Rating: 
Summary: Easy to read, great for beginners
Review: This book was just what I needed. I've never looked at Perl before so I needed a book that would get me started immediately. This book did just that with clear, thorough explanations and easy to understand examples. It is a good all-round book that covers modules, debugging scripts, security, a bit of cgi and a whole range of other useful stuff; I like it because it explains it all! I don't think that I'll need another reference book for Perl, this one seems to cover everything.
Rating:
Summary: The best programming language tutorial I have ever used.
Review: Even a novice should learn Perl quickly and easily from this book. If you already know C, Laura Lema makes adding Perl to your linquistic abilities a breeze. I looked at regular expressions with awk a number of years ago, but remembered very little. Laura Lemay makes it easy to add regexps to your programming toolkit. Perl is C with a dash of spice and a twist of lemon. Laura Lemay is a Master Chef of Perl.
Rating: 
Summary: Good stuff. Great author.
Review: This is a great book if you know next-to-nothing about Perl and as time goes on it's still a decent reference. I am only finished with week one but I find that I can read and understand complex cgi applications now. The writing style is fluid and well-paced. My only complaint is that it did not come with a CD with Perl on it and the code samples. But that can all be found on the web. I didn't give it 5 stars because only Hitchiker's Guide (Douglas Adams) and Foucalt's Pendulum (Umberto Eco) get that many. My recommendation is get this book to get started, and then find the "Camel book" when you are up and running.
Rating: 
Summary: There's a catch: You must know UNIX
Review: The book seems very promising and well structured, however... One must know UNIX and I don't. Here is a book shipped accross the Atlantic, only to find out it is not directly useable for someone who is only familier with Windows95. I had hoped to be able to learn Perl and use it for CGI scripting. Well... maybe one of you knows a better solution and likes to email me on heb122@solcon.nl Again: It is a beautiful book and seems very well written.... if you are the proper audience
Rating:
Summary: Gave me what I needed
Review: The first book which I bought to try to learn Perl was a needlessly high hurdle to jump: Programming Perl, by Larry Wall (the inventor of the language). While I wouldn't go so far as to regret the purchase, Wall seems more interested in demonstrating whatever cute, obscure trick jumps into his mind at the moment, than in giving the reader a systematic grounding in the language. It isn't what one new to Perl needs-- especially being, as it is, a language with so many inelegancies and side-effects. Then I bought and studied this book by Till, whose patient pedagogy allowed me to find my feet. I think, in fact, that Till is too humble. If one really sat at the computer and concentrated on the book for several hours a day, as he plans, one could learn what he teaches in no more than seven days. In my experience, it is also practical as a reference later, within the scope of the basic topics covered. Of course it is not exhaustive; but holding that against it is about like criticizing Euclid for not discussing calculus. Now I can go back to Wall's book with some hope of appreciating what he says this time.
Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars (minus 2 if you already know the basics)
Review: I found it a great book at first, but after mastering the basics... errr... Therefore, Complaints as a beginner: None; Complaints as an intermediate: I won't tell people I know PERL if this is the only book I ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Greate book to start off with
Review: If U know awk and C,Perl comes naturally.This book makes it easier.Chapters are well laid out.Good number of good examples.OfCourse if U want to know the advanced features there other are books in the market.Need to have good basics to appretiate those.That's exactly what this book achives.Give U strong basics of perl.
Rating:
Summary: The Best PERL Book Available!
Review: This is both an excellent way to learn Perl and a great reference book. The book is easy to read, really teaches the essentials of the language, and has a great index for reference (although not as good as the previous Perl 4 version of the book). If you want an andvanced book in addition to this one, I'd recommend Advanced Perl Programming by Srinivasan, from O'Reilly.
Rating: 
Summary: I feel obligated to update my earlier review
Review: I reviewed this book last September; at the time, I thought it was a really good start for beginners. It's still a fairly decent start; problem is, the chapters on packages are incomprehensible. Once you get to that point, and you will get there pretty quickly, the book becomes useless. If you can find the earlier edition (yes, it's Perl 4, and yes, it's missing all of the Perl 5 goodies), you'll be a lot better off.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely helpful to beginers
Review: This is an excellent book if you are new to Perl. Though it is a bit weak when it comes to the object oriented features of Perl5. But nevertheless and excellent companion to those who are new to the programming vocations and want to hold on to their jobs.
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