Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing - what but not how, when, where
Review: A disappointing book that addresses the "what with" but not the when, where and how of EAI. Early chapters are weak. The later ones usefully overview the possible integration levels (database, method level, user interface, etc.), what the tools and aproaches do, and their relative strengths and weaknesses. Very few examples are used and there are no case studies. There are no guidelines or framework of how to plan and select the best EAI approach. Occasionally obscure terms and concepts are used without explanation and the content is never related to a real project situation. The addition of guidelines, EAI selection criteria, real case studies and of short, pithy product reviews would help considerably.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing - what but not how, when, where
Review: A disappointing book that addresses the "what with" but not the when, where and how of EAI. Early chapters are weak. The later ones usefully overview the possible integration levels (database, method level, user interface, etc.), what the tools and aproaches do, and their relative strengths and weaknesses. Very few examples are used and there are no case studies. There are no guidelines or framework of how to plan and select the best EAI approach. Occasionally obscure terms and concepts are used without explanation and the content is never related to a real project situation. The addition of guidelines, EAI selection criteria, real case studies and of short, pithy product reviews would help considerably.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good introduction to EAI
Review: Before reading this book, all the articles and reports about EAI where too vague, as the concepts were too abstract for me. This book gives an easy step-by-step introduction to the EAI concept, the major forms of EAI implementation and it's major benefits. Excelent book in my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm writing this review for you, the buyer - not me!
Review: For me to take the time to write a review, I must feel quite passionate (positively or negatively) about an issue. I'm trying to save you money and, even more so, your valuable time in not reading this weak book!I SO DISLIKE THIS BOOK! I liken it to an HTML book that I bought in 1995 (that is now deep under some land fill). Like the HTML book, almost ALL of this EAI book's verbage is spent on extremely high level concepts and yields little in the way of concrete 'actionable information' that you can actually use. It spends time on the development of the author's own taxonomy of different types of EAI (data-level, app-level, UI-level... ad nauseum). If I saw any useful approaches or code in this book I certainly do not remember it. IMO, if you want to architect, design, and !DO! EAI do not burn your time on this book. Find another source. On the other hand, if you are of the type (prevalent in our industry today) who smile a lot, wear the right clothes, and speak with passion and authority on things you know nothing about, you will read this book, learn new buzz words, and write back with your own five-star review. Not me! I need to get things done without flapping my arms.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost Outdated Before Press
Review: For the non-IT inclined, the world moves plenty fast enough. For those of us in school for IT or already in IT, Moore's Law seems applicable to more than just CPUs anymore. In relation to systems integration @ the enterprise level, the concept has been around for a while. However, every quarter of the year has improvements to existing systems be they hardware or software. Ergo, a book printed in 1999 & used as a textbook in 2003 is going to reflect its age. Not, mind you, that David S. Linthicum's Enterprise Application Integration isn't useful, as it still maintains a degree of vitality for describing a lot of basics that haven't changed. Furthermore, his Methodology for requirements on when Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) processes are needed & how to implement them remains current; I made plenty of photocopies of his 12 step list & used it regularly throughout the course & foresee myself applying it in the future. The author is definitely in the field as evidenced by his writing style & tattletale technical editing. The work is a tad hard on the eyes due to a short, choppy sentence structure, but then becomes vertigo inducing. Linthicum switches gears into repetitive word sentence structure, resulting in very bewildering language--I counted 'application' 5 times in a 14-word sentence, not a big deal, however, the word does double duty as a noun & adjective! Granted the target audience isn't reading Mr. Linthicum's work for its value as a stunning piece of great literature, however, if the stiffness doesn't merit mentioning, the confusion does. For as much as the language is difficult, the examples are fluid w/wondrously descriptive diagrams. Mr. Linthicum generously supplies plenty of 'what if' scenarios w/pertinent illustrations. For instance, data level method integration is skilfully displayed in both word & picture, thus clearly imparting the concept. In fact, the author demonstrates a terrific abundance of skill & real world experience when explaining an idea via examples & diagrammed models. Mr. Linthicum starts the book appropriately by stating the reasoning & needs for EAI. In doing so, portions of his personal observations are jaundice tinted due to the evolutionary milieu of architecture & applications--he parses out especially acerbic quips for industry salesmen in particular. He clearly, & rightly so, identifies the natural tendency of the past as scaling applications & platforms to the paradigm of the moment w/o heed to the future. In the present, we now have disparate environments built on the promises of candy-coated sales pitches that newer equals better increase for Return On Investment (ROI). Ergo, Linthicum makes a good case justifying his book, as Middleware & EAI are needed more than ever to leverage greater value by tying together different platforms & enterprise applications. The author then spends a fair amount of time on Middleware, message brokers, Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM), etc. This is a good thing as businesses--whether large, small, or all points in between--are still employing these tools as low-cost alternatives to high-dollar EAI packages from the likes of Oracle, Siebel, et al. I think Mr. Linthicum does a fair job--in keeping w/the time he wrote the book--of addressing the roles of Java & XML in enterprise computing. However, I say'fair' as his thoughts on both were optimistic, though, to his credit, cautiously so. Mr. Linthicum moves on from Middleware to touch on actual EAI package solutions. Here I find something of a bias & good reason for previous reviewers noting a slant for a particular company. The author focuses strictly on SAP, &, while his comments are most appropriate in relation to the Case Study he employs, I couldn't help but note a certain simpatico. While I can't find a specific connexion to Mr. Linthicum & SAP, there's certainly an impression of favouritism. Still, even if bias, it's still an excellent example of using a packaged product for enterprise integration.
