Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

But Computer Networks isn't without its faults--an eternity in Internet time has elapsed since publication and the book is a little stale as a result. It's also very much a textbook and its layout looks very dated and scholarly--for example, each chapter concludes with a mass of sample questions.

Oft found in countless bibliographies and on the recommended reading list for IT and networking students, Computer Networks is nevertheless an excellent textbook and a good reference book. It's also one of the best-written and easy to read technical books around. For the IT student and networking professionals alike, it's probably essential reading. If you can afford only one networking book, this is the one you should get. --Roger Gann

Average Customer Rating:

not bad, but not good enough to warrant the high price

Customer Rating:

i bought this book from my uni book shop (popular chain store begining with W and end with "stones") - which cost me five pounds more. i could have saved the extra cost buying it from amazon, but would have had to pay p&p. the content in short is: you would find this book interesting if you are the type who enjoys reading specifications and protocol documentations. if you dont, then this book doesnt attempt to make it any less painless. however, i will comment on the cheapo low grade paper that this book is printed on... i mean COME ON! i paid near £50 for 891 page book, that's TWICE the amount i paid for my bruce schneier - cryptography applied; which incidentally is printed on PROPER paper. if the book was packed with colour diagrams - like my hall mate's book on VHDL or what nots then this would be acceptable (as colour printers require different paper), but as it stands, there is no excuse for this semi transparent rubbish. i've only had this book for 2 weeks, and already the contents page are worn out (trust me, it doesnt get that much use). the pages are so thin that it is rather difficult to turn at times, and if you are not careful in doing so, you'll end up ripping and creasing the page. so the quality of the book ideally depends on the content and nothing else, however the presentation/content of this book is unremarkable - certainly unworthy of £45 and the quality of the book is definatly not worth that. ...as a student, what can you do? this is (unfortunately) a core text for most courses. my advice for fellow students is: a) buy this book from online auction* b) try very hard to stay awake in lectures and or pray that you get a decent lecturer, so that you will not need to suffer the daylight robbery of £45 when exam time comes round. * if you are an overseas student, you'd do better to pick it up from china/india etc... for £10 or so. ironically, the local edition copies might actually be printed on better paper than the one you'll get in the uk.

Very detailed

Customer Rating:

This book is a really comprehensive book about networking. it focuses mainly on the theoretical aspects of networks (not how to make one in your home) and is greatly useful for a university degree in this area. It has a very in depth look at the topic, inclusing algorihms for packet switching, physical specifications for all manner of network standards and a very comprehensive section about TCP/IP.

Excellent Overview of Networks	Customer Rating:
Tanenbaum is an expert at putting the subject into perspective. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs to learn more about networks. Good background reading on networks for anyone considering doing a degree in Computer Science or Software Engineering.

the best of the market

Customer Rating:

I am a engineer who needed an intro into computer networks for my new job. Among the ones I looked into (Freeman, Held, the SAMS series etc ) I found this one the best by far. First, the writing style is extremely friendly and casual, you feel like the man is speaking to you directly. Second, I found the contents quite up-to-date for my purposes, which was to learn the basics and be ready to go further. This book helps you understand data coms based on the OSI model. It prepared me to tackle more advanced books - at the moment I am in R. Perlman's " Interconnections". Excellent.

Disappointing

Customer Rating:

Bought this for a second year computer science module in data communications and networks. Despite its jolly cover this book is geared for academic use which probably explains why it's so tiresome. I can't remember one thing that I looked up in this book that was useful. Encryption and routing algorithms couldn't be made less clear if you smeared the pages with manure. And if you want to read about IP addresses and subnets in this book, well, you can't. They get a half-cocked coverage at best. Maybe the fourth edition is better.