Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Home Security

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I tried consulting this book to design and install a security system for small business. I was surprised to see so few books on the subject in Amazon and in the public library. More than half the book goes into the risk assessment and no cost loss prevention. Fine...but the cover claims that the reader can design a security system and install camera surveillance.

The first author may be a wise policeman and attorney, but a systems designer for a home / small business security system he is not. The co-author is just a writer, has very little experience in the security field and has obviously not designed, installed, and armed a security system herself. There is a lot of common-sense discussion and fluff on alarm components in the book.

But when the rubber hits the road, this book runs out of gas. The DIY section of the book is Chap 17 and covers 21 measly pages. There is no typical bill-of-materials, budgetary costs, or national or regional sources and part numbers for popular items. Where is the beef?

Honeywell is a national provider of security components and systems; the authors don't discuss the security industry suppliers, not even Radio Shack. I'd recommend going to an on-line catalog that the Pros use at ADILink dot com. It doesn't even go into the popular X-10 components for home automation; except in the last paragraph in Appendix B.

The overall organization of the book with tips and sidebars are very distracting. Overall this is a disappointing book that I read at the public library.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Home security is a well written general overview of risk assessment (from fire/crime). It provides some interesting facts with common sense solutions to eliminating higher risk behavior/vulnerabilities.

The books greatest downfall is the fact that most of those readers interested enough in home security to purchase and then read manuals of this sort are paranoid enough that little presented in this text is something they won't have already considered and probably implemented. If your seriously interested in home security this book may not be enough for you.

I bought this book because I was wanting to design my own home security system, and was completely disappointed. This book does not give information on how to install a video surveillance system, motion detectors, or alarm systems. It gives a lot of tips on how to avoid doing things that put you at more risk; but to me they're no-brainers. I live way out in the country and the advice he gives for security in the country is laughable. "Make sure your farm buildings are well-lit". What difference would that make? Nobody's around at night to see anyone out there trying to steal something, whether it's lit or not.

Do you leave your garage door up a few inches for the family pet to enter your home? Do you leave your car unlocked after parking it in your garage? Do you leave your keys in your car while it is in the garage? If so, then you are giving an open invitation to burglars and car thiefs. According to the authors, most illegal home entries are through the garage. The book is based on Tom Davidson's and Lorna Gentry's law-enforcement experiences. Did you realize that unless you compress the boxes you discard outside your home for trash pickup, anyone can read that you just bought a valuable stereo or computer? This information is yet another open invitation to potential burglary. Compressing those boxes makes it hard to decipher that information. The book encompasses personal and home security measures. Checklists for home-risk assessments as well as home security systems suggestions are included. A word to the wise should be sufficient. Read the book and start improving your safety. Better safe, than sorry!

I read the reviews this book has got and feel they are quite unfair. The book delivers what it is..an overview for lay people. If it got too complicated it would not be called an idiot's guide, would it? - more like the All comprehensive guide for the all knowing!

For people like me, who for the most reason live in fairly populated areas, and want to know something before calling in a monitoring agency (and getting sc***ed)...it served the purpose. In fact even people who think they know a lot can pick up a thing or two from the book. yes the blurbs in the margin do distract at times..so dont read them till you finish the chapter. And subject matter is repeated -maybe the author didnt want u to flip chapters to see what he's talking about... All in all, if you do the worksheets, however boring they seem (even for a fairly patient bookish person like me they did seem a tad tedious)...I did at the end of it have a good idea of the type of surveilence i wanted, no cost measures i could take to disuade burglars and the key areas of the hse and outside i need to pay attention to. Monitoring companies...bring it on!!

PS: thx to the reviewer who mentioned the pro-website. it helped.

I've always been concerned about security issues for my home and belongings. I rent an apartment, and most of the books are focused at homeowners. This book is an exception: regardless of whether you rent or own your home, this very readable guide covers all aspects of protecting yourself. It's written by experts in this area, and the information shows their background. Detailed descriptions of what to do and why to protect yourself and your possessions make this book a must-have.

Book is excellent - lots of good ideas. Company gave good service - very supportive during the 3-1/2 weeks it took USPS to move my book some 133 miles.

for an overview of home security it does familiarize a person with many ideas and precautionary steps. I appreciated the book after moving to Houston.