Rating: 

I've been using OS X since it was initially released, and reading the Mac web sites and Apple discussion groups all that time. I wouldn't have had to, if I'd had this book available from the start; and even so, I've learned new features from reading it.

The book is worth reading all the way through, and fortunately the writing is readable enough to make that a pleasure rather than a chore. It isn't really comprehensive -- after all, some of the chapters here (such as AppleScript, or using the Unix shell from the terminal) deserve, and have, whole books to themselves -- but it's surprising how much useful information is conveyed even on those subjects.

This comes very close to being a perfect book. It is easily worth the price!