Programming Perl is not just a book about Perl. It is also a unique introduction to the language and its culture, as you might expect only from its authors. Larry Wall is the inventor of Perl, and provides a unique perspective on the evolution of Perl and its future direction. Tom Christiansen was one of the first champions of the language, and lives and breathes the complexities of Perl internals as few other mortals do. Jon Orwant is the editor of The Perl Journal, which has brought together the Perl community as a common forum for new developments in Perl. Any Perl book can show you the syntax of Perl's functions, but only this one is a comprehensive guide to all the nooks and crannies of the language. Any Perl book can tell you about typeglobs, pseudohashes, and closures, but only this one can show you how they really work.