This book is not an easy read, but it is very comprehensive and well done. I like the inclusion of the case studies, which can be easily updated. The work can be used at both the undergraduate and graduate level. There is also an up-to-date assessment of the importance of marketing on a global basis. In a word, this is a work that is truly "strategic" in its treatment of the subject.

While marketing is a complex subject, the authors are so caught up in the sounds of their academic prose. It assumes you remember concepts from previous chapters and does not do a good job of explaining important marketing concepts.

It is very dry reading. The case studies are old even as of the print date.

This book is so complex, that it is the first text book I have read that requires you to read all the side bar information.

Unfortunately this book was chosen by a professor who is no longer teaching the class in my school's MBA program. The new teacher also feels the text book is way too complex to get much out of it. I expect material to be something I can understand, not "geek" speak!