40 Minute Power Resume

Average customer rating:

I Am Killer Resume -- Be Afraid!

An outstanding "how to" resume building guide.

Better Than Rehabilitative Alimony

NEVER SEEN IT THIS GOOD

40 Minute Power Resume
Beverly Hill
Manufacturer: Renaissance Ink Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Guides | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Resumes | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer (Resume Magic Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer)

ASIN: 0967690609

Book Description

This resume-writing book is the complete guide to preparing your resume in 20 minutes to 2 hours. Learn to beat out the competition through targeted job strategies. Avoid 30 major job search eliminators. Learn the magic Peanut Butter Principle and WIN!

Customer Reviews:

I Am Killer Resume -- Be Afraid!.......2001-03-13

WORD-UP!

Having recently purchased 16 books on the subject and a professional in the field, I suggest you'll be in deep trouble if one of your competitors reads this book before you.

It is, at once, the supreme effort on the market.

Best you read it FIRST and learn what makes a "rez-u-may" SELL. (You'll also learn to love "Peanut Butter Sandwiches".)

For those intensely serious about a great resume, I suggest two additional five-star books:

1. "Gallery of Best Resumes" by David Noble. Terrific examples of excellent layout and design.

2. "Resumes for Dummies" by Joyce Kennedy. All around good advice.

Follow the suggestions in these three books and you'll consistently write a winning resume.

Remember, "WORDS" can change your life.

Don't think so? Here are some that will: "Watch Out!", "Call 911!", "Earthquake!", "Guess What.", "I Want Volunteers.", "We're Downsizing.", and "I Do."

Still don't think so? Unless you're brain-dead, THESE WORDS will:

"Here's Your Pink Slip." "Where's My Parachute?" "I Need A Job." "What time can you come in for an interview?", and

"YOU'RE HIRED!"

When you hear the above, it's a right proper time to suddenly "Go Forth And Put Asunder".

Brandish & Vanquish with your secret weapon known as "My Killer Resume".

All competitors shall Be Afraid!

An outstanding "how to" resume building guide........2000-06-05

In 40 Minute Power Resume, Beverly Hill shows how to create a personal resume that truly separates and showcases your talents, skills, and abilities from those of others. She guides you through the construction of an effective and distinctive resume through a simple step-by-step processes in easy-to-understand language, while enabling you to highlight your own diverse accomplishments and experience in an competent and professional manner. This "hands on" manual provides resume writing insights and practical examples of professional resume building that will prove invaluable for those newly entertaining the job market, anyone who is re-entering the job market after an absence for family or schooling, as well as those seeking to improve their career opportunities through transferring to a more challenging, lucrative, or career advancing position elsewhere.

Better Than Rehabilitative Alimony.......2000-02-14

As a divorce attorney, I frequently encounter clients (generally women) who must reenter the work force or find better-paying jobs. At this time in their lives, they have low self-esteem and no idea where or how to start; therefore, I am constantly on the lookout for something that will assist them far more than the few months of rehabilitative alimony I might be able to wring out of their former spouses. Since coming across this book, I have recommended it to many clients. Ms. Hill's approach gives them confidence, direction, and the power to take control of their lives.

NEVER SEEN IT THIS GOOD.......2000-01-29

Beverly Hill has, in my opinion written the BEST resume book I have ever seen. The design is wonderful, by the time you've read the book, you've written your resume. One of my favorite parts was the chapter on Resume Eliminators. It steers you clear of mistakes you might never have known you were making. And the Peanut Butter Principle! I never knew I could make myself look so good, and it's completley honest! What I really love about this book is it's not just a bunch of forms that everyone has seen a million times. It's a system, put down in a clear and simple manner that allows a person to write a truly exceptional resume, in a relativley short amount of time. And it's not a long, drawn out, boring, hard to read manual. It's easy, it's GREAT! Good for you Ms. Hill!

