*****Facility Manager’s Guide to Security: Protecting Your Assets. By Robert N. Reid;published by Fairmont Press, 770/925-9388 (phone),www.fairmontpress.com (Web); 340 pages; $98.

In many ways, writing an introductory overview is more difficult than crafting a more advanced work. Overviews by their nature are wide-ranging and must cover so many variables. Such is the case with this primer on facility security.

Author Robert N. Reid selects perhaps the best approach for an overview: Start by setting forth reasonable goals for the reader, then follow through by keeping that mission in mind throughout. What results is a solid guide to help facility security managers protect their assets.

Among the topics discussed here are perimeter security, locks, entry tracking, CCTV, audio surveillance, background checks, drug testing, and emergency response. If followed point by point, the book would form the basis for an excellent facility security review. Not only is it easy to read, but it is also peppered with examples, references to source material, tables, pictures, statistics, and figures, all of which appear to be current and accurate. Organization is simple and logical.

Junior-level security managers would gain the most from this book. It would also be useful for more-experienced managers who want to organize their thinking and methodology, as well as for any security professional who wants to review his or her facility’s security.

Capping off this fine effort is a thorough list of online resources, a glossary, and a detailed index. If fault is to be found anywhere in this book, it might be for the want of more concrete suggestions and recommendations for solutions.

eviewer: Mark Folmer, CPP, is the associate vice president, Eastern Canada, for Total Security Management Services Inc., based in Montreal. He is a member of ASIS International.