Rating: 
Summary: The Flash 5 Bible is an excellent resource
Review: I have recently entered the world of Flash 5 for building everything from banners, to animations to multimedia web pages. As a neophite to scripting languages and the immmense power of Flash, I was in need of a resource to help me to quickly get up to speed. I examined at least 10 different volumes from different authors devoted to learning Flash 5. Many of the other manuals had unique individual sections that had greater concentration in certain subject areas. The Flash 5 Bible was the only book available that seemed to combine all the information and elements into one central volume. It is easy to understand for the beginner but also progresses as you learn, taking you to intermediate and even advanced levels. It was the only resource I was able to find that answered the many questions I had regarding action scripting and communication techniques with other programs like Director. I am using Flash 5 in conjuction with Director 8.5 to build an interactive direct marketing cd rom. The Flash Bible was the only book I could find that clearly and concisely enabled me to understand the scripting required to to capitalize on the powerful combinations of Flash and Director in concert. In my humble opinion, it is the single best resource for anyone who wants to quickly learn Flash 5 and as you progress, still have the ability to contiually refer to the same resource for future questions and support. My hat is off to Robert Reinhardt for creating the Flash Bible and I look very much forward to picking up his next publication The ActionScript Bible which I understand is due out in the 1st qtr, 2002. You won't have to buy 5 different books to get your Flash questions answered, The Bible is the only one you'll need.
Rating: 
Summary: I needed to learn Flash for a job, was thrown to the fire...
Review: Well, I got a job in a educational software company. They use Flash here. I boss thought I was the right fit for the job and I told him that I didn't know Flash. He said I will just have to learn it. I need to make interactive movies using Flash, so my focus isn't on web development but more of the cartooning/animation aspects etc. I bought three Flash books, but the two I was most happy with are Flash 5 Cartooning by Mark Clarkson and Flash 5 Bible. The cartooning book was very specific for what I wanted to do and the Flash 5 Bible was everything I needed for reference and another perspective. It is full of good examples, the explanations are fairly good and put me up to speed in Flash. I started as a total beginner and after practicing at work, reading these books, and going to the Flash 5 Bible for reference and clear things up, I would say I'm now an intermediate. I basically learned Flash from these books in order to create interactive movies.I can't comment on web design stuff, because that's not my interest, but the book is full of action script (I skipped this stuff) and it is very detailed. I believe it is an excellent reference. I don't think it's the type of book you would read cover to cover, but I think it's excellent for choosing what your interests are, or what techniques you want to understand to get the job done. With 1300 pages, it's full value. If you want to learn Flash, I think you should buy a couple books, and this is one that I would recommend. Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: A Comprehensive Yet Usable Work
Review: Riding the crest of the growing wave of Flash books is this latest offering from Rob Reinhardt and Jon Lentz. This version is twice the size of their Flash 4 Bible and reflects lots of new and revised content. I like how the book is organized - aimed both at beginning users and at people who just want to dive into the action scripting that Macromedia exposed in Flash 5. The authors strengthen their book by bringing in other authors to do various "Expert Tutorials" and major content for chapters such as the Generator chapter. Colin Moock in a tutorial on pages 1186-1189 answers a question I've had for some time, which is why many Flash sites use frames (hey, you'll have to read it to find out, just like I did!). There IS a reason. ActionScript is the strength of Flash 5 and this sets the expectation for how Macromedia intends to expand the programming capabilities of Flash. Although this volume doesn't cover ActionScript with the depth of a book that only focuses on ActionScript, it provides a good start for those wanting to become conversant with this technology. The best web books contain a CD (this one does) and have a corresponding supporting web site, for errata, additional materials etc. Aof this writing (2-18-01) www.flash5bible.com is still "under construction." Hey guys, let's get it completed and up so we can use it with your book! Joe Meboe
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but rough around the edges
Review: This is a good and fairly comprehensive book for Flash 5. However, most of the expert tutorials are carry overs from the previous book, Flash 4 Bible. It also looks like they were writing this book against a beta version of Flash 5, because many of the screenshots don't match up. So far there are 31 mistakes logged in the 'errata engine' at this books website, I expect more to come, maybe I'm just a cynic. I may sound like I'm in a bad mood, that's because I just got done with chapter 13. I've probably spent a good hour here and there wondering where I messed up, only to figure out later its the book that is wrong. If you're looking for a code repository that you can draw from quickly and easily, this sample code isn't as easily ported to your own sites as you might expect. There are more and better resources available free on the net. There are also newer and slicker books out there, dragslidefade is a good place to start when you are done with the standard fare. DSF has lots of code you can really drag and drop into your site, it's even free for download, the web address is in this review.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad Editing, Alot of Errors
Review: This books is fraught with errors that will drive you crazy if you're trying to learn Flash for the first time. It's a great example of what happens when a book needs to get to press before it's been thoroughly edited. I'm actually on Amazon.com to get another Flash 5 tutorial book to replace this monument to bad editing. In a word... don't waste your money. :)
Rating:
Summary: A big disappointment
Review: Don't get carried away by the title. At first glance you'd expect a huge tutorial on Flash 5, when in fact its just a thousand plus pages of content I could have found on the help section of Flash 5 itself. I expected this book to be project-based training, when I got surprised that it spent the first few hundred pages on exploring the interface alone. The authors just spent too much time EXPLAINING stuff and not too much time teaching readers HOW to use Flash. It doesnt encourage use of Flash, it doesnt inspire, nor does it merit a second look. My recommendation: If you're a Flash newbie and didnt know a help section existed, buy this book. As for the rest go look somewhere else. (e.g. Foundation Flash 5).
