Apple Mac OS X is a quantum leap in operating system for Macintosh computers, offering stability and depth unheard of in the operating system level consumer desktop Macs. Mastering OS X beyond the hardcopy of Apple's own documentation, which is minimal at best, and laid bare the workings of the operating system is state-of-the-art. The five main parts consisting of 25 chapters make a book this big 800-page, which includes topics such as installing Mac OS X; comparing X to OS X Server and OS 9.x, new interface, network architecture, and configure user accounts, privileges, and network communication. Part III, "Getting It Done with Mac OS X," discusses the use of the bundled applications (Mail, Address Book, Photo, Keychain Access, Grab, etc.), as well as new printing architecture and how to set up the printer and set the color with ColorSync, using QuickTime, and automate the OS and applications using AppleScript. This book falls short only on a few things. Appendix, "Installing and Setting Mac OS X," in Mastering Mac OS X is far beyond the hardcopy documentation of at least Apple's own, like the chapter on the application installed. Mastering Mac OS X makes the book a good guide for the user want to dig into the new operating system, and offers a fine introduction to some of the workings of a Unix core.