Rating:  - Good code, bad writing
I would use two analogies to describe this book.
1 - Have you ever talked to someone who is really bright - a doctor, a scientist, a computer geek - who you could tell was really smart but who could not communicate clearly and coherently in plain English?
2 - Have you ever heard the expression "it makes sense if you already know the answer" as applied to an explanation which is convoluted and confusing but ultimately right?
Well that's what this book is like to me. From the sections I've read these guys are not authors but they are experienced developers. They are not good at explaining things. They cannot lay out something simply in a one, two, three order. They jump from here to there and their writing looks like somebody cut and pasted some different sections of text together.
They do present a sophisticated code example which exceeds what you get in most technical books, however.
So I would say this book is not a good book if you are reading it for an explanation of C# and .NET. It could be useful if you are an experienced developer (and are used to dealing with people with poor communication skills) and are looking for some good code examples.
Rating:  - Good in some areas- Not so good in others
You can't expect a book on such a broad topic as this to be completely successful. This book is an excellent resource for explaining the new C# language. However, when it delves into the meat of the .NET software it lacks in some areas. I found myself laboring to find out things that I feel the book should have explained. Other books explained those concepts very well. The sample code was very well done although frustrating to implement because of the placement of the documentation in the book. The Web Services portion of the book is probably the poorest. I found Web Services easily explained in other books.
I am new to .NET but I've read 4 other books including one that tries to cover all aspects. In some ways I believe the authors tried to cram too much into one book and parts didn't work out so well.
Rating:  - Solid expansion of the Introduction book
This book picks up and overlaps a little with Robert Oberg's "Introduction to C# using .NET" which I believe is mandatory reading for C# programmers.
There is more detail and lots more information on the .NET framework itself. It's a thorough grounding in the general framework stuff.
It is not, however, an exhaustive look at everything that you can do with .NET. A lot of subjects are given very cursory looks and you will need to add extra books to your collection for in-depth coverage of more of the details.
Reading this book and its predecessor will definitely get you a solid grounding with .NET, but you must do it with a computer in front of you working through the examples and case studies.
Rating:  - Incoherent presentation of topics.
The authors never seem to stay focused on the topic at hand for more than three or four sentences. Constantly branching back and forth in a GOTO type logic that makes you loose enthusiasm for the topic. Mentally unpleasing. Especially on the ADO.NET interface. Cannot seem to give a healthy grip.
Other may argue that you need to be an expert to appreciate this book. If your are that expert, then you do not need the book to begin with. If you cannot enjoy the sequence of presentation without feeling mentally taxed, then it is not a book that you want to read. At certain points, you feel that your are reading a dictionary of term and concepts.
I found other books far more superior in presenting an expert opinion in a very straightforward manner, staying focused, complimenting the theory with a good advice.
This book is not worth the ink that it is written in.
Thanks
Rating:  - Extremely Well Written
It's hard to categorize this book. You not only you get an overview of C#, detailed emphasis on some aspects of application development, but it also provides an overview of .NET technologies, like various other .NET "Programming" books. So it's like one and a half books in one. You should certainly study a beginner's book on C# before reading this (mine was C# Primer Plus, which I recommend), though read this you should, because it's extremely well written and covers many aspects of .NET with crystal clarity, surprisingly so for a book of this scope. About 3/4 of the book covers core C# and overview of technologies, and then two or three chapters are dedicated to core .NET issues. So it's more of a "Programming/Overview" type of book than anything else; the best one I've read though. I would've preferred more emphasis on .NET fundamentals, and application design development. Nevertheless, I'm impressed.
I'll keep an eye out for future books from this author!
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