This is an outstanding book. It is written extremely clearly and thoroughly, without feeling too dry or boring. The author clearly has a sense of humour, as well as a wealth of experience of working on soundtracks for a large range of budgets (corporate to feature film). I actually read it cover to cover, non-stop, and have read dipped into it several times since. It is useful for people at all levels, from total beginners to people with a good overview of all aspects of professional production (like me).
I am certainly going to buy his other book (Audio Postproduction). The sections on post in this book were great, and I've already learnt a huge amount. But it just left me hungry for more.
I don't like to write gushing reviews, but this really was a great book. If someone asked me if I knew of a good book for video sound production, I would recommend this whole heartedly, without a second thought. I've already leant it to a trusted colleague, who has been in the business for 30 years, and he decided after a week to buy his own copy.
But I will throw in one drawback...having read this book, I just now wish I had the budget for hollywood facilities on every production I work on. And I don't. So try to remember to keep your feet on the ground. Decent soundtracks can still be made on relatively low budgets. Even on productions where I am writing, shooting, producing, and editing - this book has undoubtedly given me enough to make serious improvements to my sound recording, processing, and mixing.
In summary - if you are serious about sound (and you really should be if you want to produce decent video), and you feel like you need to know more, buy this book!!