O Books

Lawrence Ritter in his original Preface describes his book as about the early days of baseball. I'm going to make a correction. Mind you it is the only one I will make. His book is about the early days of modern professional Baseball.
With that being put aside , I must praise Mr. Ritter for his most original idea for a book. He took upon himself to travel the U.S.A. in search of the very players who established our National Pastime in the early part of the 20th Century. People talk of Shakespeare and Churchill as prolific writers of the English language. What Mr. Ritter has done is an epiphany for writing a book. His concept was indeed very simple. Why not seek out the very best living Baseball Players of the early 20th Century, and ask them to please describe their experiences.
In the early to middle 1960's when Mr. Ritter did this, he was able to talk to these pioneers of modern baseball in the twilight of their wise years. These 26 men had time to reflect on their careers and describe an age unknown to us. Mr. Ritter traveled to these men and I'm sure asked the correct questions and let these gentlemen record their responses on tape. What he captured will stir the heart of each true Baseball Fan.
For the record my two favorites are Stanley Coveleski and Bill Wambsganss. You can guess from these selections what my favorite team is.

I really enjoyed listening to the stories from some of our classic baseball heros. They brough history to life. This audio book was one of the best purchases I've made. I truly enjoyed just listening to these remarkable men tell there own stories of baseball's past.

I had read where this was considered by many as "the best baseball book of all time." Well, you know how hype like that works; rarely is anything as good as it's built up. Not in this case. This really IS fantastic baseball material. It's so good that several people have copied its format since but nobody has come close to duplicating it. It's the content, though, not the form that makes this so entertaining.

The "it," by the way, refers to letting former players talk into a tape recorder and write down exactly what they say. In this book, we get ballplayers who played in the wildest era in baseball history: the Deadball Era. Thus, you get some incredible stories, many of which are just jewels, things you will treasure if you're a fan and you love baseball history.

If for nothing else, the story about Germany Shaefer's pinch hit home run is worth the price of the book. It is the funniest baseball anectdote I have ever heard or read.

Baseball great Ted Williams said when he finished reading this book, he started over and read it again. I believe it.

Lawrence Ritter recorded and wrote what has amounted to an instant classic, from the year it was published in 1966. All the hype, folks, isn't hype: it's the truth - a fabulous collection of baseball stories.

I have been an avid reader of baseball history for most of my life and I first purchased this book in the 80's and wore it out and purchased another copy. There isn't a season that goes by that I don't read it again. When you read the interviews of the ballplayers, recorded by Lawrence Ritter, it's as if you are a fly on the wall hearing the conversations first hand and the ghosts of seasons long past are brought back to life.

You get a first person account of some of the most famous moments in early baseball history through the fond recollections of some of the participants. Merkle's boner, Snodgrass' muff, Wambsgan's unassisted World Series Triple play are all recounted. The most entertaining parts of the book recount tales of Germany Schaefer stealing first base, the chronicles of Charles Victory Faust, and Wilbert Robinson attempting to catch a grapefruit dropped from an airplane. You get a glimpse of Ty Cobb from his teammates Davy Jones and Sam Crawford. You get several different takes on the great manager John McGraw from several different players who once played for him.

This is hands down the greatest sports book I have read. It's not only a great history of the early days of 20th century baseball but a wonderful piece of Americana. The book breaths humanity and paints a portrait of the ballplayers of the past who played for the love of the game unsullied by steroids and multimillion dollar contracts.

Statistically, baseball back then couldn't be more at variance with the game now. Cy Young threw 511 career victories, and 750 complete games. In 1909, Ty Cobb led the majors both in batting average (.377) and home runs (9). Cobb's teammate Sam Crawford hit over 300 triples in his career.

What to make of such numbers? Lawrence S. Ritter's "The Glory Of Their Times" strips away the statistical confusion by getting to the heart of Major League Baseball's early days, the players themselves. An economics professor, Ritter invested his downtime from 1962-66 in interviewing elderly men, baseball players all who knew what it was like to face a Walter Johnson fastball, or have Ty Cobb slide into the base they were covering.

"People were more unique then, more unusual, more different from each other," says Davy Jones, who played on the Tigers with Cobb and Crawford. "Now people are all more or less alike, company men, security minded, conformity - that sort of stuff. In everything, not just baseball."

