CISSP exam
Sat and passed the CISSP exam in Oct 2008. It was easier than I expected. I mainly used the open CISSP study guide as the study materials. I did spend a lot of time reading the CISSP preparation guide by Ronald Krutz but I felt that it did NOT help at all. All you need is the open CISSP study guide plus some (or quite some) knowledge on networking (as found in MCSE).
Overall I don't think CISSP qualifies someone as an expert security; it only proves that the holder has taken the initiative to learn a little about everything in security.