Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book with a couple of small flaws
Review: I thought this book was excellent. It was easy to read for a novice Flash developer like myself. The examples, especially along with the companion CD, are simple to follow and easy to learn. I've been using it as a reference book for several weeks now and I bought it out of desparation and a lack of online documentation within Flash itself.This is a book you can read from cover to cover or pick the area of interest. The authors describe some fairly complicated issues well and, for the most part, I felt they sufficiently covered the subjects I needed so that, by the end of the book, I was able to rebuild my website entirely in Flash and make it look quite decent too. I would agree with the complaints about too much "Flash with other software" sections of the book. While some of these may be useful to some people, I think too much time was spent on integration topics. I would much rather have seen more in-depth looks at programming and more detail on forms handling and user interaction. Nonetheless, I don't think this spoils the book at all. If you're a starter then this isn't a bad place to begin. As a more experienced Flash developer, I'm sure it's a useful desk reference to keep handy.
Rating:
Summary: An fantastic place to begin
Review: When I came into the world of web design, I was taught HTML. That was fairly recent and it wasn't before long that I became disappointed with my eduaction. I realized knowing HTML would not get me very far in this industry. Thus I delved into the world of Flash, starting out with online tutorials. I spent days trying to sort thru them, many of them awesome, but the lack of organization killed me. Nowhere could I find a set of tutorials that explained Flash front to back. It was then that I resorted to the Flash4 Bible, and I haven't looked back. The authors have done a fantastic job of introducing Flash and will have any newbie up to an intermediate level in no time. The first six chapters explain in minute detail all the basic features of Flash and I found the sections on how to use Flash with other programs extremely helpful, for, as we all know, very few pages come from one source. However, now that I am at intermediate level, I will have to look elsewhere for more indepth information. The section on action scripting is lacking and I will be the first to purchase the Action Scripting Bible (if one appears). I would recommend the Flash4 Bible to anyone who is new to Flash. Jon and Rob have done a fantastic job of getting the user comfortable in a complicated program. For those of you who are looking for more indepth information about Flash, let me know when you find that action scripting book. Thanks for helping me get started guys! Friz 9ammedia Inc.
Rating:
Summary: Stupid CD case
Review: The book was good but the CD case is made terribly and takes forever to open. Also it is hard to read without taking the CD out (gives it more flexibility)I also was dissapointed when I found out that it dosen't actually have flash 4 on it and instead has a trial of it
Rating: 
Summary: Bible is an understatement!
Review: As a new Flash user, I figured I'd go the whole route, and get the big Flash 4 Bible by Rob Reinhardt and Jon Lentz. There is such a world of information in this book, that when I e-mailed Rob Reinhardt to see what he new about the possiblity of the release of Flash 5, I mentioned to him that owning this book is like getting a part-time job. Big book? Try 600+ pages, plus CD... I blocked off 1-1/2 hours per night, sometimes 2, and dedicated it to working with the information these two authors provided. From file sizes to adding Quicktime movies and sound, to Flash's own Actionscript, there's just a world of knowledge here. First, we've all gotten halfway through a project on our computer, and had a question. I've never set this book down and said, "Now what do I do?". I found the answers every single time. As a training guide and reference book, I couldn't have hoped for a more complete book. Second, in addition to the fact that having this book was like having a 24-hour a day expert in the house, yes, I did e-mail the authors with a question that couldn't have been covered in the Flash 4 book--the release date of Flash 5. One of the authors responded quickly, to give me what was his best guess. While you shouldn't try to get away with telling your co-workers or fellow students that you'll be "reading the Bible" into the night, I guarantee that's what you'll be doing. These authors will, I'm sure, write another book for the new, even more outrageous Flash 5, now that it's been announced. I'll be one of the first in line for both the application and the book (book first). Oh, and I gladly paid the full price ... for the Flash 4 Bible, and envy those of you who can pick it up for ... less. You don't need to be a novice, and you'll want to read more, and more, and faster. The easily addicted amongst you should avoid this book. I took it on my train commute, read it at lunch, and read it outside on perfectly sunny days (when I should have been reveling in the weather). Read. The. Bible. Period.
Rating:
Summary: Good but too much reading....
Review: This is a great book on learning Flash 4.0 inside out, but man there are so many pages. if the book could of been more precise and much smaller I would have given it a 5 all the way. But dont get me wrong after reading this you will know your Flash 4.0
Rating:
Summary: Advanced Flashers Only
Review: This is the best Flash 4 book out! Want to know why? Because every book out by IDG is the best! The best advice I, an advanced flash designer, can give you is, look for Bible books only! They are the most specific and detailed of all. That's why this Flash 4 Bible is #1.
Rating: 
Summary: Oops....
Review: Have worked earlier with Flash 3, although still being at an advanced novice level, I expected great things from the Flash 4 Bible when I purchased it to further my knowledge. Unfortunately, what I found was entirely too much generalized information at the beginning of the book...and tutorials where steps were missed entirely, as well as other tutorials which gave incorrect information. For instance, one tutorial instructed the user to select a previously-created button while in a movie clip screen, and then access Modify/Instance. Unfortunately, Modify/Instance was not available from that screen, but was greyed out, and it required one to return to the main screen to access. In the same tutorial, the author neglected one step entirely. I found the missing step entirely by accident, simply by playing with radio buttons to see what function each accomplished. I suppose this wouldn't be too much of a nuisance, if one had all the time in the world to sit and just click on options until one worked. However, in the real world, most of us don't have that sort of time or patience. Needless to say, my money was wasted on this book.
Rating: 
Summary: No Payoff.
Review: It's like reading the manual really, really slowly. After weeding through the basic stuff, which can't be helped nowadays, you only find more generalized, basic information. I expected a lot more coming from a lot of the leaders in the flash industry. Granted there were some great chapters, generally by contributing authors, but even these were available sooner online. I think perhaps, this book chose to be too broad in covering every aspect of flash, which led to having to skim over certain areas that users at my level find most crucial. For a beginner who is put off by the manual for whatever reason, this is a great book. For someone who has already taken on flash, this book will become tiresome. Had this book arrived at the release of Flash 4, then it certainly would've faired better, at least with me. 3 stars because it's valuable to some and not to others. Hope the Flash 5 bible can surpass the already provided documentation for Flash 5.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the training manuals
Review: Macromedia is not known for having great training material. In fact, the Flash online subculture provides better insight than the program manuals. With this in mind the Flash 4 Bible does a good job at teaching you the basics of Flash. This book falls flat when it comes to ActionScripts (but so do most Flash books). You will not become an expert in Flash from this book. To do that you will need Hillman Curtis' "Flash Web Design" (the best Flash book I have ever seen). For the new Flash user, or someone who enjoys the format of these series of books, Flash 4 Bible is a good reference tool.
Rating:
Summary: Best Used For Reference
Review: This book provides an overview of using Flash, not a tutorial. While the book does cover a great many topics, it does not provide much in the way of meaningful step-by-step examples. Therefore, the book resides more in the reference camp--one you should keep by your desk when you hit those "forgetful" moments with Flash.
One element that does work in this book's favor is the lack of many good treatments on this topic. So, if you were looking to learn Flash I would buy this book in addition to one focused on step-by-step examples, like Flash 4 Magic.
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