Yes, I agree, that school textbooks are crap. The guys who write them have no experience in real world, only in their Ivory Towers. It's also very apparent when you try to use a mathematical library made by some university. It may be multiplatform, but the interfaces of these libs are obscure. It's C with classes at the best.

Try Thinking in C++, Thinking in Java, Thinking in Patterns, Modern C++ Design, and stuff made by Bjarne Stroustrup. Here is a good resourse if you need something bleeding edge:
http://www2.research.att.com/~bs/C++0xFAQ.html
There are videos available as well.

And that guy that you mentioned is a typical troll. Some people get everything in their lives too easily.