Best CS3 book

OK, I just installed Photoshop CS3 and am looking for a good book as a companion for it. I am looking for one that is focused more towards digital photographers and also would like one that gets at why you do something instead of just providing a set of steps without saying why--this is a common criticism of Scott Kelby's books. Also I use a PC not a Mac so would rather have a book that is Windows or at least machine independent instead of based on the Mac menus. So what has worked for you and why--Larry

Larry: I recommend that you have a look at Kelby's 7-point system. I think you'll find that he adequately explains why each step should be followed to achieve a specific affect. I also agree with the philosophy behind the book of ingraining in one's head important PS functions through simple repetition. (If Scott is reading this, can I have 10% off my next purchase?). Best Regards.

Not sure where you read that 'common criticism', (certainly not Amazon Customer Reviews), but Scott Kelby's 'CS3 Book for Digital Photographers' is an excellent way to get started. He explains almost all of his steps and why he takes them for the most common 'fixes'. It's how I got started.
After that, I just used free Internet resources (like this 'Image Processing Workflow' at Luminous Landscape and these outstanding tutorials at Ron Bigelow's site) to learn the 'hows' and 'whys' of what I was doing and how to get better at it.

That, and lots of practice!

I should also mention that there are many very good digital darkroom practioners right here who provide lots of help for those just beginning.

Yes, it is in a lot of the online reviews of his books and I noted it myself in his 7-point system book, which immediately made me shy of ordering his CS3 book. I'll see if I can find a copy of it at a local library for a review before I buy it. For a lot of his 7-steps (which really are more like 21 steps) he tells you to enter a number for this or that setting but doesn't explain why or what effect varying it will have. So basically you have several formula for some of the most common problems but really don't know how to deal with situations that differ from the examples--Larry

Take a look at the "Real World" books. Real World Photoshop CS2 is excellent. I don't know if it's been updated for CS3. Real World Image Sharpening goes into great detail on why, how and when to sharpen images. Photoshop CS3 for Nature Photographers is pretty good too.

I agree with John on Scott Kelby's book that he mentioned, although I find that Scott does not explain everything as well as I would like. Overall, though, it is the best book for me and CS3. My 2 cents worth!

http://www.amazon.com/Photoshop-CS3-Nature-Photographers-Workshop/dp/0470119896
I have the one for photohsop CS2 and found it pretty good. You learn all the tools you wil actually need as a nature photographer. So you don't need to learn stuff/tools you will never use.

Deke McClelland's book, Photoshop CS3 One on One, is excellent. It also comes on DVD Rom from Lynda.com. I don't have that DVD but it should be of the same standard as the sharpening, LAB color, and Layers and Masking DVDs I have from Deke. Scott is good, but Deke is where Scott turns to answer difficult questions.

BTW, I can't recommend strongly enough (to all of you) that you join NAPP. If you take advantage of their resources and peer to peer forums I can guarantee that you will go from "deer in the headlights" to Photoshop (and Lightroom) guru in one year.

I like the "Real World" series as well. There is one for color management, raw processing, photoshop work, and sharpening for output. Bruce Fraser was author or co-author of all of them. They provide excellent insight as to why you do things in addition to how you do them. They also provide good illustrations and examples.

You might want to check out "Photoshop CS3 for Nature Photographers" by Ellen Anon and Tim Grey (Wiley Publishing,Inc.)