Transcriptions of Ritter's interviews with Jones and 21 other former players, including Crawford and two others then in the Hall of Fame, makes up the whole of "The Glory Of Their Times," published in 1966 and later extended with four more interviews in 1984. Nearly all the interviews offer both testimony and color for the game as it was then.

Bill Wambsganss tells us about his unassisted triple play in the 1920 World Series, and how Ring Lardner once used his last name to rhyme with "clam's chance" and "Ray Chapman's pants". Fred Snodgrass tells us about his famous muffed fly in the 1911 World Series, and how his New York Giants tried to psyche out the Philadelphia Athletics by sitting on the dugout bench, ostentatiously sharpening their spikes.

You hear so much about another famous World Series moment, the Merkle "boner" of 1908, that you feel like you were there on the field, too. There's a Rashomon-like quality to hearing various interviewees give their different takes on such things as the character of John McGraw and whether "Giant Killer" Harry Coveleski was run out of the league when he was caught chewing on bologna. (Snodgrass says so, while Harry's brother Stanley, a major-league pitcher himself, calls it "a lot of bull".

Not all the interviews are riveting. One wishes Ritter could have pushed some of the old players more, like the rumors that swirled around Smoky Joe Wood involving fixes. But allowing the subjects the reins probably drew more color out of them than a Grand Jury could have. I love how Crawford keeps telling Ritter he hasn't much time to talk, while giving Ritter one of the longest and most entertaining interviews in the book, describing how players would allow themselves to be rubbed down with "Go Fast," a noxious combination of Vaseline and Tabasco sauce that made them sweat like a sauna.

"I hope I haven't said anything I shouldn't," Crawford says at the end. "There are a lot of the old-timers still left,you know, and they're liable to say, 'That fathead, who the hell does he think he is, anyway, popping off like that!'"

If you like baseball even a little, you will enjoy "The Glory Of Their Times" quite a lot.

The 23rd Psalm is the most beloved psalm for many people, especially in the KJV or NKJV versions - 'yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. . .' (paraphrasing this deadens the impact of the King James english). Keller's wonderful and informative book about being a shepherd will enrich your reading of the psalm. He takes the 23rd Psalm line by line and explains it in terms of the experience of a good shepherd. The book is a jewel.

This is a book that can be read over and over and always gives peace and comfort that comes from Psalm 23. Jesus is our Shepherd, and this book is written by a man who actually owned a sheep ranch and raised sheep. Through his experience of caring for his flocks, he is able to reveal why Jesus called us "my sheep" and why he is called "the good shepherd." In the past few years, I have given nearly 100 of these books away - to friends and strangers - and have asked them to pass the book along to a friend or stranger when they finish reading it. It is a true blessing and a lovely, well-written little book.

Don't miss out on this little book. It may be small in size, but it's big in impact. The correlation between a Shepherd and his sheep, and what we mean to God, is uncanny. In this book, you're given a glimpse into the true dept of Gods love for us. I also learned some amazing things about Shepherding and sheep. I was so taken by this book, that I bought several copies to share with others, not wanting them to miss out on this great message.

The intricacy with which the author compares his job as a sheep farmer with the love of God opens one's mind to the all-incompassing work of the heaven Father on our behalf. However, just as he used his experiences to describe the shepherd's work which gives the reader a broader prespective of the attributes of God, I would have liked a little more of the mini steps that we, as sheep, can use to gain spiritual growth and be overcomers in the faith.

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 is a masterful book that has remained a classic for years. The overall theme of this book is worship. Keller is in love with his God, and it is hard to go more than a paragraph before you find more words of praise for God and Jesus.

Keller weaves the metaphor of the relationship between sheep and a shepherd like no one else could. He raised sheep for years, so he has exquisite knowledge of what it is like to raise sheep. Not only does he expound on what the psalm can mean to your spiritual life, he also gives interesting information on sheep and how to raise them.

Some of Keller's comparisons of Jesus to a shepherd astonished me, and I was left with a feeling of comfort. I've always been familiar with this psalm, but Keller explaining the actual herding terms and how dependent sheep are on their shepherd made me stop and think. Excellent read. Definitely worth having on your bookshelf.

We first saw this book in a kindermusik class this previous winter, and my two-year-old son seemed to enjoy when it was read aloud. We decided to order the book to help our son get into the habit of bedtime stories. Now this is his number one favorite book to have read at bedtime. Our son loves being able to interact with the lyrics as we sing. The book is very durable and has held up well to a lot of abuse. I couldn't recommend this book more.

