CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional Study Guide Edition

I bought both the Kindle and paper versions of this book. I'm weird like that. If you don't want to read my really long review I summarize as get the Kindle version, read the entire thing, take advantage of the Sybex online content (sample tests) and that should be enough to pass.I should note I have about 15 years of experience as a jack-of-all-trades UNIX admin and I have been working specifically in security for about 3 years. I had a really good foundation but I learned a LOT from this book.CISSP EXAM COMMENTSI liked the book. I learned a lot from it. I read the entire book. I took all the chapter questions (I always waited a day or two after reading the chapter so I could get a better idea on what I really learned). I took all four sample exams after reading the entire book. I passed my CISSP exam on 2/17/2016 and I felt like almost everything I needed to know was in the book. There were a few questions that I don't think the book covered but I felt like they were practical things that a security engineer would already know.My primary comment concerning the book and the chapter questions and practice exams is that most of the provided questions are fairly straightforward. When taking the real exam, I found the questions notably more difficult because I often had to read the question a second (or third!) time to really understand what was being asked. I took all four practice exams as if they were real exams. I completed all four in under two hours each and scored 78%, 82%, 84% and 89% (I think the final test was the easiest of the four). The real CISSP exam took me about 3.5 hours and all I know is that I passed. TAKE YOUR TIME. READ EVERY QUESTION CAREFULLY. READ ALL THE ANSWERS AND AFTER YOU PICK ONE, REREAD THE QUESTION TO MAKE SURE YOUR ANSWER STILL SOUNDS GOOD. It's not a race or a contest. What matters is that you pass it and don't have to pay for a retake!Every CISSP exam is a bit different but I found mine hit a couple areas really hard (SDLC specifically) but the practice exams just barely touched on them. It is important to read the entire book.KINDLE VERSIONI did about 80% of my reading in the Kindle app on an iPad and in general I prefer my iPad over paper books these days (portability and low light reading). In the case of this book, there is a lot of formatting that is lost in the Kindle version. The Kindle tends to squish whitespace and indents and such so some of the visual layout just becomes text. This is the first technical book I have used Kindle for and though I did 70% of my reading there, I was not fully satisfied with it. Another annoyance on the Kindle was that the TOC drop down interface only had the chapter heads and no easy jump to a specific subsection. Some of these chapters are about 80 pages which is like 200 swipes on an iPad mini. It does support all the awesome things you expect from Kindle like bookmarks and highlights and such. I used highlights to mark things I knew I wanted to review multiple times like the big encryption algorithm comparison table and some of the model definitions or process summaries.PAPER BOOKThe paper book is a goddam tome. For fun I like to drop it loudly on my desk and say "THIS is what I am working on." I loved the experience of reading the paper book compared to the Kindle version but I only spent about 10% of my time on the paper book because of the size. It was difficult to transport and I could not easily read it in bed or reclining. The paper is very thin which did not bother me but may bother some. I can't imagine how large and heavy it would be if they did't use such thin paper. I really love paper books but considering the size of this one I think I have to recommend you skip it unless you really really just want paper or you really really want this on your shelf as a trophy and/or a warning unto others.SYBEX ONLINE MATERIALThe Sybex online material is a mixed bag. You can access the material using information in the introduction of either version of the book. One awesome feature is that after you are registered and verified your purchase you can download a PDF version of the book. This is what I spent the other 20% of my time reading. The PDF version is a tough read on an iPad mini but more manageable on a full size iPad or MBA and it looked great on my 24" monitor. The PDF version has a really nice TOC in the sidebar with all the subsections marked and that feature really underscored one of the big shortcomings of the Kindle version. The PDF also has all the perfectly excellent formatting that the paper book includes. I, uh, didn't know I could download the PDF when I bought the paper book or I probably would not have bought the paper book.The Sybex online material also includes electronic versions of all the chapter tests. The web interface is a little clunky on this but it works. A complaint about the chapter tests is that they do not randomize. The 20 questions after each chapter are always in the same order. This becomes painfully apparent if you select several chapters but only want (AKA have time for) a limited number of questions. Early on I selected the first