I was to comment the same the other day , but the post was about some book the author was promoting so I didnt want to be a party popper but the book was totally mediocre.

It seems to me the inevitable destiny of all "tech" press, start with strong titles and devolve into crap, or to be fairer a crap-shoot.

So now you have:

ALWAYS HAVE BEEN "CRAP" = Packt and Apress

STARTED OK,GOOD NOW MOSTLY CRAP = Pragmatic, Manning, No Starch

STILL OK,GOOD = O'Reilly, CUP