by Gregory Pfister

isbn: 0138997098
subject: Computing, Nonfiction
finished: Summer 1997

I almost didn't buy this book since a lot of it looked like review. I'm glad I did, however. A lot of it was review (cluster computing is what I do, after all), but it was really nice to see a complete overview of cluster issues in one place. The book is well written and humorous, and Pfister acknowledges that he's biased -- you don't see that very often in "the literature." This is one of those books where a single rating is not adequate; if your school or work pertains in any way to cluster computing, trust me and read this book soon; otherwise don't bother unless you're really interested.

Update (March '98): this review applies to the first edition; I haven't had a chance to check out the new one.