Rating: 
Summary: Clear, concise, simply the best
Review: I really liked this book because it is not only clear and concise, but it also covers all the things that you need to know to sucessfully create efficient reports. Moreover, I know that crystal report is the de facto standard for report generation in the industry. I started from knowing nothing about crystal report to become an expert report designer just by using this book. It covers not only the basics, but also the advanced features such as putting reports on the web without having the client install crystal report on their computer. It also teaches you how to create dynamic, real-time reports.
Rating: 
Summary: Disapointed, complex program gets fluffy treatment
Review: I was disapointed with this book. I have used previous versions of Crystal Reports to do simple reporting but now need to learn the newest version of CR and how to do complex reporting (mostly drill-downs with and w/o charts). I hoped that this book would teach that. It dosn't. Crystal Reports is a complex program with many features. This book covers them in a non-intuitive manner. Also, I tried to use the index, thinking that I would just find the chapter on drill-down reports and read that since I have some familarity with the program but the book is not organized to allow this. Very annoying. Thanks, Crystal
Rating:
Summary: Disapointed, complex program gets fluffy treatment
Review: I was disapointed with this book. I have used previous versions of Crystal Reports to do simple reporting but now need to learn the newest version of CR and how to do complex reporting (mostly drill-downs with and w/o charts). I hoped that this book would teach that. It dosn't. Crystal Reports is a complex program with many features. This book covers them in a non-intuitive manner. Also, I tried to use the index, thinking that I would just find the chapter on drill-down reports and read that since I have some familarity with the program but the book is not organized to allow this. Very annoying. Thanks, Crystal
Rating:
Summary: The One To Buy
Review: If you like purchasing 4 or 5 books on a topic to learn something, this one will break that habit. George Peck obviously is writing from experience and his work will guide you into the realm of Crystal Reports 8.0 like you've never seen it before. I bought his book before purchasing the Developer version of the software so when it arrived at work, I was ready to run. I've gone through it twice and found new things to learn each time. My Crystal experience dates back to 1994, but I discovered he can teach a Novice as well as a Guru. If he writes other books on the topic, I'll definitely buy them. I highly recommend this book be part of your library.
Rating:
Summary: Peck Write the Definative Crystal Book Again
Review: Less than a year after he published his landmark book for Crystal Version 7, George Peck has produced another blockbuster. He has updated his volume to include the new features in Version 8. The new book includes all that was excellent in Version 7 and goes further. It is well worth your time and money. The book has 800 pages, 30 chapters, 2 appendixes, an index and an companion CD containing examples of finished reports, visual basic routines, active server pages and demonstration web sites. There is even a web site to report errors in the book or download corrections. The chapters are divided into three parts: (1) A general introduction to the report design components including excellent coverage of the new features in Version 8. (2) Seven chapters explain how to create custom applications using Visual Basic and Crystal. (3) An in-depth explanation covering reporting through the web. Jim Bixby, our Crystal instructor in Portland, Oregon, revised the last section. What makes this book different from others and the manual that is includes with the software is Peck's refusal to simply describe each of the program's features. He goes to the extra effort to explain why you would want to use a feature. He is not afraid to go into depth when depth is required. A good example is his discussion of linking tables. He not only covers linking within one database type, but also linking between database types. He provides his own point of view and discusses the impact on performance. The book has hundreds of "Tip" paragraphs that provide extra insight into a reporting problem. There are thousands of screen shots showing how to use dialog boxes. Then there is the "What to do..." boxes that address the "got ya" problems that are likely to crop up. These are troubleshooting guides. I like the way his uses graphics to describe complex database operations. For example: When introducing Crystal's new ability to group data in a hierarchy, he uses vertical and horizontal lines to create a organizational tree structure. While he has not yet discussed how to create the lines, he points this out so we will not be confused. Another example: Perhaps the most confusing part of Crystal is the web reporting features. Chapter 28 goes through the various options, their strengths and their pitfalls starting with the simplest (exporting to HTML) and proceeding to the most complex (the report development component). There are extremely helpful tips discussing the way things used to be (in Version 7) and the way things are now (Version 8). The need for ULF (user function libraries) has diminished now that Crystal has upgraded its formula language. However, there are many applications that need them. In about ten pages he explains how this is done. The companion CD contains several examples. No reference book would be complete without an index. Peck's book has an excellent index. If you are involved with a reporting project, or if you a responsible for teaching reporting, or if you consult and your consulting involves reporting you need a reference library. Peck's book must be at the top of your list. It will save you time and aggravation. No IS show using Crystal should be without this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat useless
Review: This book is about as useful as the Crystal Reports documentation. If you need to know how to do something this book will not help you.
E.G. If you want to know how to use a built in function, it will tell you no more than the Crystal manual, which is basically what it does, not how to do it. Don't waste your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Great User's Guide
Review: This is a great book if you are new to Crystal Reports. The book does seem to be overly verbose in my opinion, and too much of the book is devoted to introductory material that most people could figure out on their own if at all familiar with a GUI interface of any kind. I think the beginning sections were belaboured a bit too much, and this left less room for the more complicated chapters near the end of the book. Still, as far as books go, this is probably the best one and most likely the only one that you will need. Crystal Reports is really a pretty dull topic, but the book covers all that you will really need to know about the subject. Hats off to the author for this one.
Rating:
Summary: Yippie! My Questions Finally Answered!
Review: This is an excellent reference book if you are at all interested in integrating your Crystal Reports projects with Visual Basic or the World Wide Web. I had spent quite a few wasted hours going through Crystal Help and the shipped documentation, and still could not figure out how to solve a problem I was having. This book helped me solve it in about 30 minutes. It is easy to read, very well thought out, and a must if you plan on doing any serious development with Crystal Reports.
Rating:
Summary: I got Certified with this book!
Review: When I bought this book I knew nothing about Crystal other than what its all about. I read the whole thing and went out and got Certified in Crystal. This book is awesome! Very clear on everything it talks about and has a great glossary to look things up. I highly recommend!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Look For VB Answers Here
Review: While I think the book does a decent job in covering the nuts and bolts of CR, it falls far short when it comes to using CR with VB. This also goes for the examples included with the CD. Unfortunately, the documentation that comes with CR doesn't do much better, so you're left with hunting around the net for examples of code to use. And so it goes.
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