Long story short, I personally find Macdonald's [celebrated book](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0198504500) *Symmetric Functions and Hall Polynomials* somewhat difficult to read for various reasons. I also know for a fact that I'm not the only one to hold that opinion =)


On the other hand, Macdonald polynomials have been extremely popular objects of study for quite some time now. Nonetheless, an expert in the field told me recently that he does not know of any other books that can be used as an alternative introduction to the subject. So here are my two questions.


1) What is your favorite introductory text on Macdonald polynomials, whether in the form of a book or anything else?


2) Are there any other books that focus on Macdonald's ring of symmetric functions, its generalizations and various bases therein? How do they compare to SFHP? 



An introduction to Macdonald polynomials other (better?!) than SFHP
I recommend reading Macdonald's volume University Lecture Series Vol 12 *Symmetric functions and orthogonal polynomials*.


It is a rather short introduction to Macdonald polynomials for the symmetric group and for general finite Weyl groups, but everything is very well explained, organized, and self-contained. After reading this, I found myself much more comfortable getting back to *Symmetric functions and Hall polynomials* for futher background and details.


