GIMP Bible

I thought that buying this for my Kindle instead of a paperback would be a good idea because the Kindle could sit flat in front of me when using GIMP and work as an ancillary to the help system. In addition, the Kindle could be read as a reference book to help me fall asleep (I know, sounds stupid, but it works for me). Bad idea. This is my first attempt to use the Kindle with a "Reference Book" and I 'm sure it won't happen again. The paperback edition of this book is 9 by 7 inches. My "Keyboard" Kindle screen is 5 by 3.5 inches - which means that you only have about 25% of the viewing area of the "real" book. You can get away with this for text but pictures are difficult and grayscale reprints of computer menus become almost impossible to read. Frankly, I now think that the only way to make this size Kindle functional in a "critical reading" or studying application would be a (software?) change which would let the Kindle be rotated 90 degrees to get a larger image - sort of like an iPhone. Anyway - there goes one star.The other major fault is the lack of color pictures, Shame on any publisher who prints a reference work on image editing without color printing. It just doesn't work well. Perhaps the CD which accompanies the paperback version addresses this issue - I can't say. However - it's for sure that there is no excuse for not having color in a Kindle version - even if it could only be viewed in Kindle on my desktop. Ka-ching! There goes another star.Finally - I'm going to dock this last star because whatever is on the CD mentioned above, they chose to make it unavailable for the electronic (Kindle) version! Why? You were already transmitting a few Megabytes of data for quite a few dollars - couldn't you have transmitted a bit more at virtually no cost? Never mind - I'm going to return the Kindle version to Amazon to get my $18 back, then have a beer (or two) while I think long and hard about replacing it with a (Black & White only) paperback edition.Edit 4/26/12: It would be nice to eventually outgrow being an idiot. The Kindle CAN be used in the sideways orientation, it is done thru the Aa (fonts) key. So - probably this would not be so bad on the Kindle if it was enlarged in this way. Already sent it back, so it's too late to discover the truth now. I'm kicking this to 3 stars to correct MY error. Ordered the printed copy yesterday, so I'll soon know if it includes that DVD/CD.Edit 7/10/12: There is no CD with the printed copy, so I'm kicking back that 4th star. Still no color pictures in the Kindle or print edition - a major error IMHO. I bought two other books on GIMP, so I'm pretty self-sufficient now. I do wish there was an Android version, since I now spend more time on the ASUS Tablet than my laptop. Oh well.

Before you purchase this guide, ask yourself how serious you are and how much time you are willing to invest in learning the GIMP process. This is not a cheat sheet. It is definitely a Bible of work. There is an enormous amount of information presented in the GIMP Bible. This is both the good news and the bad. Not for the faint of heart, this massive volume can be intimidating. I cannot stress enough that this is a serious and involved look at what GIMP offers and should be considered a text book.The same things that make this an overwhelming text make it also a valuable resource. Like a massive dictionary or encyclopedia, the GIMP Bible offers a mountain of information at your fingertips. Most, maybe all, of the information can be found online, and most of us utilize online tutorials. However, if you like to have a paper copy you can turn to, like I do, this book gives you instant access to more answers about GIMP than you realized you had questions for.I do have one major complaint in the use of B&W images in the examples. (Really???) They're absolutely a useless waste of ink in most cases. I understand that color images would have cost more to print, but considering the instructional purpose of the image content, it would have been nice to be able to actually see what the examples needed to show.I can't give this volume less than 4 stars, because the information is vast. The author's attention to detail is admirable.I can't give it 5 stars, because the textbook layout is sometimes stress-inducing and the images are basically worthless.Buy this book at once if you are committed to studying the ins and outs of GIMP. Buy it if you want a physical reference to supplement what you already know. If you prefer a quick and easy-to-understand answer with glossy, color image aids...save yourself the money and look up a topic specific video tutorial online.

GIMP Bible is overwhelming, but not invincibly so for a beginner. It's like the old question, "How do you eat an elephant?". You eat it one bite at a time, and so it has been for me with this book. I bought the hard copy but almost regret not buying digital. I say that because as I read I write myself notes about how I might use something for my project or in general. Kindle and other electronic book formats are rich with notes search capabilities. I miss them in this instance. Sorry, just a personal musing. The book is very basic in its structure, and prior to buying it, I noted some of the criticisms in reviews complaining that the book was repetitious. I can understand the criticism IF you are a graphic artist professional as you want to move quickly to specific techniques/capabilities. I was looking to be educated which this does in a five star manner. The repetition is intentional so that your absorption of concept and jargon is being continually reinforced as you progress to more and more complex features and concepts. And be sure to open GIMP and practice those features as you read about them. It will help you to reinforce learning and ensure that your grasp of the material is complete. Clearly I'm a fan!

I bought this although there were no other reviews at the time - just to see what it was like. I also bought another GIMP book at the same time which I really like, but this one disappoints me.It's hard to be hard but ...The illustrations are in B&W which is ridiculous for a book about colour image processing; in many cases it is impossible to even imagine what the authors are trying to illustrate.The links to the web site which supplements the book don't work!!The style is dry - it's hard work and doesn't make you want to keep reading. I believe that this is because the authors have fallen into the trap of describing/explaining what the software does rather than how you can do what you want to do _with_ the software. Sadly, I have written several software instruction manuals that also fell into this trap - and I was told by my customers how unhelpful they found them.The book is detailed and contains plenty of information and I am sure I will find it useful for reference, but I cannot recommend it as a first book on GIMP or to learn how to use GIMP.

Awesome book, gives excellent references easy to understand. Love this book.

Arrived as required. Thanks.

This is an excellent reference book for GIMP. It does what it says on the tin what more could you ask thanks KM

This is an excellent reference book. I can't imagine that anyone would read it cover to cover, but every function in GIMP is described an explained in detail, in an easy to understand language.