Rating:  - The best overall C# book to date.
This is simply an excellent book, and probably the best overall C# book on the market today. Jesse has a very comfortable style of presenting the salient points of C# in theory and practice. This has to be read, and thereafter referenced, by any programmer working with C# (including the 2005 Beta versions), or planning to do so. Furthermore, source code and other info is available on Jesse's website.
Rating:  - easy transition to C# from Java, if you want to
[A review of the 4th edition 2005]
As a java programmer, reading a C# book is like wandering into a parallel universe. Most things are different, but everything is recognisable. Liberty walks us through the syntax of C# and then how to program in it. All the nice things in Java can be found in C#. Strong typing. Automatic garbage collection. Interfaces. Introspection... As the author mentions, C# came out in 2000, while Java did so in 96. Those 4 years let C#'s designers effectively make it a superset of Java.
Some of you who might be tempted to read this book will be Java programmers. Well, as a Java programmer, I'd have to say that if you like Java, then intrinsically, you should also like C#. If you have to shift, for career reasons perhaps, then this book might be reassuring. You can re-express your expertise in C# with relatively little effort. The syntax is not too dis-similar. Likewise, the code snippets, necessarily short though they are, will probably follow the same logical ordering as in Java.
Rating: - Want to learn C#? Buy this book.
I read some criticisms of the earlier versions of this book. I think they're all wrong. This is a great book if you want to learn C#, not Windows Forms, ASP.NET. The title is Programming C# not Windows Forms in C#. If you want a thorough coverage of C#2.0 this is the book to buy.
Coming from a C++ and Java background the differences and similarities are highlighted but could easily be skipped over if the reader has no previous knowledge of Java or C++(also VB6 and VB.NET).
Also another great thing that this book has been criticised for is the insistance on lots of code samples. Wow people complaining about code samples?!! I mean what do people expect from a book about programming?! UML diagrams? It's code heavy but the code is not bloated and clearly shows the practical use of the language feature. A few lines of code says a thousand words. Also typing in code samples makes it stick, how many times do you think you know something until you sit at the keyboard and say 'Wait how do I do that again?'?
Also Jesse Liberty's writing style is very easy to follow, I found that if I read this book at the keyboard or away from it that I was still taking in the content.
So if you really want to learn C# and not have to take onboard a library load of Microsoft marketing spiel then buy this book. (Also see Jesse Liberty's OnDotNet articles too at http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/239 )
Rating: - Good book for learning C#
This is an excellent book for learning C#. I do not give it five stars because the section on Windows Forms and ASP.NET is quite limited. However, the initial section on the C# language is fantastic, as is almost every book from Liberty. For excercises for C# choose the Step by Step series from Microsoft, but be aware that you will need Visual Studio.NET to complete the exercises.
Rating: - Great book for beginners or imtermediate users
I was previously a VB6 programmer with some OOP knowledge. This is a wonderful book for those who are looking for making the transition from VB6 or Visual C++. Liberty makes it very easy to understand, and has great examples for all his code. I highly recommend this, and would definitly purchase another book of his.
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