First let me say that I'm a big Chad Perkins fan. His books and especially his video training series are great. You can't help but love his enthusiasm and depth of knowledge. So I eagerly snapped this book up when I was faced with a project that required me to do a lot of special effects that I basically had no clue how to do. This seemed like the perfect book for that.
Well, after having it a while, and reading some of the sections, I have kind of mixed feelings. What I was really hoping for was a good reference. A book that I could keep on my bookshelf and when I wanted to figure out how to use a certain effect in After Effects, I'd look up that effect in the appendix, turn to the chapter, and read what the various knobs mean and how to effectively use it. Sadly, it's not really that kind of book. It is well organized, and it contains a lot of good information. But when you look up an effect, instead of getting a very concise explanation of how it works and what the knobs do, Chad give you more of "here's one way you can use it".
Anyhow, decent book, I'm glad that I got it. Reading through the chapters is interesting and instructive, but I'm still left looking for an ideal reference manual to the effects in After Effects.