Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for learning Perl if you are literate
Review: One of the other reviewers (who gave the book only 2 stars) complained: >The wording was difficult to interpret. It seemed as if it was written for someone in their fourth year of college at Harvard University (which sort of an exagerration, but it did seem like that at times).<The reviewer may not realize that the author is British. The British generally seem to be more articulate than Americans, so the language reflects that difference. That aside, this book is a good choice for new Perl programmers, in that it is less "techie", although it still has some real substance to it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for learning Perl if you are literate
Review: One of the other reviewers (who gave the book only 2 stars) complained: >The wording was difficult to interpret. It seemed as if it was written for someone in their fourth year of college at Harvard University (which sort of an exagerration, but it did seem like that at times).< The reviewer may not realize that the author is British. The British generally seem to be more articulate than Americans, so the language reflects that difference. That aside, this book is a good choice for new Perl programmers, in that it is less "techie", although it still has some real substance to it.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for experienced programmers learning Perl
Review: Perl The Programmer's Companion is a great book for experienced programmers who want to learn Perl. While the camel book is the "must-have" reference, it really doesn't teach Perl programming. Chapman explains how to use Perl effectively, along with the language's subtleties and nuances. He also devotes some effort in describing good Perl programming style.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for experienced programmers learning Perl
Review: Perl The Programmer's Companion is a great book for experienced programmers who want to learn Perl. While the camel book is the "must-have" reference, it really doesn't teach Perl programming. Chapman explains how to use Perl effectively, along with the language's subtleties and nuances. He also devotes some effort in describing good Perl programming style.
Rating: 
Summary: Sound content let down by layout and design
Review: The book has interesting things to say, and explains a number of tricky Perlisms quite nicely (e.g. eval() for exception handling). Sadly, the design, typography and layout of the book are average, with confusing diagrams, poor choice of fonts, and some silly iconography. The result is that this book is a worthwhile front to back read, but as a reference or 'companion' you would be better off with 'Effective Perl Programming'.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent intro to Perl, crippled by lack of exercises
Review: This is the best-written, best-organized introduction to Perl I've read. The author never gets bogged down in the details, but manages to explain (or explain away) many of Perl 5's quirks lucidly and logically. The book's only weakness (an important one) is its lack of exercises or sample problems.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent intro to Perl, crippled by lack of exercises
Review: This is the best-written, best-organized introduction to Perl I've read. The author never gets bogged down in the details, but manages to explain (or explain away) many of Perl 5's quirks lucidly and logically. The book's only weakness (an important one) is its lack of exercises or sample problems.
Rating:
Summary: Let's this talented teacher guide you through Perl's jungle
Review: When I bought "Perl: The Programmer's Companion", I had a number of others books on Perl already, among which the well-known "Camel book" ("Programming Perl" by Larry Wall et al.). None of those books satisfied me: they were written by people more good at writing smart programs than understandable manuals. "Perl: The Programmer's Companion" belongs to an higher class: the class of book written by talented, professional teachers. In this book, every single feature of Perl is clearly explained in detail. You can find simple, clear, meaningful and reusable examples of every element of the language. The book is clearly structured and it is easy to find what you need. The author demonstrates a clear understanding of the human learning process, besides a clear dominance of the Perl language. You can follow him trustfully and relaxed: he will tell you what you need to know, without overloading and confusing you with irrelevant details. If you are looking for your first (and last) book on Perl, this is the best you can find on the market.
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