Rating: 
Summary: An exercise in massive frustration...
Review: Even though the author of this book evidently has a good grasp of the concepts she attempts to teach, I unfortunately have to agree with other reviewers that for a even an experienced user, there is no way one could get through this book in 15 hours. Beginners will be completely frustrated by the NUMEROUS and really unnacceptable errors in both the text and sample files on the CD. I too, spent a couple weeks trying work my way through the book, checking the author's web site, e-mailing her, getting no response, and finally returning the book in frustration. I'm a writer also, with a much better-than-average grasp of computer software, and this author/publisher commits the unforgiveable sin of not having a novice proofread the text to check for errors and omissions. Unless one already has a fairly extensive knowledge of the concepts presented, there is no way he will get more than half the way through this text before giving up in frustration. A shame, considering that the author has a good overall concept and intentions. I cannot recommend this book - there are MUCH better texts out there that have been properly checked for accuracy. Don't waste your money or time on this.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Starter
Review: I am/was completely new to dreamweaver, I had opened the program once, this book gave me good foundation knowledge and was helpful not just with dreamweaver but also with basic web design techniques and concepts. BUT, yes there is a but, it tended to repeat itself (one entire exercise being repeated), it was also full of errors, some could be corrected if you had knowledge of html and web design, some are corrected on the authors web site, but the rest were just annoying (such as leaving out one instruction which was a vital step). The problems with the CD however are all fixed by downloading the zip file from the authors site. Overall I think this book is a good starter but I would not recommend it to anyone at a higher level than begginer.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for DW trainers and students
Review: I gave this book 5 stars in spite of the typographical and CD errors because this is the best teaching book I've seen. Corrected CD files are available at the author's web site and the typographical errors, although regrettable, are not huge stumbling blocks.The surface problems do not hide this book's well-planned and well-written core. I teach Dreamweaver classes and was looking for a book to use for a new 5-day class. The Macromedia Authorized book still had not exited the publisher and we had sign-ups for our new class. I finally found this book and my company bought copies for all the students. The first session of the new class ended last Friday and the students were extremely happy with what they had learned. The fact that I was able to use a book advertised as a 15-hour weekend course for five 6-hour sessions shows that there is more here than can practically be covered in one weekend. But it's also due to the fact that more average computer users are starting to use DW and they need a slower pace to absorb the material. This book is perfect for that profile as well as web professionals looking to learn a new program. A huge amount of information is covered through orderly step-by-step exercises. The author conveys a feeling of excitement at all the cool things that DW can do. I really like the personal, conversational style written by someone who uses the program professionally. She also makes the reader step into the HTML code, which I also believe is necessary to use any web-related program successfully. For some reason, web authors seem to shy away from giving specific instructions on how to use CGI scripts. But this author dives in and tells us exactly what we must do to use a popular mail script, telling us where to go to download it, what changes to make in the script, and what to do with the form we've created in DW. She also gives step-by-step instructions on embedding sound/music. This is simpler in DW than one might imagine and the author takes away the mystery with a few short paragraphs. Finally, even though I thought I knew DW well, using this book taught me some new tricks. I hope this author continues to produce a book with each new DW version.
Rating:
Summary: This book packs punch
Review: I love this book - I chose it because of the chapter on liquid table design and was not disappointed. Wendy Peck will also make you check your own code (pointing out what sorts of problems you're looking for), and not only impress upon you the need for orderly planning and clean execution, but take you through the process twice, the second time with a rather more elaborate site and less hand-holding. Oh, and there are none of those annoying chapters which describe each item in the toolbar - Wendy Peck achieves a relaxed and friendly writing style which makes the hours you will spend with her (probably more than 15, let's be honest) highly enjoyable. -But don't forget to get the fixes off her site!
Rating: 
Summary: Good information, but...many errors
Review: New to DW, I made it thru this book over a period of about four weeks or so, working between other responsibilities. The writing style is conversational throughout and the lesson progression is logical in terms of tasks and building concepts. The typographical errors didn't really throw me off. At some points the conversational approach seems to have misled me, and I had to read, reread...and some places had to complete sessions twice for things to work properly. Some of this may have been my own fault, but I think the steps could be more technically detailed in some ways. Overall, the book is comprehensive in covering the basics and the not-so-basics. Having gone through the end of the book now, I give it 4 stars because it lived up to it's title...I am comfortable enough with DW program and am moving with it on to Fireworks, CSS, and putting it all together.
Rating:
Summary: not bad, but not great
Review: Not a bad book by any means, but definitely a misleading book. There really is no way this book can be completed in 15 hours. I have workable knowledge of Dreamweaver (learned by muddling through it on my own) but was looking to bring my DW knowledge up a couple of notches. Given that I wasn't a beginner, it still took me about 30 hours to work though the book. The content that escaped the editors very much works against the reader. Yes, you can download the correct files from the web site, but the book misprints can still cause a lot of confusion. Incorrect file names and file types can easily leave the student scratching their head for quite a while. On the flip side, I've got to admit that the author does a nice job of ordering the lessons. She likes to have the reader become familiar with a certain method, and only then will introduce a different way to accomplish the same thing. This system really helps the learning process. I also really liked the way she lead the reader through a full arsenal of hands-on exercises and then had the reader pull all those skills together and create a mini-site--this time without the full step-by-step instructions included the first time. So, clean up the wording errors and rename the book "Dreamweaver 4 One Week Course" and you've just about got yourself a 5-star book.
Rating:
Summary: Frustration Time
Review: Okay so I decided to learn Dreamweaver. Armed with my book, I set aside some time and energy to learn this. I was really annoyed to find not only the missing files and spelling mistakes in the book, but it took me a while to figure out that I could get the files from a website. By the time I had gotten to that point I had given up with the book and bought another one instead - this time going for a Sams How to Use title by Lon Coley, that not only didn't need a CD but was easy and quick to use. It also gave me a start in Fireworks and within a couple of hours I had a basic site together and no stress. Getting a book into a store quickly is one thing, but not everyone buys software as soon as it comes out, so it would have been nice if the book had been corrected or at least told me that there were problems with it. Mine went back to the store.
Rating:
Summary: Good teaching style ruined by mistakes.
Review: The instructional approach is very good and easy to understand when the mistakes didn't get in the way. Most of the book is very helpful and does a good job in explaining dreamweaver, but it will take more than 15 hours. In the last three or four sessions the mistakes begin to really burn up your time. I emailed MS Peck, but received no reply.
Rating:
Summary: Good information, but...many errors
Review: There is a lot of useful information in this book. It is obvious that Ms. Peck knows what she is talking about, has used Dreamweaver and is speaking from experience. Unfortunately, there are many errors in the tutorial exercises that are presented in the book. This makes them very frustrating to do and defeats their purpose. In addition, there needs to be more realistic projects/examples to demonstrate the concepts nd principles. Because of the many errors, I would not buy a book from her again.
Rating:
Summary: First class primer for Dreamweaver 4
Review: This book is a first class primer for all those wanting to create a website using this sophisticated application - both novices and more experienced users alike. The book does exactly what its blurb says it will. If you invest the time and effort to go through the programme of 30 sessions in the order presented by the author you will not be disappointed by your end results. The text is written in a clear, non-technical style and the two example sites that you work on during the 'weekend' really promote learning by doing. The book also contains plenty of excellent references to further sources of information if you want to follow up on the topics covered. In short, go buy it!
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