Rating: 

This should not be your first programming book (a caveat the authors have mentioned in their introduction) as it does assume some familiarity with programming concepts. It can, however, be your first PHP book as its thorough "See Also" sections provide ample reference to the PHP Docs and Manual.

I read this book from cover-to-cover without ever getting bored (but maybe I'm strange). Thankfully the internet was constantly available because if you're a noob like I was you'll probably find yourself looking up all the function references as you read through the book.