Rating: 
Summary: excellent assembler knowledge
Review: this book , imho, is the best out there for learning the basics of assembler and the cpu. this will not make you an assembler expert, but that is not what the book sets out to do. the book as the author states, will teach you how to learn. author was also responsive to my e-mail about a problem on the cd. well worth the money!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A good job on what it sets out to do
Review: This book accommodates the beginner who has not yet learned to read hexadecimal. By leaning pedgogically on DOS, the author coaches the reader on programming Linux in assembler; an audacious task for which the author proves well qualified. The approach is gentle. The example DOS program on page 229 is equivalent to K&R's "hello, world."The NASM assembler, provided on disk and is used in the examples, uses Intel mnemonics; allowing the book to sidestep the issue of AT&T mnemonics versus Intel mnemonics. This will be fault of feature, depending on what you need. Readers programming Linux in C and learning to cope with assembler in the GNU world where we use AT&T mnemonics, will need to supplement this book with assembler HOWTOs.
Rating:
Summary: Good Intro
Review: This book filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge about computers in general as well as introducing me to the world of assembly language. I didn't know how much I didn't know until I read this text. The book is enjoyable and easy to read. If I had it to do over again, this is probably the first computer programming book I would read. The author really explains the concepts in simple terms that are easy for even a novice to understand. I found parts of the book moving along a bit slowly for my taste, but I was certainly able to reatin all the knowlege. The first 150-200 pages is mostly background. I found some useful morsels of information through these sections, although I was able to read through them quite quickly. Then there's about 200 pages on assembling for DOS and another 120 pages on assembling for LINUX. All parts of the book are relevant to each other. If you are new to assembly, or want to fill in some gaps in you knowlege this is a great book to start with. If you have programmed in assembly before, you will probably be disappointed with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Intro
Review: This book filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge about computers in general as well as introducing me to the world of assembly language. I didn't know how much I didn't know until I read this text. The book is enjoyable and easy to read. If I had it to do over again, this is probably the first computer programming book I would read. The author really explains the concepts in simple terms that are easy for even a novice to understand. I found parts of the book moving along a bit slowly for my taste, but I was certainly able to reatin all the knowlege. The first 150-200 pages is mostly background. I found some useful morsels of information through these sections, although I was able to read through them quite quickly. Then there's about 200 pages on assembling for DOS and another 120 pages on assembling for LINUX. All parts of the book are relevant to each other. If you are new to assembly, or want to fill in some gaps in you knowlege this is a great book to start with. If you have programmed in assembly before, you will probably be disappointed with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Beginning assembly language, with a future
Review: This book is for the person who wants to know how computers and operating systems work. If you already know the answer to these questions, it's not the book for you. It covers a lot of ground, much of it ancient history. It still relies on old 8086 assembly coding, and who even has access to a working 8086 any more? Unfortunately, 16 bit 'mode' is the state of assembly language instruction circa 2002. Making a sophisticated 2 gigahertz Pentium 4 act like a 16-bit 8086 is still the way we teach beginners assembly language. It is the common denominator. I can remember the 70s, when 'assembly' was cool and popular. If you wanted to know how computers work, if you really wanted to get you hands down into the guts of the machine and be master of that virtual universe, there was nothing like assembly. It is still cool, but hardly popular. The popularity faded during the 80s and almost vanished in the 90s. Assembly language became very esoteric, the domain of a priviledged few. Many of them doing odd things like building defense department weapons where size restraints still made assembly critical and money for a slow programming process was plentiful. According to Dunteman, Linux is changing that all. Linux is a clean slate, a beath of fresh air for programmers. With Linux, the average Joe can get the same thrills that were available in the 70s. You can get into the guts of your home machine and make it do amazing things. I think Duntemann might be right, but this is just a start. Dunteman doesn't get to Lunix until the last quarter of the book. Why not start with Linux?
Rating:
Summary: Perfect to familiarize oneself with BEGINNING assembly.
Review: This book is great for assembly beginners. The author has a great style of writing that is casual, compelling, at times humorous, and most importantly, honest and instructive. What stymies most newcomers is the lack of explanation of details, which is positively essential when learning assembly, due to its fairly arcane nature. This is where the author shines. Before I read this book, I had difficulty with the concept of memory segments, but Step-by-Step provided an easily understood explanation of what they were, what they do, and how to use them. Another essential tool for the aspiring assembly programmer that is explained in this book is DOS's progam DEBUG. The author devotes enough time on this subject so that you, the programmer can actually utilize some of DEBUG's main features. The book also introduces a few of DOS's and the BIOS's system services that are directly available to assembly programs. Each service that the author discusses is thoroughly covered and shouldn't leave anyone dissatisfied. Of course, no book can cover "it all" (except maybe the Good Book). You'll need to buy more after this. Just think of Step-by-Step as a "primer" (you couldn't expect to read and understand War and Peace if you can't understand Run-away Bunny). This book is writen by a 30-year veteren of assembly language (among other languages) and of technology and electronics in general. His knowledge is vast and he understands that imposing that vast knowledge on a beginner all at once would be illogical. So, in the authors own words, this book is intended to help you learn how to learn assembly. I'm sure you've heard it before in other tech-book reviews: "You won't be a/n <insert something> wiz once you finish reading this book." But you'll at least get out of the starting-gate with a decent grasp of assembly. A cool feature is that the book contains a CD with an excellent FREE assember called NASM, among various other necessities. The newness of the book is also refreshing (published in 2000). I'm rating this book with 5 stars because I really believe that it will get a person of moderate intelligence comfortable with beginning assembly coding and assembling/linking. Of course, if you consider yourself a bit more than moderately intelligent, then perhaps an assembly book other than this one will suit you better. PS- Some prior programming experience would be helpful with your comprehension of the material in this book. What is ABSOLUTELY essential is the FIRM grasp of binary numbers, hexadecimal numbers! Thankfully, the book devotes some time to this topics discussion.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for programmers
Review: This book never seems to pick up speed. It assumes that the reader doesn't know anything about computers or how to program anything. I bet most people revisiting assembly language programming (or visiting for the first time) have some experience with BASIC, C, C++, or Java or some other high level language. This assumption makes it very difficult for the author to pick up speed and go into "programmer mode". Instead it has copious amounts of prose that would be better reserved for a different kind of book (it takes about 200 pages before you see a "MOV" instruction. If you are a programmer this book is not for you. As an alternative consider downloading your own copy of "The Art of Assembly Language Programming".... It's well written, in depth (1342 pages!) and used as notes for college assembly language programming courses. An 'exercises' section follows each chapter. On the negative side, you have to print your own version of the book if you want a hard copy version. Regardless, the book is well formatted and indexed so you'll never feel as if the book is homegrown (Prentice Hall, Addison Wesley look at this text. It begs to be printed).
