Hi JHILL! Another newbie here as well. I recently bought this book (on a recommendation from one of the friendly mods here ;-)...), and am very glad I did. Although I also have the manual for B5, I just didn't find that it explained things as well - maybe it will as I gain experience? The Real World Bryce 4 book, IMHO, does explain things very well & there's also a CD inside the back cover that you can use to further understand and test out what's being covered in the chapters. I'm slowly working my way through this book, so can't say for sure how different it will be in relation to B5. All I've noticed so far (in the way of differences) is that some of the keyboard shortcuts don't work in B5. Other than that, you can usually figure out how to adjust for working in B5. But overall, I am very glad that I did make the investment and purchase this book. I hope this helps & have fun with your rendering! ;-)

I dare you, while there is still time, to have a magnificent obsession. --William Danforth