Despite the writing being excellent, both in style and content - I can't really say the same thing about the code. There were a lot of static variables and functions, no polymorphism and inheritance was rarely used. The program is a testbed for a lot of material presented in the book. Ok, I'm done bashing the code. I must emphasize that the code didn't let the book down, because the content was so good.
Masters manages to present the topics at hand in an excellent way, making it presentable to all.
He covers mathematical aspects very well - there are a few equations and mathematical explanations, but nothing that would scare anyone away. For people that do want a more mathematical explanation, he always gives good references for people to look at elsewhere. For me, though, the code provided was not useful in any way. A lot of essay on all aspects of neural networking.