Wendell Odom's CCNA books weren't that good

The Pimpenator is not affiliated with other publishers or authors of competing books...

Don't get me wrong, I passed the tests using his books, but I thought his writing style was extremely boring and discontiguous.

Example:

He is talking about how WAN protocols use synchronization and says it reminds him of how spies synchronize their watches in movies. I mean, that was it. That was his attempt at humor and it was extremely dry and boring.

I have read other technical books by Cisco Press, Sybex, Prentice-Hall and felt they were better written. The Odom CCNA books will help you pass the test, I just think his writing style is terrible. He literally puts me too sleep everytime I read the book and most of the time I enjoy reading tech books.

If I had to do it all over again I would buy the big CCNA book by Sybex. I think I've learned a lot by reading Odom, but I think it was more due to the content then his writing style. I think you give guys like Laemmle the same material and they would make it much more enjoyable.

Just my 2 cents...

Many people rave about his QOS book. I don't think I'm going to buy it after reading this series.

-Ciscopimpenator :P

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Comments

iproute

I have the books on hand (borrowed from a friend). While I haven't done extensive reading in them, I find that they are not always the easiest books to follow or enjoy. Of all of the CCNA books I have, I'd say that the Cisco Press Odom CCNA books are at the bottom of my list. Again, that being said I haven't given them a full chance to make a valid impression on me

The other books I currently have on hand for CCNA:

Sybex CCNA 5th Ed. by Todd Lammle - Usually easy to follow, has some humor tossed in, but lacks relevant info from time to time. Go elsewhere for NAT!

Que Certification Exam Prep: CCNA by Cioara, Minutella, and Stevenson - I've completed a few chapters in this book since I reopened it (it was the first CCNA book that I bought). What I've read of it has been very cohesive and easy to digest. It also has a those splashes of humor tossed in that have made the Sybex book a favorite. At the beginning of the NAT chapter, the author discusses how difficult NAT is to comprehend. I was surprised at the end of the chapter how well it had been explained. While I'm no NAT expert as a result of reading this chapter, I do have a fairly solid understanding of the basics--more than what I think I'll need for the ICND. I was impressed by the chapter and ended up asking myself: "why did I ever put this book down?" Whether or not the rest of the book is as good, TBD.

Cisco Press CCNA Flash Cards by Rivard and Doherty - A good piece of material to review when you don't have a whole lot of time to sit down and knock down 100 pages at a time. I'm about 90% of the way through this for the first time and have found it to be extremely helpful in clarifying certain things.

Ciscopimpenator

Yeah, I'm a big time jerkhead.

I think many technical dudes miss the spot when writing books.
Read Jeff Doyle...its technically thick, but easier to read.

Just because it's technical doesn't mean it should be hard to learn. Seems like many writers make it harder to learn. The problem is we are stuck reading the books because its the only resource available...

The Pimpenator is writing some books when he gets older.

If you compile everyone's posts in here you could make a great book! Fun too!

-Ciscopimpenator

mwgood

I can't say anything about Odom's CCNA material since I've never seen it - but, after having read my fair share of dense and difficult tech books, Odom's QOS & CCIE R&S Exam Cert Guide are definitely near the top of my list for readability as well as coverage of the technologies.

Rearden

I have limited amounts of time. When reading these books, I want to spend more time on relevant knowledge than fluff. The Odom books do a good job of not putting useless crap in there.

Side note: Ciscopimpenator, please don't refer to yourself in the third person.

malweth

Yeah... I can't speak for the CCNA, but the Odom CCIE R&S book is actually coherent (unlike the Clare Gough CCNP BSCI book). (I can't speak to how close it is to the EXAM, of course - haven't gotten nearly that far!

)

I'm always in favor of any book that gets its point across in a logical and understandable way.

mikej412

The Odom CCNA books cover the material you need to know for the CCNA and builds a good foundation for future CCNP study. And after the CCNA, the Cisco Press books are the only game in town for study -- so you should get used to them.

Rearden wrote:

Side note: Ciscopimpenator, please don't refer to yourself in the third person.

The mikej412 originally found the 3rd person disconcerting.
The mikej412 has gotten used to it.
The mikej412 would find it strange if Cisco

enator stopped the 3rd person.

Delirious

I'm only half way through the intro book but so far i have enjoyed it. Its definetly full of relevant stuff but at the same time I wouldn't call it dry.