Average customer rating:

The family in crisis

Excellent and enlightening book

Examines the lifestyles of American working families

Removing Causes of Children's Problems from Parental Jobs

A sociological masterpiece

The Widening Gap: Why America's Working Families Are in Jeopardy And What Can Be Done about It
Jody Heymann
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Workplace | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Marriage & Family | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Balancing Acts: Easing the Burdens and Improving the Options for Working Families

Forgotten Families: Ending the Growing Crisis Confronting Children and Working Parents in the Global Economy

Weaving Work & Motherhood (Women In The Political Economy)

Families We Choose

Unbending Gender: Why Family and Work Conflict and What to Do About It

ASIN: 0465013090

Book Description

This impassioned and informed book is the first to describe how government and industry have failed working families and what we can do to get beyond this critical impasse.

This hard-hitting book draws on the first systematic national research on how the need to meet family obligations is affecting working Americans of all social classes and ethnic groups. What happens when kids get sick? When an elderly parent is hospitalized? How do poor families cope with work-family demands? Jody Heymann's research points to a widening gap between working families and the health and development of children. Outdated labor policy and practice must be brought into the twenty-first century, argues Heymann. To do less is to abandon the precepts of equal opportunity on which America is founded.

Customer Reviews:

The family in crisis.......2006-10-27

According to a poll taken of readers of "Redbook" magazine, family comes first. However, those polled revealed that they felt that the American family is in crisis right now. Stress comes from all sides: work, school, other family members who might become ill, etc. This book, a brilliantly researched and argued treatise on childcare in the 21st century in America, shows unequivocally that Americans need to focus on this problem. I was disheartened to read of 11-year-olds called on to take care of younger siblings while Mom and Dad work. I sympathize with the parents who are struggling to find ways to pay for daycare; I did that when my kids were 4 and 2.

Excellent and enlightening book.......2006-05-05

This book is amazing. It synthesizes all of the various reasons that today's families are under more stress and strain, and how public policy can be revised to help. From drastically changing demographics, to public policies that have failed to keep pace, it covers a sociological history of family and work life over the past century. It also provides solutions for change. I see this book as a good starting point for researchers and policy makers to brainstorm on practical solutions. It's a useful resource for any lit review having to do with family and workplace politics, including school change, daycare change, elder care, and protection of the family unit. Great book. I felt hopeful by the end, in spite of all the work that needs to be done, b/c the solutions are possible.

Examines the lifestyles of American working families.......2001-02-06

America's working families are in jeopardy, with children being raised in two-income households where both parents are working and workplace demands cutting into home life. The Widening Gap examines the lives and lifestyles of American working families, considering their class, ethnic background and family obligations. Case histories supplement analysis of modern gaps between workplace demands and family health.

Removing Causes of Children's Problems from Parental Jobs.......2001-01-08

Most people have a job that allows little leeway for spending necessary time nurturing children and older relatives when they need special help. After all, employers are hiring the employee, not the family. Right? Well, read on to learn what some of the consequences of that system are now.

Many people feel overwhelmed today by how to earn a living, take care of the family, and raise children. For women who work outside the home, a recent study showed that the average work week is 85 hours for work, commuting, home chores and errands. Even with that tremendous effort, what's to be done when your 7 year old suddenly becomes very ill at school? How do you get your child home after an after-school activity? If you don't have much money, who takes care of your 3 year old?

The conclusion of this book is that millions of children are being shortchanged in the process. And the children who are being shortchanged the most are the ones with the most significant needs and with the lowest-income parents. As a result, we face a future of underprivileged youngsters numbering in the tens of millions becoming ineffective adults, rather than having a society that provides equal opportunity for all based on their potential to pursue the opportunity.

The book is based on four quantitative studies, comprising interviews with a total of 7500 people. These studies focus on finding out how family needs are being met, and what the consequences are for children. These studies appear to be the first quantitative studies to take the anecdotal evidence we see all around us of problems, and find out what is happening to all of U.S. society.

Most U.S. children are being raised in households where every adult works for a wage or a salary. School days and school years are shorter than work days and years, so there are many uncovered hours. Half of those who would like help with child care cannot get any, adequate or not. Many of the rest have inadequate child care because adequate care is not available to them or too expensive. Children are mostly being left to fend for themselves. As the cases suggest, this is often dangerous. It is never good for the children.

