This book has everything I want from a manual: it's easy to understand, interesting and entertaining to read, well presented, and it provides the tools necessary to branch off into your own designs.
To date I still haven't made any one pattern exactly as it's presented in the book. But I've used elements from many of the patterns in there.
And if you don't know how to cross stitch, don't worry, it's not difficult, and she provides a brief tutorial to get you started.