three chapters but limited the question count to 20 and what I got was all 20 Chapter 1 questions in the order they appear in the book (sigh). This online resource is nice but it could have been so much better.The Sybex online material also includes four 250 question practice exams. This seems like a pretty awesome bonus and it is nice but the interface for the exams is slightly different from the chapter tests. You can bookmark a question but there is no way to go back to a previous question and review or change your answer. In the online help is says this is a feature to mimic the actual CISSP exam which generates a giant WTF from me. This is another resource which is nice but could have been awesome. To add insult to injury there is a timeout on the web page that can kick you out. I am guessing it is a two hour timeout but my method is less than scientific. I finished all practice exams in under 120 minutes but while I was reviewing my wrong answers on two of the exams I got a session timeout which kicked me out and reset my exam. In both cases I was in the result summary screen and closed it to go back to the test review screen. I theorize that as long as you are in the review screen you won't have problems but there is some sort of session check when you transition. I said it wasn't scientific.The online material also includes a glossary which I will probably review before taking the exam and set of online flashcards which I don't plan to use because I'm just not a flashcard guy. I may end up regretting that of course.

Compared to the (now outdated) Shon Harris books, this one reads more like a college textbook. Less fluff, jokes, and conversationalism and more pure content. For a test like the CISSP, I prefer this style of book. Just give me the information I need to know and nothing else. If I'm going to sit down and read 900+ pages over the course of a month, the last thing I want to do is spend time reading unnecessary additions.In short, I passed the CISSP today, 8/17/2016, after using online this book and the online Sybex practice tests that come with it. This is in addition to 6 years of on the job infosec experience. I had SEC+, CEH, and GCIH before attempting the CISSP.How I studied:1. Read the entire book front to back. I did this by reading 1-2 chapters an evening, and with breaks and vacations, this took about a month. After reading a chapter, I would immediately read and answer the written lab questions for that chapter, and compare my answers to those in the back of the book. (At this point is when I purchased my exam seat.)2. After reading all of the chapters and completing all of the written lab questions, I spent a few days completing the practice exams for each individual chapter using the Sybex online tool. Of course, I reviewed any questions I missed and took mental notes of those questions and answers.3. I then spent a week completing the four full 250 question practice exams. I'd do one exam per day, and after I finished the exam, I'd go through with a word document and type up the answers for every question that I missed in order to drill those facts into my head.4. After completing my incorrect answers document for every chapter exam and full practice exam, I had a 10 page word document typed up with the weak spots I needed to focus on before taking the exam. I still had 2 weeks remaining until the test date so every evening I read through portions of this document and either opened the book to research the areas I was still weak on, or I'd delete the section from the document if I felt I had covered it enough to be prepared for it on the test. The real pro-tip here is to focus your studies on what you *don't know*. No need to rehash what you've already got down. This is the most efficient study method I've put into practice through undergrad, post-grad, and my other certifications.Comments on the exam:-What I read elsewhere is true; the exam questions require a keen eye for what exactly they're asking you to answer. Don't be fooled by questions that contain extraneous, unnecessary information that is not required to answer the question being asked.-This book does cover everything you need to know, but I was surprised by the difference in the knowledge covered in the exam vs what was covered in the practice exams. If you *only* studied the practice exams in this book and Sybex, you would not be prepared to pass the real test. Use the practice exams to identify weak areas of your knowledge and get up to speed in those areas. A thorough understanding of the subject of the question is often needed to choose the best answer. I noticed several questions where one answer would be correct upon an initial read of the question, but then a more correct answer would be selected upon reading the question a few times and getting an idea of what they're really asking. You've got ask yourself, what knowledge are they expecting you to prove your mastery of by with this question? I'll admit I was a little let down by the amount of studying I did for certain topics that were not touched in the exam. Just remember, the exam is different for each individual so be sure to have all of your bases covered and good luck.