This book clearly explains the operation of caches and MP systems in a way I've never seen before. The books used in my computer architecture class always left me with a somewhat vague feeling on how things worked, plus they only barely mentioned the software issues. Similarly, my OS class never really got into MP subjects like memory ordering and the effect of caches on the OS. But this book brought everything into focus with clear explanations and good examples.The best way to describe this book is that it's part computer architecture book and part operating systems book. The operation of the hardware is presented in good detail, without going as far as worrying about gates and transistors. The software issues are also described in detail along with various solutions and trade-offs between them.I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand the operation of caches and SMP systems from both the hardware and software point of view.