I just got my hands on Scott Kelby's brand new The Photoshop Channels Book, and I predict it's going to be another hit. Kelby tackles an area of Photoshop that users often avoid (channels that is) because they think it's just too hard. He manages to sweep all the scary stuff away with his sense of humor, and to make channels understandable if not downright fun.

There's plenty of material here for the novice user (like the lesson on Understanding Masks, in which you'll use a plain old paper stencil to understand the concept of masks). At the same time there are lessons for more advanced users (like the tutorial on Blending Channels to get the perfect image from multiple exposures). Kelby once again does the thing he does so well–offer readers a buffet of step-by-step lessons containing easy to digest chunks of information, washed down with practical examples.

You remember Kelby. He's the guy who's President of The National Association of Photoshop Professionals, star of Photoshop TV, the top-selling computer book author in the U.S. for the second year in a row, publisher of Photoshop User magazine and Layers magazine, and on top of it all a brand new Dad. Slow down Scott so we can say congrats!