Unlike some people, I found this book to be very readable, which in my opinion makes it an excellent choice to start off your anesthesia training with. I found that it offers a quick run-through of most topics. Unfortunately, I haven't opened this book since I finished my first year. Instead I go to the more detailed texts. I'm not sure about studying for the boards from it. It doesn't seem to me like it has enough information. But anyways, I think that it's a great introduction and I have to say that it helped me many, many times during my first few months in anesthesia. I would buy this book again.