I had purchased the Dummies book for Premiere Elements 3, which was a big help in getting started with the basics. I also purchased the Hollywood Special Effects book, which I really liked because I am a visual person and the visuals in this book were very good. The book was easy to follow and easy to understand. I found that I needed to know the basics of Premiere Elements 3 first, and then use this book.

This is a superb "how to" book -- the author makes no assumptions about your level of knowledge, giving you amply illustrated, numbered steps showing how to accomplish really terrific special effects. The book is not "dumbed down" but is also remarkably clear.

I've been using it for over 2 years, incorporating various effects in successive videos. The amount of "pop" these effects will give your videos is amazing.

If you want to have a bag of tricks or a bunch of "secret" techniques that will have you looking like a pro very quickly, this is THE book!

This is the ONE book to get if you want to learn Premiere Elements.

Best user manual I've ever come across. This book takes you through step by step video editing like a Wiz by doing little projects. I learned more about the basics of Premiere Elements (never mind the 'Special Effects') than I ever would with the manufacturer's dry manual.
It's fun... and pulls you easily into the more powerful features of Elements without scaring you off of them.

I also like how I've picked up powerful keyboard commands and how the book re-enforces 'best practices' techniques without feeling repetitive.

Great with this purchase:
ADS Tech API557 PYRO A/V Link with Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0

Wow!! This book was easy to follow. It includes a CD to complete the activities. It has screen shots that are clear and easy to follow. This is a great book--even for a beginner. It was well worth the investment.

I have tried the Classroom in a Book (CIB) for Photoshop Elements and Premier Elements, and Hollywood Special Effects is a heck of a lot more fun. Yes, CIB is a standard no nonsense explain and do type of a book with lots of examples, but Hollywood beats CIB with examples that will have you showing off these 10 second clips to your friends and family. You'll probably want your family to be actors in your own clip that does the same effect as in the book. It is richly illustrated and points to every button or menu on your journey to finish each project. I never got lost and thought, hmm where's the 'Add Media' button or some other less conspicuous command. Another thing I appreciate is that each lesson or chapter does not assume that you know all that you should have known from the previous chapter. So a person could pick up the book and do the special effect from chapter 20 without reading or even previewing Chapters 1-19 ahead of time. I've been looking for a Premiere Elements only tutorial for a long time, and Hollywood Special Effects hits the sweet spot in terms of learning new cool things, getting used to the interface, and making one more effective and efficient in creating your own videos. Even if you never use these "Special Effects" in your own video, the shortcuts of navigating around in the program has saved me hours of time in creating my own home videos.