My grandchild has known the "wheels on the bus" song since she was a baby. Now 2 1/2 I bought her this book because of that and because I know Paul Zelinsky's work. She absolutely loves it. It is clever and interactive, colorful and wonderful and fun.

This is a most beautifully illustrated book. It turns a song that can become boring for adults after singing it 100 times into a beuatiful story about a dog chasing a bus, a lost kitten, crying babies, soothing mothers, and wheels that literally turn round and round. There are hidden stories within the story. A wonderful investment for a child's library.

OUr 2.5 son received this for Christmas, we have read it several times each day since. He loves the moving parts!!

My 22 month old, loves this book. He actually is obsessed with it, demanding "BUS" several times a day. He laughs hysterically at the interactive driver saying 'move on back, move on back" and finds it exciting to spin the wheels on the bus.

The Definitive Guide to Actionscript by Colin Moock is a must have for anyone serious about Actionscript. Moock explains object oriented programming with ease. There are many samples and examples making this book easily accessible to a wide range of programmatic abilities. This book is a great learning resource and also serves as a reference for developers.

i dont need to say more, I even pre orderd the second edition allready

It's all good... lot's of info, examples, details, etc etc...
I do have to comment though that everything you find in this book is EASILY found and sometimes in a way more deep and detailed manner in the Macromedia Flash Help section and in www.macromedia.com Flash support section... I would not consider this an essential book even though one feels secure to have it close...

Nice book, found it pretty pleasant at first, but it was too easy to digest (six, seven hours and you can toss it over your shoulder). The real answers I need (mostly dealing with movie clip behaviours) are only vaguely explained or absent and I found the book more of a frustration than otherwise from about 1 week onwards.

Having said this, there doesn't appear to be any other title for Flash that caters to those whose programming knowledge exceeds their experience as a graphical design user.

Finally, an actionscript guide that is superb in its production! My hat is off to Colin and Gary for this detail-oriented volume that has cleared the smoke out of my head and has made a programmer out of an artist.

Bravo!!!

This book is very detailed but you have to be wary of the slants. Sugden writes witness Matthew Packer down and dismisses his important testimony, and he also leaves out an important section of a letter that was published in the Telegraph in November which alludes to the capture of the killer (the "hideous bellowing of the news boys" letter). He also gets the Hanbury Street writing wrong. This was "Five - another fifteen and I give myself up." Sugden has it has "Four - another sixteen and I give myself up" - an absurd message which gets the total right but has changed the compenents to fit the assumption that the Fairy Fay murder did not happen. I find the book fairly morbid and irksome to read, and this is not because of the fascinating subject matter but the way that it is written. This subject needs a sharp-eyed Daniel Defoe, or a Jack the Ripper A-Z with all the rubbish taken out.

There's not a lot I can add to the great reviews other people have given it except to say that this book, while not being released as recently as some others, is still essential reading for anyone with an interest in the facts about the Jack the Ripper case. Sugden is a historian with impeccable credentials and research skills whose insights are a welcome addition to Ripperology.

I got interested in this book knowing that I was soon going to see the JtR exhibit in London, so I started reading it before I left on my trip. Unfortunately, when I got to the actual exhibit in July of `08, there was little there that the book hadn't covered--although I got to see some of the original police reports, the Ripper letters, and an interesting timeline display of suspects (most recently added to in 2007). This book is organized in such a way that it gives an intimate profile of both the victims and the suspects and the crimes themselves--which were truly horrific. The author relies mainly on contemporary sources, yet certain references make you aware that he has pawed over other accounts proclaiming "evidence" in order to separate the wheat from the chaff. So what you get is real scholarship, of a sort, and the author's best guess at the end as to Jack's identity. The many photos in this book also help to tell this unhappy story. Will this mystery ever be solved? I doubt it, having read how many missing pieces there are . . .

First let me state the categories of people who should (please note the emphasis) study (not 'read') this book: -
1. Anybody who is interested in the any or all of the following: the Whitechappel killings, the subsequent frenzy, investigation into the murders, armchair investigations by "Mycroft" wannabes, and the literally literary withchhunt being carried out over the past century & more to "unmask" the killer;
2. Anybody who is interested in understanding the socio-economic dynamics of the world's largest, richest, proudest and yet ruthlessly exploitative (of its own citizens, esp. the young and the women) city at that point of time when the nails were finally being hammered into the coffin of the 19th Century that had experienced the pinnacle of British glory;
3. Anybody who, after being overfed on the serial killers (Hannibal et.al) produced by the "hot" American novelists, actually wishes to know how it is like to be chasing a black cat in an enormous dark cavern while blindfolded;
4. Anybody who actually thinks that "the truth" might have been out there at some stage, but even with a centuries old "cold" case something can be done (unlike some trashy attempt sub-titled: "CASE CLOSED").

