general

Prof Kotler's book was the text book on marketing when I did my
MBA in the 70s. Even today, it is the textbook of choice on marketing for MBA and similar programs. The most admirable aspect of the book is the way it has evolved over the years. It is tempting to use the cliche "change is the only constant." However, in the case of Prof.Kotler, continuous change and contemporary insights are the hallmark of successive editions. The only difficulty that I face, as a teacher now, is to do justice to this phenomenal work in the 40 hours that is allocated by the university for the subject. As a reference work on marketing management, the book stands distinctly apart.

If you're a student, or even an interested in the marketing area, I think you should buy this book before any other.
Kotler does a very good job explaining about the most common marketing topics.
Although the book doesn't go too deep at any topic(since it covers a lot of stuff), it explains enough to give you a good basic knowledge of the subject.
If you want to read a marketing book, entirely, with attention, this is the best option that you have. You might end up with more knowledge about marketing that many graduated people.
Intead, if you want a refernce book, this is a good option too. It's organized enough to help you find the subject you need and help you learn a decent amount of stuff about it.

On a final notice, if you want to learn marketing overall, but think that will be too tough to read a +700 pages book, you might look for "Kotler on Marketing", which contains less stuff, but still covres most of the subjects of thsi one in an arguably more practical way. A very good book too.

The eleventh edition of this bestselling marketing management text reflects the recent trends and developments in global marketing. It emphasizes the importance of teamwork between marketing and all other functions of the business.