Useful reference and the eBook (pdf) has been invaluable. Unfortunately, the pdf is locked which restricts copy/paste (which would be great for documentation). This booke is not a sit down and read from cover to cover, but a go to book for research/reference.

This book covers most of what an administrator needs to know, very acurate information. I use this book all the time for reference because you can't retain everything that's in this book, it's a great tool for studying for MS Exams.

This book is geared toward readers such as Web Developers, Information Management / Compliance Specialist, Administrators to name but a few. If you are a beginner to Sharepoint Server 2007, this book will be a most difficult read. The concepts and topics that are presented will have to be re-enforced with online research or the purchase of another book.

To give an example.
The book is composed of six sections, with the first three ( 663 pages in length ) being targeted towards administration and configuration. However, within this mix we have presentations on performance monitoring and MOM 2005, high level discussions on information security policies such as password and storage policies, data classification. We are introduced to advanced Enterprise topics such as the Business Data Catalogue and records compliance ( that is the Sarbanes Oxley Act etc. ). These discussions all assume prior expertise and should you be new to Sharepoint Server 2007 this will no doubt frustrate you. The Authors, in their quest to appeal to a wide variety of readers, cannot delve into the in-depth explanations, followed up by well worked out examples that a beginner to Sharepoint Server 2007 would require.

Web Developers will tend to focus on Sections 5 and 6. While these sections do introduce Workflow Services, Webparts and products like Sharepoint Designer I found the overriding theme is again one of high level discussion and overviews. Expertise is assumed.

Overall I would say that if you are coming from a background with some expertise in Sharepoint Server 2003 or you require a high level picture of the abundance of features that Sharepoint 2007 can bring to your organisation in addition to how it integrates with other server platforms, such as ISA 2006 for example, you will enjoy this book and the nuggets of useful information it provides. The writing style is not engaging; this book is not a joy to read but it will tell you what can be done with Sharepoint Server 2007, outline best practices and point you in the correct direction. The how-to part is very much left to yourself.

If however, your goal in purchasing this book is an in-depth knowledge of the installation, administration and configuration of Sharepoint 2007 and you have no prior expertise with Sharepoint Server 2003 or indeed 2001, then you will gain little benefit from this book. You will find it difficult to read, difficult to digest and your understanding of Sharepoint 2007 will not improve. If anything, you may be discouraged from using Sharepoint Server 2007 which would be a shame as the product is in my opinion really good. Regards.

The sheer amount of information presented in this volume is impressive in and of itself. The depth and quality of coverage into the many topics varies, and there's no one topic covered in totality, but this is the "one" book. English et al. nailed coverage across topics i.e. in scope and breadth. This is certainly not the book for beginners; there is a degree of basic SharePoint knowledge assumed, and you'll need to go elsewhere for deeper developer discussion (e.g. Pattison and Larson) or specifics on administration (various blogs). But if you're to make a career out of SharePoint 2007, you'll need most if not all of the information that's contained in this book. It's nice to have it in one reference.

If this companion where a living entity, I would kick it off my team.

Having an O'Reilly safari account I read through it and was very disappointed in that it doesn't cover some of the basic functionality that might be expected from a companion.

As for the hype, don't buy it to it!