[rating:0/5]

This textbook is, without question, one of the WORST I’ve ever come across – and I’ve read many. In fact, it is so bad that I have given it ZERO stars (something you can’t do on Amazon). While I wrote this review a few years ago, it remains the most God-awful book I’ve ever read – the author and the publishers should be ashamed of themselves. Of course, that will never happen as they continue to spew forth new “editions” of this monstrosity.

Considering that this is the ninth edition, it’s hard to understand why anyone would continue to use it as an “introductory” text. Even the headings found on Amazon reviews from the last edition clearly highlight just some of the numerous problems that remain in this obscenely overpriced book; these include statements such as:

• Miserable Book
• Avoid – do NOT use book as reference do NOT use in a class!
• Not for the faint of heart
• Author knows, the rest of us guess
• NOT a good book for beginners

There have been so many complaints in my own introductory database class, that our instructor is now actively seeking another text to use instead of this one.

So, what exactly is wrong with this book? Plenty! Examples:

1. Verbose to an extreme – rambling discussions regarding topics that are only remotely related to the topic being covered.
2. Examples are filled with mistakes or are just plain wrong. My copy is now filled with corrections and comments from my instructor to NOT use the examples provided.
3. Chapter “summaries” are, more often than not, two or more full pages of solid text – and these are just the “summaries.” Neither the author nor the editors of this book seem cognizant of just what a summary is – ever heard of bullet points, guys?
4. One of the most basic, primary, characteristics of quality teaching is the ability to “teach a little and then apply it.” Instead, Kroenke bombards the senses with an ENORMOUS number of concepts in every single chapter, there is simply so much, that it is not possible to assimilate everything that is covered. Kroenke even has the audacity to note, in the introduction of one chapter near the beginning of the book, that readers should read the chapter “several times” in order to understand the material! Sure, it is often important to re-read SOME things but not entire chapters! Regardless of how many times you do attempt to get through the material – much remains incomprehensible due to horribly incomprehensible presentation of the material!
5. Diagrams and other graphic materials are spread all over each chapter, although usually on pages other than their explanation. Not only does this make things extremely difficult when trying to understand them but the very fact that one must read an extensive amount of text just to even begin understanding what the example provides, before trying to figure out the exact concept that the example is trying the demonstrate, defeats the entire purpose of graphic examples in the first place!

I’ve now resorted to buying other books in order to understand what we’re covering in our class. That has, without question, been FAR more useful than wasting anymore time with this nightmare.