BKMHENNT.RVW   20010725

"McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications", Tom
Sheldon, 2001, 0-07-212005-3, U$69.99/UK#51.99
%A   Tom Sheldon http://www.linktionary.com tsheldon@linktionary.com
%C   300 Water Street, Whitby, Ontario   L1N 9B6
%D   2001
%G   0-07-212005-3
%I   McGraw-Hill Ryerson/Osborne
%O   U$69.99/UK#51.99 905-430-5000 +1-800-565-5758 fax: 905-430-5020
%P   1447 p. + CD-ROM
%T   "McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications"

This is a worthy reference.  The listings cover the topic, and the
descriptions are reliable.  If explanations are not always of
specialist level, that is only to be expected.  This is an
encyclopedia, not a specialty tome.

No bias is detectable either for or against any particular vendor or
operating system culture (with the possible exception of frequent
citations to the Google search site).  A number of specific products
and companies are listed (or discussed in related entries), but the
items included are important, and it would be difficult to identify
any left out that should have been incorporated.

The explanations are clear, easily understandable without a
significant technical background, and concentrate on fundamental
concepts.  Related entries are listed, sometimes quite extensively,
although there is no indication (such as the use of italics or a
special typeface) when a term used in one listing is defined
elsewhere.  The writing itself is easy to follow, and there is enough
humour to lighten the reading load without detracting from the issues
under discussion.

The material is not deep, in most cases.  There is, for example, a
gloss over the creation of MS-DOS outside of Microsoft, as well as the
origins of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) in the earlier
GML (Generalized Markup Language).  In the latter case, this
simplification means that the importance of function, in generalized
markup, is submerged in the discussion of formatting.  However, an
encyclopedia, and a networking encyclopedia, at that, is usually seen
as giving a "once over lightly" precis of a subject, so a lack of
profundity is not to be disparaged.

A fairly important aspect of the work is the inclusion of Internet and
Web references for further research.  Of course, many books nowadays
contain Web references, but Sheldon has included some very important
and valuable resources.  There are also a substantial number of
citations, frequently half a dozen or more in a single article.  In
many books, this many URLs (Uniform Resource Locators, page 1293)
would indicate an attempt to pad material without doing research, but
the listings in this work were obviously chosen with care.  Most point
to established organizations, increasing the probability that the URLs
will still be good by the time the book makes it into print.  There
are also frequent directions to the Linktionary site, which also acts
as an update reference.  (Unfortunately, as of this writing, the site
is not fully available.  When the site is complete, considerable
material that was excised from the print version will be added back.)

I could quibble about certain items, but the points would be petty. 
In common with most technical security people I would object to the
assertion that an attacker is "commonly called a hacker."  In fact,
the entry on page 84 uses the phrase twice in one paragraph.  But when
you start complaining about that level of detail, you know that there
isn't much to criticize.  (The article on "Hacking and Hackers" gives
more balance, in any case.)

The entry for virus is short, but at least doesn't make any serious
errors.  And, in a general text, that appears to be quite an
accomplishment.

The end pages of the book contain praise from an extensive fan club. 
Overall, this acclaim is justified.  The book is a very useful
resource, suitable for any level.  The novice will find introductions
to a variety of topics, with basic but reliable explanations.  The
professional will find starting points and further resources for a
variety of technologies that may lie outside their area of particular
expertise.  The material is quite up to date: surprisingly so, given
the scope of the work.  The similarly sized, CD-ROMed, and priced
"Microsoft Encyclopedia of Networking" (cf. BKMSENNT.RVW) does not
compare in range of topics, quality of research, or depth of coverage:
Sheldon wins on all counts.  I have no reservations about recommending
this work as a useful communications reference.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 2001   BKMHENNT.RVW   20010725