Yes, thanks for the correction. You are right, it is possible to learn to Prolog without understanding the inner workings of the compiler or even the Warren Abstract Machine, but that is how I understood why I had to put up with the cut operator in my programs. I was originally sold on the idea of Prolog because of the many beautiful declarative examples found in introductory tutorials. The sad truth is that Prolog isn't magic and just like Functional Programming, Object-Oriented Programming, or even Structured Programming, there are wrinkles that one encounters that require a less than pure…
Ok, thanks! Turns out it's still available at Amazon.de, just ordered it along with "Clause and Effect".
William Clocksin's _Clause and Effect_ is a similarly styled book, using Prolog. It also has a couple good case studies. I also highly recommend Sterling and Shapiro's _The Art of Prolog_.
"Clause and Effect" by Clocksin. Also, the worked exercises at Ninety-Nine Prolog Problems, https://prof.ti.bfh.ch/hew1/informatik3/prolog/p-99/
For starting out I'd recommend Clause and Effect by Clocksin. It's a very short but practical introduction with really good examples along the way (including symbolic differentiation and FFT).