I've been working in LaTeX for approximately 2 years. I received an initial 40 minute session of the very basics and then have supplemented these basics by other students' knowledge and web searches. There have always been questions that I was unclear about how to search for -- for instance, how to make a make an automatically adjusting reference to a figure (the reference changes if the figure number changes) -- but I was completely unsure of where to find this information. These miscellaneous problems are the ones that this book is helping me with, although it also has what I would consider a very thorough introduction to each topic.Having some background in LaTeX, I've started out using the book by taking about 10-20 minutes skimming each chapter and noting what each contains and making notes. While I can't say I can do everything I want without going back for a good read, when I have tried something new using this book I've been relatively successful and in relatively short time. Since I have a single page (which I keep in the book) with notes of where particular topics I might use are noted, using this book has been very very convenient. Getting a book like this and reviewing/skimming it, IMO, is comparable to why one would use LaTeX. We use LaTeX because, in the long run, it saves time. Likewise, I'm happy I finally bought this book because the time I've invested in looking it over will be recovered since now I can do things in LaTeX faster (and they look better!).As for the layout and book structure, I'm very pleased. Each topic has just enough information to decipher the nuances of using LaTeX but rarely too much that it feels redundant. The liberal use of subsections is also convenient, making it easy to flip through a chapter and see what is in it and where.While some people might read this book word-for-word and/or do the exercises, I think a better way to use the book is as a quick intro to each topic (via skimming) and then as a reference when actually doing the problems when they come up. If I was a more patient person, I'd do the exercises, however, I am afraid that even then I will need to reference the book on the topic anyways. At present, I look at exercises just to see what I should be able to do.Unlike those of us with some time in LaTeX, someone completely new to LaTeX would no doubt need to read at least a few chapters fully through and play around in LaTeX a lot. I'm not sure there is any other option for someone new to LaTeX; LaTeX has a steep learning curve in the world of document editors so I would imagine no book would truly make learning LaTeX easy. (What might be useful for a new user to LaTeX would be a document with a large number of text forms, tables, figures, etc to use to learn by example. This book does not have this and I am uncertain whether any LaTeX books do.)Some topics I've found in this book that I previously did not know how to do but that I will put to use:* inserting paragraphs in tables* floating graphics within text (this is addressed in the chapter AFTER graphics are introduced)* framing/boxing equations or text* footnotes within tables* suppressing hyphenation* automatically adjusting references to figures, tables, etc.* user defined environments or commands* create a table of contents & a bibliography* ... much much more (I've only reviewed the easier 2/3rds of the book).As for whether I'm going to go one step further and get The LaTeX Companion? At the moment I feel no need for anything with more detail. I think this book will be (more than) sufficient for me to write articles, papers, short books, and miscellaneous documents. Unless you are familiar with many of the items above, you will probably benefit from just sticking to this book and that is my intention. At the very least, you may peak at the table of contents of The LaTeX Companion via InformIT website. The Guide to LaTeX covers comparable topics to The LaTeX Companion.On the topic of other books, I've also peaked at The LaTeX Graphics Companion, which had far more info on graphics than I needed. However, if you intend to make lots of figures for physics, chemistry, or any other purpose, this book would probably be of use. The Guide to LaTeX really only covers math and very limited efforts in drawing pictures.*** Update (5/11/09). Still using this book on a regular basis; I look one thing or another up every few days. I recently taught an Intro to LaTeX mini-course and used this book as a guide as I compiled sections. (If you want the mini-course slides and a LaTeX document with plenty of examples, search UCLA Statistical Consulting Center and look in the mini-course section.) I also picked up the LaTeX Graphics Companion but haven't yet used it much. I imagine I'll use it a bit more as I get more serious with making figures in LaTeX but it hasn't been as convenient as I anticipated.