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Reviewer: Jose M. Ramirez

Managers and information technology (IT) professionals recognize that the concepts and the technology framework of the semantic Web can certainly offer a competitive advantage, as well as timely information and knowledge, but the field is full of challenges. The authors have been involved in this subject for a long time, and certainly have all of the qualifications to produce a good introduction to the topic, presenting both concepts and potential. But, as is usual in this kind of book, a balance between coverage and in-depth explanation is difficult to achieve. The main problem is the organization of the book; chapters 7 and 8 cover two foundation concepts-taxonomies and ontologies-and there is no reason to put them after the coverage of Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Web services, if the goal is to create a coherent introduction. After the in-depth coverage in chapters 7 and 8, the authors propose a methodology to implement the semantic Web in a given company. As a reader, I found myself continually going back and forth in the book, trying to see if the whole picture made sense. Chapter 1 ("What is the Semantic Web__?__"), chapter 2 ("The Business Case for the Semantic Web"), and chapter 9 ("Creating Your Company's Roadmap to the Semantic Web") are the best chapters in the book. The examples offered are very helpful in presenting the semantic Web as a framework that is not just desirable, but possible, given the actual state of the technology. Once I put the book's organization issues aside and gave it a second reading, I found it to be an excellent resource that demonstrates how Web services, resource description framework (RDF), XML, and ontologies can fit together in a technological strategy. The book is full of excellent references, and includes an appendix with more than 100 useful references; this is a good feature for a book that purports to help managers implement the progressive use of the semantic Web within an organization. The index, illustrations, footnotes, tips, and advice (maxims) in the book help to improve its usability. My advice is to read the book for the first time, following this alternative chapter order: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 6, 4, and 9. A second reading may be required to look for insights about the use of the semantic Web framework within an information strategy. Online Computing Reviews Service