Rating: 
Summary: Much ado about....
Review: Maybe it's just me, but as a practical reference I have not found this book to be worth much. Every time I go to it for information on something non-graphics related I find either nothing at all or very skimpy treatment -which is saying something in a book this size. I guess I should have know when I saw the way the XML documenting feature of C# was covered -which was a statement that it was great, but he was not going to cover it. Beyond that he seems to assume some prior knowledge of C++ or C. Hope this works for you if you buy it, it has not done much for me.
Rating:
Summary: Check OReilly First
Review: Petzold's Programming Windows was the bible of VC++ development, but doesn't compare the condensed detailed information you'll find in OReilly books. Microsoft Press books are always full of fluff. As a rule of thumb look at OReilly first before buying anything from Microsoft Press. I don't work for OReilly. I have been a unix programmer for 15 years and a Microsoft programmer for about 3. The OReilly books are far superior in quality. Steve
Rating: 
Summary: Great Introduction to C#
Review: Petzold is a Win32 programming expert, and he brings that expertise to the world of C# and .Net in this clear, approachable and (fairly) comprehensive work. It's a great introduction to C# and to Windows Forms. I would have been happier with a bit less information on graphics programming, and a bit more on common challenges such as threading, but overall this is clearly a five-star work.
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Summary: Essential for Windows Forms Development
Review: This book has been my best guide in learning the ins and outs of Windows Forms programming. Petzold leaves out the designer in the IDE but for good reason: to give you an in depth understanding of the underlying framework. He does a thorough discussion, particulary with the features of the GDI+, and the examples are easy to understand and to adapt for your own experimentation. If you are learning and expecting to program in Windows Forms this book is an absolute must have.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is another definitive guide book to windows programmer. Petzold's writing style is so lucidly and easy-accessible that you can understand c# without much difficulty. This book focuses on GUI programming, just like his famous"programming windows", many people think its characteristic as a drawback, I don't agree with them, because for a windows programmer, especially for beginner, the most important is GUI programming. In this book petzold describes all of GUI programming with c# in detailed! I dislike some books which cover too many topics, but nothing is enough detailed.
Rating:
Summary: Frustrating! There are better choices.
Review: This book seemed to be exactly what I wanted: 1200 pages of concentrated information about Windows Forms in C#. Unfortunately, it disappointed me by covering basics for pages and pages (like drawing circles) without getting to anything a developer can actually include in a professional application. Key topics weren't covered: data binding, MDI interfaces, real custom controls, etc. etc. etc. Afterwards, I stumbled across a much better book (although a little short): User Interfaces in C# (Macdonald), which has great ideas for implementing all these sorts of things. There are also some books dedicated just to GDI+ (I think Wrox has one) which would be better if you are looking for just that material.
Rating: 
Summary: Frustrating to Use as a Reference
Review: Frequently, this book states: "I introduce this subject here, and expand on it in Chapters 8, 11, and 12. It can be very frustrating to use this book as a reference, in spite of the fact that the front cover features the words "Developer_Core Reference." In my opinion, the programming examples are also fairly terse. Reminds me a little of reading Stroustrup (though it's not *that* bad). I've been programming in C++ for years, and have generally enjoyed jumping over to C#. I have not enjoyed using this book. All the comments about "What I'll discuss here, and in more detail in Chapter 12" are just too wordy for me. I want to write code, not read someone else's personal musings.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the better book for C#
Review: I don't like a lot this book. It is very good on how to work with GDI and with window forms, with a lot of samples, but it's very weak. In this book the C# doesn't appear a lot, in the most part are the Forms and GDI with samples that also can be written in any other language.
For me not a good book to introduce in the usage of C#.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent reference!
Review: This was the very first C# book I bought. It is an excellant place to start if you have Java or Visual Basic.Net experience. What I liked most about the book was how Mr. Petzold does not treat you like a complete idiot and explain certain programming concepts that are universal(Inheritence, for example)all over again. Another great thing about the book is that Mr. Petzold does not use any wizards or visual tools to draw forms and controls. Everything is hand coded. About the only thing I disliked was that there was absolutely no coverage of ADO.Net. I shouldn't have been so suprised being that the book was a "Windows" book. Overall, the first 4 to 5 chapters are enought to get you going with C#. I definately recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: Avoids important topics
Review: I was expecting a lot from this book, but unfortunately it let me down. It feels like a port to C# of his classic Programming Windows. While it is a great reference for drawing graphics, it doesn't even touch some very important aspects of C# and .NET like data binding, MDI forms, or even data grids (the most complex and important control in the forms package) I get the feeling he talks about what he is comfortable and doesn't even mention other big topics. Normally a good strategy for an author, but not for a book that is meant to be a defining reference book.
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