When children are ill, they are sent to school anyway. If they need attention because of special or just doing their homework, often one parent has to work evenings or weekends and cannot spare the time to help out while the child is home from school. If the family only has one parent at home (as so many do in our divorce-riddled ranks), these children are raising themselves.

In addition, one household in four is helping an elder relative.

Children in school who are having the most problems are the ones whose parents are around home the least.

Life as an adult in these households is "predictably unpredictable." As a result, something unexpected happpens about once a week in 30 percent of the households that requires someone to leave work. The women in the family usually rise to the occasion. Their employers often take it out on them in terms of reduced promotions, raises, and security.

The U.S. model for dealing with this has been to either rely on employers to provide help voluntarily, or to ignore the issue. As Dr. Heymann points out, many employers are never going to see this issue as being in their self interest to solve. In fact, the problem is largely invisible because people who leave work to take care of parents or children rarely tell their employers that's what they are doing. Other excuses or no excuses are provided.

Dr. Heymann argues for increasing the social safety net to cover children better. Since so many people cannot afford or find good preschool care, she argues for this becoming something that the community offers . . . in the same way it covers the later grades. Since these formative years are very important, large educational gains should result. Dr. Heymann also argues for many kinds of paid leave from work to help children.

Beyond that kind of legislation, there are things that employers can do. Focus on output rather than attendance. Provide more flextime. Allow more work to be done at home.

Government can do more. Let routine administrative things be done by mail or telephone. Provide after-school care at no cost in every school. Have transportation so elderly people can get to appointments, and children can get home after the work day ends. Have teachers available to help students after school whose parents are still working.

Although the author did not suggest it, my reaction is that we probably need to start a large number of experiments to see what works well and what does not. These experiments could be funded by companies, company foundations, and community foundations. From such experiments, we can find the most effective ways to improve this crushing burden on the development of children and on their parents. Although the working poor need this help the most, everyone needs help in some instances. The question is simply what the best ways are to improve things.

Investing more in helping our vulnerable children and older citizens will repay us handsomely. Let's find the best way to do it!

A sociological masterpiece.......2001-01-06

This book brilliantly addresses the issue of a non family friendly society that focuses more on the tenents of capitalism than the health and well being of children. Excellent discourse, research, and recommendations...A must read for all who are interested in issues of disparity, family strucutre, health, and culture.

Average customer rating:

An excellent companion to J Richard Block's Can You Believe Your Eyes!

Truly a visual feast

Incredible Visual Illusions (You won't believe your eyes!)
Al Seckel
Manufacturer: Arcturus Publishing, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusion

SuperVisions: Geometric Optical Illusions (Supervisions)

SuperVisions: Topsy-Turvy Optical Illusions (Supervisions)

SuperVisions: Ambiguous Optical Illusions (Super Visions)

SuperVisions: Impossible Optical Illusions (Supervisions)

ASIN: 1841931977

Product Description

Incredible Visual Illusions is the most comprehensive and amazing collection of optical illusions ever assembled, with close to three hundred different illusions, many of which have never before been published. You will be amazed as images flash and scintillate before your eyes, other images disappear right before your eyes, other images disappear right in front of your eyes, size and shape lose their meaning, and you see motion where there is no motion. The variety of different effects is almost endless, and many appear for the first time in this volume.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent companion to J Richard Block's Can You Believe Your Eyes!.......2006-03-20

Visual illusions have always fascinated me.

This coffee table size book contains close to 300 different visual illusions. I believe it is the most comprehensive & amazing collection of visual illusions ever assembled. This collection has been created by Al Seckel, a cognitive vision scientist of the CALTECH.

The best learning experiences I got out of visual illusions are a greater understanding - & appreciation - of how the brain really works & its innate abilities.

I often use many of the visual illusions to demonstrate the principal operating principles of the brain, particularly the salient aspects of selective recognition and patterning. I have also found that some of them have been very useful in demonstrating cognitive traps & pattern interrupts, especially in the context of personal creativity.

