Rating: 
Summary: Superlative book for beginner to intermediate users
Review: If you are learning Access from the ground up this is a great book for you...this is not a VBA programming guide. If you want to learn VBA that is an entirely different topic. However, there is no one Access/VBA magic book that can cover everything because the Access/VBA universe is so large. I have used Access and VBA for 6 years and this by far covers more topics than most other books do. I use this book as a reference on occasion and it is often borrowed off my shelf by the end users here at my company. Although there is some VBA code and advanced items in this book I would recommend this book to beginners and intermediate users of Access. The book covers: tables, queries, forms, reports, macros, and some VBA code (modules). There is also a little bit of Internet programming with Access 97 but that section is out-of-date with the advent of ASP. Bottom line is this is an excellent choice for a reference book for more advanced users and an even better choice for people looking to learn a lot about Access 97.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy this book
Review: Many times in the past I have found that books from Que where very well written, and very good reading if you wanted to start from zero (or little knowledge) and get up to speed fast. This is not one of those books. The book frequently takes a detour to discuss things that are way off target (and I mean over and over and over again). For example, there is no need to
1 discuss the command syntax of other databases,
2 or explain that ATM used to mean automatic transaction machine, but now it stands for automated teller machine
3 tell people how to do basic Microsoft windows stuff like maximize a window
4 etc. As thick as the book is, there really should be a good example of developing an Access database from scratch, instead of just modifying sample files that come with Access. If you want to buy a good book for Access 97, do a search and find one that has around 4 stars. Not this one. I have only had this book for a few days. If the book store will allow me to - I'm going to return it. I found that I got up to speed faster by following Access Tutorials that I found on the Internet.
Rating:
Summary: Falls badly between two stools
Review: Mr.Jennings book sets out to be both a reference and a tutorial . The tutorials are written like old fashioned murder mysteries . One is never quite sure where the story is going next , yet the boredom is unrelenting . As a reference , the book is rather poor : there isn't enough organising information in these ramblings . The biggest fault is the absence of simple examples . In his inthusiasm to show off the power of Access through developing and extending "Northwind" , the author forget's that the reader is here to grasp the subject , first and foremost . So ..... I have given up with this needlessly demanding book . Whereas all titles by Litwin and Getz are quite superb !
Rating:
Summary: A correction of an error on my part.
Review: My comments, posted on this site on June 23, 1999, apply to the book Special Edition Using Microsoft Access 97, ISBN 07897-0916-3. They do not apply to the book Special Edition Using Access 97, ISBN 07897-1452-3, which I have not read. The error was on my part and I apologise for the mistake.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the money!
Review: Over $1000 pages of fluff. I was looking for something that would let me jump right into the subject, and this wasn't it. There may be some gems of information inside, but I wasn't up for the slow, boring dig. If you want to get up and running fast, purchase the Access 97 for Dummies and Access 97 Programming for Windows for Dummies. You could always fill in any learning gaps with a book like the Access 97 Bible.
Rating: 
Summary: The most ponderous tomb I have ever tried to read.
Review: Roger Jennings may know something about data bases, but he does not demonstrate, by this effort, any ability to impart that information in a clear and concise fashion. For boring, this book is on par with The Leviathan, by Thomas "The Tranquillizer" Hobbs. This essay is in need of a very severe editing.
Rating: 
Summary: Much better than most of what's around.
Review: This book is easier to learn from than the step-by-step books that the big publishers issue as textbooks. Once in a while you need to jump from chapter to chapter, but if you've ever used a Microsoft interface then this is an easy way to learn Access.
Rating:
Summary: The most comprehensive book on Microsoft Access I have.
Review: This book is excellenty written to explain the entire database development process, from data modeling to ODBC to security and distribution. A complete reference of SQL functions and easy to follow examples are also included. I recommend this book to anyone who will be involved in using Access. First time access developers will find the book invaluable. I had never even heard of Access when I bought the version 2.0 edition of this book. After a few months I was developing my own programs.
Rating:
Summary: Better off using the online help than buying this book
Review: Well, I chose this book b/c I have purchased many books published by Que in the past, and I must say that I am disappointed! Ok, so first off for 50 dollars of my hard earned money, I would expect this to be one of the better books on the market. Although this book does cover numerous topics, I find it unhelpful and almost useless. The writer chose more of a Let me show you how to do it approach to teaching Access 97. What I find lacking in this book is explanations! I'm totally for someone showing me how to do something, but please explain how it works! The author did briefly cover some explanations of topics in this book, but they were mediocre at best. I have gotten more help from the online help available in Access than I have from this book. Please before considering buying this book go to your local book store and read through it first, I'm sure you will be as disappointed as I am. I'm sure there are others out there who will disagree with me, but this is my opinnion of this book and I am entitled to it just as you are yours.
Rating:
Summary: Better off using the online help than buying this book
Review: Well, I chose this book b/c I have purchased many books published by Que in the past, and I must say that I am disappointed! Ok, so first off for 50 dollars of my hard earned money, I would expect this to be one of the better books on the market. Although this book does cover numerous topics, I find it unhelpful and almost useless. The writer chose more of a Let me show you how to do it approach to teaching Access 97. What I find lacking in this book is explanations! I'm totally for someone showing me how to do something, but please explain how it works! The author did briefly cover some explanations of topics in this book, but they were mediocre at best. I have gotten more help from the online help available in Access than I have from this book. Please before considering buying this book go to your local book store and read through it first, I'm sure you will be as disappointed as I am. I'm sure there are others out there who will disagree with me, but this is my opinnion of this book and I am entitled to it just as you are yours.
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