Rating: 
Summary: This book could actually make someone a hacker
Review: This is the best Perl book for impatient programmers. After going through the sample chapters, I'm inclined to recommend this even over the Blue Llama book. Well, only to someone who has the old Llama. Joseph and Randal have taken the years of knowledge they've gained and distilled them into a strong set of clever tricks that show Perl at its best. Several functions under-explained by the Camel and Llama are allowed to shine here. They can open the eyes of anyone who wondered if Perl wasn't just an easier, text-oriented companion to C. Joseph has wondered on his web page what the nickname for this book might be, perhaps "the shiny ball book." I'd suggest "the non-O'Reilly book."
Rating:
Summary: Very Helpful
Review: Very useful tips and techniques. Whether you need help dealing with Perl's "idiosyncrasies" or making your Perl code run more efficiently, you'll love this book.
Rating: 
Summary: lightweight
Review: Well written, succinct, no fat. Material is too simple for CS or Perl experts or for advanced readers who want a deeper look under the covers. Covers a broad swath of perl issues in a very shallow manner. Pricy for the skinny size of the book -- I read it over 4 days before going to bed. Not much of a reference. Good starting point for many ideas and other more specialized books and online docs. I wanted to give it 3*. But I am not the intended audience since I have nearly 10 years of professional experience in Perl. I wish I borrowed a copy or read it in the book store. For someone with 6 months to 2 years of Perl experience it could be a good book to kick you up to the next level of Perl.
Rating: 
Summary: Not always clear
Review: Well, even though I rate this book only 3 stars, I do think it belongs to the shelf of any serious Perl programmer. (Of course, don't just let it sit there; read it!) I think the emphasis here is it's useful only for the *serious* Perl person, as it contains lots of in-depth discussion on the nitty-gritty details of Perl's idiosyncratic personalities.
The reason I don't like the book as much as I thought I would is things are not explained clearly much of the time. Take the chapter on references for example. While the authors include lots of examples, the explanation of how nested references work is just confusing. Granted, this is a nasty concept to grasp, but I expected something clearer. Instead they just say "oh this looks ugly", which is not helpful. BTW, if you are pulling your hair out over references like I am, the Dumper pragma (not the dump function) is extremely helpful. (Unfortunately, it's not mentioned in this book, nor in the camel book).
Rating:
Summary: Ready to take Perl to the next level?
Review: What do you read after the "blue camel book?" Either the "owl book" or Effective Perl Programming by Hall and Schwartz. This reference provides the intermediate Perl programmer with important tools for thinking about Perl on the next technically difficult and complex level. You will be able to write object orientated code, debug your programs, and understand what goes on "behind the scenes" when using some Perl syntax. A great book to have on hand along with the FAQs, man pages, "blue camel", and "owl book."
Rating:
Summary: VERY EFFECTIVE, VERY VERY EFFECTIVE!!!
Review: WHEN"S THE NEXT ONE COMING OUT!!!! This book is excellent. I want the author to sign my book. When is he coming to my town and having a signing, better yet when is the moving coming out, I'll put my vote in for an oscar.
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