I want to take an object or person out of a pic so I can add it to a layer without the background of the original.  Is the way you do this with the laso tool only?  If so, how the hell do you make it look right?  I can't ever keep the laso perfectly lined-up with the border.

Is there any books one would recommend to help me get better with PS.  The online tutorials don't work half the time when I click on them at various sites.

Thanks!  

What I like to do is use a large eraser tool to get rid of as much background as I can, and then zoom in and  use a fine detail eraser to finish off, then you can use the selection tools to grab the person and put em wherever you want em.

I use the laso tool and the zoom function.  As Zack3g the eraser tool will also work.  Just take your time and don't try to get to much at a time.  If it still dosn't look right you might us the blure tool to blend it into the new background.

You do use the lasso tool, just start drawing or hold Alt and click to make a straight line mask.

Depending on the Photoshop version that you have, find the lasso tool options and set the "feather" option to 1-3 pixels. This will let you paste it onto a new image with less of an outline around the image. 1 will be crisp and 3 will fade the edges more into the background.

The key is that you don't have to be really carefull with the first mask, just draw out the general outline and click the ends closed. Of course drawing with a Wacom pen and tablet is much easier than with a mouse.

You can add or remove to the selection by holding down the Alt key or the Shift key. Then start working the edges with the lasso tool until you really clean up the edges.

Tip: You can save your selection set at any time. Menu bar > Select > Save Selection. This is good just in case you accidentally mess up and lose all your lasso work. Load Selection = brings it back to the last save point.

I would just use a layer mask on the photo of the person, it's like "erasing" the background, except that you can "unerase" it again if you slip and take a bite out of the person.
~

Thanks for the suggestions!

Quoted: What I like to do is use a large eraser tool to get rid of as much background as I can, and then zoom in and  use a fine detail eraser to finish off, then you can use the selection tools to grab the person and put em wherever you want em.

That's the way I do it if I want good results. Lasso is good only if you have a good solid background and an objet with not a lot of variation.

It takes more time to do it with the eraser too (a tablet is really handy to have for this) but the results are much better.

If the person is decently defined against the background, you can use the extract tool.

Basically, you draw with the brush an outline around the person, and you want the green outline to be half on the person, half on the background.   Then fill the person area with the bucket, and hit extract.   It'll keep everything that was filled by the bucket, and extract on the green-covered outline.

It takes a little practice to get everything right, but you can always restore from a duplicate layer (you DID make a backup layer, right?)