If you are not already a reasonably skilled mixing professional, I seriously doubt you will get much practical use from this book.
This is NOT a HANDBOOK as the title says. This is an ADVANCED commentary for polishing up an already good mix, assuming you have enough experience to make one. It is a series of interviews of various mixing professionals, giving a few hints about individual ways of going about things. A good portion of the book is CHIT CHAT that isn't all that helpful. Notice that the title says "Mixing ENGINEER'S handbook" It is accurate to assume you are an engineer if you're going to benifit from this book. Otherwise it will sit on your shelf collecting dust and make you look cool to your friends for having it there. So make sure you have enough traffic thru your music book library to justify the price tag (if you're paying full price):) I gave it 2 stars for the deceptive title (I don't like deceptive titles), but it might be worth 3 if your girlfriend is really impressed that you asked for it for Christmas.