As always, YMMV. I would not recommend this book to a beginner, because I did not find it useful when I was a beginner (more so than now). It often relied on the reader understanding things that I had not yet learned, and that I was not readily able to learn from that book. Others, no doubt, have had different experiences. Those more intelligent (or more code-savvy) than I am would perhaps find the book more useful, even as beginners.