Rating: 
Summary: very useful book
Review: I bought the book and it taught me skills I lacked. As a result I created designs that were widely accepted and loved.
Gary Bouton managed to cover tremendous grounds in very friendly manner. The book is huge and I read it here and there not whole. Almost all sections are self-suffitient but NOT redundant even when some steps were repeated. I am giving it all 5 because I benefited from it greatly - how better can it be?
Rating:
Summary: Bravo! Excellent source of Photoshop 7 information
Review: "Inside Photoshop 7" is one of the most complete and still approachable books on Photoshop available. It is well organized with the core topics at the beginning of the book followed by specific areas of interest. For example, you might want to move from the core concepts to the section for photographers, or to the section for artists, or the section for the web. The choice of how to proceed is up to you and your interests.This is Gary Bouton's 13th book on Photoshop. To say that he has learned not only the details of the program but also how to impart that knowledge to a reader is an understatement. Throughout the book he explains what he is trying to accomplish with a project, how he is going to accomplish it and then walks you through the process. The end effect is that you actually learn how to use Photoshop 7 to create the effects that you want. Feature rich and full of examples, it covers the basic and advances features of Photoshop 7 in detail. Complex concepts are explained in detail in a very easy to understand writing style. If you want to become a Photoshop expert this is the place to start. A highly recommended read.
Rating: 
Summary: Several Areas of Omission
Review: Alot of material in this book. As a new user of Photoshop I followed several of the step by step explanations only to find there were some steps missing in going from A to B, and incorrect reference to Figures that were used for reference (particularly in Chapter 9). I found this very annoying. When you pick up on the errors the authors attempt at humor then really falls short. Maybe this is a good overall book on a very complex piece of software but I had nothing else to compare it to. I hope there is something better out there or I believe many beginners will give up on Photoshop. I gave up on this book. Again, because of some step omissions the beginner may find himself scratching his head as to what to do. I had to play with the images to find out it wasn't my lack of understanding but poor editing of examples.
Rating:
Summary: Several Areas of Omission
Review: Alot of material in this book. As a new user of Photoshop I followed several of the step by step explanations only to find there were some steps missing in going from A to B, and incorrect reference to Figures that were used for reference (particularly in Chapter 9). I found this very annoying. When you pick up on the errors the authors attempt at humor then really falls short. Maybe this is a good overall book on a very complex piece of software but I had nothing else to compare it to. I hope there is something better out there or I believe many beginners will give up on Photoshop. I gave up on this book. Again, because of some step omissions the beginner may find himself scratching his head as to what to do. I had to play with the images to find out it wasn't my lack of understanding but poor editing of examples.
Rating:
Summary: Good for all but especially for those interested in 3D apps!
Review: Bouton has done it again! He is masterful with Photoshop and unique in the clear way he goes through the tutorials included in the book (which it is full of). Whenever he gives an instruction that needs clarification there is an image included that is large enough to read which is not always the case. Not only can you see what area of the program Mr. Bouton is talking about in any particular tutorial but there are also arrows pointing to the important parts of the screen. Not only are the tutorials clear and easy to follow but Mr. Bouton has a fun, easy to read style so you will remember the procedures, even if you are reading it away from your computer. The other great thing about this book that makes it stand out from others is Mr. Bouton's love for 3D graphics. He takes the time to show you how to use Photoshop with other programs to create very professional 3D graphics. Leslie
Rating:
Summary: What an amazing piece of work.
Review: Gary Burton and 5 contributors have put together a comprehensive step by step reference guide to Photoshop 7.0. The book is well thought out with practical tutorials in a user friendly format and in such a way that anyone can follow along. My reference to this being a "reference guide" is demonstrated in part one, for instance, the author gives you a detailed list of definitions of Photoshop's Blending Modes and throughout the book this same practice is applied. In part two you're guided through Photoshop's Core Concepts such as, Preferences, understanding Photoshop's Color System Management and the importance of Scratch Disks and so much more. I could simply go on and on, as there is so much valuable information in this book. To top it off, on the accompanying CD ROM are, resource files for the chapters examples, a inside Photoshop e-glossary, fonts, textures, tiles and 6 software demos. All in all, the author makes sure you walk away with a deeper understanding of how the application works, along with being able to create, touch up, restore and materialize digital imagery like never before. This is a must have!