Although the visual illusions are fun to play with, I find them very educational, just as what I have elaborated.

I reckon this stunning collection can serve as an excellent companion to J Richard Block's 'Can You Believe Your Eyes', which is unfortunately printed in Black & White.

Truly a visual feast.......2005-06-29

I'm not sure I'm reviewing exactly the right book here by Dr. Seckel, but it was the only current one that came up on my Amazon book search, so I thought I'd post the review here. Anyway, if it's the book I have, here are my comments, but I just wanted to mention that in case there's some confusion on my part (not unlikely given the state of my aging brain these days :-)).

This book is truly a visual feast for the eyes, a fun book just to browse and look at or to learn about visual illusions. At over 200 pages, the author presents many illusions, which are divided up into different categories. I notice there are some new illusions that have been discovered, and the drawings for others have been improved on and refined even further since I last looked at a book on the subject probably 20 years ago. The illusions by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a name new to me and a Japanese op artist and visual researcher, are especially noteworthy here. He has designed and improved many powerful versions of old illusions and has created one or two new ones himself, which is very impressive.

Each chapter presents the plates showing each illusion, and at the back of the chapter in finer print there are brief, paraphraph long explanations of each illusion. The author also provides a brief, usually one-page long introduction to each chapter. The author is is a well known expert on visual and optical illusions who is a professor at Caltech or MIT, can't recall which at this point, but anyway, he's apparently very well known although I hadn't heard of him. But I was studying illusions 20 years ago, so he probably came along since.

By the way, the theory about how each optical illusion works can be very simple, or very complex, sometimes requiring advanced neurophysiology and even mathematics and calculus to understand, so there's great variation in terms of the range of difficulty and complexity. For example, some of the movement illusions are thought to be due to inhibition between orientation sensitive cells in the neural cortical columns in the cerebral cortex. Other movement illusions, such as the moving pendulum illusion known as the Pulfrich illusion, are due to differing propagation times or time latencies between two different neural pathways, and the field distortion illusions can require advanced math just to describe.

Anyway, that's as nerdy as I'm going to get in this review, and for now I'll just say it's a truly fascinating field, and I was fortunate enough to take a class in perceptual psychology in college with a terrific instructor, Dr. Eskildsen, who gave great lectures on the subject. (I had to give a plug for my old professor here, since he gave me an "A" in his class and he was a great prof. and it was a very enjoyable class).

But getting back to the present volume, this is a very enjoyable book on truly fascinating subject. After reading the explanations in this book, you could pick up a more technical book on perceptual psychology and get more background in the subject if you wanted. There are a number of these around by well known professors and researchers covering the field of perceptual psychology and psychophysics, of which the theory of visual illusions is an important topic. I've noticed there are also some webpages devoted to different optical and visual illusions, and if you do a search on the subject, you can even find more information there. Whatever you decide to do, happing illusioning and good luck with your reading, and may all your visions in life be as pleasant as this book!

Incredible Visual Illusions (Incredible)

Average customer rating:

Incredible Visual Illusions (Incredible)

Manufacturer: Chartwell Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Logic & Brain Teasers | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Incredible Visual Illusions (You won't believe your eyes!)

ASIN: 0785821732

Book Description

The urge to connect with that which transcends our experience, be it a higher power, another person or some artistic ideal or aspect of nature, is one of the things that makes us human. People view the object of this quest, as well as what it means to achieve it, differently. Yet regardless of how it is understood, the urge to participate in or belong to something greater and more lasting than ourselves—a feeling born of an awareness of our mortality—is what defines us as spiritual beings.

Though often dismissed as ephemeral or, worse, demonic, popular music has given voice to this quest for transcendence since its beginnings. Pop singers are rarely as outwardly spiritual as, say, their gospel counterparts; they're forever pointing beyond themselves, though, be it to some better future, some higher ideal, or to some vision of deliverance. Fontella Bass's "Rescue Me," the Four Tops's "Reach Out (I'll Be There)," Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross," Afrika Bambaataa's "Looking for the Perfect Beat," and U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" are but a handful of popular recordings from the past few decades that express a longing for something more. What, other than transcendence, is Jimi Hendrix talking about in "Purple Haze" when he shouts, "'scuse me, while I kiss the sky"? Or Van Morrison, in "Caravan," when he implores us to crank our radios and sail away with him into the mystic? Heard in the right light, secular and even carnal records have the power to speak to transcendental concerns, galvanizing their historical and cultural moments.

