Rating: 
Summary: Good Visual Basic Beginners Book
Review: I had taken basic and Pascal programming languages in the past. I bought this book to help me learn the new things in Visual Basic (interface and coding). The book covers the basics very well. Since I already had a (rusty) background in programming I was able to skim through parts of the book and finish it in a week. The descriptions of the coding and theory are in layman's terms and easy to understand. No programming experience is required for this book. Since I was using this book as a refresher and to bring me up to speed, I didn't enjoy the "class room" feel of the book (he wrote the book as if he was conducting a college class). There are also some minor corrections to the text at the www.activepath.com web site, they are needed for some of the codings and quizes.
Rating: 
Summary: Painful To Read
Review: If your least favorite part of taking classes are the extranious comments by your classmates and the inefficient use of time this book is NOT for you. When I want to read something with conversation I read a novel - I bought this book wanting to learn to program Visual Basic. I like to maximize the use of my time and learn as fast as possible, this book makes that impossible. The programming information is hidden between segments of "Max said,..." and "Rhonda replied,..." The author goes so far as to point out his suggestions that the "class" take a break. I've tried to skim the fluff and pick out the programming but in may cases it's near impossible. I purchased the book after reading its many glowing reviews and was sorely let down, no one mentioned the slow pace. If your time is important to you and you don't want to devote it to reading passages that have nothing to do with programming don't buy this book. If you like a casual pace and a 'human' touch get this book... or better yet really sign up for a class and contribute your own comments.
Rating: 
Summary: First programming book to make sense
Review: I have purchased several "beginners" programming books but this is the first that has really make sense from a beginners point of view.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Beginner's Book for Visual Basic
Review: This book is truly a great place to start learning Visual Basic 6. It is aimed at individuals who have little to no programming experience and provides a step-by-step approach covering many of the major topics used in Visual Basic. Note, however, this book does not cover all of the topics that one might wish to use in Visual Basic. More advanced topics are better left to more specialized books. John Smiley does introduce topics including data manipulation, selection structures, loops, string manipulation, disk files and printer operations, arrays, error handling and he even talks about the Windows Registry. This book is written in an easy to follow format that makes it enjoyable and informative for the beginner. Intermediate programmers will also find this book useful because the topics covered will help to clear up certain points of confusion that one may have concerning basic programming techniques and conventions used in Visual Basic. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick and easy way to start learning Visual Basic.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect starting point for newcomers to VBA development
Review: My background is in web design, and when I started to develop applications in Microsoft Access 2000, I quickly picked up on its visual interface. However, in order to make my Access applications truly professional, I needed to add functions programmed in VBA. I tried several beginning Access VBA books but none could teach me how to program. When you start to learn programming your focus is divided. First, you must understand the interaction between the software you develop and the computer. Second, you must learn a new language with a specific vocabulary and grammar rules. Apart from their scope and level of complexity both Visual Basic and Access 2000 are made to assist you in developing applications. The similarities between the interfaces are striking. The actual code you write in both programs is VBA. With very few exceptions it is the same whether you are programming in Visual Basic or Access. The true strength of this book is its capability to place everything in context. Not only the VBA language, but also what programming in general is, and how the computer interacts with your software. The book's dialog-form, describing the communication between a lecturer and his students can be almost too detailed and repetitious. However, it's this very pace, the repetitive questions and classroom-style dialog that taught me the simple logic and structure behind programming. After reading this book, I was able to go back to Access and work with simple VBA code in my application. If you have no programming experience, do yourself a favor and learn the very basics to lay a solid foundation, before starting any application development.
Rating:
Summary: Excelent book for learning Visual Basic!
Review: This book is written for the one who really want's to learn visul Basic, and don't know anything about programming. It's start from nothing, and by the end of the book, you will know how to make simples, but usefuls applications. In this book you will not find any advance programming techniques. For advance programming, I recommend one of the Microsoft Press Books.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for getting started in Visual Basic
Review: This is an excellent introductory book on VB. Smiley's conversational tone combined with the Socratic dialogs make the book very readable and easy to understand. I've learned more from this book than I have from a college course in VB. This book is written the way the course should have been taught.
Rating:
Summary: ONE WORD - EXCELLENT!!
Review: I HAVE ALL OF SMILEYS' BOOKS AND THOUGH SOME WOULD SAY THEY ARE SIMPLISTIC, HE HAS A TERRIFIC WAY OF REINFORCING THE MATERIAL. THEY ARE AN EXCELLENT STARTING POINT FROM WHICH TO GO ON IN YOUR VB CAREER.
Rating:
Summary: Approximately Educational
Review: Perhaps the title should be: For Absolute Absolute Absolute Beginners. I found the stride of this book too slow. The narrative of each student was laborious for me. I'm not to sure I like the way the book was written (like a story), partly because I've used VB6 at a friends house. Smiley intended to have every question answered as you where thinking about it, but for me that only happened 1 time when Linda (smartest person in class) asked something. I guess I just expected to be the only person in the class, but Smiley had to tend to people of various IQ levels, so, many of my complex (Linda) questions where left unanswered. The missing stars are for the Quotation Marks, that should have been Question Marks, but where left out due to Classroom over crowding.
Rating: 
Summary: Superfluous dribble!
Review: I am disapointed is an understatement. Mr. Smiley is an experianced Teacher, but he is a dredful Author. That is what is so iratating about the book. I found my self Frustrated by the fact he would not talk about VB, but insted talk about incignificant & meaningless character development that is best left on the Fiction Shelf. This is a shameless attempt to turn 1 book into 5. I have read 3 of his books, and some of these reviews are fake! that is my final answer.
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