Rating: 
Summary: Old but good
Review: What I was looking for: With very little assembly language programming experience, I wanted to start writing assembly language for my linux box. What I found in Step-by-Step: The best introduction to computer science I've ever read. I'm tempted to recommend the first couple chapters to anyone interested in starting to program- whether assembly or even with a high level language. What I got: After reading the book I've acquired a solid knowledge base to do assembly in -any- environment...and more importantly, his style of writing didn't kill my fascination and desire to start writing code at the assembly level. Some of what he gives you is "out-of-date". Your likely to do your assembly language programming under protected mode--whether with Linux or Windows NT/2000. Though this makes a large size of the book "out-of-date" it DOES NOT make it worthless or not worth reading. For me, who had no knowledge of the differences between these memory models before reading the book, it was very useful information to have. I was hesitant of his claims in the 2nd editon that learning real mode would help me with protected, fearing he was covering up an incomplete 2nd edition, but in retrospect I appreciate his coverage, though I'll -never- write assembly code using real mode techniques. This book gave me the foundation to go in any direction I want to take with assembler. I'm able to read those terse online quick starts for assembly language programming with linux and am off and running. Excellent foundation, gets you excited about the long learning road ahead. A wonderful place to start. He doesn't just give you an instruction set and briefly describe the memory model..he gives you everything you need to know to take any instruction set combined with a short description of the memory model and go. This is quite rare and will ensure that his book no matter how "out-dated" will continue to be read and highly appreciated. I would have given five stars but don't want Duntemann to scratch his plans for a 3rd edition!
Rating:
Summary: Jeff quells the pain of ASM with precise details
Review: When all other ASM books fail, this one stands upon the pedastool, boasting its complete and accurate introduction to The Assembly Language. What truly seperates this book from the others is the fact that it dedicates a good portion to discussing how the internals of a computer work, including memory addressing. That in itself will set you on an easy track to understanding ASM and other mid level languages such as C. Out of all the books on Assembly I have read, this one is definately the best for timid beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Assembler for who?
Review: While this author is articulate, I really can't imagine anyone who would do well to read this book. I am a professional programmer, and I have dabbled with assembler languages twice in my life (once in college and once with the Apple II Z80). I have followed the common wisdom and totally avoided assembler until now, when I'm trying to tune up the inner loops of a 3D real-time rendering engine. So maybe I'm not the novice that this book was intended for...but I read the first 90 pages (from start to end, as recommended by the author), and have learned nothing about assembler. What I have learned is that computers are like people. Why? Because when people get too busy, they make to-do lists and follow them, one task at a time - just like the way computers execute one instruction at a time. That's the gist of Chapter 1. In Chapter 2 we spend 30 pages learning that in hex, you have to sometimes add with a carry, and subtract with a borrow, just like we learned in elementary school. In Chapter 3, "Lifting the hood", we learn that chapter 1 was a bit oversimplified - in fact, computers can change the sequence of executing their to-do lists. This revelation is at the very end of Chapter three, in Italics, on page >>71<<: "The CPU can change its course of execution based on the work it has been doing". To sum up Chapter 3, he quotes Ted Nelson: "The computer is a box that follows a plan". He concludes that Ted is "one of those very rare people who have the infuriating habit of being right most of the time." I got as far as page 90 and gave up. I know - if I am serious about assembler, I shouldn't expect to learn it overnight, but life is short. Then I went to another book on assembler and learned the command "MOVZX" - copy a small value (eg, 8-bit byte) and expand it with zero's into a large register (eg, 32-bit). This seemed rather important to me (at the time) because "MOV" will not load an 8 bit quantity into a 32-bit register. To learn this instruction from a novice point of view, I went back to "Step-by-step", looked in the index, and found that this is NEVER mentioned in the book - in all 598 pages! There is another solution (xor eax,eax; mov al,<8-bit-value>; <use 32-bit eax>), but I expect a 600 page book to at least mention a complete list of the x86 instruction set. It seems that for this, you will need to find another book.
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