Illustrator 10 Shop Manual

Rating:
Summary: The Only Illustrator Book Worth Owning
Review: For some reason, books on Adobe Illustrator are always terrible: they either pander to new users, recycle out-of-date content, or rehash the same boring techniques as every other book. Steve Kurth's Illustrator 10 Shop Manual puts the competition to shame, digging deeper in a single page than the other hacks do in a whole chapter.

Kurth has actually documented EVERY LAST feature in the program, down to the tiniest checkmark in each dialog box. He understands how I need to use the software, and offers the most specific and helpful advice I've ever seen.

A perfect example: a designer in my company needed to convert all the shapes of an expanded gradient from CMYK values to a single spot ink. If you think you know the answer, guess again -- it's not as easy as it sounds, and I've used Illustrator professionally for 8 years. The Shop Manual gave me an answer in less than five minutes.

And that's the key -- notice how I said "it gave me the answer," and not "I found the answer." No book could ever predict the above scenario and give clear-cut steps to the reader -- and that's why the others fail. Because it covers so much so well, the Shop Manual actually LEADS you to the connections you need, using Kurth's experience and a surprisingly intelligent layout.

I bought two copies: one for work, and one for home.

Rating:
Summary: essential pro reference
Review: I find these shop manual books amongst the most useful in my bookshelf. For an experinced user most often all that you need is to quickly look up the features and settings of a particuliar tool or dialog box.
This is a complete reference manual to the whole package, forgotten how to do something it will be in here somewhere. There is also a useful how-to section at the back covering common techniques.
These books make a designers life soo much easier.

Rating:
Summary: The only manual you'll ever need!
Review: In a word: Magnificent! Kurth's book provides all the guidance one will ever need on Illustrator. Easy to use, very comprehensive, step-by-step guide that is equally valuable for novices and professionals alike. I've read many computer books in my time, but this is by far the most valuable. It never leaves my side. At the risk of spewing hyperbole, a veritable godsend.

Rating:
Summary: The only pure reference for Adobe Illustrator
Review: Steve Kurth's Illustrator 10 Shop Manual is the only pure reference for Adobe Illustrator and it includes an exhaustive, "user friendly" cross-referencing of related functions and topics. Illustrator 10 Shop Manual comes in two parts: pure reference and extensive appendices. The main text covers every aspect of the Illustrator X interface, following the same structure established for the Photoshop 6 Shop Manual. Illustrator 10 Shop Manual is a welcome and invaluable contribution to the Adboe Illustrator reference shelf and is especially recommended for the novic.

Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: There's not much to say: I picked it up off the shelf, everything I needed to know is in there and it's easy to use. Simple praise, but rare praise indeed for today's often obtuse computer manuals.

Rating:
Summary: Good Illustrator book
Review: This book is very good. I read it and learned a lot about the program. No nonsense. Later, I ask him questoin from his web site and he knew the answer right away. I look forward to other books by the author