The Register has a review of the third edition. It hits on exactly what we're trying to convey:
As you would expect from a book devoted to tools, the focus on the book is decidedly practical. That's not to say that it's just a glorified all-in-one manual for the tools that are covered. It's the material on usage that makes the book valuable, it shows how the tools can be used to attack (or seek out vulnerabilities in) networks and servers.
