What about knowledge needed to *do* the job?

It's interesting that you think that acquiring solid C++ knowledge is something to do for an interview. When interviewing candidates, I tend to be trying to determine whether they have the knowledge needed to do the job. I'd say that Herb's books are more suited to people who want to be competent with C++ than to people who want to get past an interview and into a job they can't do well.

(One note on the content of your write-up: it's true that Herb Sutter now works for Microsoft, but that's a relatively recent thing, and his Guru Of The Week work mostly predates his employment with Microsoft.)