At Christmas I was given two books on Photoshop CS3.
1) Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Photographers + DVD by Martin Evening
Focal Press ISBN-13:978-0-240-52028-5 Cost £29.99
2) The Adobe Photoshop CS3 book for Photographers by Scott Kelby
New Riders ISBN-13:978-0-321-5-191-2 Cost £30.99
Both came through Amazon and were cheaper.
I know that both are regarded as good teaching aids for Photoshop, but having been going through them for a month I thought I might try and compare them.
To start with, both are very well written but I prefer Kelby's style to Evening's - it is easier to follow. In this comment I will refer to them by the initials of the authors so number 1 will be book "ME" and number 2 will be book "SK".
The "ME" book contains the most detailed explanations and the accompanying DVD has examples, found in the book, to practice and work on. It is however not the easiest book to learn from. His website for the book however is continually being updated and very useful. It includes the latest RAW convertors and notes on their use.
LINK here:
http://www.photoshopforphotographers...cs3/index2.htm
Not recommended for absolute beginners.
The "SK" book is a lot easier and his language is more user friendly. It has a very deprecating style - more like a friend guiding you through. Although Scott Kelby does not go as deep as Martin Evening this is definitely a book that will give you an appetite to move on to Evening's book once you have mastered the Kelby basics.
Recommended for beginners even those moving from CS, CS2 or earlier versions of Photoshop.
Kelby's web site is also useful - Link Here:
http://www.scottkelby.com/
Hope this helps
Andy Miller