This is a dual review of this book and Windows NT Server 4: Professional Reference by Karanjit S. Siyan

Numerous publishers of computer books are under the delusion that their books must be big and heavy to be of value. Walk into any bookstore, and you will find that many computer books are well over 1,000 pages long and a few inches thick. If you ride a bus or subway to work and do not have a seat, attempting to both read and hold such a tome is not an easy activity and may be prohibited by your chiropractor.

I spoke about his fat book phenomenon to an editor at a major publishing company of computer books (who obviously requested anonymity). He disclosed to me that one reality that computer publishers have to live through is the explosion of the space dedicated to the computer section within bookstores. Major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble have entire rooms or walls dedicated exclusively to computer books. In order to dominate the shelf space, a common tactic in use by many publishers is to produce large, fat computer books. When an average reader goes into a Barnes & Noble and sees this great wall of computer books from Corpulent Publishing, Inc., the publisher hopes that he will equate quantity of pages with quality of titles from Corpulent Publishing. What the reader does not always realize is that there is no correlation between quantity and quality.

Both Windows NT Server 4: Professional Reference & Inside Windows NT Server 4 : Administrator's Resource Guide are the consequence of a publisher that is into fat books. The truth be told, while the editions I reviewed are older copies, the newer editions soon to be released are slated to be even fatter! The reality is that many readers do like the fat style of books. For those who like books that interpret every step in a process (also known as spoon-feeding), and guide you through every step, no matter how elementary, such a reader will like books such as these.

Personally, I think books of this size are bloated and overpriced. I would suggest that there is nothing wrong with being more concise and straight to the point. A lean reference packed with information is much better than a fat reference book chock-full of a gluts of information.

Siyan & Heywood are well-known NT guru's, each with a serious amount of industry experience. While each book does cover an abundant amount of technical detail, they often resemble warmed-over versions of the basic Microsoft Windows NT documentation. There is an incredible amount of redundancy between the two books. The combined books total nearly 2,600 pages, yet there is maybe 300 pages of variance between the two. Each reference work has an enormous amount of step-by-step directions on how to perform a multitude of Windows NT tasks.

As an example, the Administrator's Resource Guide is rated by the publisher for the Accomplished to Expert level Windows NT user, yet I find it difficult to be of the opinion that an accomplished NT administrator would really need such rudimentary, procedural help. The truth is the title should be renamed the Administrator's Bible or Administrator's Encyclopedia. I have always found the most useful references are those that are thinner and to the point. For the reader that truly desires such procedural and uncomplicated assistance, they would be better off utilizing the free NT Wizards that are an integral part of Windows NT 4.0.

Why are these books so fat? Besides the symptom mentioned earlier, the explanation is that they are awash with page after page of screen shots. Are hundreds of screen shots absolutely necessary? For the experienced NT administrator who is looking for a reference and does not want to be spoon-fed, there is definitely no need to use that many screen shots. My opinion is that screen shots should only be used where essential, not as a means to fatten books. In the sections on adding a printer, there is no reason why over 10 screen shots should be used. The problem is that the authors' often use a separate screen shot for each tab in a window. Such a technique is not necessary unless the reader has no experience. A preferred method to thin out the books would be to move the screen shots from the book to a CD-ROM. Yet by doing that, books would become thinner and the publishers would lose a lot of valuable shelf space.

Another problem often encountered with fat computer books is that more often then not, such books have an extremely low knowledge-to-page ratio . The low knowledge-to-page ratio is used to detail how much actual learning is gleaned per page. When books are crammed with useless graphs, screen shots and illustrations, the knowledge-to-page ratio declines.

Tell me if this is too radical of a concept -- Would it not be appropriate for the publishers to simply assume that smart, intelligent people with experience are reading some of their books, and then attempt to make their books without every conceivable screen shot?

One publishing house that adheres to the "Perhaps our readers are not stupid and don't need spoon-feeding" is O'Reilly & Associates (www.oreilly.com). As an example, O'Reilly's Essential Windows NT System Administration by Aeleen Frisch (ISBN 1-56592-274-3) is only about third of the size (486 pages) of these books, yet has an extremely high knowledge-to-page ratio. I would estimate that Frisch's book has at least three-times the amount of beneficial information than either Siyan's or Heywood's book.

The bottom-line is that what style of book you prefer is a personal choice. Do you like to be spoon-fed and provided with endless pages of information with little added value? If so, then these two books are expressly for you. If you have experience with NT Server and do not need 25 pages detailing how to install a printer, you are likely to be better off by purchase Frisch's book

I bought this book when I knew nothing about NT networks, when I finished reading it, it gave me enough confidence and knowledge to build my own network and manage it. - If you want to learn how to setup and manage NT networks, this book is the best choice you've ever made.

Haven't found a bood that Drew authors poorly! Great work Drew! Thanks to Herb & Carol Martin also!

Joe F. CNE,MCP+I,MCSE

This book is not appropriate for detailed specifics of NT networking. It is geared heavily toward the networking novice.

A must have book if you're running Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and want to connect to other computers

While Drew Heywood is an excellent author - this book will not be one to wind up in his Hall of Fame. This book was chock full of inaccurate statements, misleading comments, and poorly thought out statements. Using this to study from, or even using it as a reference would be a mistake. I found it very tough to read, and most of the time found it downright frustrating. I would, however, recommend it for target practice. The book becomes much more valuable (not to mention, lighter) after substantial portions of it are removed with a large calibre hand gun. Surprisingly, the readability doesn't suffer in the least. Seriously though, this book is terrible and the back of a cereal box would make a better study guide.

I read the whole thing with the help of some wine. I actually let a friend of mine read the book, but more as a practical joke. Well, my friend didn't think it was too funny. We both found it to be a waste of our time.

We did, however, find some value in the book at the target range. He took his 45 and I took out my 40 and we used the book as a sight in target. (I'll see if I can get him to write a review as well) This was the first and only time we have ever done anything like this. I teach the Microsoft curriculum and have found some other joy in passing the book around the room and telling the students that I would not recommend using it in the real world or to study for certification exams. You should see their expressions when they open the bullet torn pages and see pieces fall out.

Please don't get me wrong here. I love books and would never recommend that anyone do this with any other book. But, if you stumble across this one - go for it!

By the way - Drew Heywood did, in fact, write the best book I ever read on TCP/IP.

One reader complained that there is "nly two pages for groups."So what! All you need to know for the exam is what groups do what. For more detailed info on groups, use the Microsoft Windows NT Network Administration Training book, or, O'Reilly's Windows NT in a Nutshell.

I very highly recommend this book for not only exam preparation purposes, but as an extensive, well-written reference point. Worth every penny.