Effective Physical Security, Third Edition. By Lawrence J. Fennelly; published by Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann; available from ASIS, Item #1568, 703/519-6200 (phone), www.asisonline.org (Web); 315 pages; $40 (ASIS members), $44 (nonmembers).  

Asset protection and management pose unique and ever-shifting challenges, but the foundation principles on which these fields are based remain the same. For those basic components of physical security controls, one need look no further than the third edition of this Lawrence Fennelly work. It's a compilation of informative essays written by security professionals expert in various topics.

Fennelly provides readers with a quick, easy-to-understand reference on security controls, design, and management techniques. Numerous checklists, definitions, and drawings capture the reader's attention and ensure that each control will be well understood and implemented correctly.

New to the third addition are chapters on risk assessment and management, security lighting, entry control, contraband detection, bomb-incident management, and homeland security. These join stalwarts from earlier editions, including worthy chapters focused on locks, alarms, CCTV, and crime prevention through environmental design. The chapters vary in detail, but any security professional would benefit from the collection of knowledge and useful information assembled in this book, especially those seeking the newly launched ASIS Physical Security Professional designation.

Reviewer: Cathal Walsh is a security analyst for the global security department of Prudential Financial, Newark, New Jersey. He is a member of ASIS International.