This book brings out of the closet a subtle yet important issue facing the African American community. I recommend it but give it 4 stars because of several weaknesses. Foremost, the authors do not provide a compelling political analysis of colorism, which I believe stems from the structure of race relations (white priviledge supported by U.S. institutions). Instead, they (unintentionally?) imply that humans have a species-wide tendency to favor light skin tone when they discuss similar color biases is several other selective populations.

Secondly, the composition and prose could have been a bit more polished.

The classic 1960's book BLACK RAGE touches on this and related issues. I would recommend that. Also, Itabari Njeri has a nice article on colorism in the Gerald Early's book LURE AND LOATHING.

I first read "The Color Complex" as a college student in 1996. As a dark-skinned Black male, this book brought to light the lion's share of all of the ostracism, ridicule, and occasional bullying that I experienced as a child. It also made me realize that a large segment of the Black community still does not want to acknowledge (let alone deal with) the fact that Black intra-racial color discrimination is still alive and well. Never under-estimate the power of denial.

It is very hypocritical that many Black "leaders (?)" prefer to always point the finger at White America for all of its sins, yet refuse to challenge us as Black folks to take a good, hard look at ourselves and how we treat each other. Bravo to the authors for "airing our dirty laundry" in a way that forces much needed and long overdue Black American community introspection.

This book will make some uncomfortable, but that's the point! Just like "Losing the Race" by John McWhorter, this books represents a much-needed wake-up call for Black Americans.

EXCELLENT! This is a book that one cannot put down. The issue of color discrimmination is rampant within the communities of color be it black, hispanic, etc. Although I cannot say if I have suffered intraracial color bias, I know it exists. When I look at Ebony Magazine, Jet, etc. I feel that these publications have a fetish for light skinned people! I know of light skinned blacks that absolutley will not marry or get involved with anyone dark skinned or one that does not have "european" features. i have worked with African Americans that only allowed their daughters to date white boys! For fear of having children with dark skin and "bad" hair. This book tells the truth about the role of skin tone ,hair texture and self hatred in the black community.

Kleppner is the one name I think when I'm in a doubt regarding any stage of the advertising procedure. The book is not extremely intensive, but explains in a precise way each stage. It might be too USA oriented, but works fine for international students. Surely a must in every student's library.

Kleppner's Advertising Procedur

Security, security, security, that's seems to be the hottest growing area of the IT industry over the last 18 months. CompTIA release of the security+ exam is the foundational standard by which companies have set a measuring stick for those looking to break into the Security field.

In this book the authors have given you a good breakdown of the domains associated with a very tough exam. The authors seem to have covered every objective and the material is technically accurate and up to date.

The book has over 150 practice questions included. What I found to be most helpful was the communication security as well as the infrastructure security sections. Looking at the overall content of the book you should have a good base in which to learn from.

I was very pleased with the cdrom included, which has a practice question using the Boson Testing engine. Overall the authors have created a very good study guide and based on what I have seen from the exam, this book should help.

After reviewing most of the Security+ material on the market, this book helped me the most in passing the CompTia certification. It appears to be the only Sec+ book authored by a Security+ certified professional, and the questions in the book and extra questions on the CD were dead on.

What is consciousness? Where does it go when we die? Ronald Russell explores the answers to questions like this in his latest book, The Vast Enquiring Soul. A graduate of Oxford University, Russell has written thirteen other books. He describes this one as "a journey of exploration into the further reaches of consciousness." He says that consciousness is "our ability to know and understand, to be aware of ourselves and the world around us."

As part of his explorations, Russell delves into matters like psychokinesis (mind over matter), distant healing, remote viewing, and near-death and out-of-body experiences. His research has led him to the conclusion that consciousness "doesn't reside merely in the brain, but within our bodies, the earth, and the universe."

He relies not only on his own studies, but also those conducted by others from a variety of disciplines. He very neatly weaves all the available information into a tapestry of science, philosophy, theology, poetry, history, and the paranormal.

