How to teach myself CCNA, ideal sources?

My school doesent teach cisco related computer courses. I would like to learn CCNA on my own.
is CCNA a good starter. are there any prerequsites to CCNA.
The book CCNA Certification Library (CCNA Self-Study, exam #640-801), Sixth Edition looks good since it comes with simulation software so i dont have to buy expensive software. Should i read something else before diggin into this monster?

i know TCP/IP and how to set up a Linux network NFS/NIS. im really into linux although it would be nice to learn CCNA from a windows pointer of view as well, since my college teaches Windows Server 2003.