Wow, what a really mean-spirited comment, and it's the top one (at the time of writing.) -- did you consider what you said here before writing it? Let me propose a rewrite:-
'If you can't afford to buy this, the official emacs GNU documentation is great - [link]'
Instead you first admit you haven't read it, then imply, but in somewhat weasel words, that it doesn't offer anything beyond what the official documentation offers.
I'm a long-term emacs user and I can tell you that while the official docs cover a lot, they provide more of a reference than a guide, so a book like this is really worthwhile.
Keep in mind the author would have dedicated enormous amounts of time and effort to writing this, and technical book writing is very rarely a profitable enterprise.
I think we need a bit more kindness towards people's work (as well as _constructive_ criticism of course) - how do you think the author might feel reading this on such a prominent tech website? Imagine it was something you worked on for hundreds of hours, dismissed in the top comment, how would you feel? We're all humans, and empathy is already lacking enough in our industry, so think a little before posting next time.
Ha that's a good point ;) but once you factor in opportunity cost for developers, especially ones experienced enough to write a book, it's definitely not a great choice (likely negative.)
'If you can't afford to buy this, the official emacs GNU documentation is great - [link]'
Instead you first admit you haven't read it, then imply, but in somewhat weasel words, that it doesn't offer anything beyond what the official documentation offers.
I'm a long-term emacs user and I can tell you that while the official docs cover a lot, they provide more of a reference than a guide, so a book like this is really worthwhile.
Keep in mind the author would have dedicated enormous amounts of time and effort to writing this, and technical book writing is very rarely a profitable enterprise.
I think we need a bit more kindness towards people's work (as well as _constructive_ criticism of course) - how do you think the author might feel reading this on such a prominent tech website? Imagine it was something you worked on for hundreds of hours, dismissed in the top comment, how would you feel? We're all humans, and empathy is already lacking enough in our industry, so think a little before posting next time.