Laura E. (lauramsellis) reviewed on 1/17/2007 + 331 more book reviews

students first... There is a well-done website that accompanies the book, which includes outlines, sample tests & quizzes, and related study materials. The text is about average in terms of readability in comparison to other texts on the subject (IS texts tend to read a little on the dry side). Unless your professor insists on the latest edition, you may be able to get by with a previous edition, since the chapter structures & content haven't been re-arranged much for the last two editions. You must be advised on the issue of using previous editions, though, since Stair and Reynolds do a fair job of keeping the material up-to-date.

For professors... In my experience, IS texts seem to fall into either a highly technical or highly managerial category. Stair and Reynolds do a fair job of plotting a course between the two, although I have found that the "technical" chapters seem to be a little too much for undergraduate business students in their standard "MIS" course (I've never taught engineering students, but the same may hold true for the "managerial" chapters on the other side of the fence). The text is accompanied with ample instructor resources, including a CD and a website with slideshows, notes, outlines, and various other pedagogical tools. The testbank is easy to use, but can be somewhat challenging for an undergraduate business student, adequate for an undergraduate MIS student, and contains enough "difficult" questions that you should be able to use it for a MBA students as well. I would pick something else for a graduate MS/ MIS curriculum. Stair and Reynolds have also done a fair job of keeping the material up-to-date, which has resulted, after six editions, in a pretty decent proiduct. For me, the instructor resources make Stair and Reynolds a good choice by comparison to other IS texts.

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