This is a fantastic book for intermediate and above skiers who are trying to learn (or improve) techniques for all mountain skiing.Harald is a world class coach and skier who explains ski technique better than anyone. The stuff he teaches is simple and effective. Even if you do nothing other than narrow your stance and begin to balance on one ski (the two quick changes he recommends early on), your skiing will improve dramatically.The book itself offers a linear progression that takes you through developing the ability to release your turn (through a variety of releases), linking those releases into a functional all mountain turn, and then adding techniques to make the basic turn even more functional in all mountain conditions. Once this "undergraduate" course has finished and the reader owns a "bullet proof short turn", a "post graduate" course is offered that teaches advanced carving, bump skiing, and powder techniques.If there is a weakness with this book it is that it is easy to underestimate how powerful these techniques are. Lifting or lightening the downhill ski at the end of the turn isn't a technique that is commonly taught so it is easy to dismiss it. This is particularly the case for skiers who may be comfortable in black or double black terrain. All I can say here is to echo Harald; don't ignore the undergraduate course. The stuff that he is teaching isn't optional; it is the foundation of good technique. Give it an honest try and you will begin to understand. Learn it and your skiing will be transformed.This book is essential if you want to learn the PMTS system which Harald Harb created. I would recommend that you do that. This is a book for experts and assumes you already have learned to ski, but it would be very useful even if you are a new skier. Just realize that it won't teach you how to snowplow or stem-christi. The ski season is over now (April 06) and I got this too late to use it for 05-06. But, I can tell you that this book is very well presented. Without it I would have had a very hard time understanding how to carve my skis using this technique or understanding why I wouldn't want to make some mistakes that would not be obvious. Important details are revealed in the book that I have found nowhere else. The DVD that comes with the book is a powerful presentation that follows the book's format. The DVD shows some excellent examples of how to do exercises and how to actually ski the technique. It contains demonstrations of using the technique in many types of difficult terrain. This includes bumps which I am particularly interested in where carving is an especially difficult task. I was already aware of this system from several other sources. Without this book, I doubt that I would ever have been able to do it correctly. The book and the DVD work very well together.I found the book a bit redundant after the first few chapters. If you can master what is presented in first chapters you are well on your way. But there isn't much provided after that.As noted really please with the condition of the book.Harb got it right, and helped revolutionize skiing.Even tho I've skied for many years, this book has already helped. No doubt, if I'd dedicate myself even more fully to practicing his drills, it would help more. For me, this book seems to be more helpful than Vol.1 or "Essentials."Any negative? He's a bit wordy. In some cases it would have helped if he simply identified the ski he's referring to as the "right" or "left" one in the photos instead of "the free" ski, since in some cases it took a while to be sure which one he meant.The videos by Harold Harb are good, but by no means are they the best. The main problems are that Harold's videos lack good photography and are often filled with fluff material as filler. Harold is clearly an expert skier and has revolutionized ski instruction by the introduction of new techniques, but his teaching on video does not do justice to his expertise. I think this is more the fault of poor decisions made in planning the photography and editing the material. The video is worth owning, but there are other video instruction resources that are superior to this one. By comparison, this video seems dated as if it was shot by a non-professional with home video equipment and not up to the standards that are possible with a good photographer and director and high quality video production facilities.I bought this book for my husband who is an intermediate skier and he loves it - he has watched the DVD several times and is reading the book - he is especially excited about using the tear out guide cards in the back of the book for reference on the slopes. I am a beginner so of course I am now ordering Expert Skier One!Harald's method shows you how to use balance and gravity to carve your way down the slopes. It's completely different than what's taught at resort ski schools. Those traditional methods are for tourists and lead you to dead end skills.In the past, Harald's ski racing programs have created olympic medal winners. He takes that experience and modifies it for recreational skiers. It works!The funny thing is, Harald's method is 10 times easier than the traditional method. If you want to experience the beautiful feeling of carving and using balance, get this DVD. It will re-invent the sport for you.I wasn't very impressed with the video. I didn't read the book. Maybe the book should be used along with the video. Harald's explanations and demontrations are very fast. At least too fast for me. He starts the video with a reasonable structure, then the structure somehow dissapears. He cruised by on the bumps and powder sections.As I said, maybe the book should fill in the gaps. If you only watch the video you need to be an "expert" skier to keep up. I do not recommend it for Beginners or Intermediates.If you are a Beginner/ Intermediate I highly recommend Lito Tejada's Breakthrough series.5 stars for seller's service! Book is much more interesting, than many other books done by ski instructors. I would be little bit critical about author's approach, BUT this book is obviously written by person, who can ski and can enjoy skiing. It is more important. There no many authors like that. Highly recommend.luv it