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The redbooks are hidden gems - what documentation should be. When I used to work with these (very nice) bits of kit, the redbooks were my bible.

They'd tell you the gory details, you could learn from the experiences of the authors. The "official" documentation was good, but wouldn't ever say "you don't want to do it this way, it'll end in tears".

PS: Note that the book is 2 years old now. And my experience with them closer to 10 ;-)

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It's hard to convey how different acquiring knowledge used to be in the old days.

There was so much less information .. no Google, no online groups, and certainly no stack overflow .. but red books were true compediums of hard won knowledge.

Today the core skill is being able to drive Google, to quickly sift search results, to parse through page after page of shitty low quality cruft to find the nuggets of knowledge you need.

Back in the day, you could read a red book on a plane flight and land with a greatly enhanced foundational understanding of the subject.

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