I think part of the problem might be expectations from the book.

As a user new to Carrara, the book is very useful, it covers the basics, teaches you what Carrara is about, and gets into some advanced techniques.

As an experienced user of earlier Carrara versions who already understands the basics and is looking for something to give them a leg up on all the new features, it is lacking.

I for the most part agree with Ringo's written review, I don't agree with his rating. He is the experienced Carrara user looking for the leg up. He mentions that the book has fine material for new users of 3D, but then gives it 2 of 5. This is the kind of thing where perhaps the review needs different rating for a different audience. As the experienced user it may only be a 2 cow book, but for the new Carrara user, I think it's higher.

Regards,
Eric Winemiller
Digital Carvers Guild
Carrara plug-ins

Eric Winemiller
Digital Carvers Guild
Carrara and LightWave plug-ins