This is a very impressive single volume introduction and reference for Microsoft SharePoint 2007 administrators. It has little for SharePoint developers, however, and they would probably be better served by a separate volume in the Unleashed series.



Authors Noel and Spence have done a truly excellent job in gathering information on SharePoint 2007 and putting it into easy-to-find, easy-to-read form. There is no question that you could find everything in this book somewhere else, such as in the SharePoint 2007 Help file or in Microsoft's extensive web sources. But you'd burn up a lot of time in finding and compiling it.



The writing style is clear and unadorned. The approach is very logical, beginning with an overview of SharePoint 2007 and a discussion of planning and implementation. The orientation is for larger installations, though the small business user is well served here.



The second part deals with using SharePoint 2007 technologies. It is very well done with a thorough exposition of SharePoint's capabilities and uses. It is the kind of writing that can be the basis of presentation to management and users. Good stuff.



Part three deals with managing a SharePoint environment.



The final part is concerned with extending the SharePoint environment, through remote access, integration with Microsoft Exchange Server and other uses.



Overall, from an administrative perspective, I'd say this is the best general introduction and reference on Microsoft SharePoint 2007 I have found to date. Nothing really here for the developer, but I'll take a look at the other volume for that.



Jerry