publishing and books

If you only buy one Flash MX book -- this is definitely the one to get. There is nothing out there that offers as much information as this book does. At 1272 pages, whether you're at a beginning, intermediate or advanced level -- you will not walk away from this book without taking your skill to the next level and beyond. It is easy to understand, offers indepth, step-by-step, "how to", information on Flash MX development & design. So if you need to understand how to develop a project, are looking to integrate video/audio into flash, interested in animation, actionscripting, or communicating directly to server-side scripts -- you'll learn how to do it here.

Robert Reinhardt is a cutting edge developer & instructor in Flash community, I was fortunate enough to be able to take one of his classes and he is good. In addition to his expertise, he has included 30 guest experts -- each offering step-by-step instruction in their area of expertise. Easy to follow, backed by a live web-forum, includes secrets, cutting edge tips & tricks, as well as a CD chocked full of examples, add-ons, plug-ins, shareware, and templates. There is seriously nothing out there that will offer you this scope and level of information. You will not be disappointed!

I've been using Flash since Flash 3 or 4 (I can't remember)...and what I've learned has been all self-taught. My work has included Flash-to-SMIL presentations, Flash-to-Director CD-ROM applications, etc.

So...why buy this book? I feel that I'm an intermediate -- I know how to do a lot of things in Flash, but I'm not an "expert" or "certified" level Flash user. I think this book is great for beginners and intermediate users of Flash, as it's very detailed in its explanations of Flash tools/techniques. It also presents the subject matter in a relatively comprehensive, well-organized format.

Caveats to all of this include...

- some chapters barely touch on the samples in the CD-ROM
- some chapters are a bit extraneous

That last one is important -- there's a whole chapter on cartoon animation. While some of the principles in the chapter are essential for animators in general, I think a whole chapter devoted to cartoon animation is a bit much -- a topic for another book. Other "extraneous" chapters are OK, as they're more informative -- the project management chapter is a great example.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because of these few things, but I can still highly recommend it.

... There's also lots of useless filler material about non-flash related programs and topics. The examples are geared towards drawing and animation rather than creating an actual web document.

I bought the "After Effects Bible" and loved it but this book is a roundabout, unfocused exercise in frustration. If you are very familiar with Flash already, maybe you can get something out of this. If you want to learn from the ground up, buy something else...