This is more than a college text and it's of value to working professionals as well as to professors who want to provide a course that brings real world e-commerce issues into their curriculum.
What sets this book apart for the classroom is the web site that supports the book. This site has subscription services (using the access code that is provided on a card inside the book), which includes book chapters, tutorials, streaming video lectures and more), and instructor services that provide lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations and a test bank. There are also resources that are open to the general public that are valuable and provide e-commerce news, business plans, and research articles. I like the way that the WWW is integrated into a traditional paper book to provide a comprehensive learning tool that is always up to date and evolving.
For the working professional the material in the book (and associated web site) is applicable to real world issues. What impresses me the most is how the authors manage to comprehensively address topics in business, technology and social issues in 600 pages. Each section and each topic appears to be carefully selected to impart maximum knowledge on the key issues. For example, the descriptions, case studies and key concepts in Chapter 2, E-commerce Business Models and Concepts, hits all of the salient points. Another example, in Chapter 4, Building an E-commerce Web Site, is a discussion of the value of 100% uptime. These are topics business and IT professionals are struggling with, and it's refreshing to see them included in a college text book.
As an IT consultant I found this book to be better than most I've read, and highly recommend it to business and IT professionals because it digs deep below the surface and uncovers the real issues. If you are an instructor or professor this book will allow you to prepare your students for the challenges that they will face on the job - and do so in an interesting manner.