If you're already familiar with HTML and JavaScript and would want to develop desktop applications using Adobe AIR then this is the right book for YOU.

In a nutshell, there are several approaches to developing AIR applications:
1. Using HTML and JavaScript
2. Using Flex
3. Using Flash

Obviously, this book focuses mainly on the first item.

I'm coming from Java Web Development background and I have just started with Flex. I also got interested in Adobe AIR after seeing some examples on the Internet. But since I'm already developing Flex applications for the web, I prefer developing AIR applications using Flex also (so it will be easier to port the application from web to desktop and vice versa).

Even so, I find the book very informative. Most especially the cookbook section where it shows you how to connect to the embedded database, read/write files and so on.

Given that this book is a Pocket Guide, I was quickly up to speed with the capabilities of Adobe AIR in a couple of hours.