Ronald Krutz and Russell Vines are good writers and fine teachers; they explain the wide-ranging CISSP domains (which have to do with everything from cryptographic algorithms to fire-suppression techniques to legal principles). They take care to explain potentially unfamiliar terms--there's a good glossary in the back of this book--and employ conceptual diagrams well. However, the answer keys for the sample questions that conclude each chapter aren't annotated and some readers will wish for more references to specialized sources. --David Wall