The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course: Project Management, Second Edition

Unlike many books on project management, which tend to be sand-dune dry, this textbook for McGraw-Hill's 36-hour project management course has interesting narrative elements. The focus is on project management skills, but you also will learn about fascinating historic projects and obstacles their builders encountered. However, this book would have benefited from more disciplined editorial direction. For example, some of the closing chapters would probably help the reader more if they were presented earlier. However, the quirky sequencing doesn't diminish the informational deliverables. The convenient chapter summaries and the self-tests at the end of each chapter will help you stay on schedule. We believe professional and up-and-coming project managers will find that reading this book is a worthwhile project.

Unless you know everything, you're bound to learn something from this book!

This is a very good book for those with some experience in project work. It is not entry level material, mainly because it makes important points with examples and without examples: only those who have some experience will have a "hook" to latch onto in order to relate to the latter. When examples are given they are succinct and easy to relate to. The end of chapter tests reinforce the topics covered very well. There are times when an experienced project manager who is doing some "brushing up" with this book will not necessarily agree 100% with the required answers as given -- you know the sort of thing, when you have to choose from answer "a", "b", "c", or "d" and you want to choose "e"! Generally, however the authors show clearly that they have the relevant battle scars from actual projects (one seems to have more practical, hands on experience than the other). I have 30+ years of project management experience behind me, with a few more ahead in my career. I found this book invaluable for brushing up my knowledge and for learning a few new ideas. Thank you Helen and Karen for sharing your comprehensive knowledge. One peeve (otherwise it would have been 5 stars) - when I tried to do the final examination on line, as suggested, I could not find it anywhere on the web. I have completed the exam and sent off my answers by snail mail to the name and address given in the book. I await the response...

For decades I have be managing projects in IS and IT. Now I find my self a project manager that has in-depth knowledge of it. Where and when did this metamorphosis come about? Where will all this lead to? Once a skill used by many professions Project Management has become a profession in its self. This book takes you're from concept thought history and delivers you to practical management. As with all 36-Hour courses it takes more than 36 hours and you will want to go back and revisit the book after applying the information to a real project or two. Each chapter asks a few simple questions at the end. I found my self once in a while actually having to re-read of get some of the answers. Even though different project environments the book takes in consideration most of them and has practical forms for most of them. There is information on professional institutions and other reading material. Of all the project management books on the market I am seriously considering this book for the lunch hour discussion with other Project Managers and potential Project managers.