reference text that I use to refer to while carrying out my duties as an Information Systems Security Officer with the U.S. Government.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
for CISSP, start here, 16 Sep 2001
By kgab - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security (Hardcover)
This book is exactly what CISSP candidates need to prepare for the exam. The authors make sure to cover the CISSP Common Body of Knowledge in enough detail, give pointers along the way, and include sample questions to practice for the exam.
Since this is a study guide, the emphasis is on breadth, not depth of coverage, and that's the way it should be.
Several inaccuracies and typos should be corrected in the second edition (e.g. the description of lattice-based control on p. 34, or sample question 9 in Chapter 10 and its answer).
So is this now my favorite survey of computer and information security? Not quite. I still prefer "Secure Computing" by Rita C. Summers, even though it is already 4 years old. Unfortunately it is out of print, and it is a mystery why McGraw Hill wouldn't print a few thousand copies to satisfy the demand.
Another CISSP prep book is coming soon (Mandy Andress, "CISSP Exam Cram"). Let's hope it will be as good as the Prep Guide.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Scholarly Presentation - Keeps Reader Focused, 22 Nov 2001
By James W. S. Ludwig, CISSP - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security (Hardcover)
I studied this work 30-days before taking the CISSP November 2001 examination. You don't pass the CISSP exam from just reading; broad experience is mandatory. The 'Prep Guide' helped me pull my experience into focus for the exam; the book does not give you the answers on the test, it helps you understand the concepts, thus, it helps the reader understand the exam questions which in turn allows the exam taker to go quickly into deep memory and find the answer that most resembles those on the exam. Of all the thousands of dollars of "security" books that I have purchased, read, and studied, the 'Prep Guide' is the only one that extensively covers the broad spectrum of topics emphasized in the exam.
Main plusses of the book:
(1)It keeps you focused in your study,
(2) The scholarly writing is a good preparation for the way the examination questions are stated,
(3) It will continue to be a solid reference book in my security practioners library (the added HIPAA information may have been filler but I find it useful in the profession if not for the exam), and
(4) Best price of any prepration security book for the focused information that it provides.
Oh, yes, and it helped me receive my CISSP certification in November. Buy the book and study the book, you will not go wrong.