Rating: 
Summary: This is NOT it!
Review: *If you are trying to learn to integrate Flash with middleware scripting, i.e. asp, cfm, jsp, or php, this book will drive you nuts. The examples DO NOT work and the authors DO NOT have a support site with corrected code. The book sends you to URLs that don't exist, and requesting technical support from the included phone number sends you to an answering machine. After discovering that no one was interested in supporting the information contained in this book, I emailed a couple of the other folks who left "5 Star" reviews and asked them, "were you able to get the example in chapter 13 to work?" (the first real example of asp integration). I received a reply... "There is no way that I could possibly check all the code for review". To me, that's bad. Don't believe the 5 Star reviews. I've actually READ the book, DONE the examples, and SPENT the time to discover the authors pushed this book out the door without debugging it. It's up to you. You can take a chance and spend the time and money to discover for yourself, or you can pass this book by. If ANYONE can get this code to work as stated in the book, email me at hays@semp.net and I'll eat my Windows 2000 server! *
Rating: 
Summary: Need more in-depth coverage
Review: ... a Flash book that just don't help much, and let me explain why. The book tries to cover a lot of stuff in Flash 5, but not getting deep enough into why the scripts and structure are done for each of the project. At most you get one or two lines such as "this line does this function, blah blah blah" and not letting you know why the author chose this way to make the whole function work. This book is great for those Flash Developers that just like to copy and paste codes instead of really learning the actionscript, so if you are one of those ..., you're in luck. For others, try Friends of Ed books for a change, they might not be in all color but the content for all their books are worth every penny you spent on them
Rating: 
Summary: A great resource for professional Flash designers.
Review: A year ago, "Flash 4 Magic" really helped me get going in a career doing Flash design. I was feeling like an expert until I upgraded to version 5 and realized I had a lot more to learn about Actionscript. Now I'm working through Flash 5 Magic, and it's just what I needed. The projects are advanced and will give me plenty to chew on in real applications, using arrays, functions, XML & database integration, etc.. If you're looking for an advanced Flash book without the filler, you can't go wrong with this one.
Rating:
Summary: A great resource for professional Flash designers.
Review: A year ago, "Flash 4 Magic" really helped me get going in a career doing Flash design. I was feeling like an expert until I upgraded to version 5 and realized I had a lot more to learn about Actionscript. Now I'm working through Flash 5 Magic, and it's just what I needed. The projects are advanced and will give me plenty to chew on in real applications, using arrays, functions, XML & database integration, etc.. If you're looking for an advanced Flash book without the filler, you can't go wrong with this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Does what its predecessor didn't
Review: After finding Flash 4 Magic to be one of my more disappointing purchases of the previous year, I was hesitant to pick up this book. Fortunately, this one delivers. Flash 5 Magic not just a book on how to do basic graphics and making simple timeline based movies. This version gets in depth with Flash 5's Action Script and XML capabilities. If you already code, don't really want another graphics how-to book, and want some good ideas, this is the book for you. On the other hand, If you are a beginner at Flash, or conversely, want some real in-depth and comprehensive info (like a Wrox or O'Rielly publication), you may have to wait a little longer. Don't wait too long though; those types of publications have been few and far between in the Flash world.
Rating:
Summary: Flash 5 Magic: Another New Riders Doorstop
Review: After going through the disappointing Flash 4 Magic, I swore I'd never buy another New Riders publication. Alas, in a momentary laps of judgement bought Flash 5 Magic after reading five star reviews and briefly thumbing through the book, but this one is only slightly better than it's predecessor.
<<The Layout>>
Why does anybody think a horizontal layout is good? At 10 x 8 book is too wide to easily to fit on to any copy stand making it hard to read and follow instructions if you're at a workstation.
Who picked this font and could they make it any smaller? Need I say more? If you can place this next to your monitor and glance back and forth without getting eye strain, more power to ya.
Can we have some more pictures, please? This book's layout could not have been designed by programmer or anyone who had any intention of going through the tutorials. They dominate the pages making the already hard to read content even more transparent.
