Windows PowerShell™ 2.0 Administrator's Pocket Consultant - Essential Guide for IT Professionals | Perfect for System Administration, Automation & Troubleshooting

This book has a good balance of foundational information and practical applications of Powershell 2.0. If there was a version of this for Powershell 1.0 I wish I had known about it. :-) The author assumes that you have some background in scripting so it doesn't come across as a pure beginner's book. The book provides practical examples for Powershell in the Windows environment and some background information on each subject. It has an appropriate balance between detail and maintaining a "big picture" view of teaching you about how to use Powershell.The only request I make of the author in a future edition is to provide a little more coverage on loading assemblies through the Reflection.Assembly class. This is a minor issue though because he does discuss when to use it and of course one can always consult the online Microsoft documentation for additional methods.Some of the big pluses in the book include a "real world" view and I particularly liked the quick overview of SQL Server support and how to add the supporting snapins to the basic Powershell environment - that saved me a lot of time!Overall, one of the better books out there on the subject for those interested in a hands-on approach.