Regardless of their spiritual leanings, all of the subjects discussed in this book (including Public Enemy, Madonna, Sleater-Kinney, Tricky, Johnny Cash, Nine Inch Nails, Moby, Marvin Gaye, Eminem, Polly Harvey, Bruce Springsteen and Sly & the Family Stone) make music that expresses a basic striving for transcendence. Artists' stories and personalities inform these discussions, but only in as much as they illuminate the struggles and concerns that run through their music. I'll Take You There is a beautifully written, wide-ranging and illuminating examination of some of the most potent popular music ever recorded.

Customer Reviews:

First Good Book about Pop Music and Spirituality.......2005-10-20

I've read several books about pop music and spirituality, and all of them have one or both of two basic flaws: (1) an unsophisticated understanding of pop music/culture, and (2) an unsophisticated understanding of spirituality.

This is the first book I've read which has neither flaw. Friskics-Warren, a Nashville music reviewer, is clearly steeped in pop music and culture and can discuss it and analyze it with subtlety and intelligence. He also holds a masters degree in theology and can bring his knowledge about religion and spirituality to his discussion of pop music.

Thus, Friskics-Warren is able to see spirituality where others might not. Trent Reznor's angst and anger express a craving for something beyond this world. The Sex Pistols' calls for anarchy are actually calls against false forms of transcendence. Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it On" is not a call for thoughtless sex, but for true connections with other people and maybe even with the divine.

The best part about Friskics-Warren's analysis is that he is so skilled at arguing his points and so familiar with the artists he discusses that none of his claims seems far-fetched. Also excellent is that he does something most analysts of pop music forget to do: talk about the MUSIC instead of just the lyrics. Thus Van Morrison doesn't just sing about spiritual things; his music actually SOUNDS spiritual.

Once again, this is the best book available on the subject. It should be read by lovers of pop culture and religion, lovers of pop music who are suspicious of religion (so they can see the implicit religion in pop music), and lovers of religion who are suspicious of pop music (so they can see that age-old religious traditions and contemporary pop music are in many ways after the same things).

To 'kiss the sky'.(I'll Take You There: Pop Music and the Urge for Transcendence)(Book review): An article from: Sojourners Magazine

Average customer rating:

To 'kiss the sky'.(I'll Take You There: Pop Music and the Urge for Transcendence)(Book review): An article from: Sojourners Magazine
Kate Bowman Johnston
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Sojourners Magazine, published by Thomson Gale on March 1, 2006. The length of the article is 924 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: To 'kiss the sky'.(I'll Take You There: Pop Music and the Urge for Transcendence)(Book review)
Author: Kate Bowman Johnston
Publication: Sojourners Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 35 Issue: 3 Page: 44(3)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Sport is the most universal feature of popular culture. It crosses language barriers and slices through national boundaries, attracting both spectators and participants, to a common lingua franca of passions, obsessions and desires. This book brings to light the connections between sport and culture. It argues that although sport is obviously a source of pleasure, it is also part of the government of everyday life. The creation of a sporting calendar, movements of rational recreation and the development of physical education in the public sector, are read as ways of disciplining and shaping urban-industrial populations. In addition, sport is examined as a principal front of globalization. The sports process draws together dispersed communities and generates economic wealth. The book demonstrates how commodification, bureaucratization and ideology are fundamental to the organization of sporting cultures.

Book Description

Following the success of the original Scrabble Quiz Game Book , here are more chances to enjoy quizzes based on the world's leading word game.

