It's a muddled mess in comparison and I would not advise it to anyone over Ullman's Elements of ML Programming or Harper's Programming in Standard ML. It's actually bad enough that it bothers me there's not more Standard ML books out there so people would stop mentioning it.

I'd consider Ullman's ML book to be up there with K&R C and Wirth's books in conciseness and clarity. I suggest it to beginners specifically.