Telecommunications Technology Handbook

This book covers a very broad range of telecommunications technologies. Because of this broad range, there's not much introductory material in each section - Minoli jumps right into the details with lots of acronyms. If you don't already know something about the area, it would be fairly difficult to follow the text. This book is probably best used by technical individuals who want to know more about an area they do not specialize in. One chapter that deserves special mention is the chapter on SONET (chapter 6). The explanation is clear, concise and correct but is best read by those who already have a good grounding in telecommunications. But if you've always wanted to know how SONET works, that chapter is a good place to start. While the book is expensive, it's a lot less expensive than purchasing a separate book for each of the technologies described. Recommended, but only for those who already have some knowledge of telecommunications.