Customer Reviews

Concurrent Systems (2nd Edition) (International Computer Science Series)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I used this book for a "Distributed Computing" college course that I taught in 1999. So I read it pretty thoroughly. Overall I can't find many errors, and I thought the range of content was excellent, very thorough. In some places she is more complete than Tanenbaum. But I had to really struggle with some of the writing. It just wasn't very clear. Her sentences tend to be very long and complex which obfuscates the meaning.

In terms of its content, this is definitely the best introductory text to operating system and concurrency. Unfortunately, Jean Bacon's writing style has caused tremendous headaches among her students at Cambridge. This is how one student used to put it:"Every word has its meaning, but when they were put together, they make no sense in Jean Bacon's book!" My personal experience was that I had to read the same paragraph at least 3 to 4 times in order to understand the message. In short, this book is for serious reader only. You need all the patience, and determination in order to finish reading this book. (like us, who had to answer the exam questions she set!)

Jean definately knows her content well, and she gets a little too excited at times.

The content is very consise and detailed. However due to this, the book requires close attention while reading (so don't read this too late at night).

I feel the other reviews on this book are rather harsh, and I must admit that the first few chapters tend to be badly written, but the rest are ok.

I have great respect for the author of this book, as she undoubtedly knows her stuff (hence two stars, not one), however, she would have been well advised to have employed an editor before the final draft was published. The intent of each section is lost in a fog of cross-referencing and over-explanation. Get this book if: a) It's a required text b) You're a genius with time to kill c) You're extremely patient and keen to learn d) If the latest edition has been substantially edited

Althought the book is very thorough, the style of writing makes it very heavy going. I found it comparable to reading a book of train timetables, imformative but boring. the diagrams tend to be abstract in the extreme.

This is the perfect cure for insomnia. Try reading more than 3 pages in a row and you'll be hearing the Sandman.