I have not read the Sams book in question, so I cannot comment. A question - are you reasonably experienced in programming in any other language? (C / Java / even VB) That is, do you understand programming concepts, structured programming, algorithm design, things like variable scope, references, and the like?

If so, then the so called "Camel Book", plus the Perl Cookbook would be worth getting. In fact, they are worth getting anyway, since if you progress in Perl, they are valuable reference works. As well, Perl has substantial on line documentation included with it - the faq, and other supporting stuff. Not all of it is readily understandable for those without a programming background, however.

Finally, the best "tool" is persistance. Read, try, read, try again. Ask questions here - like "I want to do the following, and I tried this and this happened. It doesn't seem right - have I misunderstood something?" rather than "I need a script to do foobar - can someone tell me where I can get one?"

The bottom line is, though - if you are learning and understanding by going through the Sams book, then that is great. Once you have mastered that, get both the Camel (Programming Perl, 3rd Edition) and the Ram (Perl Cookbook). They will be a wise investment.