Rating: 
Summary: Excellent reference and tutorial. None better.
Review: This book has set the standard. Saying that it is the best of its kind would not exactly be fair (since it seems to be the only one of its kind). All Windows NT system administrators need and should have a copy of this book. Any Windows user desiring to gain insight into using batch files would benefit from this book.
Rating:
Summary: Need to Script? Get this book!
Review: This book is excelent. I will not go into details about the material covered as that has been already done. I will, however, comment on Hills' writing style. He is very to the point. There is little or no fluff or filler. The reader will not put the book down feeling as though somthing was missed. I appreciate the fact that the material was covered in depth in approximately 300 pages (300 small pages). Some authors would have turned a book on this subject into "The Complete Guide to NT Scripting Mastered and Unleashed. 1004 pages." I'm glad that was not the case.....Need a book on scripting? Get this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book for technically experienced users
Review: This book is not for the faint of heart. There aren't many screen shots, and the author assumes a more than fundamental knowledge of command-line interface use as well as some knowldege of programming and logical flow.Your average MCSE will be wasting his time with this book, unless he has spent (in my opinion) about thirty percent of his time using the command line. The book is well laid-out and includes an excellent reference section. The sample programs are available from a website, and they run very nicely. One of the best features of this book is that the author goes to great pains to explain what commands and syntax work differently between the NT shell and DOS/Windows. This should help an administrator in a heterogeneous environment. Basically, this book is a good choice if you like any title published by O'Reilly. It isn't a magic bullet that will make a newbie a script programmer. It is an excellent guide and sourcebook for the professional who knows what he is doing.
Rating: 
Summary: Could be better
Review: This book was recommended to me by a friend and although I have found it useful. I have also found it neccessary to cross reference it with other sources for examples that are explainatory. This book has very poor examples. The examples are either too simple or too complicated and there are not enough of them.... Of course the nice thing about a book is that you can read it anywhere anytime like I did after buying it. In my opinion every command listed should site examples of how all options for a command should and can be used but that is rarely seen.
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Summary: Tim Vanlint
Review: This is a must have book for the serious NT professional. Without wanting to repeat what everyone else has said... Why would you buy it? - when moving from machine to machine, business to business you need to know that you can quickly perform the tasks you need. By learning the NT command line, you have POWER at your fingertips which combined with the NT res kit will make your life much easier. This book is never stays still for more than a day or two. I am constantly referring to it as I increase the number of scripts I use.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Excellent book
Review: This is a very easy to read book which also serves as an equally good reference. Tim has an eye for teaching what you need to know. This book is so packed full of usefull info you wont remember half of it if you just read it straight through. My advice: If you want to learn scripts read enough to get started, then write your own, use the book as a reference and get your hands on scripts written by others. After you've learned a bit go back and read the book cover to cover adding to what you've learned.
Rating:
Summary: If you write batch scripts, buy this book.
Review: This is a very well written and objective look at the language that underlies every Windows system. I am about to order my 3rd copy of this book for my office to keep people from squabbling over it. It shows how to use batch scripts to an amazing level of effectiveness. For example: It provides the code to play a guessing game for animals. Does it have long tail? Is it a mammal? The game learns as you play, building a simple database! So, over time, the game becomes richer as more people play it. This is with the DOS command set! You can get several good extensions to the NT command set by loading the NT resource kit. The book devotes a section that becomes a great programmers reference guide to the NT shell script commands.
Rating:
Summary: When you can't do it with GUI then use Shell Scripting.
Review: This is an excellent book. To my knowlege the last time Microsoft properly documented their Batch processing was when they released MS-DOS Ver 5.0. Thank you Tim for doing Microsoft's job. If you are a network administrator or use MSVC++ 6.0 and have many projects to compile in batch mode then this book is for you. Not mentioned in the book is where to download the scripts from the WEB. You can get it at: (...)
Rating:
Summary: Liked "Staying with DOS?" LOVE "NT Shell Scripting".
Review: This is an excellent, excellent book. As other reviews noted it is one of the few places this information is available conveniently and concisely. Do not be put off by the references to UNIX users or system administrators. Although the book is indispensable for those categories of users it is also highly useful for the programmer, power user, or really anyone who wants to grab Windows, pull off its GUI, and shake it until it DWIM (Does What I Mean!). Two minor criticisms: Although well worth it, the book is more expensive than comparable ones, such as the extraordinary O'Reilly Nutshell series... I would also like to see more, and more comprehensive, command syntax examples. I would be less likely to make these criticisms if a CD was included with the example scripts and additional examples or if the promised Web site was available with this information. IMHO the concept of a book/CD combined with an update-and-download Web site is a "killer app" that will really propel on-line sales. A great example is the "Windows Annoyances" combo. The convenience of a book with the immediacy of the Internet! Now, if they could just figure out a way to download the second edition into my hard copy ;-)
Rating:
Summary: More of the same!
Review: Tim Hill definately rules. His explanation and examples of "for" have saved me hours of boredom.
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