We didn't take the Core Transformation course, but we did do the method on the first day. They used it, I think, as a motivational anchor and to set the tone of the entire course. It was pretty awesome.
It let me know right away that this was something very different. It was an extremely different approach toward dealing with problems. That is a very powerful part of NLP that I find hard to internalize. It's very permissive and integrating ... working with both (or more) sides of an issue at once.
I think the Core Transformation process is a good one and has at its heart a lot of what is best in NLP. I really like Connirae and Tamara Andreas, so if you get a chance to take a course with them, you should do it.
As for books, well, I really think that the ones you didn't ask for are the best. The ones featuring Grinder and Bandler together are, to me, the ones that are really good.
A lot of NLP books are copies of copies, so to speak, and to me don't offer all that much.
You might want to read the books written by Steve and Connirae Andreas. There is Change Your Mind, Heart of the Mind, and then that Transforming the Self (I think) book by Steve Andreas.
If you could somehow get your hands on a practitioner or master prac. training on tape or DVD that would be ideal.
The Advanced Language Patterns set is really good, I think. It conveys a lot more than just language patterns. It conveys an approach distinct to NLP. You can find it and order it over at nlpco.com.
Home study is an option, but, honestly, it is nothing like attending a good training. When you see good, clean examples of the approaches and work around like-minded people, your development explodes. You will also be picking up subtleties from the masters who are teaching. You pick up much more than what is being explicitly taught.
There were a couple times at the seminar that I found myself spontaneously doing some of the magic I had witnessed, and I had never had that experience before. It was just coming out of me. During a few moments I sort of stood back and thought, "Holy crap ... did I just do that?" It was awesome. 
[This message has been edited by babayada (edited January 24, 2005).]
