Nancy,
Some here thought it was all common sense but I actually gained new knowledge from the book. It is hard to say since we cannot crawl in your brain and see what all you know. If I could do that, I'd crawl in to see what you are doing to keep your skin looking so young. Another matter!
It isn't low carb. I don't know a ton about South Beach, I hear it is pretty darn healthy. I also here South Beach has "phases". BFFM does not. You mentioned another diet that I never heard of, so I cannot comment on that either.
He encourages whole foods as much as possible. Lot of water. Frequent meals. Zig zagging calories. Goal setting. He encourages frequent weigh ins and a best attempt at getting your body fat measured (this is assuming your goal is to lower body fat).
He does a good job at teaching you how to lower your body fat without compromising muscle mass. His whole motto is to EAT to feed the muscles and to exercise to BURN the fat...he is very against starving fat off the body.
I like it because it isn't "one size fits all". He teaches you how to track your progress weekly and then how to make the neccessary changes to your diet and exercise plan if needed. I also like it because there is nothing fadish about it...nothing. He teaches you how to figure your calorie needs based on your goals, how to figure out how much protein, carbs, fat YOU need. He encourages occassional cheats. He encourages you to EAT. I like that because I think too many eat too little. He does push the "no carb alone" thing...always eat a protein, too. I just love how motivating it is. He encourages you to talk nicer to yourself (I think that is a huge plus).
It's just an all around healthy eating and exercise plan.