[.ca] How to Cheat in Photoshop CS3: The art of creating ... (ISBN 0240520629)

Even better then the previous editions!:
Although it has CS3 as part of the title, this is a very useful book for any Photoshop version that you may own. The basic requirements are that you know yur way around Photoshop. This is not a "learn by going through menus" type of book. I found that going through the frist few chapters (covering Selections) was a minimum requirements. After that you can go and jump from one 2 page tutorial to the other. It is simply written, not pretencious at all, by (obviously) a pro that has been playing with this software for ages. This book (and previous editions) and the "Friday Challenges" of the forum of the book's website have increased my Photoshop skills hundred fold! No joke! Get this!

Doesn't quite hit the mark....:
Don't get me wrong. This book is filled with useful tips and ideas. The problem I found was the use of the word "photorealistic" in the title. Almost every example shown in the book has problems, and doesn't look quite right. You can tell that the end result has been "played with" in Photoshop. If you want to learn how to do some fun stuff in Photoshop, and you are at a fairly beginner level, then this is the book for you. If you want to be able to manipulate photos so that they are indistinguishable from reality (photorealistic) then the examples in the book won't do it for you. The concepts are solid, and worth knowing. Everyone should learn a thing or two from this book. Buy it, but don't expect too much.