Russell says that consciousness is a part of everything that happens from before we're born until after we die. He asserts that consciousness isn't the same as soul--that our souls are the essential part of us that holds all our aspects, including mind, body, and consciousness, together. He urges the scientific world to consider the soul, and consciousness, when doing research; and advocates a new branch of study devoted to learning more about both the soul and consciousness and their roles in making us who and what we are.

"The more we can discover about our consciousness," Russell says, "the more of our potential as human beings we are likely to realize." The Vast Enquiring Soul is essential reading for all those interesting in exploring the most interesting frontier of all--their own consciousness.

Ronald Russell defines consciousness as "our ability to know and understand, to be aware of ourselves and the world around and beyond us." He takes as his subject all circumstances in which our consciousness moves into altered states and seems to extend its reach beyond material reality into other realms. "The work and personality of the late Robert Monroe" and The Monroe Institute (TMI) programs are acknowledged as his inspiration. Extraordinary experiences of ordinary individuals--usually discounted by established science--are the foundation of Russell's case.

Russell addresses the core issue of how mind may influence matter and transcend space and time by scrutinizing psychokenesis, telepathy, premonition, precognition, deja vu, and remote viewing. He theorizes that distant healing, which affects a person without physical contact with the healer, may be a variant of telepathic communication. The near-death experience(NDE)is considered from the perspective of those who have "been there; done that" and from the perspective of researchers.

Communication with the "unbodied" and its implications receive in-depth considerations, from biblical prophecy, through the "auditory hallucinations" of the mentally disturbed, to the "voices" heard by the dying, to spiritualism and finally modern channeling. He personalizes the whole spectrum with the reminder that "...most of us in a variety of situations have heard ourselves say something pertinent or even profound without any forethought..."

Transcendence, which catapults the "separate" self into a state of fusion with all that is, seems closest to Russell's heart. His examination of the phenomenon is replete with examples drawn from the lives of authors, housewives, physicists, philosophers, astronauts, poets, scientists, TMI GATEWAY VOYAGE participants, and even death-and-dying authority Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.

Russell makes quite an impressive case for his major premise: subjective experiences such as ESP, telepathy, precognition, psychokinesis, NDEs, OBEs, and the transcendent moment, as well as abilities such as remote viewing, distant healing, and channeling, are reliable doorways into the dimensions in which consciousness reigns supreme. His arguments are closely reasoned and the abundance of personal accounts and academic references makes key resources readily accessible. If you truly hunger to know, be assured that there is quality nourishment here for your own "vast enquiring soul."

In The Vast Enquiring Soul: Explorations Into The Further Reaches Of Consciousness, Ronald Russell argues compellingly for the including of the human soul into everyday thought and conversation, that any scientific concept of the world will remain incomplete unless taking the soul into consideration. Russell evaluated current consciousness research by scientists, philosophers, paranormalists, theologians, poets and historians, and found that consciousness doesn't reside only in the brain, but within the whole body, the earth, and the universe. The Vast Enquiring Soul is an informative, articulate, fascinating, and at times inspiring, contribution to metaphysical studies and the nature of human consciousness.

The CISSP Prep Guide: Gold Edition is a very comprehensive, technical guide that will help you pass the CISSP. It is also horrible to read. If you need a reference guide to build on a few weak areas covered by this exam then you might find this book a valuable reference. I am very familiar with Telecom and networking, but need to read up on most other section. For this, I have been turning to a book purchased by a co-worker: CISSP Cert Exam Guide by Shon Harris. I don't know if the Harris book has the same information coverage as the Gold Edition, but it is far easier to read. Take this advice: Read a few sections of each book. These are too expensive to take the chance - I took the chance and regret it...

I just took the CISSP exam after three weeks of studying, with The CISSP Prep Guide: Gold Edition as my main study guide. Unfortunately, Krutz & Vines have included a wealth of information that I didn't need to know, meaning I spent hours memorizing superfluous information. For example, they delve into the gory details of the various cryptographic algorithms. I was careful to learn that information, only to have another exam guide point out that "the CISSP exam does not cover the specific details of how cryptographic algorithms work, so if you are confused by this information, feel free to move on."
While it is true that you can do well on the CISSP test by studying this book, you don't need much of the information presented here, and most of it is presented more concisely in other study guides. Furthermore, other study guides I used contained valuable information that was not in this book, information that did appear in test questions.
As goofy and badly-written as it may seem, Shon Harris's study guide will serve you better in the end.

