Rating: 
Summary: For ActionScript, no other Flash book touches this one
Review: The few bad reviews I've seen so far on this book are awfully nitpicky. What's the deal with Mr. validated XML--Flash doesn't care! Flash as an XML parser--or whatever--leaves a lot to be desired. Anyway, that point is irrelevent where Flash is concerned and in any case, the examples in the book sure work for me. Besides the real point, IMHO, is that this book blows away all the other ActionScript books--at least in the depth department. Sure, if you want to learn ActionScript from the ground up, start elsewhere, but if you want to go beyond the basics, Flash 5 Magic is without peer.
Rating: 
Summary: Nearly pure Magic
Review: The previous version of this book took the world of Flash development by storm. It was THE book to have for the aspiring Flash designer. But, like all magic, the luster wears off after everyone knows the tricks. Flash 5 Magic is an updated version with lots of new content, but it suffers from many of the same flaws. Much of the content is hard to follow unless you are a seasoned Flash developer. Also, the code is not error free, leaving the reader to scratch their head and wonder why. The sample files in this book are better prepared than any other Flash tome (with the exception the the New Masters book) making it a worthwhile purchase. Of course, expect all the other Flash developers to be able to offer the same tricks within a month...
Rating: 
Summary: Mistakes a Plenty, Frustrating, Through it out.
Review: Thin explanations about what you are doing. Poor layouts, the book doesn't sit well in a bookholder as it is wider than tall, and there is a lot of empty space that could hold explanations.Terrible editing. I think no one tried to do the examples before they shipped it. The FIRST chapter has 2 files with the crossed names. Being that you have to import one of them... Took me half an hour to figure out this one. The 3rd chapter has a project file that doesn't work even if you copy and paste the code from the working file into it. The help file on their site is NO HELP. They need to have fixed working files to download. In addition it's PC centric. I have both but prefer working on my Mac. Some of the projects don't work on Macs. I thought the point of Flash is that it's cross platform. This book will slow down your learning. I put it down and bought something else. Two wasted days and $... down the drain. If you want a good elementary book try "Foundation Action Script".
Rating: 
Summary: Flash 5 Magic: With ActionScript
Review: This book is a good continuation to the previous book - Flash 4 Magic. However some of the tutorial are a bit more difficult to follow and a bit confusing. Some of the explanation were not easy to understand.
Rating:
Summary: Flash 5 Magic is Magic
Review: This book is definatly one of the best of it's kind. With it's full color pages loaded with screenshots and supplimentary CD full of every thing you need to complete the lessons and tasks, this book will have you up and running, doing amazing stuff with Flash. Very few books can be so comprehensive as far as teaching Flash as well as actionscript and be able to do it so well. I highly recomend this book to anyone wanting to do more with Flash
Rating: 
Summary: Too tough for newbies!
Review: This book seems to be filled with some quite clever idea's, but is too complex for us newbies. I suggest you start out with something simplier. This book is a little more targeted towards game developers for AS, and I gave it 2 starts since it does talk about creating games. Definatly needs a little more explaination about the script that your writing...
Rating:
Summary: this book is not helping me at all
Review: This is a book too complicate for the Flash5 beginers and to easy for the experts.It will make the beginners feel more confusion on the Action Script. And I don't think the Action Sript Masters need to read this.
Rating:
Summary: Fancy Picture Book with Frustrated Results.
Review: This is strictly my opinion, thus it is not empirically verifiable, but I found this book to be extremely disappointing! To me, it seemed as if the authors of this book wrote it the night before it was due to the editors. Until I had read a few other books on Flash 5, I thought it was me. The book takes you through a tutorial on updating a flash movie, say "megansdiary_start.swf," and your updated flash movie should come out exactly like the author's included final flash movie for that tutorial, "megansdiary_final.swf." However, there are lines of syntax that the tutorials fail to mention need to be added to the *_start.swf in order for it to come out like the *_final.swf. Also, what the authors tell you to input into ActionScript for your *_start.swf differs from what they have input in their *_final.swf, not only in location, but in content as well. They might make the claim that I read the book wrong, but that's only because the authors are catering to themselves as readers, not as an intermediate, or let alone a beginner in Flash 5. If I were one of those authors, I would ask for all copies to be recalled to update it in an edited version or I would ask for all copies to just be recalled giving a refund, to avoid future embarassment. I can't believe I wasted [my money] on this book. Oh well, it has neat pictures!
Rating:
Summary: THE worst Flash book I have purchased
Review: This was one severely disappointing Flash book. I've worked a few chapters so far (the calendar and the shopping site chapters), and have found extensive errors in the code. The example code has so many errors that I'm keeping a list of what I've had to correct. If/when I finish all of the examples, I am going to email it to the publisher. My guess is that Friends of Ed has been putting out Flash books left and right, and New Rider felt some pressure to get out Flash 5 Magic before it had been fully edited for code errors and clarity of meaning. The back of the book describes all the *cool* things it encompasses, but don't get your hopes up. This book fails to go into the much needed detail to make the examples come to life in your head. There's no explanations given as to why they structured their code as they did, and I am always left in the dark... Not worth your money... get Colin Moock's ActionScript book instead...
Rating:
Summary: Very Immpressive
Review: What are waiting for? go buy it!
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