Rating: 
Summary: Good introduction to the language but....
Review: In general, a good introduction to the x86 assembly language although and as somebody already noted, a bit outdated. The use of simple words and analogies makes the reading fluid and enjoyable. However, I feel that too many paragraphs were invested on "Other authors don't do this or that" and "I won't cover it in here because it's too complicated".On the latter, I can appreciate that writing an introduction to the assembly language is by no means an easy task, but Mr. Duntemann could have devoted a little time to present some concepts about the CPU's protection mechanism (just enough to know what's there) and maybe to expand a bit on the hardware interrupts. The book reference DOS and BIOS interrupts, but only a few. The inclusion of a complete list (maybe as an appendix) will make the book more "self-sufficient". Dedicating one full chapter (31 pages) to the NASM-IDE is certainly overkill. After all, this book is about the assembly language not the IDE. I think the readers will be better served by looking at the help file included in the CD. Besides, if you are serious about learning assembly language, figuring out how the IDE works should be a piece of cake in comparison. Regarding the instruction set, good coverage of the most basic mnemonics but a bit light on the flow control ones. Integer arithmetic is covered but no words (no pun intended) on floating point operations (which indeed is a much more advanced topic). Too sparse covering of string related instructions. As I mentioned in the beginning, a good introduction. This book is a definite buy if these are your first steps towards learning the assembly language.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Starter for Assembly Language
Review: Learning assembly language for the first time is often a harrowing experience. It can be greatly worse if you are trying to learn it on your own. For those of you who are trying to do just that with x86 assembler, this is a great starting point. This text opens by covering the basics of arcitecture as well as binary and hexadecimal, giving the future assembly programmer a background in the all-important workings of the computer. While far from a thorough approach of x86 assembly, this book is one of the best introductions possible for independently learning low-level programming. For beginners in low-level programming, I give this 5 stars. For those with previous (non-x86) low-level programming experience, I give this 3 stars (due to its treatment of rudimentary subjects with which they would already be familiar). This text is not recommended for individuals who have had x86 programming experience unless it is to be used as a quick "refresher" on the basics. A suggested follow-up text for this is Peter Abel's IBM PC Assembly Language and Programming (5th Edition).
Rating:
Summary: A Great Starter for Assembly Language
Review: Learning assembly language for the first time is often a harrowing experience. It can be greatly worse if you are trying to learn it on your own. For those of you who are trying to do just that with x86 assembler, this is a great starting point. This text opens by covering the basics of arcitecture as well as binary and hexadecimal, giving the future assembly programmer a background in the all-important workings of the computer. While far from a thorough approach of x86 assembly, this book is one of the best introductions possible for independently learning low-level programming. For beginners in low-level programming, I give this 5 stars. For those with previous (non-x86) low-level programming experience, I give this 3 stars (due to its treatment of rudimentary subjects with which they would already be familiar). This text is not recommended for individuals who have had x86 programming experience unless it is to be used as a quick "refresher" on the basics. A suggested follow-up text for this is Peter Abel's IBM PC Assembly Language and Programming (5th Edition).
Rating: 
Summary: I recommend highly for any Assembly beginner
Review: Like everyone else I've ever met who's looked into learning assembly, I had a little trouble comprehending how everything fit together. I'd heard wonderful things about Duntemann's last edition of Assembly Language: Step by Step, so I decided to purchase the updated linux version. Duntemann's 600+ page book slowly guides the beginner into an understanding of Assembly. Don't be confused by the book's size - this book will NOT make an expert - perhaps not even an intermediate programmer. Instead, this book teachers the basics of assembly and provides a decent background into the workings of computer memory, the cpu, and other concepts that EVERY programmer should know. This book can't be given a higher recommendation for anyone looking to start in assembly - Duntemann has a way of explaining (and re-explaining) through metaphors that enhance comprehension. Anyone who already has a background in this material will be amazed by the extreme explanations ("a whole CHAPTER on hex and binary! "), but it's really the perfect way to pound the knowledge in. By the end of the book, the reader will know so much more about assembly - and how/why it works. Just don't expect to be a highly skilled professional.
