CISSP Books

I used a few different books for different purposes. To be honest, I had a bit of a Goldilocks experience. “This book isn’t detailed enough. This book is way too detailed. And this one is just (about) right.”

First, the “just about right” book: (ISC)2 CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional Official Study Guide. Nice level of detail, but for Domain 4, which was my most difficult domain, I did turn to the “way too detailed” book.

The “way too detailed book: Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK ((ISC)2 Press) I still love this book and I think it’s an outstanding reference, but I did not read it cover to cover. I used it to help get a better understanding of the things that challenged me. I’m disappointed it has still not been updated to reflect the newest content of the test. I’m planning to buy it once it is, so I have the most up-to-date reference.

The “not detailed enough” for complete study is CISSP Study Guide. It, along with Eleventh Hour CISSP®: Study Guide, are excellent final review to prep for the test.

I have had several people highly recommend CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, but I have not used it, so can’t speak from experience. My impression is that it would fall between the “just about right” and “way too detailed” book.

I do recommend using more than one resource, since each one seems to have a slightly different focus. I don’t feel any of the three (four, including the 11th Hour) resources I used were a waste of time or money.