This past semester in school, I took the first two Cisco semesters.

I was very unhappy with the book that they gave us. It was very dry and boring. I was falling asleep while I was studying.
Unfortunately, I had to read it either way. That is the only way to pass Cisco tests. Read and memorize Cisco’s material, and you pass the tests.

The book that they had us go though was
Cisco Networking Academy Program: First-Year Companion Guide
Seeing that this book was "The Only Authorized Textbook for the Cisco Networking Academy Program" I didn't really have a choice in the matter.

That is all good... but I decided to pick up a different book while I was at it.

I chose to go with the Cisco Networking For Dummies .
This was my first experience with the Dummies series and I think I'll be picking up more of these dummies books.

They covered all of the material that my Cisco book did, but in less time and in terms I could understand easier. The author even had a sense of humor.
I hate reading very dry material. I mean, if you have to learn something, you might as well enjoy it while you are reading it... right?

We had several foreigners who didn't quite grasp all the terms and language that Cisco was throwing at them. I suggested this to a couple of my classmates and they all liked it too.

For anybody planning on taking the Cisco Academy Program or if you just want a better understanding of Networking and the OSI...
I definitely recommend this dummies book. It even covered more than what was required in the first two semesters.
I know they don't make one for the next two semesters, but at least I have a leg up on them.