<<Speaking of Content>>
This book, like Flash 4, simply tries to cover too much ground without giving you the proper foundation. At least, this time, they give some explanation about what the code is doing, but it's not nearly enough. The problem is, unless you already know XML, ASP, database and the like, you won't recognize the weakness of the examples in this book, but trust me, this ain't the way to go.
In my opinion, "This book is more about image than substance, lots of pretty pictures"... Or you can believe what the liner notes say: "Flash 5 Magic goes behind the facade, into the dark underbelly of Flash where the alchemy is made of scripts and coding!"
Yeah, right!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: After hearing about it from numerous people I am happy to say this book lives up to its great rep. The visuals are fab and the CD source code flawless. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!! The great thing about this book is that you will not be able to put it down. If you already have a foundational understanding of Flash, you will be up and running immediately. There is no wasting of time with basics that you already know or theoretical waxings. This book will get you working on ActionScript and more in no time.
Rating:
Summary: Poorly Formed XML
Review: After looking at all the 5 star reviews, I thought it was just me, but I guess it isn't. I was looking forward to a good explanation of using XML with Flash 5. Like all XML users the first thing I did was to verify the XML document in Emberton's project. It would not verify. I found a typo in the DTD, fixed the typo, and then attempted to verify it with the repaired DTD. Still no luck. Next, I went through the ActionScript code, and it seemed to be all right, but no one in their right mind could trust script using unverified XML documents. The explanation of how the process works is unclear, and if anyone thinks that providing a screen shot of the ActionScript with purple comments is an explanation, I can tell you unequivocally that it is not. I passed to the next XML example in the book by John Lenker. Lenker must have held his breath when he prepared this example, hoping against hope that no one who had a clue about XML would read it. First, after a windy and uninformed "discussion" of how XML is formed, the author conveniently forgot to add a DTD section or a schema. Did the XML verify? Of course not! Then the kludge he put together as an "example" was similar to what Chris Smith did in his Flash/XML tutorial available free at Flashkit. However, Chris Smith's XML verified! Lenker used a similar trick as Smith did in setting up his XML, but not quite as good. Instead of using "lastChild" to identify the root node of the XML document (as did Emberton), he used ".firstChild." That's fine, but to use that code, he had to keep his first two tags on the first line <?xml version...?><TopStories>. By doing do, he effectively knocks out a tag for the DTD or schema. This is not good advice for people who are writing Flash for clients! It will crash and burn, and you've just made someone who read this kludge look like an idiot. No matter how lofty Lenker makes his pronouncements, he did not do his homework, and anyone who takes his stuff seriously is going to be burned. Go back and read XML: A Primer by St. Laurent (really) to get an idea of what XML is meant to be. I don't know where you're going to find a good explanation of how to use XML with Flash. Try Chris Smith's online tutorial at Flashkit. At least his XML document verifies.
Rating: 
Summary: Scratching the surface
Review: After reading Flash 4 Magic last year, I came to the conclusion that that book left me with more questions than answers due to the lack of detail an OOP book should contain. Leafing through Flash 5 Magic this year I had high hopes that this book would be more comprehensive than it's predecessor. Upon finishing this book, I am still left with the same feeling that I was with Flash 4 Magic. When a book attempts to describe a conceptually oriented program like Flash 5 and fails to deliver specific steps needed to instruct the reader, the book fails in its purpose. Flash 5 Magic visually entices the buyer without delivering the entire actionscript code and specific steps needed to complete the book's example projects.
Rating:
Summary: Essential for Design Library
Review: As a graphic designer, I found 'Flash 5 Magic with ActionScript' to be tremendously helpful as a tool to help learn the software. Having first read 'Flash 4 Magic' and becoming a lover of Flash, I craved more information. 'Flash 5 Magic' is a resource that I keep within reach. The index is excellent and so to is the layout. After following along with the example tutorials, I quickly grasped the Flash idealogies. This allowed me to easily express complicated concepts and develop client-pleasing projects. To become proficient with any software is the key to success. Before learning Flash, I wanted to know that I could create ideas without being slowed by having to becoming a programmer. I recently used the book to assist me with a very important Flash presentation for a large potential client. I received a standing ovation as the CEO and Executive Team were in awe of the presentation. I won the contract over some very large ad agencies thanks to these books!
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