That's exactly what I did. When I saw the book at my local Barnes & Noble I figured it was just another speed reading book and picked it up expecting it to go on my "interesting but not practical" pile along with Evelyn Wood and Tony Buzan. But I was looking for something to read and figured it couldn't hurt so I bought it anyway.
I didn't find it that difficult to learn the system from the book. There is a lot to the system and I didn't apply some of the steps when I first tried it. I mistakenly thought I was supposed to postview after the incubation period right before activation. I didn't use the system that much at first which also slowed my progress down.
Everything you need to learn the system is in the book. From what I've read here, I think the advantage to using the course is that you're on more of a schedule and you actually go through a few books as you go through the course.
If I was going to relearn it from the book, I would choose 4-5 self-help or business improvement type books before beginning. Then I'd read through the PR book and Photoread my chosen books one every two or three days. (The experts here might have better advice about the best frequency for someone new to the system.) I'd also recommend keeping the Photoreading book handy for the first three books and checking the steps as you go to be sure you understand the system and are doing it correctly.
I have thought of ordering the course, but that's still a lot of money for me and the book really does have everything you need to learn the system.
