While it is more of an art showcase than a "how-to" manual, you can learn several high-level concepts by analyzing the featured work:
While many search for free downloads, supporting the 50 contributing artists and the publisher ensures the continuation of these high-quality art books. Legal PDFs often come with interactive bookmarks and higher resolution than scanned pirated copies.
A: No. 3DTotal has never released a free, official PDF. Any "free PDF" is an unauthorized scan.