I got a free review copy of the eBook and here is what I have to say:
The Handbook is very detailed (92 pages long). It goes over several Google patents and gives a thorough explanation for each. The content is something most intelligent SEOs would 'geek out' over. Based on my experience, the text is not easy to consume for people with low intellect, or for people looking for shortcuts. The writing style is quite technical, as it should be due to the subject matter. Overall it is very well written in a formal style.
There are some interesting things in the book, such as the correlation between content and the ads being displayed in the search results, document clustering, how Google uses sitemaps, and some of its shortcomings. Then there are more basic things such as topical relevancy which we all know is a huge ranking factor these days, insight into how backlinks are a ranking factor, as well as CTR, the nofollow attribute, and how social signals are weighed.
What I find the most interesting is the patent analysis for domain name registration data, giving more weight to older domains even if they do not have an existing backlink profile. I ALWAYS build sites on aged domains, albeit ones with strong backlink profiles. An old domain holding weight just because of its registration date is news to me. I always refuted the claim.
All in all, the book itself is a good read, but not an easy one. I am not sure if this is going to fare well on BHW since the average user on the forum lacks the patience and ability to comprehend this type of content. It is for sure intelligent writing, I would recommend this for people who have been doing SEO for at least a few years and want to further their understanding of the algorithm.
Buy the book if you have the patience to read it properly.
Thanks!