Book Description

Cisco authorized self-study book for CCDP® 642-871 architectures foundation learning

Prepare for the CCDP ARCH exam 642-871 with the Cisco authorized self-study guide. This book teaches you how to:

Understand the composition and deployment of the Cisco AVVID framework in network design
Understand the composition and role of the Enterprise Composite Network Model in enterprise network design
Design enterprise campus networks and their edge network connectivity to the Internet
Understand and implement network management solutions in the network
Integrate new technologies designed to enhance network performance and availability in the enterprise, such as high availability, QoS, multicasting, and storage and content networking
Design and implement appropriate security solutions for enterprise networks
Deploy wireless technologies within the enterprise
Implement and design IP telephony solutions for the enterprise network

CCDP Self-Study: Designing Cisco Network Architectures (ARCH) is a Cisco® authorized self-paced learning tool. By presenting a structured format for the conceptual and intermediate design of AVVID network infrastructures, this book teaches you how to design solutions that scale from small to large enterprise networks and take advantage of the latest technologies. Whether you are preparing for the CCDP® certification or simply want to gain a better understanding of how to architect network solutions over intelligent network services to achieve effective performance, scalability, and availability, you will benefit from the foundation information presented in this book.

This comprehensive book provides detailed information and easy-to-grasp tutorials on a broad range of topics related to architecture and design, including security, fine-tuning routing protocols, switching structures, and IP multicasting. To keep pace with the Cisco technological developments and new product offerings, this study guide includes coverage of wireless networking, the SAFE Blueprint, content networking, storage networking, quality of service (QoS), IP telephony, network management, and high availability networks. Design examples and sample verification output demonstrate implementation techniques. Configuration exercises, which appear in every chapter, provide a practical review of key concepts to discuss critical issues surrounding network operation. Chapter-ending review questions illustrate and help solidify the concepts presented in this book.

CCDP Self-Study: Designing Cisco Network Architectures (ARCH) is part of a recommended learning path from Cisco Systems® that includes simulation and hands-on training from authorized Cisco Learning Partners and self-study products from Cisco Press. To find out more about instructor-led training, e-learning, and hands-on instruction offered by authorized Cisco Learning Partners worldwide, please visit www.cisco.com/go/authorizedtraining.

This volume is in the Certification Self-Study Series offered by Cisco Press®. Books in this series provide officially developed training solutions to help networking professionals understand technology implementations and prepare for the Cisco Career Certifications examinations.

Customer Reviews:

Very thorough, covered nearly everything.......2005-12-14

I used this book in preparation for the Cisco CCDP ARCH exam. It was a very helpful resource. The book focuses on concepts and methods, which is perfectly in-line with the exam content.

Overall the book is well written and I give kudos to the author for his ability to explain complex topics. The section on PIM sparse-mode was exceptional. Each chapter concludes with a real world example that helps illustrate the finer points.

Compared to the poor editing of the other Cisco books, this is definitely 5 stars. There are refreshingly few errors in this book.

Since you are likely buying this book to take the CCDP ARCH exam, I will also suggest complementing it with the BOSON CCDP practice questions. These two resources were the sum total of materials I used to pass the exam. There were only one or two questions that I don't recall the book covering.

Good luck!

Blueprint for Exam Day.......2005-04-13

If you are preparing for the CCDP exam 642-871, Designing Cisco Network Architectures is a must have. This self-study guide covers all the objectives and should be read early and often throughout the preparation for the exam. While reading a manual like this will not replace experience or an instructor led course, it will help you master the concepts. One of the overwhelming problems of preparing for a Cisco exam is the breadth of the subject matter to be covered. A book that is well outlined like Designing Cisco Network Architectures is necessary to grasp all of the topics.
This book is geared toward the intermediate level student and assumes some basic knowledge of networking and Cisco devices, but not much more. There is a helpful glossary in the back to assist with terminology. Anyone who designs networks will find the book useful, but I give it a five star rating primarily with exam preparation in mind: which is its claim.
There are thirteen chapters but no units. So one can pick and choose which chapter to read in any order. Except for the first chapter, which is an introduction to the Cisco network model, the chapters can stand on their own as a single treatise. The layout includes a balance of text, diagrams, and charts. So that learning is enhanced and the reader's attention is maintained. Besides a summary, there is a product summary at the end of each chapter. This is a resource for understanding which Cisco equipment fits the designs discussed. Woven through each chapter ending is a case study of a fictional company that gives problems, goals and solutions. Finally, a plus for any exam preparation volume, there are review questions with the answers in the appendix.
Designing Cisco Network Architectures has some business value as well. I have recently consulted it in the planning and evaluation of VLANs and an internet edge network. The book is geared toward the "Cisco solution". Although, recently published, it does not cover the new multi-functional routers such as the 2801. But all of the design concepts of the latest networks are covered and the best equipment for each job is determined.

