Review of The Unabridged Pentium 4 Posted

Amazon.com just published my four star review of The Unabridged Pentium 4 : IA32 Processor Genealogy. From the review:

"Page 1 of 'The Unabridged Pentium 4' (TUP4) claims 'there is real value in understanding how the architecture has grown over the years,' where the 'architecture' is the IA-32 register set, instruction set, and software exceptions. If you accept this premise, you will find TUP4 to be a valuable book. If you are looking for detail on the lowest-level of programming on IA-32, you should download Intel's free IA-32 Intel Architecture Software Developer's Manual.

Readers looking for information on IA-32 architecture can first turn to three free books Intel provides in .pdf format: Volume 1: Basic Architecture (448 pp); Volumes 2A (580 pp) & 2B (416 pp): Instruction Set Reference; and Volume 3: System Programming Guide (838 pp), for a total of 2282 pp. Volume 1 describes the basic architecture and programming environment of an IA-32 processor. Volumes 2A & 2B are aimed at application programmers and describe the instruction set of the processor and the opcode structure. Volume 3, for OS engineers and BIOS designers, describes the OS support environment of an IA-32 processor and IA-32 processor compatibility information."

I'll admit to not reading every word of this 1600+ page book. I read a good deal of the non-table material, especially in the foundational 386 material.

I'd like to thank everyone who has voted my Amazon.com reviews "helpful." Since I last mentioned my vote count, almost exactly one year ago, I've added over 500 votes to surpass the 2000 helpful vote count. It's tough for me to "compete" with so-called "reviewers" who cannot possibly read all the books they review. (Some claim to "read" and "review" five technical books per day!) I hope the quality of my reviews and the lack of rambling about topics related to the book at hand demonstrate value to readers.

You can see what I plan to read next on me reading page and potential reading candidates on my Amazon.com Wish List. My reviewing pace will slow as I enter 2005, since I'll spend several months writing another book. Expect to see my review pace pick up again by mid-year.