Rating: 
Summary: Come on folks, it's better than that!
Review: This book is one of the best on Adobe Illustrator that you'll find anywhere. I know - I've searched. This book has a great mix of basic information for the beginner, more complex tools and tricks for the advanced user, and technical information that everyone should know. Not to mention it's yet another gorgeous book from Peachpit! The digital artists showcased in this book are world-class, so spend some time inside their heads. There is a reason why they are world-class. Any book cannot be all things to all readers, but the Illustrator 9 WOW! Book does a hell of a job trying!
Rating: 
Summary: A waste of time and money
Review: This book is so useless that I feel compelled to write a review to warn others to stay away from this book. A good tutorial should inspire the user on what he/she can do with the product. This book leads you to believe that without talent, the only thing you can do with Illustrator is to draw circles and squares. The book is a disservice to both the reader and to Adobe Illustrator.
Rating: 
Summary: Is it me? No, it's the book.
Review: This book looks fantastic. However, the more you read, the less information is there. I was particularly intrigued with the title of the chapter "The Zen of Illustrator" until I discovered that it was a cleverly named "intro to Adobe Illustrator" chapter. That chapter was the most useful in the book, although I got much more from the Illustrator for Dummies book (which was also much clearer, and had better examples).The rest of the book is just filler. Where are the detailed step by step examples? I don't care what's going on in these artists' heads, I want to know exactly HOW they did this stuff in Illustrator. Disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Not Particularly Helpful.
Review: This is one of those books that looks great on the shelf, and seems like a can't-miss. But when you get it home and crack it open, it really doesn't help you to learn. Much of the problem is the book's approach. Much of the book is essentially a good-looking elaboration upon the manual. I find that you really don't learn anything by reading lists of commands and features. You learn by following tutorials and doing. This book has comparatively few tutorials, and those that it has are fairly sketchy. Many of the illustrations are nice. I would have traded everything else away for, say, 5 extremely in-depth tutorials on how to recreate 5 of the most complex, attractive pictures in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Uninspiring
Review: This just didn't get my creative juices flowing. I was also disappointed in the number of sections on new 9 features.
Rating:
Summary: Illustrator 9 WOW... Editors' Choice Award
Review: Within twenty minutes of receiving the Illustrator 9 WOW! Book the editors at Design-Bookshelf.com registered full approval for an Editors' Choice! ... The Peachpit WOW books are always a joy to see, but this time Sharon Steuer has taken WOW to new heights. We find 9 WOW to fill the gaps from basic transparency lessons to negotiating the new layers palette to be superb... even where Classroom and other heavily marketed Illustrator books fall short. However, besides the excellent instruction and well planned tutorials, Sharon always presents the information with a kind, human touch. You find yourself savoring each page again and again. The information is presented beautifully too. No pulp paper here -- WOW is lavishly printed in full color on heavy, opaque, coated stock and you get the full visual impact of what Illustrator is really capable of. On a final note, the first thing I did was shave the spine off, and drill for 3-ring binder use at my desk... a second copy is on the way for the coffee table at home! BRAVO Peachpit... another blockbuster WOW book!
Rating:
Summary: Frustrating, and ultimately not that useful
Review: Wow, how did they do that? Don't look for answers here. Nothing like showing some great Illustrator artwork and then not taking it apart piece by piece. Instead of how to, this is more like lookee-see.
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