Excellent and intelligent

Books like this tend to fall into one or other of two categories - those which tell you what to do and those which are more comprehensive and explanatory. The former are no doubt better for the beginner or the reader who simply wishes to get at the main parts of the programme; the latter, into which category this book falls, undoubtedly lead to greater understanding but also require more effort from the reader.<br /><br />I have avoided books by Martin Evening for years because I found his book on Photoshop 7 pretty unreadable - I still do but it clearly is quite complete. This book is of a different order altogether and might almost have been written by someone else - whether his more recent books compare with this one or the earlier one I do not know but if the latter then they will be very good indeed.<br /><br />Everything is better - the style, the presentation, the explanations, the layout, everything. If I decide to migrate from Elements 6 (where I have been fairly well served by Scott Kelby's somewhat instructional but, for me maddeningly flippant, style) to CS5 there will be no doubt as to where I shall turn for elucidation.

Scott Kelby's guide to Lightroom 3

An excellent & comprehensive guide to Adobe's latest Lightroom offering. Almost identical in style (and to a degree content) to the previous book (for Lightroom 2), it takes the reader through every element of Lightroom's capability, written in Scott Kelby's inimitable style - highly recommended!

Digital Imaging

This is a superb book and the DVD that accompanies it is very good will help any from new to advanced Photoshop user

Great book

<br />This is the best book you can buy as a beginner this will give you the knowledge you need to start off <br /><br />I think a second book would be a decent idea where more can be said on picking and analysis but great book <br /><br />

Read the 1st volume only, and it's OK.

The problem is that assumes knowledge of some important technical terms and concepts. Otherwise is a fast read that will save you time and give you very useful advice.

windows 7 for dummies book and dvd

book is good but i cannot see the point of the dvd.if buying just buy the book .i am not a computer expert but i felt the dvd was just not needed. it was not what i expected at all.it was just an introduction to windows and not about using windows as a whole.most disapointing.stick with the book.

This is an incomplete guide - disappointing

I don't believe it. As a fan i have bought this and - guess what - ITS NOT EVEN COMPLETE!!<br /><br />Its beautiful, lots of tips and info - but its not finished!!<br /><br />Maybe it was published early or maybe they added new units but the Tech Tree chart is missing units, the unit list is missing units!! what rubbish is this? Firebats? nope. Valkyries? nope. They only have the multiplayer units and tech trees - why? I replay the campaign missions to try an get the achievements. Seriously - how hard would it have been to add the extra units and make the guide complete?<br /><br />An incomplete play guide is misrepresentation. Its still useful but I would buy the paperback if I had known - I would not have wasted my money on the limited edition !<br /><br />:(

A problematic argument that the Internet is rotting our brains

This book reflects the problem that Mr Carr has set out to describe. It reads like the product of hundreds of hours spent chasing hyperlinks, followed by cutting and pasting the results into an enormous word processing file. <br /><br />One can imagine the agony as Mr Carr then spent more miserable hours in front of his screen, attempting to wrestle the material into an argument. Sadly, this argument is itself pretty shallow.<br /><br />Doubtless Mr Carr is correct that the Internet is changing the way we think, read and remember. But didn't we already know this? Light on revelation and insight, and devoid of any humour at all, like a cold suet pudding, this book is very hard to finish.

photoshop manual

After using photoshop elements 4 for a couple of years i checked out and upgraded to elements 8. I also bought the book to elements 4 which was very helpful so this update is also good, you can dip in and out with any problems with editing photos or you can browse till something challenges you to try with your photos. Highly useful.

Should have known better

There are enough other 1-star reviews here, making lots of criticisms, and I agree with almost all of it.<br /><br />I have a general principle that once I start to read a book I like to give it a chance and finish it, even if it is initially not very promising. In this case, I would have done well to abandon my principle. This was a book that started badly, and got worse. I should have know better from my initial instincts.<br /><br />It started badly because, early on, there were statements that were poorly presented, in a pompous tone, and with attempts at humour that were just not funny. It got worse because the insights I was hoping would eventually appear never did, and the bad aspects just got worse.<br /><br />The core message of"expect the unexpected" is reasonable enough, but could have been epxressed more clearly and a lot more concisely.<br /><br />The one thing I did like about the book was how it pointed out how academics and others sometimes make claims without providing good evidence to back it up, and that we should be sceptical of such claims. (If that is something that interests you, buy"Bad Science" by Ben Goldacre instead). As a general rule I agree that less fawning reverence should be accorded to professors, and the book contributes to achieving that. <br /><br />Don't bother reading this book, and certainly don't spend money buying it.<br /><br />

The photographers eye

I found the book to be informative and easy to understand as well as being a delightful read.

