As the name suggests, the book is more inclined towards marketing types. The book is not that technical and addresses the technology aspects of layer 3 switching using different vendor's implementations. The case studies aren't really practical. Given the recent advances in IETF standards in label switching, this book is little outdated.

A little disappointing work for Metz, whose previous book was titled, IP switching.

Bottom line, if you are developing the code you won't extract much out of it but it is good for sales/marketing people.

What I liked best about this book is near the back. I could show it to less technical people and talk about technology trends, and some vendor approaches. For marketers and decision makers. It doesn't really help with network design. It is also missing some other key points with respect to decision making.

In this book, he really explains how Layer 3 switching is different than routing. He ends with a comprehensive overview of how several companies responded to a hypothetical lan problem (bottleneck etc..). 3COM responded with a CB3500 solution. Cisco responded with the 5000. Several other vendors responded with technology avail. at that time. Yes, the book is a bit outdated (market surveys and available technology are from 1997), but the theories presented remain current. I recommend to those trying to compare L3 to routing.

In general, this is the worst accounting book I have EVER been forced to decipher (didn't like our cost accounting book either). At my school, and probably elsewhere, ,everybody seems to think Acct 405 (Financial Acct 2) is the "hard" course, but Fin Acct 2, at least to me, has NOTHING on trying to learn governmental accounting from using this awful book.

I am currently a Masters level student who is taking a Governmental Accounting course. I have found this text to be somewhat confusing. The chapters and the information are very detailed however, the study questions introduce new terms and are hard to follow. This makes for a complicated and frustrating process for anyone who has not had a previous accounting course. I understand that there are not many books out there on this topic. However, a study guide or even the assistance of a glossary and some consistency in phrasing questions to be similar to the text would help. If I can't understand what the question is asking how am I to know if I understand what I thought I just read. The lack of pictures and graphics does not bother me and the blue ink while hard to get used to is easier on my eyes. The Powerpoint presentations were also helpful.

I used this textbook the last time I taught GovernmentalAccounting. The book is an excellent introduction to state and local government accounting and reporting, federal government accounting, not-for-profit organizations (colleges, universities, health care organizations, etc.), and public sector auditing. The 20 chapters have numerous illustrations of financial statements and flow charts relating each of the different fund types within specific organizations. The illustrations are both academic (i.e., written by the authors) and actual (e.g., City of Des Moines, Iowa). Where appropriate, there are chapter glossaries. Governmental accounting is unlike corporate accounting, in that both actual and budgetary amounts are shown in the financial statements provided to the external reader. The authors explain this clearly. The authors use t-accounts to show the interrelationship of the accounts and the flow of funds between the accounts. There also useful references to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board...

The previous comment shows a typical response from an undergraduate, similar to what I have encountered on teaching evaluations in my different classes. A number of students believe that a course should be "interesting." That is, more entertaining. (See Peter Sacks's book, _Generation X Goes to College_.) If someone doesn't find governmental accounting interesting, don't major in accounting. It is not a requirement for any other undergraduate major at any school I know; indeed, few schools even teach the course. People should major in areas that they find interesting.

On the other hand, anyone who wants to understand the construction and analysis of statements which present the operations and financial position of government and non-profit entities will benefit from a careful reading of this book. I have used it for directed readings (only one student reading on his or her own) successfully for motivated graduate students.

The previous commentator faults the book for lack of color. For this material, color adds almost nothing to comprehension, slightly to clarity and greatly to the cost. The book already costs $100, because the governmental accounting textbook market, with numerous competitors in it, is only 3,000-4,000 classroom adoptions per year (compared with over 50,000 a year for Principles of Accounting).

My experience as an author suggests that adding color would raise the cost of the book to at least $140. Would the previous reviewer be willing to spend the money in the hopes it would be more interesting?

I recommend this book.

Dorrie Kjelling, a mildly retarded girl is delighted at being mainstreamed after she reaches an 8th-grade academic level. She is part of a large Iowa farm family and she plods her way through everything, school included.

Dorrie fawns over a pretty girl named Robin who attends the local middle school. She is jealous of any attention Robin pays to anyone else and tries to drive wedges between Robin and other kids. Dorrie's big goal is to ride the bus with Robin on their first day of 8th grade.

Dorrie is not a likeable character and the story itself is not a plausible one. This book certainly won't make any friends among anyone who reads it. The ending doesn't make sense. It is absurd and the only characters you can like are Robin and Dorrie's brother's dogs.

This book belongs in the wastebasket.