|
 < back to authors list Bill Stallings:
Stallings has written eight textbooks and nine professional reference books. The fourth edition of his Computer Organization and Architecture, won a Texty from Text and Academic Authors in 1996. The text provides a comprehensive presentation of the organization and architecture of modern-day computers, emphasizing fundamental principles and the critical role of performance in driving computer design. "The fourth edition captures recent innovations and improvements while maintaining a broad, all inclusive perspective of the entire field," Stallings said. He revised three texts in 1997. He credits his textbooks' success to three things:
Stallings believes that in the future Web sites will be a part of most textbook packages, just like the solutions manual is now. "When I put up my site, there weren't many others doing it," Stallings said. "Now there are more out there. In the future, a Web site will be something instructors will look for when selecting a text." Stallings has worked in computer science for 20 years. He has been a technical contributor, technical manager and an executive with several high-technology firms. He now heads his own consulting business, Comp-Comm Consulting, where he advises government agencies, computer and software vendors and major users on the design, selection and use of networking software and products. He received a doctorate in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Notre Dame. Award-winning advice Bill Stallings said that after 17 books, finishing a book "isn't as much of an event as it used to be." When he published his first book, his wife threw a party and invited everyone they knew. Now, he said, "I usually just take some time off before going on to the next one." Stallings had worked in the field for 12 years as an independent consultant when he was approached by a publisher to write his first book. "Publishers are always on the lookout in technical fields for people with a combination of expertise and the ability to write well," he said. He gives this advice to aspiring authors: write articles for magazines in the field you're working in and have an idea for a textbook before you approach a publisher. "It's easier to break in with a specialized book than a general purpose one," he said. "There's always going to be a solid intro book in any field and publishers are less likely to publish another one." Stallings has written eight textbooks: High-Speed Networks: TCP/IP and ATM Design Principles, 1998, Business Data Communications, in its third edition in 1997, Data and Computer Communications, in its fifth edition in 1997; Local and Metropolitan Area Networks, in its fifth edition in 1997; Computer Organization and Architecture, which won a Texty for its fourth edition in 1996; Network and Internetwork Security, 1995; and ISDN and Broadband ISDN with Frame Relay and ATM, in its third edition in 1995; and Operating Systems, in its second edition in 1995. He has also written nine professional reference books — reported by Kim Pawlak, 1997 |
