my advice is to not buy iwork 08.
you can use the trial version for a little while and see if it is something you'll be willing to pay for.
i like keynote, but numbers and pages are not quite up to snuff, sadly.
I'll say that i'd rather use Pages than microsoft Publisher, but i'd also rather chug a gallon of liquified pig feces and then take a big gulp of hydrochloric acid. I dislike microsoft publisher. Pages I just don't use.