Just a quick background: I am not a computer professional, but I have been involved with computers all my life, and I have a very broad knowledge of the IT field.
As I decided to take the A+ exam, I felt that I could pass it with no problems at all, but I wanted to get a quick comprehensive guide to brush up on my skills anyway. After browsing in the store for a bit, I decided on the Fast Pass book. At first glance, it seemed like a really good refresher book for people who already had some computer knowledge.
After I got the book and began reading it, I was immediately baffled by its organization. I respect that the author tried to organize the book in a similar manner to the A+ exam outline, but in all honesty, this is not a good way to organize a book. Using this organization method, oftentimes you will be introduced to a complex technology concept before you recieve the foundation that concept is based on.
The book is very inconsistent, as well. Most of the time it reads like a casual encyclopedia entry, but there are times when the author drops into a technical-manual style or a personal aside without warning. It also seems as if the little "Note" and "Tip" sidebars are thrown in at random just to look pretty, even though the text that they contain could and should be in the body.
As others have stated, I was immediately turned off by this book as soon as I read that "BlueTooth" was an "infrared" standard, which is at one point in the book quoted as having a range of 10 feet, only to later be upped to 35 feet! And 802.11a is the "current" wireless standard? I honestly cannot believe the information in this book considering its publication in late 2006.
Overall, if you don't know much about computers, this book offers you a bit of history and foundational learning, but you will defintely want to go somewhere else if you're actually studying for the exam.
