You might miss the main points of the subject reading only this book. It is comprehensive in scope but lacks insightful explanations so that major concepts don't appear clearly. The overview chapters at the beginning confuse rather than orient the reader.As someone who has done technical writing for a commercial software package I recognize this as the first draft which covers the material but has yet to be rewritten in a way that will best orient the new user. I expect more given the high prices of technical books since I paid $52!As a student I certainly disagree with what the instructors who give the book a 5 have to say about the book! No I am not countering with a one. The book is a classic 1 or 2.