Rating: 

In general, Learning Cocoa is a great way to discover what the Mac OS X development experience is like. If you are new to Cocoa, I strongly recommend that you consider this book as your starting point. Not only is the writing in Learning Cocoa clear (a rarity in the technical publishing world), but it is also fun to read. The programming examples gradually move you from simple tools to a remarkably sophisticated application. Once you have completed all the tutorials within the book, you will easily be able to see how they could be applied to your own, specific needs. All the important APIs are introducted and you are encouraged to explore on your own.

My few problems with the book are as follows. The programming examples, while good, are taken from the old NeXT/Apple OPENSTEP documentation for the most part. If you have done Currency Converter, Travel Advisor, and To Do Item before, then you aren't going to see much that is new. I was hoping to see new tutorials that would reveal parts of the API I hadn't yet discovered. In addition, I was hoping the book would present Cocoa in a more comprehensive way. An "Appendix B" listing major Cocoa classes/protocols and their associated methods would be nice, in my opinion, as a reference that could be used while reading the book. I realize this stuff is documented within the development environment ... but you can't whip out your laptop on the subway! :-)