Rating: 
Summary: Lots of info but a disappointing read.
Review: After reading the reviews of this book I purchased it and was disappointed. While Bob Beauchemin certainly seems to know quite a bit about databases and ADO.Net I found that his writing style made it hard for me to learn as much as I had hoped I would. He tends to just state facts (useful as they may be) without giving proper context. He never seems to explain why something is the way it is. Similarly, while each example covers the intended functionality, they are only rarely explained.Having finished reading the book I feel an army draftee who is taught how to shoot and march and then dropped into a war zone without a clue as to actually survive.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Read, must buy for using ADO.NET
Review: Bob's book really explains the under the cover details of ADO.NET well. He does not bore you with pages after pages of sample code. He describes a concept, gives a brief sample, then moves on. For his first book, he did a great job. The book reads well and flows well. Lots of developers just want to know how so they can crank out code. Then, later when things do not work or scale, they wonder why. If this is you, pick up another ADO.NET book. Bob explains how and then some.
Rating: 
Summary: A comprehensive reference to ADO.NET
Review: Book contains a lot of valuable information, unfortunately it reads like an owner's manual. The layout of the book is it's main drawback, it follows the same format as legal codes (ex. 7.2.2 Refining Dataset'S XML schema) and the text formatting of the book looks like it was done in Word. If you are a fan of the "developmentor series" you should like this book, otherwise go somewhere (anywhere, ok maybe except Sam's publishing) else.
Rating:
Summary: Look Elsewhere
Review: Book contains a lot of valuable information, unfortunately it reads like an owner's manual. The layout of the book is it's main drawback, it follows the same format as legal codes (ex. 7.2.2 Refining Dataset'S XML schema) and the text formatting of the book looks like it was done in Word. If you are a fan of the "developmentor series" you should like this book, otherwise go somewhere (anywhere, ok maybe except Sam's publishing) else.
Rating:
Summary: After using the book I wish this guy will write more books
Review: Every time I can't find something I refer to this book it didn't disappoint me yet.
Rating:
Summary: A comprehensive reference to ADO.NET
Review: I was generally very pleased with this book. It is an excellent reference for .NET developers using any of the more advanced features of ADO.NET. Bob's chapter on XML integration with ADO.NET is particularly well done. I expect to be using this book as a reference for years to come. My only compliant is that the book sometimes blurs the distinctions between SQL Server and other relational databases such as Oracle and DB2 UDB. Features that are only relevant to SQL Server are sometimes lumped together with more general database connectivity issues. It would have been clearer to have separate chapters for using ADO.NET with databases other than Microsoft SQL Server.
Rating:
Summary: very complete
Review: I've read this book a couple of times. I don't have a problem with the style of writing like some of the other reviews have said. I think style is just a matter of taste. For me, it seems like Mr. Beauchemin does a good job answering the important questions, so it works for me. What I think is the biggest strength of the book is how much the author knows about various databases and how he always contrasts SQL client classes to OLEDB client classes. I also like the coverage on Datasets as a standalone repository of data.
Rating: 
Summary: You can use it...
Review: It's not bad, you can use it.
If you like VERY BIG FONTS AND MARGINS you can even enjoy it. Especially if you are kind of person who like style of Ken Henderson's "The Guru's Guide to SQL Server Stored Procedures, XML, and HTML". This one is also guru-made.
But if you need less water and more value for your money - get yourself "Microsoft ADO.NET (Core Reference)" by David Sceppa.
Rating:
Summary: If you're programming with ADO.NET, you need this book!
Review: There is no question that Bob Beauchemin knows his stuff! Anyone who has done any database programming and wants to learn ADO.NET should read this book. Bob obviously has an incredible knowledge of database access standards and ADO.NET is no exception. I have read a number of books on ADO.NET at this point, but none of them even come close to explaining it in the clear and concise way that Bob does in this book. Having programmed with ODBC, OLE DB, and ADO, I loved the chapters that compare the common concepts and point out the ways to accomplish the same tasks that I was familiar with from the other standards.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Reference/Resource Book
Review: This book covers those things about ADO.NET you cannot seem to find anywhere else - web, books, etc. Examples in the book provide straight-to-the-point information and details.
Personally, I feel this a must have book for your .NET collection!
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