Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) Study Guide: Pass the IAPP's CIPP/US Exam with Ease!

Great Book! I purchased the 'official' CIPP/US text a couple of years ago and it is a valuable text that will live on my book shelf. I read it cover-to-cover, took about 20 pages of notes and studied them pretty much full-time for two weeks leading up to the test. And failed -- badly! The IAPP has settled on a strange combination of trivia-level minutiae combined with lawyer-grade "fact patterns" in writing their tests. Long story short, studying using the official text and practice test is a nearly hopeless exercise. It shook my confidence and I let it go for two years. But with the recent announcement that IAPP was arbitrarily doubling the cost and effort of passing the test starting in July, 2015 I really wanted to get some immediate return on my (personal) investment. The clincher for me was the money-back guarantee the author has posted at http://www.cippexam.com/. And after my first, abysmal, showing I fully expected to exercise that guarantee. I read the book cover-to-cover, carefully noting internal and external materials identified for extra study. I spent about two weeks immersed in this material, similar to my preparation using the official text. The big difference? PASSING THE TEST!! This is a much better investment than anything offered by the IAPP. Don't let the 'Hobo' font or 'MS-Publisher'-grade cover fool you: This is the real deal. Top marks for content and utility. Thanks, Mr. Watts. I'll try to reach you privately to reiterate this offer: the day you publish a CIPP/E guide on par with this one, I'll buy it and sign up to take the exam. Thanks for a great, and desperately needed, learning aid! I_Will **CIPP/US**

Ignore the negative reviews and get this book (along with the prep guide by Chapelle and Shelley). The problem with the IAPP textbook is that it's horrible written. This guide covered many of the core privacy areas clearly and with really helpful questions and explanations. If you want to follow along and retain the info - you have to understand it broadly, and the IAPP materials do a horrible job of a clear, broad overview. You need this to get situated. BUT, it's also true that this book is badly in need of updating - so don't rely on it for *everything.* You will need to look elsewhere for info about recent state developments, GDPR and cross-border issues. But again, as a guide to financial, medical, telecom, and workplace privacy issues - which is still a big part of the exam - this is great. So overall, yes, I recommend this purchase as a supplement.

A good prep book for the certified information privacy professional certification.

Best $40 I spent for this test preparation guide. As other people mentioned it was the best balance of material and sample questions that I have seen. The books provided by the IAPP was too wordy and this book organized the materials in an easier format to digest the materials and content. Nonetheless, as of July 1st the format of the test is changing so they are combining the Foundations with the US privacy if you choose that track for certification, so not sure if the book will be of value and an updated manual will need to be published for the different test. I took and passed the test right before the deadline of the test changing.

I bought this book after failing the new cipp/us test given after july 1, 2015, I can definitely say this guide needs to be updated with new test questions to reflect the new test.

Watts writes well and clearly. I have read two of his books. They provide an excellent summary -- I stress the word summary -- of what you need to study to pass the CIPP exams. But anyone sitting for the exams should understand how challenging they are. I passed on my first try but invested an enormous amount of time studying for them. Watts provides a very clear, coherent introduction. But his books are merely the start. He provides an extensive set of sample questions for each exam. One could argue that his are the type of questions that ought to be on the exam. They are not. The exam. Questions are tougher. Passing requires actually knowing the answers. They deal with policy and statutory issues that do not lend themselves to guesswork.

Bonafied life saver. I passed my CIPP/US exam with the help of this book! Cuts right to the meat of text-book content. I was hard pressed for time to take this exam and this, mixed with my professional knowledge, was very helpful. Would recommend to anyone who has experience in the field, general knowledge of US Privacy laws, and needs a handy study guide to get them through the main points of the text book. Would not recommend to someone who is new to the privacy field - definitely read through the text book.

I loved the Foundation test study guide but in my opinion, didn't find this one as helpful for my exam. It didn't have as much detail as the IAPP text book, especially re specific state laws and certain. Overall, I think it's a very good book and probably all one needs to pass the US exam. I used this as the key text for my studies but used the IAPP textbook (or Wiki) as an additional reference. I also took the IAPP class. I did pass the exam.