I stumbled on this book at Borders while browsing through a dozen or so
books on the OOA&D, RUP, and the UML. I am not a novice: I have studied the
field and worked in OOA&D for over a decade. I immediately felt that
this book is a treasure: it is the best overview of the OOA&D, RUP, and UML that I have ever read.
While many practitioners have their reasons to favor one approach over
another (RUP, Agile, XP, etc.), this book does not project any bias and
contains the most clear and simple explanation of RUP, its phases, work
flows, and the UML. Its language is enjoyable, the examples are just right
to illustrate the points of discussions. It is not an in depth volume, but
it is thorough enough to teach you about the most important flows and
artifacts, and how to interpret and use them.
If you are tired of reading books filled with vague, useless, and boring
definitions -- try this one. You will not be disappointed.