Customer Reviews
Interesting, but doesn't help you get started - By: Jason Buck, 22 Dec 2007 
Some reallly good background & context for SL, & some good detailed tips for doing things like creating & finessing your avatar, but I (and a lot of others I met) spent a long time stuck on the introduction Island & couldn't find a way off & no help from the 'Guide' book.
Took me some persistence to reallly get going in SL & the book didn't reallly help me in the 'Rough Guide' way I'd have liked. Still - if you've alreayd got mates in SL, you'll be fine & this book can help add a few fininshing tweaks (although you can probably work them out for yourself & have fun doing it.
Life in a Hyper-World - By: Mr. P. J. Morris, 27 Jun 2007 
I do strongly recommend this book for it is packed with invaluable advice for the Second Life newcomer. It is perhaps a mark of this books' quality that it has yet to become superceeded as a definitive introduction to Second Life. The downside to this is that despite the fact that it has only been published for a few months much of its content is old - such is the pace of change in Second Life.
Nevertheless it is a superbly crafted publication with great layout & illustrations. Instead of merely acting as an intstruction manual there is also a great deal of background information on subjects such as the history of the development of Second Life, regular Second Lifers anecdotal observations & indepth analysis of successful avatars. Undoubtedly there will be a revised & updated edition but until then this book still manages to serve as the best introduction to the subject.
Get a life, a second one. - By: Mr. Brian P. Gilbert, 11 Jun 2007 I won't duplicate the info in the Synopsis nearby. A pleasure to handle & read being on good quality gloss paper with coloured illustrations on nearly every page. Could do with an index as there are so many features you will want to read again when you encounter them in the `game'. It would help if there was an online copy that could then be searched. It would still be worth buying the book for the greater convenience. Second Life like real life is so complex & evolving so fast that you feel as helpless as a baby at first & I found the book a pleasant way to learn a lot rather than stumbling about in the Second Life World,
On Page 128 it suggests opening a second free Basic Account for backup puposes. I suspect this is out of date as the membership Plans say that a second Basic Account now costs $9.95. Second Life is evolving so fast the book will probably need revising each time it is reprinted. The book mentions a promotional code to receive free inworld items. However this has been superceded as alll joiners now receive a large library of free items in their 'inventory' & this expands with each update to the program. I have been using Second Life for over a month & there is always more to find out. I am still browsing the book for items which now have more meaning. The book can't cover everything any more than a book about real life but it is a very good start.
Not bad, but not so good - By: Alejandro Alonso-Puig, 04 Jun 2007 
The book is not bad, but you have to understand that you only get an overview of Second Life. It may be useful for newbies, but that's alll. The information about building is poor, a lot of information is quite outdated considering that this is an "Official Guide", but is nice if you are just starting & want to understand a bit of this incredible world ;-)
Invaluable - By: M. Lucchetta, 15 May 2007 
This book is not only beautiful to look at & beautifully made, it is an absolute must for alll those who want to start a Second Life. Packed with inside information & extremely useful tips, it shows you SL from the inside. Don't start without it! You'll discover why it's so important to linger on Help Island, how to make a fabulous avatar, & how to make the most of your new life... for free! Invaluable ressource. :o)