The CISSP Prep Guide: Gold Edition is a very good reference for anyone wanting to study for the exam.

The Gold Edition is quite comprehensive, and covers all of the core elements of the CBK. The often overly technical writing makes the book difficult to read at times.

While most test software that comes with books is often second rate, the CD-ROM Prep Exam guides are quite valuable. The CD-ROM contains over 360 questions on the 10 areas of the CBK.

While no one should not base his or her entire CISSP exam preparation on any single reference, The CISSP Prep Guide: Gold Edition is nonetheless a good place to start.

This book is exactly what CISSP candidates need to prepare for the exam. The authors make sure to cover the CISSP Common Body of Knowledge in enough detail, give pointers along the way, and include sample questions to practice for the exam.

Since this is a study guide, the emphasis is on breadth, not depth of coverage, and that's the way it should be.

Several inaccuracies and typos should be corrected in the second edition (e.g. the description of lattice-based control on p. 34, or sample question 9 in Chapter 10 and its answer).

So is this now my favorite survey of computer and information security? Not quite. I still prefer "Secure Computing" by Rita C. Summers, even though it is already 4 years old. Unfortunately it is out of print, and it is a mystery why McGraw Hill wouldn't print a few thousand copies to satisfy the demand.

Another CISSP prep book is coming soon (Mandy Andress, "CISSP Exam Cram"). Let's hope it will be as good as the Prep Guide.

This is a strong review guide that correlates perhaps 90% with the contents of the comprehensive CISSP exam. As a hands-on professional with decades' worth of security experience and in-the-trenches development of secure OS, comm protocols, and RDBMS, I was frustrated at the manner in which the book glossed over some material and, indeed, made frank errors here and there. (This is why I withheld the fifth star from my rating.) However, considering its purpose--which is to provide balanced coverage of the numerous exam areas--it does a very good job. Of course, the book isn't all you need, and I disagree for two reasons with the assertion in the book's preface that a professional with three years' experience could pass the CISSP exam. First, the material is far too broad. Second, the exam demands that the candidate have a strong handle on the business motivations behind various security-related policies, practices, and methodologies that you just can't glean in only a few years of professional practice.

It's been said many times that the vast ocean of the CISSP Common Body of Knowledge (CBK) is fifty miles wide and two miles deep and preparing for it can be quite an overwhelming endeavor. Various on-line study groups and web sites have numerous suggestions and links where freely available materials and helpful hints may be found. Individuals share there study guides and suggest the best books to procure for the study quest. I myself have participated and contributed in these vibrant forums. It's been said many times over that NO one book can effectively cover the CBK and to prepare the CISSP candidate for the exam. I too have amassed a large collection of the most suggested tomes. Well The CISSP Prep Guide almost negates this statement. The CISSP Prep Guide is now the FIRST place to start! I wish it had been in print a year ago when I began my quest for the CISSP. It is a complete and affordable textbook covering the MEAT of the CBK. This book completely defines and explains the major points of the CBK. It is an extremely readable and understandable text. If you can't afford attending the ISC2 CISSP Seminar either because of cost or time away from work this book is for you. If you have already attended the CISSP Seminar this book is for you. I was blessed by having the opportunity in attending the CISSP Seminar yet I am still finding that The CISSP Prep Guide is building upon the materials presented in the seminar. I can see where my copy of The CISSP Prep Guide will quickly become a dog-eared reference text that I use to refer to while carrying out my duties as an Information Systems Security Officer with the U.S. Government.

It must be difficult to write an exam review book before the exam is actually offered. I purchased this book for additional reference before taking the CISM Exam over the past weekend; 6/03. This was the first time the exam has been offered to the public. I estimate that 80% of the exam questions where not covered in this book. While the material presented by the author's is valid, it did not help much in terms of the exam. This book is much more useful for someone trying to obtain the CISSP not CISM.