Rating: 
Summary: The best introduction...
Review: ...to a complex and every-changing field, J. Glenn Brookshear's COMPUTER SCIENCE: AN OVERVIEW provides a comprehensive look at the world of computer science. There is no programming-language specific information in the book, as examples are worked in a simple, spoken-English psuedocode (and occasionally in multiple other language samples). The book may be small and expensive, but it offers little extraneous information, instead moving at a quick pace through interesting topics. The questions and exercises are actually beneficial, and the bibliography at the end of each chapter offers great resources for more advanced study. I highly recommend this book as the cornerstone for any introductory class of computer scientists.
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Summary: Finally, someone who can write...
Review: After banging my head in frustration over this mystical topic for some time now, I have finally found a book that gives great explanations for everything I wanted to know. Most universities and authors are bent on using something like C++ to teach this topic, but you walk away not understanding memory, binary, processors and the like. Rather, you walk away with some knowledge of algorithms only. I can't say enough how wonderful this book has been. I am certain that I will be reading in more than once. If you are wondering how a computer works...get this book. The reading is thick, you must pay attention to every sentence or you may get lost, but after you have fought your way through it, you will know how this stuff really works. A great book!
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Summary: Computer Science: A Fourth Grader's Introduction
Review: Apparently I should have read the review of the 14 year old because this book is so elementary that my 9 year old brother can read it. It uses examples of kermit the frog and fuzzy bears.
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Summary: A good survey--can it help with the GRE/CS?
Review: As noted by other reviewers, this book is a useful and usable broad survey for beginning CS and other interested students, and as such it deserves five stars. But I wish to describe it from a narrow perspective. Readers of another review of mine who sought help with the GRE/CS mentioned this book; I was surprised to find it now as a top match under Book Search: GRE Computer Science, because it makes no claim to prepare students for the GRE/CS, and it does not appear in the Full Result list. Given its elementary nature, can it help with the GRE/CS? A qualified YES, if the text and problems are studied thoroughly: it will definitely aid moving from a scores in the 500s to ones in the 600s, but I doubt it would help move from 700s to 800s. What it does is give the reader a positional sense of core concepts and techniques plus cover material in areas that typically appear on the GRE/CS but may lie beyond the average liberal-arts undergraduate required curriculum. The solutions go somewhat beyond answers, unlike the required ETS books (if you can get the old editions). The result should be quicker knowledge for factual questions on the exam, confidence to tackle more of the novel problems, and better discernment on which to leave unanswered.
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Summary: A great book for its title
Review: First I want to say that Amazon for some reason combines the reviews for the 5th and 6th edition. A few months ago I looked at the reviews for the 5th edition and had read a few comments that said it was better than the 6th edition. I have the 6th edition and did take a look at the 5th edition after I bought it. The 5th edition doesnt seem so elementary like the 6th edition does. Overview doesnt necessarily mean elementary, but the language in the 6th edition does sound so. Content is acceptable considering this is supposed to be an overview on computer science. Like some other reviewers said a child could probably read this book and comprehend it. However for an adult it is almost insulting, but since when do computers have feelings. A little joke there.
Rating: 
Summary: good overall review
Review: good overall review touching on all aspects of computer science: binary code and machine language, the evolution of software, storage techniques, and machine operations. the book is not practical and don't expect to learn many things that can be immediately applied. also, to understand the material you'll need to do the practise problems and exercises. accordingly, this book is most well suited for an introductory class in computers or as a reference guide.
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Summary: The best one-volume overview of Computer Science
Review: I agree completely with the reader from Colorado. This is a great book. I picked it up on impulse when purchasing a textbook for a computer architecture course at university. Usually when I buy a book on impulse, I regret it. Not this time. This is the best one-volume coverage of computer science I've seen. The book is written as an "overview", but anyone who reads it thoroughly will come away with quite a sophisticated understanding of the fundamentals of computing. It covers basically everything -- starting with simple concepts like binary and working all the way through to artificial intelligence and other advanced ideas. It covers databases, programming, hardware, networking, and everything else. I can't think of an important topic in computer science that has been left out of this book. I also agree with the reader from Colorado that the writing is dense in places, but that is only because there is no unnecessary fluff. You may have to re-read a paragraph here and there, but if you do, you are almost guaranteed to understand the concepts presented. This is not a "Dummies Guide to Computer Science". It's a book for intelligent, interested students. As a result, the author does not talk down to the reader at all. His writing tone is very professional and matter-of-fact throughout. (The diagrams are also excellent, and complement the text very well.) As a bonus, there are "review" questions at the end of every section, and clear, well explained answers at the end of the book. I admit I haven't been doing all the exercises, but I have skimmed over some, and I am sure that anyone who does the exercises for each section will come away with a very solid understanding of the subject. If you want a broad understanding of what computer science is about, and how all the different topics interrelate, I highly recommend this book. If you're new to computer science (especially if you are just starting a university course), this will help you. Even if you are graduating with a computer science degree, this will help you to integrate what you have learned, and will help you see the forest as well as the trees. This book is in its fifth edition for a reason: It's very good.
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Summary: Suitable for an Overview
Review: I bought the 6th edition of the book. This book gives a great overview of the pertinent topics in computer science ranging from machine architecture to algorithms. The concepts are presented in a way that laymen could grasp easily. It does not cover some of the more mathematical and esoteric stuff in discrete mathematics, but as a summary of computer science, the author did a great job. Even those with a background in IT would find this book useful to consolidate and systemise their knowledge in various topics. This is not a book about programming languages, software engineering or Microsoft technologies, so those who are looking for high-faluting stuff need to look elsewhere. Having said that, there are probably a couple chapters that, though elucidated in an impeccable manner, could have been a little superficial in ther coverage. Some of the topics could have been more quantitative than qualitative. In trying to be vendor-neutral, the author made the description too generic. This is the reason why I would not give it 5 stars despite the generally good quality.
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Summary: Reasonably useful for preparing for the GRE CS test
Review: I decided to buy this book when I noticed that it was popular among people preparing for the CS GRE test. Even though this book was not written with seniors in Computer Science in mind, it was still helpful for preparing for the GRE test since it covers a broad range of basic concepts, some of which I had not encountered in my college courses, and some others I had long since forgotten. Learning/Reviewing these basic concepts definitely helped me score higher on the GRE (one should not forget that a large proportions of the questions on the GRE concern very basic material, such as : what's the 2's complement representation of this number)
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Summary: computer science notebook
Review: i like the book and i will like u to send it to
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