development

Want to code bit mapped circles and arcs? Want to re-invent "pong?" This is your book. Want to code business aplications - this book is a waste. There is more attention paid by the author to "Fun With Fonts" than to things that have been significantly improved in .NET like TreeView.
I get the sense Petzold wrote the original content for this book back in the 80's and has re-cycled it one time too many.
The title of the book inferred a little bit of help in using VB.NET to tap into the new Window's .NET Framework. It does - but it sticks to the things you could do in the Windows API several years ago. IMHO, in 2004 we are way beyond lines, curves, brushes, pens, images and bitmaps.
This is another author going through the motions and updating old content.

This is the best book I have ever had. I have used Sams Reach Yourself Visual Basic.Net and Sams Teach yourself more Visual Basic.Net. But, this helped me aply my programing to windows better and I was able to have more fun

This is the one book I recommend for all VB.NET developer's coming from a VB6 background! Why? Consider it a first step in walking down a true developer's path. Throw away your Visual Studio .NET crutch, and you might begin to visualize the way Java and C++ programmers tackle real world problems.

Be warned though, this is a book most VB developer's will not fully understand the value of! To prove this theory, make note of the mixed review scores for this book. Now, browse over to the C# version of this book and you will find only high review scores. Why would this be true? Because C# is, for the most part, being tackled by the Java and C++ communities, so you are dealing with two different levels of developers.

I think you will find "Beziers and Other Splines" one of the most fascinating chapters in the book. Petzold explains these drawing tools exceptionally well! Another chapter worth noting, "Taming the Mouse" explains mouse capture/loss and how to deal with it. You might even learn a thing or two about utilizing an interface if you pay close attention.

Once you read this book, you might find yourself shunning the visual designer all together (I prefer to code everything by hand myself), and this is a positive thing. You should know how to write every control outside the designer. This is actually a prerequisite for anyone interested in getting involved in enterprise level development (assuming you are working with a good program manager/senior developer).

I also recommend purchasing "Applied .NET Framework Programming" by Richter. Together these books are a valuable addition to any professional developer's library, and should be read from beginning to end!