This is a book for intermediate to expert. It is full of terms that even those familiar with Final Cut Pro 3 will not understand, and makes no concessions for any lack of knowledge. The writers leap from one topic to another with no imaginable plan. When they miss out important details (and everyone makes mistakes) it leaves you high and dry. Instead of a carefully thought out progression of ideas from simple to complex, its place are a couple of freewheelin', wisecrackin' guys who see education as something for squares and fun as a priority. It attempts to give the details in the form of a stand-up act, just when you don't want one. Imagine Les Dennis telling you how to operate a fire extinguisher when your house is burning down. The style is similar to the "Dummies" series, only even more grating.
When they put the whoopee cushion down for five minutes, they're brilliant. The sections on effects and filters is well worth the book price alone.
Clearly, the publishers think all NLE editors are 21 year olds who use the word "cool" 8000 times a day, walk around with their backsides hanging out of their pants, an ironic baseball cap on thier heads and brain full of pop culture references. Granted, that accounts for about 95% of editors, but when is someone going to write a book that can actually be read by humans ?
