Inspite of all the hype about this book, its author Jeff Mayo comes across as a "shopkeeper" astrologer, interested mainly in earning money quickly, by generating the mass produced impersonal computer-profile type of reports that have trashed astrology. That is evident if one reads this book. This is an excellent introduction to the technical aspects of astrology such as its basic mathematical calculations, but that is all. And that is NOT what astrology is "all about". I would advise the novice reader to treat it as such, instead of regarding it as a complete introduction to the subject where one really "gets the hang" of it. For that, read what I regard as the modern classic, "The Astrologer's Handbook", By Louis Acker and Frances Sakoian, in combination with this book.