The author concludes w/the future of EAI in business & rightly doesn't attempt to prognosticate beyond a cheerful, "there's a great deal of work ahead of us" (p380). I believe in 1999, portability issues notwithstanding, the aeon flux of architecture & applications were just as controllable then as now provided proper--not dogmatic--adherence to project management methodologies are employed. Yet, & I believe Mr. Linthicum has it correct; there's still a great deal of work ahead. I'll drop my own bon mot, the move from Middleware to EAI packages have repeated the cycle of salesmen promising significant ROI & creating even more issues, namely, the package works, but it's the consultant services that rob potential gains from the EAI; not to mention the proprietary licensing agreement costs. Somehow, I think Mr. Linthicum might agree w/this sentiment. However, something Mr. Linthicum might or might not have been able to address was the Open Source movement. As Open Source gains more popularity, not to mention acceptance, he'd do well to author a revised edition of his book pointing out the Open Source options as well as the proprietary choices. While 1999 may or may not have seen the advent of EAI packages under the General Public License (GPL), developers in the Open Source community have made a lot of headway in this arena; witness EJB Solutions a low dollar package w/more than a high monetary value stuffed full of EAI Open Source software. In conclusion, despite some readability concerns, & slightly dated material, it's a good book for entry-level IT geeks who'll inevitably work w/enterprise wide solutions. My own take on IT training is that to understand the current systems, it's best to study the earlier models. Therefore, David Linthicum's Enterprise Application Integration is a desirable read if anything, to grasp basic concepts for laying the foundation of greater understanding of future EAI solutions. I should note, Mr. Linthicum has a new EAI book due out on 22AUG03 entitled "Next Generation Application Integration: From Simple Information to Web Services", I'll look forward to reading that one while it's still current. :-)
Rating:
Summary: Weak
Review: How some readers find this usefull is beyond me. It should be titled "EAI for Dummies". It serves as the CliffNotes for "Client/Server Survival Guide, Third Edition" by Robert Orfali, Dan Harkey, Jeri Edwards. It really serves as a 300 page sales glossy for author's company product. Specifics: to high-level, no coding examples, filled with cliches and witty comments, technology examples are well known and already documented, replace chapter six with any book on UML. Overall, not very inspiring or usefull.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book for Building an EAI Business or Tactical Plan
Review: I am in the unenviable position of building EAI Business and Tactical Plans for a company that doesn't really understand why they need an EAI middleware infrastructure. This book was a fantastic resource for putting together a non-technical "30,000 foot view" of the needs, options and pitfalls of EAI middleware for presentation to upper management. As someone else pointed out, this book will not provide detailed implementation techniques or examples for any particular product or technology approach. What this book does deliver is a high-level understanding of how each of the predominant technologies fit into the various types of middleware, as well as what the pros and cons you can expect.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive well worth reading
Review: I found the book to be right on target, comprehensive and packed with valuable information. The author was very knowledgeable not in theory but in the real world. The book was very useful in my position as Project Manager for Information Systems B2B integration projects.
Rating:
Summary: Very outdated, lacks substance
Review: I found the material on this book to be very outdated and the coverage of the topic is very shallow. I come from a technical background and found this book to be of little value in trying to address the difficulties of application integration. Look for a different book if you want to find out about enterprise application integration.
Rating:
Summary: I had to get an EAI study done
Review: I had to get an EAI study done in just 2 week, nowhere to turn, and this book came up on Amazon. EAI is a complex topic; I still don't understand all of it. However, this book guides you through this technology, step-by-step, providing you with just enough information to be substantive but not confusing. I like the way the author approaches this topic, I also like the way he provides a step-by-step approach to EAI projects. I followed all of the steps. Anyway, I completed my EAI study with time to spare.
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