IM is a great reference, it's good stuff. In addition to Amazon, I frequently order old mac books from Abebooks. I have no affiliation, just a frequent customer. The sellers are frequently the same as those on Amazon's marketplace though, so sometimes there's no difference.
Are you familiar with any sort of programming already and just new to the Mac OS toolbox, or new to programming in general? IMO, the Inside Macintosh books, being a reference, are intended more for picking up the toolbox API and assume you're already familiar with your own development environment, language syntax, etc.
I personally prefer learning about a system by scratching an itch. Find something you'd like done, and break it into smaller incremental tasks to work towards the larger goal. Generally, I don't worry about whether something will be "too difficult" or time consuming until after doing the research leg work on it. Some things can be deceptively easy, others can be deceptively difficult, and you frequently won't know until after researching different approaches to the problem. Do you have anything in particular as a project?
FWIW, I believe Control Panels were introduced in Volume V and expanded in VI, although I personally have found Volumes I-III invaluable as the fundamentals of the Mac OS interface. Control Panels are also covered in the later Inside Macintosh: More Macintosh Toolbox.
More great references are the Apple Tech Notes, which TylerEss has mirrored. When investigating an issue, I frequently use google with the site:fenestrated.net search feature. Also, the old mactech.com articles can be helpful. Again, I usually search with the site:mactech.com feature.
Are you familiar with any sort of programming already and just new to the Mac OS toolbox, or new to programming in general? IMO, the Inside Macintosh books, being a reference, are intended more for picking up the toolbox API and assume you're already familiar with your own development environment, language syntax, etc.
I personally prefer learning about a system by scratching an itch. Find something you'd like done, and break it into smaller incremental tasks to work towards the larger goal. Generally, I don't worry about whether something will be "too difficult" or time consuming until after doing the research leg work on it. Some things can be deceptively easy, others can be deceptively difficult, and you frequently won't know until after researching different approaches to the problem. Do you have anything in particular as a project?
FWIW, I believe Control Panels were introduced in Volume V and expanded in VI, although I personally have found Volumes I-III invaluable as the fundamentals of the Mac OS interface. Control Panels are also covered in the later Inside Macintosh: More Macintosh Toolbox.
More great references are the Apple Tech Notes, which TylerEss has mirrored. When investigating an issue, I frequently use google with the site:fenestrated.net search feature. Also, the old mactech.com articles can be helpful. Again, I usually search with the site:mactech.com feature.