Ah, I can imagine several people that this would make a great gift for…
It’s by Lisa Sabin-Wilson, it’s not officially by BP.
Not sure how the book addresses BP 1.2 though!
yeah seems like a premature release considering the 1.2 update.
Couldn’t resist commmenting on premature release.
Back to scheduled programming.
Well it takes about 6 months to a year to write a book. I think this book started sometime last summer. Basically, BuddyPress has been changing faster than you can write a book. There may be a 1.2 book in the works from another publisher that I was in contact with.
I’d much rather BP upgrade (i.e. get better) faster than a book can keep up with. I’ll have to check into it though.
speaking of book releases, WordPress Bible by Aaron Brazell with Mark Jaquith came out yesterday — now that’s a keeper.
Who needs a book when the community here is so vibrant 
lol, good one, @Modemlooper
So true though. Not to diminish Lisa’s effort however. It’s a ton of work to write a book and it doesn’t pay well at all. It’s mostly a labour of love. But we’re the hardcore BP geeks here. I’m sure that the book will be quite useful to the average ‘joe’ and will sell well. And once the first version of a book is written… it’s not nearly as much work to update it for newer versions of the software.
That’s cool someone took the time to write a book on Buddypress. Unfortunately there is the lag time with printing paper. I like the model used by the guys who did “Digging into WordPress”.
You can get a print copy but you also get a digital download with a lifetime (what ever that will mean) of updates. What ever the vehicle for the PDF book is that they used I don’t know but it is good and easy to use. I really like having it and look to it before Googling an answer (time suck).
Lisa has done her best to keep up with as many changes as the software. I think Andy did the technical editing as well.
So it may not be as out of date as you think. 
It actually covers 1.2 — Really, the only thing that didn’t make it into the book is the mention about the ability to use it on .Org as well as MU — but the basics of using BP are the same either way, so in the grand scheme – it was a minor omission when compared to the massive changes that did make into the book for 1.2. It was quite a challenge keeping up w/ BP development during the writing of the book no doubt – – big props to Andy with helping me stay up to date and as current as possible; while doing a fab job tech editing the book
Keeping up w/ fast dev. in print is a challenge for any publishing company or author. My hope is that it is helpful to anyone who gets their hands on it.
just received the book today.
Great job on that book !
Page 284 (I think) is definately the best?
Buddypress for dummies is a piece of crap.
Do not buy it. Just d/l it from isohunt.
I just read through it and my hope has turned to despair.
There is no listing and explanation of bp functions. There is no explanation of bp hooks, actions or filters.
Basically, for the first half of the book (literally) she tells you what WordPress is and how to install it.
For the 3rd quarter of the book, she tells you what the components are, what plugins are, how to use (wait for it) HTML tags, CSS, and other crap.
Also, you learn how to use the admin panel. Yay…
Do not waste your money.
@djpaul we have a troll @bgrun80
