I took a weekend course on CS3 at the local community college, came home with more questions than answers, and totally confused. Then I read Scott Kelby's CS3 book and found it very useful for a beginner because his illustrations are clear and got me started. His book is superficial but contains enough coverage for most amateurs. I particularly find his gradient map technic for BW conversion very useful and fun to use. Now I am reading Martin Evening's book. It is more technical, more in depth but sometimes his instructions are not entirely clear and I find myself rereading the page 4-5 times. Nevertheless, it is a great book.
So if you just want a simple, easy to read book to get you started, then Scott Kelby's book is the first choice. Martin Evening's book is more complete, more authoritative but requires more effort on your part. If you are serious about learning ps, you need to go beyond Scott Kelby's book.
Chuong
