Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (4th Edition)

This was probably one of my favorite classes in school. The book is well written and covers a lot of material. The author does a good job of breaking up difficult material into easy concepts.

This is not a "Dummies"-type book, but absolutely one of the best college texts I've ever read.

For general information it's ok. The information is ill-organized and when working through the problems at the back of each chapter, many of the answers are not actually provided in the book -- you are expected to research further in referened material in the chapter. When an instructor has to give the answers to problems that are in the back of the chapter because the chapter does not actually have enough information to solve the problem, there is a problem with the book.

Also, the writers may know a great deal about networking, but they do not know much about passing that information on to others.

Oh my gosh this book is sooooo wordy. It's 800 pages long, yet it probably could be condensed to less than 600, all without the loss of clarity. The authors explain everything to an excruciating degree, and often times things are repeated over and over again. For example, on page 194, a sentence reads:

"Web servers typically spawn a new process or create a new thread for each new client connection".

And then, only two sentences later, the authors write:

"Web servers often use only one process, but create a new thread with a new connection socket for each new client connection"

I'm not saying that this book should be written so as to be as precise as good code, but oh my gosh, spare us the overbearing details. Just give us the facts, please, and dispense with the jargon!

I found this book the best reference yet that I have come across to give a person a great deal of knowledge in a rapid and easy to understand format. It deals with internet protocols and other networking principles -- it is a great book to start with.
One of my favourite recommendations

with a textbook, I bought it. not good, but not bad