This book is not only accurate and free from all the popular & obscure misconceptions, it is also a living proof that history can be made more attactive than fiction while staying rigorously free from falsehoods. Recommended to everybody belonging to the afore-mentioned 4 categories as well as to all who, after reading some new adventure pitting Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper, start pondering over "what if.."-s.

Like many others, I have been interested in the story of Jack the Ripper. When I finally decided to read about the crimes, I wanted to read only the best, most definitive account. I believe that Sugden's book fits the bill. He sticks only to the facts; when he theorizes, he presents an opposing view as well. He does not claim to know who Jack the Ripper was, but he does put forth a theory. After having finished this book, I cannot imagine that there is much of anything else to know about the case. I would highly, highly recommend this book to anyone interested in reading an emotionless, fact-filled book about Jack the Ripper to pick this one up.

This third installment in the beloved Anne series is one of my favorites. Having just completed two years of teaching in Avonlea, Anne, along with friends Gilbert and Charlie, is ready to leave the Island and make her way to Redmond College. Her four years there offer quaint-seeming insights into college life a hundred years ago. After spending her freshman year in a boarding house, Anne and chums Priscilla, Stella, and Philippa move into a little house called Patty's Place. Even though they are committed to their studies, life is never dull. Anne has no lack of suitors, turning down no fewer than five proposals during the course of the story. And her summers are full of adventure, whether it's back in dear Avonlea or teaching as a country schoolmarm.

I've read Anne of the Island each year I've been in college, and as I finished it this time, I couldn't help but relate to Anne's excitement for the future, mingled with regretful nostalgia about the college life she was leaving behind. College is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Having attended a small Christian university, I relate to Anne's old-fashioned values and the safe, wholesome environment of Redmond.

Montgomery has such a pungent writing voice, alive to the quirks of human nature and the beauties of outdoor nature. She brings spice, optimism, and a touch of cynicism to the story and the characters. Anne's most personal experiences are recounted with poignancy, and are rooted in reality, although they may seem whimsical to modern readers. The ending is sweet and satisfying. I just love Anne, and especially this tale of her college experiences. Don't miss it.

Anne of the Island is the third installment of the smash Anne of Green Gables series. The book begins with Anne leaving for college to further her education the second time. When she arrives, she encounters a slew of minor domestic problems, a new group of friends, and Love. All of which she deals with using that famous atypical personality of a "Kindred spirit"



Although the book deals with more serious subject matter than the preceding books, as a reflection upon Anne's growing older, the book starts with the lighthearted catchy fun that made Anne famous in her prequels. Most of this fun is centered on the Anne's encounters with her roommate cats Rusty, Joseph, and Sarah-Cat. Anne's exclamations of fear at being stalked by the docile house cats is classic Anne and delicious fun.



The Book also dives into more serious matter, with Lets be friends-Lets be more than friends-Lets be friends-I hate you-Marry me! Gilbert abandoning his indecisiveness and aggressively courting Anne. Although this relation is of little interest to male readers, it is made a key plot element, most likely because it is attractive to the books target demographic, pre-teen girls. Luckily, most of the content on Anne's romance does nothing to affect other parts of the story much and as a result are harmless to skip when they become drab.



Anne of the Island is a solid installment in the Anne series. Although not equaling or surpassing Anne of Green Gables, "Of the Island" leaves little to be desired besides not having a near constant usage of the word "eh". If you an Anne fan, pick up her third book. Eh.

The story of Anne continues with this work and the author stays true to her style, story line and character developement. This, like the other books in this series, have a rather timeless nature about them and a comforting charm. The reader, of course, must remember the time they were written and the style and syntax used at that time. From my own point of view, this is great. I enjoy this type of writing and certainly enjoy Ms. Montgomery's story telling abilities. In this work, Anne goes off to Redman College and her adventure continues. Recommend these books for readers of all ages. Wish there were more works out there like it.

