Rating: 
Summary: This book includes very few examples
Review: From my point of view this book is overrated, I'm about done with the book, and although it has some very interesting and relevant topics, the way the authors present them is very boring!!. There are not a lot of examples, and when there is an example the authors do not include many portions of the code, instead they direct you to the web site to download it yourself. Personaly I like when the author presents the code and discusses it afterwards, but none of that in this book.
If you are looking for a book that is more of a tutorial on the topic look somewhere else. In addition to having very few examples, they are written in "tutti-fruti" language, some of them in C# and some in VB.NET.
I would not recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: This book includes very few examples
Review: From my point of view this book is overrated, I'm about done with the book, and although it has some very interesting and relevant topics, the way the authors present them is very boring!!. There are not a lot of examples, and when there is an example the authors do not include many portions of the code, instead they direct you to the web site to download it yourself. Personaly I like when the author presents the code and discusses it afterwards, but none of that in this book.
If you are looking for a book that is more of a tutorial on the topic look somewhere else. In addition to having very few examples, they are written in "tutti-fruti" language, some of them in C# and some in VB.NET.
I would not recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: buy it
Review: I am a java developer by experience. I realize that one should not be Evilsoft illiterate. One must pay the devil his due.This book really focuses on xml stuff more than .net, but also covers the latter. I have read a lot of xml stuff before, that probably helps. You get added insite, really a good writer. Except for the first chapter, which I think somebody at Evilsoft cut him a check to write. You know, "There is no god but Microsoft, and Bill Gates is his prophet" kind of stuff. You have to hold your nose through the first chapter. frank kalich
lawrence kansas
Rating:
Summary: buy it
Review: I am a java developer by experience. I realize that one should not be Evilsoft illiterate. One must pay the devil his due. This book really focuses on xml stuff more than .net, but also covers the latter. I have read a lot of xml stuff before, that probably helps. You get added insite, really a good writer. Except for the first chapter, which I think somebody at Evilsoft cut him a check to write. You know, "There is no god but Microsoft, and Bill Gates is his prophet" kind of stuff. You have to hold your nose through the first chapter. frank kalich
lawrence kansas
Rating: 
Summary: Should Not Be Your First .Net Book
Review: I bought this book after reading the other reviews on this site. I have to say I was disappointed. The chapters are not very well organized, and all code samples are in C# ( which is fine if you're a C++ programmer, but pretty much useless if your background is VB). The download site DOES NOT provide VB versions of the code. I have read a lot of other how-to books related to ASP, XML, and XSL, and have consistently found books from WROX to be most useful. Next time, I'll stick to WROX.
Rating:
Summary: more from me
Review: I had not read too much of the book in my first review, shame on me. But I feel even better about the book now. This is a good book for Java people to get into .net, if your interest is distributed applications. He does much. After the xml stuff, he shows you how to wrap wrap your .net components as com objects. I don't understand all of it, but got things to work, i even used an open source database cause I dont' have sql server 2000. I really think he covers the bases, but you need to read this book twice, and then go from there. I consider this the finest book of its type (that i have seen). But it is probably a little hard if you have little xml background. Then again, I was able to understand the com stuff decently, and have no background in that, so maybe I am wrong there. I don't understand why this is not selling better. Most of the evilsoft .net books are really just reference books, stuff to look up, not to waste time reading cover to cover. This one really gives you a bird's eye view, I think it will get you going (if you really read it twice and work through most of the examples).
Rating:
Summary: more from me
Review: I had not read too much of the book in my first review, shame on me. But I feel even better about the book now. This is a good book for Java people to get into .net, if your interest is distributed applications. He does much. After the xml stuff, he shows you how to wrap wrap your .net components as com objects. I don't understand all of it, but got things to work, i even used an open source database cause I dont' have sql server 2000. I really think he covers the bases, but you need to read this book twice, and then go from there. I consider this the finest book of its type (that i have seen). But it is probably a little hard if you have little xml background. Then again, I was able to understand the com stuff decently, and have no background in that, so maybe I am wrong there. I don't understand why this is not selling better. Most of the evilsoft .net books are really just reference books, stuff to look up, not to waste time reading cover to cover. This one really gives you a bird's eye view, I think it will get you going (if you really read it twice and work through most of the examples).
Rating: 
Summary: Where is the Web Service content?
Review: I just coughed up $50 plus $17 overnight shipping thinking that I was buying a good book on application develpment with a focus on Web Services. When I recieved the book, I was very dissappointed. Chapter 2: What is XML....Chapter 3: What is a schema.. Chapter 5: What is XSLT? on and on..... It is possible that this book may be well-written, but I feel duped into thinking it was a book on Web Services. The title is completely misleading!!!! I suspect that having "Building Web Services" in the front of the title will gain more sales and more frustrated customers at the same time. It is simply wrong to title a book "Building Web Services and .NET applications" if only chapter 8 and chapter 14 of the 17 chapter book have anything directly to do with Web Services. The title for this book was apparently written by the marketing dept. To be honest, I have not read the book, I have just skimmed through it. However, I am not inclined to read the "What is XML" chapter or "What is XSLT" chapter. I was not under the impression that I bought a book with so many filler chapters. I will be returning it today.
Rating:
Summary: Where is the Web Service content?
Review: I just coughed up $50 plus $17 overnight shipping thinking that I was buying a good book on application develpment with a focus on Web Services. When I recieved the book, I was very dissappointed. Chapter 2: What is XML....Chapter 3: What is a schema.. Chapter 5: What is XSLT? on and on..... It is possible that this book may be well-written, but I feel duped into thinking it was a book on Web Services. The title is completely misleading!!!! I suspect that having "Building Web Services" in the front of the title will gain more sales and more frustrated customers at the same time. It is simply wrong to title a book "Building Web Services and .NET applications" if only chapter 8 and chapter 14 of the 17 chapter book have anything directly to do with Web Services. The title for this book was apparently written by the marketing dept. To be honest, I have not read the book, I have just skimmed through it. However, I am not inclined to read the "What is XML" chapter or "What is XSLT" chapter. I was not under the impression that I bought a book with so many filler chapters. I will be returning it today.
Rating:
Summary: A Must for Architects
Review: I've just read this book. I don't like to write any review (my English is still poor) and i wasn't goint to, but saw previous
reviewer. That gay is from people who love a book such as "c++ for 10 minute". This book is the most valuable for people who would like to know how to build distributed applications across inet boundaries, how to convert (forsee minimum changes at the begining of project) a desktop to a distributed application. The book makes you think, but not just cut-copy code. The examples are the most practicals I've ever seen. Actually they are patterns
of real applications. There is only 7-th (SOAP) chapter where I fell (I couldn't build example). The most important chapters are 8 (Web Services) and 16 (Windows Form), you will learn how to reuse code using combination user and custom controls, then transform desktop to a distributed application, after then deploy it without client administration, finally autors show you how to join . Net client with java servlets.
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