Rating:
Summary: We don't deliver.
Review: I must agree with my 1 star friend. This book doesn't deliver. It spends all this time talking about things that we could grasp just by looking in the help section of the program. It goes over basic things several times and makes it sound very complicated when it is totally simple. This book is good for people who have alot of time to waste and money.
Rating:
Summary: Try the Visual Quickstart Guide instead!!!
Review:
The Bible series are all written by programmers, most of whom couldn't write a coherent sentance if their lives depended on it. This book is chock full of the most absurd grammatical errors, ambiguous instructions, and just plain bad writing. All of that aside, the everything-including-the-kitchen-sink approach that this book takes should be useless to anyone who isn't already a well aquainted Flash 5 user. As a Graphic Design/Web Development student, I have been required to buy books from the Bible series for several of my classes. Each and every time, I have ended up purchasing a supplemental book 2-3 weeks into the course, and never again opening the Bible book. If you're a beginning or intermediate Flash 5 user looking for coherent instruction, start with the much better written (not to mention cheaper) Visual Quickstart Guide. By the time the Flash 5 Bible is of any use to you, Flash 5 will have been out-versioned several times over. Perhaps the publishers of this book will have employed the services of a good editor by then as well!!!
Rating:
Summary: Sorry, to this reviewer, this is NOT a Five Star book
Review: Usually, if I cannot say something nice, I will not say anything. However, this book calls for an exception. I am a student looking for clear, concise reference backed by tutorials, even a little theory and history to round the educational value. Every dollar spent needs to return value for my money and my time invested in reading and learning. Simply put, any book must get me where I need to go quickly with very few sacrifices in learning depth of a program. Having read many, many Amazon.com reviews of four and five stars of this book, having spoken to another supporter of this book, and going to the local bookstore to see it before buying it, I assumed that I had carefully shopped for and found a great book that would carry me through all stages of learning Flash 5, from beginner to expert. I mean, after all, this book weighs nearly ten pounds, right? How can you go wrong buying a book comparable in size to "War and Peace"? The book has been disgustingly disappointing. The book contains tutorials, some theory and history, all of which visibly attracted me to purchase the book. Nearly 4 weeks were spent reading and learning with this book in front of the computer. During this time, I ended up drawing most of my own references to the interface right inside of the book covers as well as downloading and printing most of my important Flash reading from websites like "Flashkit.com". By the fourth week of self training, I totally abandoned the book due to it's lack of quick answers and author expertise. The authors seem to be somewhat familiar with the functions of this program, but spent most of their time dodging the very important (and broad) intermediate level learning. So, looking for a reference that would introduce ActionScript and more advanced animation features in a comprehensible manner, I settled on "Macromedia Flash 5 - Creative Web Animation" by Derek Franklin and Brooks Patton. This book really delivered. In only one week I had been able to reference and comprehend everything the "Bible" book had attempted and more. My final project, finished a couple of weeks later, consisted in part of what both these books were including in their advanced ActionScripting and animation chapters. I had gone from bouncing ball tutorials to advanced looping interactivity. Anyway, I hope the "Creative Web Animation" authors appreciate the shameless plug. They really deserve it. They kept ALL of it simple, which is really my biggest complaint about the "Bible" authors. Check this book out at the library. It does make some good points about other programs that can be used with Flash. Sort of niche market stuff. ...But if you're going to buy, shop around.
Rating:
Summary: Best solution for beginners and intermediate users
Review: This book is:
1)very easy to understand
2)well planned
3)as good to beginners, as to intermediate users Good book to start with.
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