"Anne of the Island" is my favorite Anne book, and the last chapters of my copy are worn and torn because I have read it so many times. I loved it as a young girl, and I loved it again when I read it from my college dorm room (in fact, I think it's time for another rereading!). Plus, of course, a college education makes many of the literary references more relevant than they were at age 11.

Anne fans already know how wonderful are these chapters of Anne's life. This book outlines an important epoch in the series and answers the all important question of whether they will or they won't--a turning point on which the next five books hinge. And since you must start at "Anne of Green Gables" to appreciate any of it, this review cannot convince to you read just book three. It is just one more love letter to "Anne of the Island" added to this review panel.

this book never gets old. i've had it for so long and now i'm off to college and i still enjoy reading it cover to cover. anne is a great character, one who is easy to love and who explains herself well. the other characters are also quirky. something about this book is very universal, which i think explains why even in this century i still find myself being able to relate to Anne. the plot, while essentially a love story, is not overly sappy. and while most people would probably expect the ending, the twists and turns throughout the novel keep you entertained and engaged.

I will begin my first garden next spring and I wanted to know everything right away. I'm thrilled with this book because it includes sections on soil, companion planting, garden design and more. Very good for me since it's the only gardening book I own.

This is a must-have book if you garden; it is easy to find information, very well organized, and the explanations and directions are clear. The second half of the book has detailed information on most vegetables including what plants are best to plant before and next to this plant as well as common problems, depth of soil etc ... This book is wonderful because it is helpful if you already have a garden or if you are starting a new one. I appreciate that he talks about beneficial insects and organic gardening techniques. I would recommend this book to everyone.
Other great books to use with this book:
Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series)Crocketts Victory Garden

Excellent book - I checked it out at a local bookstore so I knew it was what I wanted. Next year will be our first year with a garden so we're excited to read this book over the winter to prepare. GREAT book for new gardeners.

Excellent book to read through and then keep as reference.
There are MANY nice color pictures (especially at the end there is a vegetable reference guide for planting/care/info).
This book gives you step-by-step instructions to designing and cultivating a high-yield WORD garden.
If you are clueless about gardening, get this book.
If you think you know everything, then get this book (even if you have memorized the companion planting reference matrix).
From small planter box gardens to acre sized garden plots..
If you want to learn how to grow vegetables, then this is the book!

Hoping to make the most of my new garden, I picked up this book and hoped some of the techniques would work. WOW doesn't even begin to describe how great this was. The techniques outlined in this book will take a relatively small garden and produce veggies like you've never imagined! I can hardly wait for next year when I'll have more time to build beds and plant even more! I really believe it'll be possible to feed my family with just the vegetables we can grow ourselves.

If you wnat to get the most out of your garden space, you need this book!

This book has lots of good ideas in it.

Well worth the money.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I ordered this book. I was amazed at how well thought out the "hacks" were and the authors take the time to explain the why of the "hack" with plenty of detail. Their handling of the different topics are from the perspective of what they found works well, but they take the time to address alternate viewpoints and the relative merits of each (an example is their handling of the red-dot sight vs Telrad vs Rigel Qwikfinder debate, some very useful information there!).

This is a definite "must have" book for any telescope owner (they handle dobs extremely well in this book), and is the second book you need to buy after choosing a good observing guide.

My wife gave me a decent telescope for Christmas and by luck got one that's pretty good. This book makes some specific recommendations that would have been useful to have read first.

A must have book for anyone getting into astronomy, whether with binoculars or a telescope. It's also a good to buy and read before you buy binoculars or a telescope, as it helps you decide what need to get. I was very impressed with it, and couldn't put it down, which says a lot about a technical book.

Gazing at the night sky is part of our nature. Whether for scientific and/or aesthetic purposes, we humans are fascinated by the enormity and beauty of the heavens.

The authors explain how astronomy gives them an "unchanging framework that places us in context within the universe. We look at the Great Orion Nebula, for example, and realize that the light we see tonight began its journey about 1,550 years ago, when the Roman Empire was in its final days."

This book is a comprehensive (almost 400 pages) guide to getting the most out of your nocturnal viewings. It will be useful for the complete amateur, the hobbyist and even offer some tips for the seasoned astronomer.

