Shumway,
Despite what that esteemed author may have written, it's not only great fun but also a pretty good exercise to get to know your aircraft. I used to do circuits in the Taylorcraft using nothing but rudder, power, and trim just for the hell of it. They weren't pretty, mind you, but I learned a lot about secondary effects and my airplane that way. I even tried to do a loop in the Pitts with just trim but that was a flawed idea.
And in the cruise, the rudder was a primary flight control for me just to stay on heading. The roll coupling is a lot more gentle and easy to control than constantly having to make roll inputs with the ailerons.