Customer Reviews

CISSP Training Guide

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm preparing for the CISSP, so I do have a few different books lying around (CISSP Examination Textbooks by S Vallabhaneni = Awful reading, but good factual references; CISSP Prep Guide: Gold Edition by Krutz & Vines = Good reading, Great questions and decent references) and this book.
After having done a few 'domains' with the Krutz/Vines book I switched to this guide (available on O'Reilly's Safari site). I like the style of the chapters, the way the domains are covered, the topics are well explained, yet it is lacking on factual details. One strong point is the author's use of sample case situation to emphasis the review points.
Over the past week, this book has become my first approach to each domain, using the Krutz/Vines as a very quick checkup before trying the questions from the CISSP Prep Guide.
According to me, the preperation for the CISSP cannot be based solely on a single book. So I do recommend using this CISSP Training Guide as the center stage for training. As the title says it's a Guide, and will put down the right foundations for each domain. Then you could pick information in other books that have more details. I would also highly recommend to anyone preparing for the CISSP, to take the time to supplemented the knowledge by doing searches on the internet for supporting documentation, which Roberta Bragg gives as URL pointers at the end of each chapter.

I was skeptical after seeing that last review, but after reading much of the book, I'm not sure what that last reviewer is talking about. If you're new to security CISSP isn't for you -- try Security+ -- nor is this book. If you're in over your head, don't blame the book.

This is an awful book.

It is vague where details are important, unclear and poorly written where conciseness and clarity are needed, and it presents misleading or even incorrect information in areas in which the author is clearly not knowledgeable. In places it makes sweeping generalizations with very little if any validity; on the basis of my own twenty years in the IT industry, I suspect it contains broad swathes of personal opinion not identified as such.

The practice quizzes are full of the kind of multiple choice question in which two or three of the possible answers could be correct; the overall tone of the text reminds me of the sort of technical book in which the author uses the biggest words at his/her command, in the vaguest possible way, in an attempt to stun the reader into being impressed by the author's ability to say nothing about everything.

Although I have unfortunately come to expect this kind of product from Que and its ilk, I feel cheated out of the $70 I spent on this book, and I mourn for the unnecessarily large number of trees that died to produce it. Worse yet, my faith in the value of CISSP certification, and to some extent the general reputation of security consultants, is shaken. Please, go buy some other book.

I personally liked the way this book was organized and found it easy to read and understand.

The information was helpful in preparing for the CISSP exam but I must caution prospective buyers to consider additional study resources rather than relying solely on this book.

Some areas of the book did not go into enough detail on the subject matter. Specifically, some things you are expected to answer in the CISSP exam was not covered enough for you to answer the question correctly.

The PreLogic test engine included with the book had numerous errors. Sometimes the answers were blank, sometimes the answers shown was marked as wrong but when reading the explanation it was actually right.

I am glad that I puchased other CISSP books besides just this one. The combination of study material is what provided me with the knowledge to pass the exam.

Good luck in your quest for CISSP

The number of CISSP prep books has gone from zero two years ago, to about 15 in March 2003. With that, choosing the best CISSP prep guide is both a matter of personal preference, and budget; as some of these titles can cost nearly $90.00

While not cheap, ... the 'CISSP Training Guide' by Roberta Bragg is definitely an excellent resource for anyone preparing for the CISSP examination.

This book, like all of the other CISSP prep guides is organized according to the 10 domains of the CBK (Common Body of Knowledge).

Where this book shines is in its organization and presentation of the material. The material itself is presented in a well-organized and easily readable style. Other titles are written in a much more technical style, which make memorization of the concepts more difficult. But Roberta Bragg has written her 'CISSP Training Guide' in a very readable and clear manner.

The book also has a number of case studies that attempt to make the material more understandable by presenting real-world scenarios. The case studies do a fine job of taking often-abstract security concepts and mapping them into understandable ideas.

The CD-ROM is helpful, but there are many pop-ups requesting the test taker to pay to upgrade to a premium edition of the test.

Overall, the 'CISSP Training Guide' is one of the better CISSP prep guides. Anyone looking for a solid CISSP preparation resource should definitely consider this book.

Over the past year I have found more and more the need to qualified security professionals. I have also found that security certifications are more in demand than ever.

This 700 page manual is an excellent resource for the certification of CISSP. Broken down into three parts part 1 breaks down the exam objectives by covering such topics as access control, which is an excellent read.

Also in this section you cover security management, which I found to be helpful in my job. Other topics in network fundamentals, disaster recovery and law and ethics.

Part 2 is the final review of the entire 10 domains, which has a practice exam included. Part 3 is used for appendices and other material. There is a cd included, using the Prep Logic testing engine, and you can order more exams from the Prep Logic website.

The book has exercises and test and review questions in each chapter. Overall the book can be used in a self study mode or better yet in the formal classroom setting.