Rating: 
Summary: Only a tutorial and not that good either
Review: A book which optimistically states "The Authoritative Solution" was exactly what I needed in my job, having just inherited a buggy database loosely hung together in Access, so I bought the book as a help and reference. I have some programming background. During my re-writing of the database I grabbed the book on numerous occasions, only to find out what I needed is not in there, at least not in the index. And when I DO find it, then a personal preference not to use a certain function is not explaining how you can use it. When such a preference is lacking, the information that _is_ there is often incomplete.
For these two reasons, as a reference, the book is no good. No "Authoritative Solution" here.
I realized this and tried to easy my pain of having spent my money on a book which is only going to be (partly) useful if I make my own index of it, I will have to read it - as an "Authoritative Tutorial", then, with the aid of a lot of Post-Its. However, I find that many things are not that well explained - the VBA part for instance, mentions a few examples which only show how to do it but not practically what you can use it for (which is funny because this is what I expect to be in a reference!). I realize this may be logical for some people but not everyone. So as a tutorial I can not be enthousiastic about it either.
For me it has proven to be a waste of money. There are much better books than this, both as reference and tutorial and much cheaper too.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely well organized, in depth, replete with examples!
Review: Alison Balter has once again delivered an Acess masterpiece that should be in every Access Developer's bookshelf. The content is superbly organized and delivered with eloquence and clarity. As a Director for Computer Training at a community college, I intend to use this book as the basis for two Access Development courses.The inclusion and treatment of VBA as well as the integration of VBA in this book make it the most powerful presentation that I have seen on the subject. I salute and embrace this fine, fine work!!!
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Summary: Must own ACCESS developer guide
Review: Alison Balter is probably one of the best technical writers that I have had the good fortune to read. This book is by far one of the best ACCESS books that I have ever read. I have been using ACCESS for about 3 years and the code examples and explanations that she has given are tremendous. Her style of writing is clear, logical and lucid. A MUST own for any serious ACCESS developer. I hope her next book will cover Data Access pages in more detail. I know that because it is Microsoft's latest technology, there are not too many experts in this area as yet. However, it is such a powerful technology that it is almost worthwhile to have a separate book devoted to the topic. This could be covered with a section on using ACCESS as the front end to SQL server 7.
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Summary: This book has vaulted me into the programming world.
Review: As an aspiring MCSE, I recently came to a point where I felt that programming knowledge would be key in advancing my career. Leery of most 5-inch-thick programming references, I hesitantly purchased Mrs. Balter's Mastering Access 2000. As long as she is writing technical books, I will no longer be hesitant to purchase again. She has a way of making the daunting seem elementary, and for technical information, this is not just difficult, but nearly impossible to do and refreshing to find. No one likes the process of learning new information, we just want or need to have it, so we do what it takes to get it-mostly by having to read 5-inch-thick technical novels. Mrs. Balter removes the arduousness of learning, and makes learning Microsoft Access a paletable task. I found the lessons to be the most help. For most people, "learning by doing" is the best way to retain information. Most books give lessons, but they are shallow and impractical. The lessons provided here help convey a real understanding of the processes in question, and impress the importance of strict adherance to proper rules of database design. If anyone is interested in REALLY learning Access, then this is the book to purchase. Where praise is most deserved is that in a male-dominated industry, Mrs. Balter has written a book whose quality surpasses most like-subjected texts by male authors, and proves that sex doesn't dictate technical ability, but drive, hard-work and dedication do.
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Summary: Explendido...
Review: Excelente, devo dizer que comprei o livro quase por aquilo que aqui falavam mais devo dizer que tambem não estou nada desapontado. Embora em inglês o livro merece estar na minha prateleira. Se é iniciante ou ja tem alguns conhecimentos sobre access este livro é para si.
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Summary: Fantastic Access Book - Must have
Review: Finally a book that delivers. If you develop Access applications, you want this book. Alison Balter goes where no Access author has gone before. This book covers everything, and best of all, she explains things. You learn from this book. The examples are excellent. It is a book for the real world users. Thanks Alison...looking forward to the 2002 book!
Rating:
Summary: Best of the lot!
Review: For me, this book was well written and easy to understand. It provided me with ready-made code that I could easily modify to meet the specific requirements of my application. This increased my productivity and the speed with which I could deliver results. I reviewed a number of books designed for MS Access applications developers, but this one was the best of the lot! I highly recommend Alison Balter's Mastering Microsoft Access 2000 Development.
Rating:
Summary: Unsurpassed
Review: I am an MCP (Access and the Developer's Toolkit) who used the previous version of this book as my primary study source. Due to the success that I experienced with that book I decided to purchase the 2000 book. Allison is truly a remarkable author. She takes a fairly complicated subject (i.e. key differences between DAO and ADO) and explains it in a way that even a novice can understand. Like many other developers, I have a little library of books covering subjects such as VB, Visual InterDev, HTML 4.0, SQL Server 7. Out of all of those books (15 in all) this is my most valued reference. My only lament is that she has not published a more advanced Access 2000 book (although this gets fairly advanced in places).
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Summary: I Like this Book
Review: I am new to Access development and am continually impressed by its power and range but also completed daunted by its complexity. Alison Balter's book Mastering MS Access 2000 Development has helped me bridge this gap between having ideas of what I want an application to do and then choosing the right Access methods and commands for putting those ideas into concrete developmental procedures that work. I have several Access help books and Alison's is first rate, both in style (easy to read), accuracy (I have not found any confusing typos that are real headaches when using code snippets), and thoroughness (nearly all aspects and features of Access are reviewed). I especially liked the format of introducing the features of Access briefly (with basics) and then following-up with another chapter on each feature with more advanced and complicated information. All said and done, I would recommend this book to any beginning or intermediate Access programmer (and perhaps if I become an advanced Access programmer, even for them, as well). David Sanders
Rating: 
Summary: Useful "mid-level" reference
Review: I am not an experienced Microsoft Access user, but certainly beyond just the basics. I needed something to give me a jumpstart in developing a particular application we needed. This book had several good reviews and seemed appropriate for my level and needs. At first I was daunted by its thick size and text-heavy nature. I wasn't sure "where to start." But, once I focused in on the few chapters I really needed to get me going, I sat down with a highlighter and a good desk lamp, and have found it to be very useful! I have yet to put my new knowledge to work, but I am more confident already. I can't compare this book to any others, but I have been pleased with the purchase.
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