Don't be frightened by the word "Hacks" in the title. Like other O'Reilly Hacks books, this is not a compilation of illegal or unethical computer programs. It is a reclaiming of the original meaning of the word "hacks." Before the media started using the term hackers for everyone from mischievous teens to dangerous criminals, a Hacker was someone who used a creative workaround or discovered a more elegant, or quick-and-dirty, solution to a problem.

You probably won't read this book from cover to cover. Depending on where you are starting from and where you want to go, you will find sections that pertain to your interest and experience. Early in the book is a guide to choosing binoculars and telescopes. I like the hack that explains how to measure your "entrance pupil size" using Allen wrenches. This will suggest the optimal telescope for my eyes.

The book also gives tips, guidelines and even etiquette for venturing out alone or with others on an observation trip.

There is some solid information as to how our eyes function in the dark. If you are eager to see stars, you can skip some of this but I found it interesting. Especially the explanation of why all cats are gray in the dark.

After about 100 pages you will get into star identification and cataloging. It begins with the Bayer Catalog, (Johann Bayer published the first comprehensive star atlas in 1603) and then includes more modern catalogs.

The authors provide lists of, say, the 88 modern constellations and include a pronunciation guide so you don't sound like a newbie.
As an "urban observer" (about 8 miles from downtown), I have different equipment needs and techniques than a country dweller. There is a whole section dedicated to Urban Observing Skills.

For the adventurous, there is a game plan to complete a Messier Marathon (seeing and logging all 110 Messier Objects in one night.

Astronomy has long been linked to photography and there are a lot of hacks dealing with taking pictures of the images you observe.

Those who have gone beyond the beginner stage will appreciate all the hacks and modifications you can make to your telescope and other equipment to improve your experience. And the book concludes with hacks to make your PC a better tool in your observations.

This book provides a nice starting point for people interested in the night sky. But it's not a beginner's book. As your skills and interest grow, you will continue to uncover new and useful ideas from this book.

I have 6-8 weeks left of my pregnancy and started to read this book and bookmark pages for my birth partner, my husband. Reading now, I think this book is very beneficial and will be very useful for us when the time comes to deliver our first baby. It was recommended by my midwife and I am glad I listened to her.

This book is a great resource for anyone about to give birth or attending a birth.
It really goes into detail about "how it works", what can be done to help the mother, what might help alleviate birth discomfort, birth scenarios etc.. Very helpful, either as a supplemental reading for a birth class or as a very good substitute for one. I would definitely recommend you buy this book!

I loved this book I read it cover to cover in less than 3 days I found it very informative and the highlighted pages would be very usefull in the labor and delivery room. I look forward to being able to use it during the actual delivery

This is our first pregnancy, and my husband is honestly more nervous than me! Letting him know what to expect is great for him.

This was one of the best purchases we made in terms of labor and delivery for our first child. Well worth reading for the mom-to-be and anyone else who is going to be involved in the labor and delivery.

The book is well organized and very easy to read. It captures both the novice as well as those who have been working in WPF since beta (or is that CTP). The only complaints I have for the book are really just complaints on WPF in general. A lot of the material in the book (as well as WPF in general) focuses on making fairly outlandish applications (getting all the wizz bang features and animations). What I find lacking are items like validation, threading (when having a long background task), and items more akin to Windows Forms development. This book was an invaluable tool while I put together my first WPF application.

A quick background of my skills prior to reading the book so you know where I'm coming from:
- Strong: C++, Win32, 2D UI
- Learning: C#, .NET, WPF, XAML, XML

Being extremely anxious to dig in to WPF, I was seeking a book that would hold my hand through the process but by the end, leave no stones unturned. This book comes close.

My first attempt at learning was "Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed" by Adam Nathan. I quickly became frustrated with the book because I was regularly feeling lost. You know, like when you are conversing with a really intelligent person who has a hard time helping you connect the dots. I do recommend Adam's book as a supplement as it's got good material and is in full color. After reading the reviews for "Programming WPF" by Sells & Griffiths I took the leap.

I read the book cover to cover minus 3 chapters: 3D, Interoperability and Async/Multithreaded -- about 700 of 800 pages. Usually books this fat have lots of useless pages. Not this book, no sir, which just goes to show how much there is to learn about WPF and XAML. In a word, the book is brilliant, written for experienced programmers who want to learn WPF and XAML.

It has the same feel as Petzold's Win 3.x books, i.e. Light-hearted, start easy and built to a powerful crescendo as the chapters progress. The latter chapters are no more difficult to digest than the previous chapters, but do build upon previous chapters. That said, I was extremely grateful that the book didn't have a grand project that was slowly built upon chapter by chapter; code examples mostly stood on their own and were plentiful (and they worked as printed!)