"snogtabulous"

Having seen both Bruce and Remy talk about their expert subjects - I had high expectations about this book, hoping to learn a lot from practical examples as well as hoping to be entertained. I was certainly not disappointed! <br /><br />The book is excellent - I would recommend it to anyone interested in getting to grips with HTML5. A solid intro which gives great examples and explains in clear tone the pros and cons. Though it is called an introduction to HTML5 - I think it does go beyond that due to its practical approach throughout and the excellent examples and references. I enjoyed reading and experimenting along - while the text in the examples made me smile throughout. <br /><br />I particularly liked the 'human' tone of this book, disagreeing in places with aspects of the spec being discussed, clearly pointing out cross-browser compatibility, practical working methods and overall delivering the content in a very pragmatic approach rather than focusing on theories and abstraction. The attention given to making sure that the new HTML5 gets implemented with accessibility in mind deserves an extra gold star! <br /><br />The humour and fun really contributed to making this a brilliant read. You will enjoy it :)<br /><br />If I had to find a flaw - I would have to agree with Chris Mills about the print quality. I'd have opted for a digital version - if there was one - had I known. I've read this book mainly at home, taking it with me for reading on the train only once - yet the cover now looks as if I've had it for months and treated it roughly... I treasure my books and so I'm not happy it looks so worn now.<br /><br />But well done, Bruce and Remy, thanks for a great book!

At the moment probably the best SEO book out there

This is the most complete book on the subject that I ever saw. It is also the only book giving a complete theoretical backroung on search engine technology. The book not only explains what to do to get better ranking but WHY you should do it, and this empowers you to experiment and go further.<br /><br />This book should be in the bookshelf of any web practitioner.

Photoghaphy rools in a pill

really good book,as expected full of quick and easy to apply tips - most of them very simple and good, very user friendly...recomended!

As Dean Allen wrote just short of ten years ago.

Users don't read,<br />users only scan,<br />users haven't got<br />no attention span.<br /><br />Careful, keep repeating it to yourself and you might start to believe it.

Faded printing on some pages BUT REPLACEMENT PERFECT!!

I agree with the previous reviewer, except that the pages which are badly faded in my book are 81, 88, 95b and 98. I'm a great fan of Scott Kelby. His simple explanations are so much easier to follow that the long winded ones by Martin Evening. I was really enjoying Scott's CS5 until I came across pages that are virtually unreadable because the reproduction is so poor. I've waited so long for my order that it is a real bore to have to send it back for a replacement. The contents are excellent so what happened to Quality Control for reproduction? SINCE I POSTED THIS REVIEW I HAVE HAD A PROMPT REPLACEMENT FROM AMAZON AND IT IS PERFECT!

Very helpful!

This book provides vast amount of help relating to ICT in the national curriculum and has been great with help with my ICT assignment. I would recommend this book for all primary teachers out there who will be doing their ICT QTS skills test.

Great for the beginer!

Having received CS 5 as a gift, but with very little knowledge of how such a professional product can best be utilised, I looked for a book/manual that would provide me with the best insight. Bearing in mind that I would only be using it on an occasional basis, but would at least need to know the basics. With that in mind this manual seemed to tick all the boxes. I have found it to be a easily followed set of directions and tips. I also found that the instructional dvd to be of great help. For those who need the insight in greater depth, this manual should also tick your box.<br />Like many of these books you do not have to read as a novel. You can identify the issue that you want to approach and choose the appropriate chapter.<br />One tip I would give if purchasing book and have the same minimal knowledge, of Photoshop as I have, watch the dvd first. I found that it enabled me to understand the book better.

Must have !

CSS:The missing manual is an absolutely brilliant book. The book is really easy to read. I really like that author decided to explain everything for beginners (from how to implement css to choosing specific doctype and the reasons behind it) but in the same time he does not spend to much time on instructing how to find notepad on your pc, or how to save file, it is just straight to the point book. <br /><br />When I have ordered this book I thought that it is going to be another book which will present the css classes/pseudo-classes etc. but I was positively surprised when I have opened the book that it was nothing like that. Of course author had to explain the basics but then he encourages the reader to try what he learnt in a tutorials that I found very useful. The practice sessions are not only about the code, but they also give you a hint when it comes to design which I believe CSS is all about. <br /><br />Although, the book is great I could only mention on one thing, the paper on which the book is printed seems to be very weak and thin, but considering the fact that book has over 500 pages it makes it lighter and easier to carry in your bag,<br /><br />Summing up, the book is great, it is very informative and easy to read. A must have for all everyone!