Rating: 
Summary: This is not a reference book
Review: Don't expect to get much out of this book. It has a lot of tutorials, not enough in-depth explanations. For each little trick or tip it might have a paragraph on how it works. I think the title is misleading. Classroom in a book, if you are not in a classroom with an instructor you will not learn the software. They should call it something like the Classroom Companion (I should send in my suggestion). You will not learn Photoshop inside and out by doing all the tutorials in the book.
It is a great book if you already have a reference book with it. By reference book, I mean a book that lets you find a tool and look up its functions and features. Or just outlines the software.
This is just a bunch of tutorials. This might help you get comfortable with using the software but to really understand the software, I would go with a different title.
By the way, a good reference book might be the Photoshop Bible, or a Visual Quickstart guide. Pay close attention to the version of your software!
Rating: 
Summary: a cool book but only with one problem
Review: well this is a great book for peoples that want learn photoshop and dont know nothing about the program,i am very happy with this book but the problem with this book is that the lessons are very long.i recommend this book for all peoples that want learn photoshop,and if you like read much is better
Rating:
Summary: It's like a classroom in a book
Review: I took a 12 week night course in Photoshop, so I had an understanding of the basics when I bought this book. The book however turned out to be much better than the course I'd taken for a number of reasons, including: you can work at your own pace; you can stop to experiment; you can re-read any part that is causing you confusion. Many of the lessons I re-did 3-4 times just to make sure I'd mastered the techniques. This book is also much cheaper than a course. For con, as another reviewer commented, the book after instructing you to perform a feature, often does not explain the 'why' behind that feature. This is unfortunate, but considering the techniques taught aren't the most complicated aspects of photoshop, the reader in most cases will be able to deduce 'why' a feature worked a certain way. This was the first Photoshop book I've read, and I've now read 6 more. I was quite happy with the foundation it provided for learning Photoshop. A good first Photoshop book.
Rating:
Summary: Good, useful lessons.
Review: I purchased this alongside the Illustrator Classroom in a Book course. What I found, as with any course, is that my experience was determined by my own effort. Adobe has done its part by developing a thoughtful series of lessons to make any user comfortable working in Photoshop. I have heard two competing (and contrary) objections to these courses. People complain that there is a) either not enough or b) too much information in the Classroom in a Book series. It is true that Adobe has not developed a course that custom fits the requirements of every single possible user. This can hardly be held against them. They have created a series of straightforward courses for intermediate users. Neither this book (nor the application it is designed to teach) is for absolute beginners. It is for people who are comfortable in front of their computer. Nor should an expert user looking for some advanced tricks and tips purchase it. There are other books available to fit these needs. Adobe Photoshop Classroom in a Book does a wonderful job orienting a typical computer user to a heavy hitting image manipulation application. If you take the time to complete this course, you will know your way around Photoshop. By properly learning the skills featured in this book, you will be prepared to absorb the sorts of tricks you have always wanted to learn.
Rating: 
Summary: Learning Photoshop made FUN & EASY!
Review: I am an Information Technology Training Specialist currently taking a free online course for Photoshop 6. I am learning more (and having more fun) using the Classroom in a Book than I have from the online course and the book it is using (Visual QuickStart Guide). The tutorials in this book are great and provide the detailed steps necessary to complete tasks as well as references to where you can access more in-depth information from Adobe's online Help. The book covers how to complete tasks in ImageReady as well as Photoshop. One of the first things I recommend is printing up the Quick Reference Card so you can add your own notes to it -- an irreplaceable guide! To ensure I've mastered the lesson, I recreate the end picture on my own.
Rating:
Summary: A waste of time - too confusing for new users
Review: I teach Photoshop at the local college and have complained to my adminstrator about the use of this book for our level one classes. The lessons are too long, and introduce too many different features of Photoshop at one time. I've found that students appreciate a linear approach, and want to master the essentials of one topic before they move on. The lessons in this book "skip" around so much that my students get lost easily, and I've reorganized many of our lessons as a result. As well, it often ignores the "why" of a feature, and focuses instead on the "how". Inquisitive students want both questions answered. Adobe Photoshop is fabulous, but this book is not. I'd recommend that a beginner use the Visual Quickstart Guide instead.
Rating:
Summary: Photographer/Photoshop teacher
Review: This is a great book to start learning Photoshop. It covers most of the basic information. A good way to get your feet wet.
Rating: 
Summary: Adobe can do better
Review: While Adobe undoubtedly makes THE best graphics software, it falls extremely short in its Classroom in a Book series. I've been using Photoshop 6.0 for a while and I wanted to learn more. I purchased Adobe's Classroon in a Book thinking this book had to be as good as their software; not so. While the lessons in the book are extensive, the instructions are not always clear. (I also agree with other reviewers that the lessons take longer than stated.) The visuals are often not clear and they should be in color; flipping back and forth to the color section of the book to see the final result is annoying. In the lesson on Basic Pen Tool Techniques, in the converting paths to selections section, after completing step 5, the catmask does not look like the result in the book. I have done this segment several times with the same result every time. It is also a shame you cannot email Adobe about their Classroom in a Book series; suggestions from readers could be helpful. Adobe can do better.
Rating:
Summary: Very Practical Lessons
Review: I just finished the last of the book;s 17 lessons. I gave this book a 5-star rating because it provided an excellent method for learning Adobe Photoshop 6.0. Although I have the user's manual that came with the software, I decided to go ahead and buy the "Classroom" book. I was glad that I did. Step-by-step instructions are presented for each lesson that are relatively easy to follow. The only complaint that I have is that their estimates for the time expected to complete the lessons was underestimated. For instance, a lesson that should take about "90 minutes" to complete may actually take up to twice as long. Nevertheless, the Classroom book will be as useful a future reference as will the user's manual itself. I just bought the "Adobe GoLive 5.0 Classroom in a Book" and am eager to go through all of the lessons in that book as well.
Rating:
Summary: Takes the intimidation factor out of Photoshop
Review: I knew I'd have to learn it sooner or later, but I'd always been intimidated by Photoshop. This book got me started quickly and demystified the complexities of the program. If you have to buy one book to get you started, this should be the one. Work through the exercises one by one, and you'll end up loving Photoshop!
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