Author: George Reese
Publisher: O'Reilly, 2009
Pages: 204
ISBN: 978-0596156367
Aimed at: Cloud novices
Rating: 4.5
Pros: Clear exposition of subject
Cons: Let down by minor omissions
Reviewed by: Mike James

There is a lot of rubbish being talked and written about cloud computing at the moment and the truth is that a lot of people haven't a clue what it's all about. Fortunately the author of this book on the subject clearly does know and wants to make it very clear. The task is made easier by concentrating on cloud computing as imagined by Amazon - S3 and EC2 - which isn't the only conception of the topic but is currently fairly mainstream. Although there isn't any system development, the reader does get to try things out by using the command line prompt interfaces to create and use cloud storage, select and implement virtual machines and so on.

The book is mainly about the management and economic advantages of cloud computing but because of the hands-on component it does fly off into the realms of fantasy and outrageous claims. It presents level headed, experience based, guidance and when compared to the typical marketing gibberish used to encourage us to take to cloud computing it’s a breath of fresh air. The only criticism is that the proof reading could have been a little better - there is a completely missing diagram on page 10! If this is likely to outrage you then don't buy the book - but you would be missing out on a worthwhile read.

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