Rating: 
Summary: WOW! What A Disappointment
Review: Beginning on page 1, and continuing throughout the book, a very strange 2 column format is used. The left column is narrow, smaller in font, and in italics. Color graphics and pictures can and do occur with great frequency in both columns. At first glance this format may seem at least somewhat visually appealing, but don't be fooled. Typically I do not need "directions" or a "road map" for reading a book -- but here is an exception. Nowhere (at least nowhere that I have been able to find) does the author give any hint of a suggested strategy to using for reading this material. What relationship does material in the small left column have with material in the right column? Which should I read first? Just as my confusion became frustration I got to page 9 where I note "5 separate visually distinct elements." At the top I note the now-familiar two columns; this is then interrupted by some type of an example (no caption) spread horizontally across the middle of the page. At the bottom of the page there are again two columns (Although this time they are equal in width, each headed with a gray-shaded mast and a gray mark on the left margin.) In trying to understand the material on this page I see nothing on the preceding or following pages that are helpful to me. Nor does the material at the top seem to relate to what is at the bottom (or in the middle, for that matter).It occurs to me that this is a wonderful example of graphic design gone wrong. Just because it CAN be done doesn't mean it SHOULD be done. Others have raved about the content of this book. I can't seem to get to the actual content. I can't figure out exactly how or where to begin. Anyone interested in Photoshop 7 probably has more than a passing interest in overall visual appeal. Unfortunately, Jack fell off the curve somewhere. Simple was -- and still is -- elegant. Context that completely overwhelms content is mind-numbing.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written
Review: For those of you are looking for a helpful book on Photoshop that you can read from cover-to-cover, this is NOT the book for you. The book was very poorly written with no real structure to the lessons at hand. This book does a very poor job of explaining the techniques and tips it so eloquently portrays with all of the color images provided in the book. The book comes across as if it was written by a "techie" and is full of fragmented statements, half thoughts and harsh breaks between concepts. You may have to read certain sections a number of times before you can understand what the author is attempting to convey to the reader, and even then it may not make much sense. It should not be a battle to read an instructional book, but in this case, you may want to put on your armor.
Rating: 
Summary: needs to be larger format
Review: Good writing combined with straight forward information is a hallmark of this series of books.However my continued observation is that this needs to be printed in a larger format
to make it an easier read.Just being crammed full of relavant information and good instruction isn't enough, I put off reading this book because it was somewhat difficult to get through with the smaller typeface used.Photos in examples used could be larger as well, though many examples are included on the CD-Rom that comes with the book I can only give this book 4 stars.
Change the type size, insert larger photos and it is a 5 star book.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the purchase
Review: I admit to buying this book because of the glossy graphics but I got in way over my head. This book is a bit too advanced for someone just getting started with Photoshop.
I have used some of the techniques and instructions offered but it has been tedious.
I will not give up on this book, however, because after many readings and trial and error, I am making some progress. (...)The CD could include some better photos to work with but "c'est la vie."
Rating: 
Summary: visually beautiful but really for intermediate to advanced
Review: I admit to buying this book because of the glossy graphics but I got in way over my head. This book is a bit too advanced for someone just getting started with Photoshop.
I have used some of the techniques and instructions offered but it has been tedious.
I will not give up on this book, however, because after many readings and trial and error, I am making some progress. (...)The CD could include some better photos to work with but "c'est la vie."
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Book!
Review: I bought this book to see for myself what this Wow hype was all about. It turned out the Wow comes from two sources: from the CD which contains dozens of presets, and from working through the examples which came from commercial projects done by the author and other artists. Comparing the two, the Wow presets were icing on the cake. The really valuable stuff sits on the pages. The format of the book distracted me at first. Color images and text of various sizes packed almost every page to the brim. No wonder a few reviewers complain not knowing where to start. When I figured out how they laid it out, I began to appreciate what Davis has to offer: professional advice backed by commercial examples. And already, I picked up a habit on how to be flexible: work on adjustment layers.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! What a piece of crap.
Review: I consider myself to be an intermediate PS user but I wanted to take my skills to the Pro level and I thought this book would do it. Boy was I wrong! Just because you are an expert in PS doesn't mean you know how to write a tutorial based book about it. This book is so badly written I feel like I know LESS than before I started! There is no order in this book. The tutorials are not laid out in an organizes step-by-step manner. Each page is crammed with so much text the reader doesn't know where to start. This book has some amazing pictures of what can be accomplish in PS but unfortunately the reader is left wondering how the heck do I create that? Save your money and search for better tutorials online instead.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the purchase
Review: I really do like this book. I must say that what it does cover, it covers in great detail. It is a must have if you want to have a working understanding of all of Photoshop's features. While short on special effects and a bit too reliant on the proprietary styles and actions provided, my understanding of how to work with colour has been expanded 3 fold. The only complaint is that the first few chapters are a bit scattered and if you are not used to Photoshop, its not hard to get a little lost. They layout is also a bit busy (like the CNN Headlines channel) and can be a bit of an overload at times, but with all the content he covers, I don't really see a workaround for that. On the positive side you can be sure that you're not going to miss much. Around the second chapter, things start to follow a more definite path and the mass of information accumulated in chapter one starts to take shape. Overall, I am very happy with the book and it makes an excellent addition to my Photoshop library.
Rating:
Summary: For intermediate Photoshop users: this is the one to go for.
Review: I've already read Deke Mc Clelland's Photoshop bible, and was looking for a book that would explain me how to combine different functions in Photoshop, rather than just explaining where you can find a certain filter and how to use it. Well, this is just the book that offers what I and may'be you needed. Advanced techniques and great inspirational stuff, and all this comes at a reasonable prize because the book is in full colour and on the CD-Rom that comes with it, you'll find all the pictures from the book (pre and after handling). And yes, lots of goodies too: layer styles, brushes, actions, ... An absolute cracker. In fact, you can read it in bed, and it's calming to look at all these beautifully designed pictures, you can start designing the day after.
Rating:
Summary: Wow. I love it.
Review: I've been lookin for a Photoshop book... I decided to purchase this one after reading the previous reviews and a local electronics store had this book on sale. The book's tutorials are superb. For the past 5 years I've used Photoshop and I've never realized some of the great stuff you could do until I picked up this book. There's a section of making "aqua buttons". I found myself saying "I didn't know Photoshop could do this!?" The CD is full of files you can use to try out the tutorials you've just read.
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