Good Coverage.......2005-03-20

Having just passed the CCDP ARCH exam 642-871, I can highly recommend this book. Coverage is fairly complete and concise. As an adjunct, I also recommend the Sequeira, Wallace book for focus and final test preparation.

Great Book.......2005-01-23

In my opinion this book is most helpful preparation tool for Cisco CCDP ARCH exam. It covers all you need to pass that exam. Mr Ranjbar did good job and for me he recovered his good name after Self-study CCNP: CIT book.
Must have !

Best Overview of Cisco Enterprise Services and Solutions .......2005-01-17

CCDP Self-Study: Designing Cisco Network Architectures by Keith Hutton and Amir Ranjbar (Cisco Press, 2005) covers all the topics for the CCDP ARCH (642-871) in the right level of detail. Having taken the exam within the last year, I can tell that it meets the exam objectives and does an excellent job of providing a framework to help you learn the services and solutions covered in the exam.

The CCDP went through an appropriate overhaul in 2003. It is now tied much more to modern technologies and to design principles based on the AVVID architecture and the Enterprise Composite Network Model (ECNM). This book introduces all the functional areas of the ECNM in the first chapter and continues to refer to these areas and their constituent modules as it delves more deeply (in later chapters) into the services and solutions of AVVID.

Of all the Cisco certifications, I think the CCDP gives you the best overall picture of what's happening in enterprise networking today. You won't get near enough depth for the CCIE, but you get a decent exposure to all the major solutions (such as content, wireless, telephony, storage, and VPNs) and the underlying services (such as network management, security, multicast, high availability, QoS) that make up the architecture of Cisco's offerings.

This book covers all of these topics in the right level of detail for CCDP ARCH. In addition, it relates the corresponding products to these services and solutions, so that you have a good sense of how to fit all this together when you're in the field. The network diagrams and other illustrations are clear and detailed, and there are numerous tables summarizing the often-copious amounts of information. The questions and answers at the end of each chapter seemed to be at the appropriate level of detail and were in line with the level of difficulty of the exam question in ARCH.

I also liked the fact that at the end of each chapter the book provides a nice summary of the Cisco products relating to each service or solution. While typically beyond the scope of this exam, this will give you a deeper understanding of how to help your customers choose the right products to meet their needs. A running case study of a hypothetical company going through a network upgrade is also updated at the end of each chapter; a careful look at the ongoing saga of the OCSIC Bottling Company will not only improve your applied knowledge in general, but will also help you with the (I thought) tough case study testlet in the ARCH exam.

The difficulty that authors face in putting together a book like this lies in the dynamic nature of the technology and the potential of it to change for the exam. I noticed a few minor flaws along these lines in terms of discussing products or solutions (such as CD One and the nGenius RTM), which are end of life. For this reason, it's a good idea to complement your test preparation with a review on CCO of any solutions you think might fall into this category. I also recall there were some telephony concepts, such as dial patterns, covered on the exam but not discussed in the book. If you peruse the SRND guides on Cisco's website for topics such as storage, wireless, VPN, content, and telephony, while keeping the exam objectives (listed on Cisco's website) in the back of your mind, you should be able to make up for these minor omissions.

I would also recommend some final preparation with the CCDA/CCDP Flash Cards and Exam Preparation Pack. This book contains some excellent summary sheets that follow the same structure as this self-study guide.

Overall, I would give this book 5 stars, and I believe you can use it as both your main preparation tool for the CCDP ARCH exam and as a field reference for your consulting services.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books