Rating: 
Summary: Very pleased
Review: This review is based on the Beta 2 edition.Before I found this book, I was rather lost. I was trying to learn C# and the framework using the doc's that came with Visual Studio and the .Net Framework installation and was only getting so far. I didn't feel like I was learning it comprehensively. Even though this book is large (about 920 pages), it's easy to read, has example code throughout, and covers a lot of what I needed to know. It had a breadth I found lacking in other .Net books. Troelson covers the C# language very well, and covers many of the important facets of the .Net API and its interfaces, like database access, Windows Forms, GDI+, Win32 DLL & COM interoperability, file I/O, serialization, Web Forms, and web services. It's a fair reference, though it is by no means complete. His goal is to give you enough information to make you reasonably competent so you can get basic things done, and understand enough so you can comfortably venture forth and learn more if you need to. Unlike many of the other books I looked at, Troelson provides enough information so that you learn how to compile the example code using the command-line compilers of the .Net Framework SDK and how to compile them in Visual Studio. The example code is available from the Apress web site as a ZIP file, and all example projects have Visual Studio project files so there is no setup to do for Visual Studio users. Just compile and run. My only criticism is that he made "errors of ommission," where there were words missing from sentences, breaking my concentration a bit. I never had a problem with the example code. Things compiled as they were. I would've liked to have seen coverage of Windows Forms applets (deploying forms via. Internet Explorer), and .Net's security model, which he doesn't get into at all. Nevertheless, the book covers more than other books I looked at, and I am very pleased with it. If you're trying to learn C# and .Net and are feeling lost, get this book. You won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Good book to get you started
Review: This is a good book to begin with. However, there is too much information about GUI programming and GDI+ and very concise coverage of the topics like multithreading, networking, building custom controls, etc. I think these topics are more important than drawing lines and circles for any programmer. Anyway, it's good to start.
Rating: 
Summary: Great first C# and .NET framework book
Review: This is an excellent book for beginners. It covers C# syntax and all major aspects of .NET framework (except remoting) very well. You should be able to see a clear picture of C# and .NET capabilities after reading this book.
This book is not a reference and it does not claim to be. If you're experienced programmer you will probably not get much out of it and be better of bying one of the specialized books.
Rating:
Summary: The best .NET book so far
Review: I bought this book the same month when it's published. At that time it was my 2nd .NET book. Since .NET is fresh stuff I thought I should buy other books for more information. Now , when I have at least 7-8 .NET books, I can say this one is really good book and I can't remember that I got any new information from all other books.
Rating:
Summary: Very clear and pleasant
Review: I found this book very clear and easy to read. With a lot of code examples I got a wide introduction to the subject. I started to write code in C# after reading only some chapters. I highly recommend this book to anyone willing to get the picture on the C# and .NET from the developer point of view.
Rating:
Summary: Very talented tech writer.
Review: It's a wonderful book.
When You understand that he'll always guess what you are
wondering about you start to feel relaxed in reading about the .NET architecture
and you're not scared that you're going to spend a lot of time in reading what
you expected to be a boring technical book.
He teachs "sweetly".
The c# class examples are about some cute cars and
sometimes You start dreaming: the summer, the dusty roads of the sixties,
the age of the flower power...
Rating:
Summary: Andrew's done it again
Review: Andrew has a knack for tying together the many concepts and technologies related to Window's programming. After a year of struggling with the Windows API, MFC and COM, his book COM AND ATL 3.0 was the source of my proverbial AHA! All the sudden I was able to see the big picture. Of course, I expected much the same with this book when it came to learning the .NET framework. He didn't disappoint. I had already worked through another book as far as learning the C# language. However, I still wasn't getting the big picture. The 1st chapter of this book alone was worth the price. His overview of the .NET Framework and its evolution from COM was perfect. His coverage of assemblies was also equally enlightening. However, his coverage of the C# language itself was a bit shallow. Once you're familiar with the constructs of the language, go to this book. The few chapters covering the language will help solidify your understanding and will prepare you for the real meat of the subject...targeting the .NET platform. Thanks again for helping me to see the big picture.
Rating:
Summary: Should be everyone¿s starting book on .NET
Review: This is an excellent text on both .NET framework and C#. Well made clear and consistent presentation of most of the concepts as well as a section on Windows.Forms and some GDI+ stuff. Asp.Net section is too basic and will only serve those who have never done any asp previously. Either way if you understand .NET and C# you will understand Asp.NET. This should be everyone's starting book on .NET. P.S
I would have also loved to see more info on GC, XML, EventHandlers and Delegates.
Rating:
Summary: Clear and Concise
Review: There's not much I can say that the other reviewers haven't said. However, I have to reiterate, this book is great for all coming to C#. The writer is extremely clear on 99% of the topics covered. Concise may be a stretch though. He tends to give a couple of examples per concept, even when the concept is fairly simple. Also, coming from a C/C++ background, I have had to deal a lot with memory management, and was very sceptical of the GC handling my memory. This book made the role of the GC very clear, and my doubts have been minimalized (not completely gone.) Learning C# will also help you understand how VB (6.0) handles memory and objects behind the scenes. For instance, if you create open a form using the "Forms" collection, and then close the form, the Form_UnLoad method is not called, because the form is a member of an application level collection. So if you need to delete an array when the form closes, you should use the "new" operator to create the form. Simple ideas like these, seem a little "off" coming from a C++ background, but C# can close the gap for you.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for learning basics of C# and .NET
Review: This book is a great book to get you started with .NET and C#. There are some areas that don't go into a lot of detail but it is impossible to cover everything in one book. I think it does a great job explaining how the .NET platform works, this is essential no matter what .NET language you are using and I thought Andrew's explanation of Assemblies, app Domains etc.. was great. I also think his coverage of the C# language is good. He has examples of all the major project types, ie windows forms, ASP.NET, web services etc.. There are some errors in the code but that is to be expected since the book was written with Beta 2. There is a posting of errata on the Apress website. All in all a great book when learning .NET if you are using C#.
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