Rating:  - Good even for a non-programmer
I am a network geek by day but occasionally need to do some programming to support my work. I do a lot of reporting work and Perl was the best language to do what I need.
I bought this book and was able to start programming in no time. I really liked the examples and was able to change them to do what I wanted pretty easily. I recommend this to anyone who needs to do scripted work quickly!
Rating:  - Juvenile
Un-arguably the most irritating book I have ever read in order to learn a new language (I have lost count how many I have read in the last 25 years). While I now love Perl, I do so despite having started with this book. The authors attempt to play the "my way is SO superior " approach by filling the text with derogatory references to other languages, while at the same time writing with that condescending "for Dummies" approach. The book frequently teases the reader with un-referenced mentions of knowledge to be revealed in later chapters -- we'd apparently be too confused if the information were to be related now, let alone referenced -- so that an experienced programmer is frustrated by having to search through the text to find out how commas are "used for a more-important purpose", or "we'll see later there are other kinds of quoting". That, combined with the obligatory cult-of-personality type homage to their exalted ruler Larry Wall who is referred to by the authors on a first-name-basis in the all-too-frequent footnotes take this book decidedly off my list of recommendations.
Rating:  - Good Book!
I learnt Perl for the first time from this book. (Before this, I had no idea of Perl.) This is a great book and a gentle introduction to Perl. I completed this whole book (plus exercises) in about 5 days flat, reading about 6-7 hours/day (during the Spring break :-)
Anyway, certainly get this book if you are learning Perl for the first time. And, then if you need more Perl, you can move onto the Perl Cookbook or Programming Perl.
I deducted one star from the rating for the following reasons:
1. The book has more than a few typographical errors. However, these errors are mostly trivial and of non-conceptual nature, so if you are following closely, you will catch them.
2. Although this is a beginners book, some of the exercises are way too elementary. I skipped some of the beginning exercises because I knew instantly what to type.
The bottomline is that this is a great book for learning Perl. So, if you are beginner, go get it!
Rating: - Great Fun to read
This book has been very helpful in learning Perl thus far, and the writing is a welcome change from most technical books. The authors mix in funny footnotes which make learning the most difficult pieces of perl a little easier with humor. Great buy definitely recommend it for people needing to learn Perl
Rating: - Learning Perl, Fourth Edition
I bought this book for a friend whose job changed and is required to start programming in Perl. I had read the previous edition and found it a very good intorduction to Perl.
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