BusinessObjects XI (Release 2): The Complete Reference (ISBN 0072262656)

Wretched:
I bought the book hoping to get a sound overview of BusinessObjects - what it is, how it works, and how to use it. Instead, I found a combination of marketing gibberish and user documentation that has been recycled and updated so many times that it no longer makes any sense. This book might be useful for folks who already know some version of BusinessObjects and are looking for a refresher. But if you're trying to learn what BusinessObjects is all about, this book is a very expensive waste of money.

The Completely Useless as a Reference That is Really a Primer:
I can see that a lot of work went into this book and it does a pretty good job of explaining Business Objects at a high level. This is a good book for you if you are tentative about working with computers and don't expect to do intermediate or advanced work with Business Objects. The notion that this book is a 'reference' or can replace a manual is completely off base. This book is a 'primer' not a reference. Any topic that is easily addressable through discussing the GUI is handled, but only for obvious cases. The function reference is incomplete and poorly documented. Insightful examples that make you think, "Oh, that's how you do X (where X is anything nontrivial)" are not found in this book. The kind of situations you will likely encounter if you want to create reports for a real business, are not handled. In these cases you are left to your own devices.

Business Objects Reference:
If you are new to Business Objects and need a good understanding of what Business objects does and can do then this is an excellent book. Where I work we have purchased several copies of this book. Doesn't go into tremendous detail on how to do some of the more complicated concepts of Business Objects but is more than enough to get you started.

did not receive my book yet:
did not receive my book (Business Objects XI Release 2) yet. I want my money back...

Realy a complete reference:
I am new to BO, so sometimes I am lost in the hoge numbe of possibitities, with this book I get on the road again. It helped me a lot in designing universes and reports. It is easy to find the right solution.