Rating: 
Summary: It was Latex, when we had no Word
Review: LATEX, or TEX before, was the main way to create propper looking printed papers at the universities. Many of the LATEX users have since moved to Microsoft Word (with Endnotes). Nevertheless, LATEX makes it possible to create great documents from an ascii editor. There is also a small programm called lyx, now also klyx, which is a wysiwyg editor, which produces LATEX output.This particular LATEX book is by written by the creator of LATEX, which rests, of course, above Knuths TEX. One can learn and look up LATEX in this book very well. It starts from scratch and makes one capable of creating medium complex documents. Still, one needs "The LATEX Companion", as well, which has double the size on goes into all the details needed for profesional work with LATEX.
Rating:
Summary: I like to see you wear LaTeX
Review: LaTeX. It's pronounced LAY-TEK. Leslie Lamport made LaTeX. LaTeX is a macro package based on Donald Knuth's TeX. TeX is pronounced TEK. Donald Knuth is of no relation to Donald Duck. What more can be said. This book is the reference book for LaTeX users. Sure it's old, and there have been many packages added on to LaTeX since this book has been written. But most other references can be got for free, since there is a high correlation between LaTeX users and Linux people. So to sum up, this is the only LaTeX book you'll ever need to buy. (You can all the other ones for free.) This book good.
Rating:
Summary: I like to see you wear LaTeX
Review: LaTeX. It's pronounced LAY-TEK. Leslie Lamport made LaTeX. LaTeX is a macro package based on Donald Knuth's TeX. TeX is pronounced TEK. Donald Knuth is of no relation to Donald Duck. What more can be said. This book is the reference book for LaTeX users. Sure it's old, and there have been many packages added on to LaTeX since this book has been written. But most other references can be got for free, since there is a high correlation between LaTeX users and Linux people. So to sum up, this is the only LaTeX book you'll ever need to buy. (You can all the other ones for free.) This book good.
Rating: 
Summary: Handling LaTeX made easier!
Review: Leslie Lamport helps you to become familiar with LaTeX in an easy, fast, step by step fashion. Like the title indicates, it is both a guide (which is easy to understand) and a reference manual, which is the real power of the book and makes it a good long-term investment.
Rating: 
Summary: An indispensable reference, but...
Review: Leslie Lamport's second edition of the Latex manual is helpful, concise, and puts ideas first; it's a great book for the TeX beginner. All essentially topics are covered quickly, in an engaging style. However, it has two drawbacks. First, the reference section is cryptic and confusing; I recommend keeping the Latex Companion handy for detailed explanations and examples. Second, too many useful things are left unsaid. For instance, nowhere in this book is it stated that \to is a built-in abbreviation for the clumsy command \rightarrow (the arrow in A -> B); most users waste time making their own abbreviation, such as \ra. But \to is right there in the Latex source, it's simply not documented in this manual. The MakeIndex appendix explains the \index command in detail, but omits to mention the \glossary command (you'll find it in paragraph C.11.5 of the reference section, if you're desperate). The all-important business of add-on "packages", which allow endless customizations of the standard Latex styles, is dealt with in only one or two pages. And so on... The manual doesn't tell the reader that its style conventions are not obligatory. Thus, curly brackets are pervasive: to type a subscripted list of variables, the book suggests $x_{1},\ldots,x_{n}$. It takes quite a while for the beginner to realize that $x_1,\dots,x_n$ works just as well (and gives the same result). A simple explanation of what is an "input token" would save users a lot of time and trouble. Final answer? You'll need this book: it's a good book, and it's authorative, correct and concise. But if you need to know more than the basics, make sure you also have the Latex Companion.
Rating:
Summary: A canonical classic
Review: Much like K&R's "C Programming Language", economy (and precision) of words characterize this book. There's little fat or fluff in this slim volume but is packed with usable information. And, as one might expect, it is beautifully typeset. Don't let the aging copyright deter you, if you're serious about document processing, this is one book you need to add to your collection. Thanks to Lamport, I have used LaTeX to prepare professional-quality documenation giving little (if any) thought to how it looks so that I can concentrate on clarity and content.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the whole Document Preparation System
Review: One would expect a lot more for the price of this book. Instead of being a comprehensive guide or even complete introduction to LaTeX, this book is a nearly cursory introduction. Commands and options are not described in detail, leaving a lot of guesswork in doing simple tasks like laying out equations, including an abstract, or including graphics. How to program your own environments is left for the Latex Companion. The reference section in the back is poorly laid out and missing quite a bit of information. The book is a good introduction for those who have never used LaTeX but gives very little for one's money; books on other computer-related topics, from C to HTML tend to be more comprehensive. I'd recommend this book only because there aren't many basic introductions to LaTeX in existence.
Rating:
Summary: Not the whole Document Preparation System
Review: One would expect a lot more for the price of this book. Instead of being a comprehensive guide or even complete introduction to LaTeX, this book is a nearly cursory introduction. Commands and options are not described in detail, leaving a lot of guesswork in doing simple tasks like laying out equations, including an abstract, or including graphics. How to program your own environments is left for the Latex Companion. The reference section in the back is poorly laid out and missing quite a bit of information. The book is a good introduction for those who have never used LaTeX but gives very little for one's money; books on other computer-related topics, from C to HTML tend to be more comprehensive. I'd recommend this book only because there aren't many basic introductions to LaTeX in existence.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing purchase
Review: Seems to be an okay resource for people just getting started. However it is completely inadequate as a reference. Better resources are available on the internet for free.
Rating:
Summary: must-have LaTeX introduction
Review: This book is a really good LaTeX introduction for every unix user who doesn't care or is fed up with wysiwyg word processors. In my opinion this is a must-have for every Unix user who is writing articles, reports, or books.
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