This book is ideally suited for those who are still using table based layouts. If you are familiar with tables and want a smooth transition to table free layouts, that are easy to manage, this book is a must have.
Coming from a background of using table layouts and a bit of CSS, mostly for fonts, I found that the writing style of the author was very clear. In particular, I like that the author writes a code snippet, explains it, demonstrates it, then as he progresses, repeats the process pulling all the snippets together to render the final / polished results. I only had to refer back to a previous chapter just a few times, when tackling a new topic.
In reality, it took about 4-5 days to complete the book -- that is reading the book in its entirety, something as a programmer, I rarely do, skipping about finding only what applies to me. You will need to read the entire book to get a full understanding of CSS because each section throughout the chapters builds upon each other.
The book does discuss when it is acceptable to use tables in VERY rare situations; mainly when working with tabular data. The only section I had difficulty with was the different types of positioning, static, fixed, absolute and relative. I had to do a re-read several times, with patience, but I got a grasp on it -- a topic that is completely confusing to covey for any author.
I would also recommend that if you decide to purchase this book, go ahead and buy Pro CSS Techniques, as you will need it for more advanced issues, such as dealing with browser quirks, hacks and filters. Buying them together will save you some time. In addition, the Pro CSS Techniques books flows much better with the Beginning CSS Web Development than the CSS Mastery (Advanced Web Standards Solutions) Book.
In conclusion, if you are serious about learning CSS fast, have a little HTML under your belt, and can spare 4-5 days going through the book, you can't go wrong. I highly recommend this book. You can also download the full source from the author's site; in addition, you can download the entire book in electronic format for $10 (limited time) once you purchase the physical book.
On a side note, I did not find any errors in the book -- it was well edited.
Again, highly recommended. Great work Simon!