for a book of over a thousand pages, the manual isnt realy that helpful. the Bryce 4 book is only about 470 pages and that only covers the basics too. i started with Bryce 2 from a free cover CD on PC Format magazine without a manual, but i managed to pick it up quickly. Bryce is easy to use. LW isnt. rather, it isnt intuitive like bryce. i will stick with it. but i would rather that it worked like Bryce. i guess its a case of 'you like what your used to'