Rating:
Summary: A great book for beginners
Review: Many people aspiring to learn assembly have been discourage by the high learning barrier of understanding the arcane aspects of language and computer architecture. I was one of them. This book helped me broke that barrier. As the author said that he set out to write a book that "taught people how to program in assembly language as ther first experience in programming"; the book lives up to that promise. Unlike many other books that rushes through basic concepts and dives into assembly instruction, the author has great explanations of every concepts in assembly. I especially liked the metaphors approach to describe many difficult concepts. The NASM assembler and NASM-IDE tools included in the book is another bonus to the book. The author also has a web site to for book errata, links to other great web pages about assembly. The author dedicated the last 100 pages of the book to Linux programming, and done a decent job at it. I agree with him that the reason he did not choose Windows was that the results from learning and programming windows applications in Assembly is not worth the time. However, I wondered if it would be better that if the author spend that last 100 pages on building something useful with assembly, like a hex editor, so that we get a better feel for the language. He could write a book on programming in assembly for Linux. But, overall, the book is so well-written, living up to the title: Step by Step - that I didn't even feel any difficulty learning the concepts, as I did in other books.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: OK, I've you're familiar with C,C++ or even assembler you might not have to get this book. But if haven't really gotten into the depths of computers or are new to assembler, then this book is definitely the best book on the market and I am not kidding. It's not boring, not simply a list of all commands but instead lively explains computers and assembler to you. The author has a great style and reading this book is simply a joy.
Rating: 
Summary: All the parts of assembly explained, but not put together.
Review: The author manages to do an extremely well job on explaining how basic computer architecture is tied to assembly. The book is well written, and to my surprise, not boring at all, as author, being a good sport that he is, cranks a couple of jokes here and there, and God bless him for that. The author was right about one thing; after you read this book, you'll have to buy another, because, when he gives you the tools and explains what each of the does, he neglects to explain what you can actually accomplish with them. He gives you bits of information, does a thorough job of explaining what it is and how it works, but you'll never see it being used in a real, working program. I wish I could say that you will get a good feel for assembly language programming when you read this book, but you wont. You'll learn a lot, sure, but you won't be able to put all the knowledge to use. And for a beginner book, he sure has a lot to say about 32bit programming under Linux, which could have been avoided, and the last 200 or so pages devoted to much a more realistic approach to assembly, through DOS's 16 bit environment, which is much more easier for a beginner to understand. Finally, this book tries to accomplish a lot, but doesn't finish what it started. I recommend acquiring Peter Norton's Assembly book, or the one manufactured by Wrox Press, if it's still in publishing.
Rating:
Summary: Great *Introductory* to concepts of assembly
Review: The first 118 pages give you the low-down on how that beast sitting next to your desk operates. Then your given a brief on how to use the program (NASM) which comes with the book. He then goes through explaining how the hardware and assembly come together to work for you into something that does something useful. He doesn't go in depth and leaves out many instruction sets to keep things simple for the people. This book is good because he relates what's going on with anecdotes and analogies. I enjoy his style of writing. For example... "So, having worked my way up to the good stuff, I find myself faced with a tricky conundrum. Programming involves two major components of the PC: the CPU and memory. Most books begin by choosing one or the other and describing it. My own opinion is that you can't really describe memory and memory addressing without describing the CPU, and you can't really describe the CPU without going into memory and memory addressing. So let's do both at once." - pg 157 In the above example you can see how a boring topic that would otherwise put you to sleep is livened up by personable writing. Later in the book it did seem to me that he was moving a little slow and I was ready for more...alas that may just be my quick learning and eager desire he implanted on me while journeying through this book. Recommended if the above applies. Happy reading! P.S. Again, if you know binary math with ease and don't feel you need a refresher or more in depth coverage do not buy this book. Chances are your better off with a more advanced book. He stresses more on concepts than actual programming. Programming thus interleaving with the concepts. A nice fit to beginners... :)
Rating:
Summary: Great introduction to Assembly Language
Review: The problem with learning Assembly Language is learning everything you need to know before you learn Assembly. This book starts you at the very beginning by showing you how memory is addressed, how the internals of the computer work, and numbering systems. Although he doesn't really get into programming until later in the book, by the time he gets there you actually understand what is going on at a low level. And let's face it... if you don't understand the low level of the computer, you don't stand a chance at really understanding Assembly Language. This book should be the starting point for anyone who wants to learn Assembly. Once you've mastered this book, you should be able to pick up any more advanced book and understand what is going on.
Rating:
Summary: Great introduction to Assembly Language
Review: The problem with learning Assembly Language is learning everything you need to know before you learn Assembly. This book starts you at the very beginning by showing you how memory is addressed, how the internals of the computer work, and numbering systems. Although he doesn't really get into programming until later in the book, by the time he gets there you actually understand what is going on at a low level. And let's face it... if you don't understand the low level of the computer, you don't stand a chance at really understanding Assembly Language. This book should be the starting point for anyone who wants to learn Assembly. Once you've mastered this book, you should be able to pick up any more advanced book and understand what is going on.
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