As noted above, I know very little about WinForms, and WPF is the obvious successor. Though parallels were duly noted, I was thrilled that there were not constant sidebars saying "Hey Mr. WinForms! Everything's OK! This is just new stuff and you can handle it. Rah! Rah! Rah!" As the authors make abundantly clear from page 1, WPF is light years ahead of WinForms.

As noted above, WPF and XAML are big topics so be prepared to get up and stretch your legs a lot, hold you head frequently and doubt the wisdom of learning new things.

On the down side, the book is weighted a bit too heavily towards XAML for my tastes. Since C# can do absolutely everything (and more) that XAML can do, I wish there were more dual examples that show how XAML does it and then how C# does it. There are examples like this but not enough. This would satisfy the curiousity of developers who wonder about how XAML "magically" achieves things.

Another gripe, now that I am attempting to apply what I have learned: I am frequently having to turn to a Google search to find details not present in the book. For example, the section about event bubbling covers good ground but I immediately had a problem when trying to use bubbling: I was attempting to use it with sibling elements and that does not work but (as far as I can tell) this was not noted in the book. It feels as though the book was not field tested.

And a final gripe: The index is sparse. I am regularly having to pencil in items.

Some brief notes:
- I really hope this book evolves along with WPF's evolution
- The material seemed fresh (as of Oct 2008) except the Silverlight appendix which has aged since Silverlight 2.0 has been released
- The corresponding errata website does not seem to be updated regularly (though I didn't encounter many editing problems)
- Even though the book only has a dozen pages of color plates, you won't feel deprived as the examples will light up your display in all sorts of fun ways.

I have both WPF books by Chris Anderson and Adam Nathan. I read initial chapters of both of them but never got so excited to continue reading and got astray into LINQ and other stuff. Then I bought this one from Chris Sells and all I can say is it is much better than both Anderson and Adam book and the book keeps you engaged making you eager to find out what next in very simple terms and wonderful example. I loved the way the data binding chapter was explained and am hoping to finish this soon.

Great Job Sells and Ian.

I'm almost ashamed to admit that after diving into WPF back when it was known as "Avalon", I haven't even touched WPF since. So I finally needed to suck it up, get started, and learn WPF.

As somebody new to WPF, I just have to give a huge "Thank You" to both Chris and Ian. This book is very entertaining and the quality of the writing between both Chris and Ian is just tremendous. The pace of the book is perfect and the teaching style is one that any developer can relate to.

As a Technical Evangelist working for Microsoft, I think that every "Evangelist" in the tech industry can learn from Chris and Ian on how to tell a compelling story that developers can relate to and "grok". We evangelists are all-too-willing to simply explain the technical details of an API while completely forgetting to answer the "why" (let alone telling a compelling story to suck people in). This is yet another area that this book excels at.

I can say with full confidence that this book is the first book I recommend to anybody wanting to dive into WPF. Enjoy!

Jason Olson, Technical Evangelist, Visual Studio & the .NET Framework
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Writing a programming book is not an easy thing to do -- I know, because I've done it myself. And I have to say that I'm really impressed with the job that Chris Sells and Ian Griffiths have done with "Programming WPF". This is one of the best programming books I've ever read (and I've read a lot of them).

For a programming book to be good, it's not enough for it to simply contain all of the information that you need to know. If that information doesn't stick to your brain, then the book hasn't done it's job. If you want the information to stick, then the book has to be interesting to read. It has to have a lot of clear examples that show you real-world applications without extraneous fluff. And to be really effective, all of that should be done with a little bit of style and wit.

And I'm really pleased to say that "Programming WPF" does all of those things. I recently needed a refresher on WPF, so I just spent a lot of time over the last few weeks going through the book very carefully. And I have to say that I'm really impressed. It's engaging, interesting and they chose really good examples. And it's witty! (You'd be amazed at how the occasional chuckle keeps a reader from getting that "eyes glazed over" feeling that far too many books induce.)

I know from experience -- believe me, I know! -- just how hard it is to pull that off. And they did it with style. So first of all, congratulations to Chris and Ian for doing a great job. And second, if you're a C# developer looking for a good, hands-on way to learn WPF, I highly recommend "Programming WPF".