Rating: 
Summary: not so much artistry more for learning
Review: This is really one of the big boys in the photoshop arena. Its a big book desnsely packed with information. I wavered between a 4 and a 5, because theres a couple of faults with the book, but on consideration theres so much information packed in, compared to some of the photohsop books on the market it doesnt warrant the 5.My main complaints with this book are firstly the design and layout of interior pages is very poor, the screengrabs range from shoddy to badly captured, and ive a feeling a few older screen grabs ahev found their way in here as well. whatever software you guys are using for screen grabs you ned to think again, some of the screen grabs havent been cropped well and just look messy.
As to the layout, with such an information heavy book, layout would have made the readers life so much easier, the vertical sideways title page are terrible, and to be honest the rest of the book just looks like a quark template stuffed full of content in a hurry.
Hire a new designer and this books probelms are dealt with. compare with the layout on some of the other books around, a design orientated book just should not look this bad.
my other problem is that some of the graphics and examples in the book are just poor, of little practical use, and some of the artwork used in examples is just laughable, i get the feeling that the authors do know a lot about photoshop, but some of their design work is bad. despite the horrors of the books design, and some really stupid unrealistic examples, there is so much information in here i think it warrants a high rating, this book would serve well as a guide to learning photohsop, and it seems evident that this is where the approach and material have been created from.
There is an enormous ammount of information here and it is very learning orientated, the ammount of information can work against the book in one respect as its somewhat daunting and can be hard to find things, but it covers a lot of information and thats the imprortant thinig.
i would disagree about some reviewers commensta bout this being the most authoritive book for photographers using photoshop, but it has a few elemnts which are useful.
Rating: 
Summary: Open the Door to the Potential of Photoshop
Review: This is the best Photoshop book I have read. Its subtitle, "Mastering the Digital Image," says it all. As one works through the step-by-step exercises and tutorials, the serious photographer begins to understand the complex relationship between the Photoshop tools. Tutorials are explained in a simple and straightforward fashion. The explanations are grounded in reality, but offer a doorway to understanding the program's theoretical basis. The book is not cheap, but it is a tremendous aid in unlocking Photoshop's potential.
Rating:
Summary: Open the Door to the Potential of Photoshop
Review: This is the best Photoshop book I have read. Its subtitle, "Mastering the Digital Image," says it all. As one works through the step-by-step exercises and tutorials, the serious photographer begins to understand the complex relationship between the Photoshop tools. Tutorials are explained in a simple and straightforward fashion. The explanations are grounded in reality, but offer a doorway to understanding the program's theoretical basis. The book is not cheap, but it is a tremendous aid in unlocking Photoshop's potential.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Book!
Review: While the mid-level and advanced user will benefit greatly from the very well explained features of Photoshop 7, it is written in a style that will not overwhelm the beginner. The tutorials are some of the best I have used in any Photoshop book.
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