If you have ever read any of Mark Minasi's books I would rate those very high for readability. After reading his books i can still say Odom's still isn't all that dry, If you want dry pick up some of the Microsoft books.

markzab

mikej412 wrote:

The Odom CCNA books cover the material you need to know for the CCNA and builds a good foundation for future CCNP study. And after the CCNA, the Cisco Press books are the only game in town for study -- so you should get used to them.

Rearden wrote:

Side note: Ciscopimpenator, please don't refer to yourself in the third person.

The mikej412 originally found the 3rd person disconcerting.
The mikej412 has gotten used to it.
The mikej412 would find it strange if Ciscoenator stopped the 3rd person.

When I was in 10th and 11th grade my parents and I decided for me to go to Valley Forge Military Academy. My first year there, the first 2-3 months, I was what they called a plebe. We had no rights as humans when we were plebes and we weren't even allowed to refer to ourselves in the 1st person. We were only allowed to speak in 3rd person...

Sir, may this plebe use the bathroom?
Sir, may this plebe begin eating?
Sir, this plebe doesn't know why he's an idiot. No excuse.

Redemption came when I came back for my 2nd year and became a seargent...and had my own squad of plebes to abuse.

seraphus

I think the Odom CCNA books are good. I have them, but I feel
they are for Cisco newbies only. I wish Cisco press had a certification
guide for those who have experience or who have already obtained
a Cisco cert in the past. After all, how many times can someone read
that post office metaphor?

(And yes, you can take the quiz and skip chapters, but I don't
want to miss crucial info.)

Ciscopimpenator

Thanks for the help Mike.

I'm not green behind the ears when it comes to Cisco Press books actually.

I have about 10 of them in my closet, ranging from Halabi, Doyle, to earlier versions of CCNP couse books(Teare, BCRAN)....anybody remember BCRAN??? huh? BCRAN..the precursor to the precursor of what is available now...

I took a look at Odom today and it wasn't so bad. I still think most of the other Cisco Press books I have read are written better. Odom in this series tends to overkill things. He explains them well, but seems to really overtalk them, meaning using less verbage would be better.

I've learned 2 thing from this thread...

I will use Odom again because his other books get good reviews and he definitely knows his stuff.

seraphus

Ciscopimpenator wrote:

He explains them well, but seems to really overtalk them, meaning using less verbage would be better.

I will use Odom again because his other books get good reviews and he definitely knows his stuff.

I second both these points.

kafifi13

I used the INTRO book and passed the exam. I honestly thought it was pretty solid but i yes it was a bit hard to read from time to time. I have just bought the Sybex book to go along with my ICND book from Cisco Press. I think the Odem book will help with just the cold hard fax and i'm hoping the Sybex will make things a little clearer to understand.

Rearden

A question that I'm just thinking of is why are we using the Odom books in the first place? Cisco says that the Odom books are for reviewing the material, not learning it in the first place. According to Cisco Press, the Stephen McQuerry books are what we should be using for the initial learning. . .Also, the McQuerry books are a lot more expensive.

I never see them in brick & mortar stores, though. I wonder why it's always the Odom ones.

source: http://www.ciscopress.com/markets/detail.asp?st=44711&rl=1

BeaverC32

I found the CCNA Library by Wendell Odom to be superb! I don't expect technical books to contain humor, I just expect them to teach or review material in a coherent manner. If an author can explain relatively complex subjects in an way that is easy to grasp, they get five stars in my eyes.

Also, I used these books to learn the material, not to review it. I think Cisco recommends 2 sets of books (1 for learning, another for review) just to fatten their wallets.

kafifi13

BeaverC32 wrote:

I found the CCNA Library by Wendell Odom to be superb! I don't expect technical books to contain humor, I just expect them to teach or review material in a coherent manner. If an author can explain relatively complex subjects in an way that is easy to grasp, they get five stars in my eyes.

Also, I used these books to learn the material, not to review it. I think Cisco recommends 2 sets of books (1 for learning, another for review) just to fatten their wallets.

I kind of agree. I'd rather get the Cisco press and the Sybex book instead of two CISCO press. It seems like the Odem book was also used to not jsut review but to teach as well.

malweth

It seems natural that an understandable overview of the material should be the FIRST book read, not the final prep... e.g. get into the details after you understand the basics.

(Again, the disclaimer that I'm using a totally different Odom book)

Paul Boz

I think I got spoiled by Lammle's book. I thoroughly enjoy his writing style and wish that the other books I owned were written the same.

iproute

Paul Boz wrote:

I think I got spoiled by Lammle's book. I thoroughly enjoy his writing style and wish that the other books I owned were written the same.