Rating:
Summary: Best I've seen
Review: Granted I'm just starting to get my feet wet but this is the best book I've come across so far. The Classroom in a book series is good to start out with but to get really in depth, this is where to go. Unlike the Bible series, it gives you excercises and shows you what the tools are supposed to accomplish. I've talked to old pros of photoshop and they swear by it and as a rookie, I swear by it. I just wish a book like this existed for the other programs I'm working on. Can you tell I like it?
Rating: 
Summary: You can't be all things to all people
Review: I bought this book based on rave reviews, and was sorely disppointed.
1. The book tries to be all things to all people, and the author does own up to this in the introduction, stating that "...we're talking a core of reference chapters surrounded by parts in the book which appeal to different audiences." Beginners will be frustrated in that there is no overview describing the Photoshop GUI environment, unclear instructional detail, and lack of a clear instructional path through this weighty tome, and more advanced users will be bogged down by the verbiage, redundancy, unclear instructional detail, and missing contextual explanations of why the learner is doing the steps given.
2. Yes, the writing style is "approachable," "casual," and "fun," but I prefer a less weighty book (literally) that gets to the point. The Hands-On-Training books are a good example of this approach. I don't have time for silly jokes ("Make two-toned bananas by detailing the ends with green. They will also stay fresher this way") and overly informal writing ("No sense in hangin' around now").
3. There are very few illustrations and screen shots to display the tool references and steps, and those that exist are too small, requiring the reader to physically move the book closer and squint. This isn't easy with a 1000-page book.
4. The organization of the information lacks logical progression, and information is repeated throughout the book. For example, the author gives a detailed accounting of the layer and paint modes, taking 3 1/2 pages, in Chapter 1, and essentially repeats it in Chapter 4. It really shouldn't be in Chapter 1, which is aimed at beginners, as it just gets in the way of working through that chapter. As an intermediate user of Photoshop, I had hoped to find a book that went beyond the basics, giving good explanations not for just how things work, but when and why to use them, along with good working, interactive examples. This book has a ton of information, as previous reviewers pointed out, but it's not clearly enough designed for me to bother with it, except as an additional reference. I will need to look further.
Rating: 
Summary: Call it a B+, ahead of Adobe's Classroom in A Book
Review: I can't quite go the whole 5 stars on this. The reason is that as an artist, I really do appreciate a colorful, extremely visual book on this kind of subject. This book is more in line with a traditional textbook. The text is almost entirely delivered in black and white but there is a CD-ROM to liven things up. This text's main ace in the hole though is that it is extremely well written while having a TON of information you will need for in depth penetration into this most complex program. If that is what you need, this is the book. I notice it is sold at my college as a reference work. I think it would work extremely well as a text, much better than "Visual Quick Start to Photoshop" used by my college (absolutely terrible) and better even than Adobe's own "Classroom In a Book" (previously reviewed). If I were just starting Photoshop, I would start with the "Learn Photoshop Visually Book" (previously reviewed) and then I'd use as my main 2 books, to go deeper into the program, the "Photoshop Wow" book (previously reviewed) and this book. I believe that you could go awfully far with these 3 books, these latter two having CD-ROMs to aid you. I also can't recommend highly enough that you add onto having these 3 books, signing up at the free Online Adobe Expert Center for free online tutorials and the fabulous free online users' forum. I've picked up some tips at the users' forum that are in no book. I consider "Classroom in a Book" optional to these others but worth having if your budget allows. Another fabulous resource is the Photoshop magazine, fully visual, in full color, with full tutorials. I buy mine at Borders but really should subscribe to it. I suppose a text that looked like this magazine is out of the question due to prohibitive color reproduction cost. Too bad as that would really be something.
Rating:
Summary: Not as advanced as I hoped it to be !
Review: I read all the reviews about this book and was sure I hit gold - but This is a very big book with very little to offer in tricks and knowledge. The best example would be the lack of any important info regarding Layer Sets - I searched the book and found that it does not tell you how to avoid the effect adjustments layers ,when applied to nested layers, have on the external layers below them (the answer is to avoid the pass through blending mode which is not even mentioned in the book). All I know about PS is from FREE video tutorials you may find on the net and some written ones. Save the money and get some Pizza.
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