This book was a tough read.
I don't mean that the book itself is hard to understand. It's more that this book was a heavy trial to get through, and took me some time to finish it.
I had been warned against reading this book, although that's the reason I picked it up. My mind sort of just recognized the title and I picked it up used at a store, and later was told that it was only mentioned as something to avoid.
The stigma surrounding this book isn't just localized to a particular group or people though. It seems this book has a bad reputation in various circles of those who have heard of it.
I hope to at least make clear, the book itself feels poorly written. However, I'm also coming from a background of having at least some experience with the occult and perhaps paganism in a sense. Reading the book, I can see how it might be useful to people that are entirely new to the subject. I don't believe the book should be taken verbatim, however. I believe it's more to be taken "between the lines", and it's only an introduction to various subjects.
Another plus for this book is that it has metaphysical meanings of various rocks, herbs, and other components at the back of the book, from the author's interpretation.
In all, I can see why it has such a backlash and negative few among various people. I wouldn't recommend the book for someone else, unfortunately. If you happen to find a copy used, on the cheap, I'd say get it just to find out for yourself. I don't think word of mouth has done it justice, but at the same time I just don't encourage anyone to seek it out, sadly.