Product Description
This unique book serves as a readable, holistic introduction to telecommunications. Far more than an acronym-studded quick fix, Telecom Crash Course is a true tutorial that offers context, connections--and humor-- to teach the importance of key technologies. Author Steven Shepard, an accomplished writer and teachers, uses lively stories that deliver important points about the markets that drive the technologies. He provides not only rigorous technical accuracy, with explanations of each technology's economic importance, but a market and customer-focused analysis of the use and business significance of each technology – and how they relate to each other.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 16 reviews)

Simply Brutal by Robert Clarke (Toronto, CAN)

1 Stars
July 09, 2008
I recently joined a Telecom company as a Marketing Manager, and wanted to acquaint myself with the technologies in our industry, so I picked up this book. BIG MISTAKE! I assumed "Crash Course" was meant for beginners like me - with little or no knowledge of telecom technology. Again, big mistake. This book is very poorly organized, doesn't take time to explain important concepts clearly, and it even lacks a glossery of terms (which is pretty bad considering this is suppose to be an introduction to a complicated topic). Take my advice and take a pass on this one.

Great Book by E. Smith (Louisiana)

5 Stars
February 09, 2008
Great book for everything Telecom. Covers past, current and future technologies. If you are a tech nut like me, buy this book and read it cover to cover.

Wonder world of telecommunication around you by Alexander Sosedov (Moscow, Russia)

4 Stars
August 12, 2005
The book, in my opinion, will be useful to the people not having a technical education and working in sphere of telecommunications and allied industries; for the beginners, wishing to expand the knowledge; for the employees responsible for administration of telecommunication services of the organizations; for managers on sales, marketing, management of projects, and also telecommunication managers and managers of a high level.

good, but may be overkill for some by A. Foster (Potomac, MD USA)

4 Stars
July 13, 2005
I really enjoyed this book, especially the anecdotes in the introduction, but I can't realy see alot of applications for a "crash-course" that is this long. There are many situations I can envision where someone would need to learn about telecom networks quickly, but they probably wouldn't need to know many of the intricacies that Shepard deals with and they almost certainly wouldn't be interested in his anecdotes and discussion of undersea cable laying. However, I don't know of any other comprehensive book like this so it may be your only option. Either way I certainly enjoyed reading it and intend to buy his other books, but to read at my leisure.

Everything's here...you just have to find it! by Jeffrey N. Takle (Washington, DC)

4 Stars
October 11, 2004
Telecom's Crash Course is an excellent compilation of all major facets of the Telecommunications industry. As someone who monitors foreign investments into the US technology sector, I've found this both an excellent primer for newbies as well as a very helpful resource to those who have been doing this for a while. The PROS: The book is comprehensive and walks through the very tactical level, detailed explanation of specific technologies and the many ways that a given portion of data can move across the planet. If you're new to the field, reading this book is the cheapest and fastest method to be armed with a semi-comprehensive knowledge spanning the industry. The CONS: I can see how people could say that this book gets lost in the weeds because the explanations are sometimes extensive, detailed, and probably don't fit the bill if you're looking for a book covering the overall trends present in the telecoms market. If you're looking for a "big concepts" book only, this isn't for you. Reviewers commenting on the book's lack of focus were probably hoping primarily for a "here are the major trends in the industry" and not an industry technology primer, a "crash course" in the industry. Buy the paperback. It's a bit of a painful read in places, but hey, this is Telecoms, and it doesn't get too many people hyper excited--if you're buying a book called "Telecoms Crash Course" and expecting a nail-biting thriller, you probably have some misplaced expectations! Enjoy.

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