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Rating: 
Summary: Should be called "Beginning Networking for Dummies"
Review: I am a "Computer Specialist" and can only recommend this book to beginners, or basic computer users who want to get an idea of what a network is. This book gives an introduction to networking, and leaves a lot of loose ends. If the book didn't claim to give you the knowledge to build and manage "any size network," and said it was only for beginners, I'D GIVE IT MORE STARS. It's a good read; it's just too basic for all the claims made on the front, and back covers. I also have to argue with some of the authors suggestions that users (who have read this book) should try to trouble-shoot the network before calling a guru. That's fine if you really are the one who is supposed to be doing that, it's your network, or you work in a "mom and pop" company. Don't do it otherwise. You're likely to get in trouble, or at least be thought of as a "Dummy." If you want to be a networking pro - and have very little, to no knowledge - start here and move up to more complete information. Good luck on your pursuit of knowledge. :)
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Summary: Networking for the rest of us (it ain't easy)
Review: Make no mistake, networking is NOT for dummies. I live with a network engineer who constantly tells me that this technology is out of my league (and I used to dread setting networks up on a previous job, though I could do it after a fashion.) My approach has been "monkey see, monkey do" or more accurately "monkey, push random keys and hope it all works." So if anyone needs a dummy book, yep, it would be me. What I really like here is the start the book gave me in learning about networks. Even after HOURS of lectures at work on TCP/IP, ARPA services and other incomprehensibles, I failed to really grasp what the heck "gateway", "submask" and "workgroup" really meant. So I happily grabbed at this book, hoping all this Delphic language would reveal itself out of the fog of ignorance. I was partially rewarded. The parts I liked best were the "ten big mistakes" and the "ten commandments of networks." There is a section on wireless and while it will help you set one up, the advanced security features you really ought to have (can you say "WAR-DRIVING and online banking don't mix?) are best left to more experienced persons than me. But this was a nice start, this book, and it's fairly readable in chunks or to answer specific questions.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty much useless
Review: Not a bad book, but it is VERY basic. If you have worked with a network before, there is little information you can glean from this text. For someone who knows little about networks, or computers as a whole, this may be a good purchase. Do not, however, expect this book to teach you everything you need to know about working with a network. It is very simple, which makes the topics easy to understand, but expect to get another book centering on your particular network if you plan to do some serious networking. I would, however, recommend this book to newbies in networking as it goes over terms and concepts that everyone must know.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly for Dummies
Review: Purchase this only if you have a minute idea of what a computer is.
This is very elementary and assumes you have absolutely no knowledge of what a network even is. It doesn't go any further than that either.
Don't expect that you will be learn how to network computers together (my expectation); only that you will learn what components are involved --but not how they work or how to actually network them.
I don't mind basic info, but this book should be titled "Network Equipment Descriptions for Dummies" certainly not it's current title.
Way too many jokes as well (more annoying than entertaining).
Rating:
Summary: The worst book I've ever read
Review: This book (4th Edition) answered the questions I had about networking my small business. Specifically, I needed to know: 1) should I use a peer-to-peer or a client/server LAN, 2) if client/server, should the server be dedicated as a server or could the server also be used as a workstation, 3) which operating system would be most appropriate for the clients or peers, 4) which network operationing system would be most appropriate for a server, 5) is the installation of the network within my scope. Before buying the book I had searched the Web in vain (both computing-specific sites and search engines) looking for answers to these questions. This book provided the information I needed to answer all five questions. The information is very product specific (eg, Novell NetWare can be difficult to install and the complication and expense is not justified for a five-user network; a peer-to-peer LAN is easy to set up with Win95 or Win98; PCI network cards are much easier to configure than the older styles). The book is well written (ie, easy to read, to-the-point, relevant). If you decide to install a peer-to-peer LAN with Win98, this is probably the only book you will need. If you decide to install a client/server LAN with a network operating system (NOS) such as NetWare or NT Server, you will probably need a book specific to those systems for installation and maintenance (there are Dummy books for both systems - which I haven't yet read). If you don't know which NOS to use, this book can help you decide.
Rating:
Summary: Very little value...find another book on the topic
Review: Who this book is for: This book is intended to help the absolute beginner in computer networking get a basic overview of the issues and terminology involved. It is well-written and contains some of the typical "dummies"-humor helping to keep the text easily digestable. What this book is NOT: A how-to manual that will get your network going if you're sitting in front of a screen clueless on a Sunday morning. That said: after reading this book you won't be clueless any more. On to the detailed contents. The book is divided into six parts: Part I: The absolute basics
No further info necessary: How to open up your computer, so that you can install a networking card, for example. Part II: Building your own network
Planning you network; making basic choices of e.g cabling etc. Part III: Network management for dummies
Basic network management: making backups, taking care of security Part IV: Webifying your network
Creating the connection to the internet; creating websites Part V: More ways to network
Miscelaneous, like: networking your home, dial-in networks and non-standard hard-/software (MacIntosh; Linux etc.) Part VI: The part of tens
A number of top-ten lists, partially amusing, partially useless As I wrote: the book is really good in helping you to obtain an overview of the types of networks that exist and the different terminologies/choices involved. Once you have made a decision that you will need/want to create a network involving operating system X running on computers of type y, you will probably need to get another, more specific book to help you dig deeper. If you haven't made that decision yet: Go get this book!
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