Rating: 
Summary: Everything is an object
Review: As a professional developer, I look for works that stand the test of time. I am also a teacher and focus on object oriented programming and all it entails. Each person has likes and dislikes and that goes well into what we buy as source material for learning. In brief, if you want to truly learn C# and gain an understanding of object oriented programming in total, this is the book.It is daunting in length at 1200 pages so don't attempt the cover to cover read. Take a chapter at a time or simply find one that you are interested in or working on and start. There are two tracks that can be followed. One: if you have experience in Java, Smalltalk, or some object oriented language, you can learn C# rapidly. Two: if you know nothing of object oriented programming, follow the thoughts and examples and you will learn the grammar and syntax of the language and the underlying namespaces and libraries. In time, the continuity will pay off and you will "get" the C# language implicitly. What sets this book apart is it is a single author book. Continuity is very good and the examples work. I recommend it as the definitive C# reference for almost every developer. It took me over a month to get through it and I consider the time very well spent. What you will get is the complete overview of C# the language. What you won't get is quick point solutions that teach specifics of C# in ASP.NET or C# in any specific solution. If you like point solutions, go for the pocket reference.
Rating: 
Summary: Should be Beginning C# not Professional C#.
Review: Buy this book if you want something that introduces you to a lot of what C# and .NET is all about: Console C#, Visual C#, ADO.NET, ASP.NET, XML, and so forth. Don't buy it if you expect it to go into significant detail in these areas. You get a broad tour; there's a gaping hole in some of the coverage, ESPECIALLY in the Visual C# area. C#/.NET has so many concepts to it, it'll take more than 1 book. So don't buy books that try to cover it all. Buy a C# beginners book, then buy the book that covers what specialty you need (ie, ASP.NET and C#, Visual C# Applications, etc. ) In short: Good for an introduction; bad for any serious development. (not good as a reference either)
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: Comprehensive, definitive, well-written, clear, concise, authoritative, and with well-chosen examples. Don't let the large size put you off. It is still a fine, step-by-step introduction to C#. I bought and read other, less intensive, overviews, and they were largely a waste of time, raising more questions than they resolved. Not so with this one. I've programmed extensively in C and C++ (although I have avoided the more esoteric portions of C++) and the level was just right for me. I would recommend that you know C well and C++ somewhat, however. The real hallmark of a good book is how well the final chapters are written. Publishers require authors to cover certain topics. Usually, the authors know little of these so they peruse the Microsoft documentation, do a few small experiments, then rewrite the MS doc to create a short chapter near the end. If you read several lesser books you may think these sections all sound the same -- they are! However, not so with this book. The end chapters are every bit as thorough as the initial ones (owing, I supect, to the fact that several people worked on the book). For example, the section on .NET Security was far more comprehensive and knowledgeable than in any other book I read. This probably won't be the only book you'll buy on .NET/C##, bit I heartily recommend it as your first, and suspect it will always be that special "main reference." And if you were to buy only one, this is it!
Rating: 
Summary: Cursory introduction spread over 1311 pages
Review: Don't expect to have a deep understanding of c#/.net after reading this book. This book is contains tons of filler, useless tables, stupid humor, unwarranted opinion and source code. The book has useful information, but you will waste your valuable time sifting through the generic Wrox template to find it. Wrox must have a fill-in-the-blank program for writing these books. Save your money, there are many others to choose from.
Rating:
Summary: doing cool
Review: Finally a book from Wrox that is definitely worth its money. There is not a single chapter where you would say "worthless". This book really covers everything for people that know how to program. If you don't know C++ or Java this book is NOT the right choice for you. But if you did some C++ or Java programming this title is definitely cool. It gives an in-depth introduction into C# and many .net classes ranging from ADO.NET to Windows Forms, Remoting and ASP.NET.
There is even one passage where C#, C++ and VB.NET are used in conjunction to demonstrate the language independence of .NET which I personally found very "amusing"...
Rating:
Summary: 1200+ pages full of practical info about how-to use C#
Review: First, I must admit that I like this book, and I found that it is very useful to me. I own three books on C# and have read another two on this topic too, but when I look back for for few months I realized that from all these book I used *this* book almost exclusively when I need some info or some example with regards to C#. Well, maybe "Programming C#" by Jesse Liberty (O'Reilly) or "Beginning C#" by Karli Watson (WROX) are better books if one is about learning C# and have no professional experience with VB6, Delphi, C++ or Java, but for experienced programmer I really recommend to pick this book. What I like on this book: - it is comprehesive. It is big plus for me that I can find here useful info about almost every aspect of C# programming from working with base library classes, through DataAcess to Remoting or Security. - Practical style of writing with many concrete and usable examples that works with release version of .NET. - Coverage of topics that you hardly find elsewhere. For example, there is very good coverage of working with Active Directory or materials about creating Windows Services. - Very nice coverage of some advanced topics, such as coverage of memory managenent or garbage collection. What can be better: - sometime this book is not so easy to follow, if one just learn C# basics. Starting chapters are somewhat long and there is assumed that reader has some knowledge about programming concepts. But as I wrote this is not book for those who just starts with programming. - There should be imho more info on some topics such as on COM+ Services or on Web Services. I know there are other books on this, but these chapters can be better. To summarize, if you are experienced programmer and look for solid, practical C# book with many examples (as an addition to C# Reference documentation) then I really recommend pick up this one.
Rating:
Summary: Too many cooks spoil the food .
Review: Hi, There's a lot of mixed reviews about this book . The table contents promises to give a lot of information which it does but not efficiently . I am C++ programmer ,the intial chapters are easy to understand since they are basic oops that I already know .. and the intial chapters on windows and asp was good I felt becoz I had worked on my own before I went thro this . After that it was tooo much of information not written well .In the sense you just keep reading without undestanding half of it becoz the author's expect you to know all the concepts and they confuse what you know by puttting it in words that are so confusing . The flow of thought if missing ... ralph.
Rating: 
Summary: please hel...got in stuck
Review: hi..dou you think there is a big diffrence between the first edition of this book. in my country I could not find this final release, do you think if I choice the first editon is a good choice. please help... ý must study c# soon... so ý need your help...
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book in my opinion
Review: I am enjoying this book so much that I thought I'd write a review about how I felt about this book. The second edition of Professional C# is really an excellent piece of work. The authors have done a real good job covering a wide range of topics. Not only did I get to learn the basics of the C# language, but the book took me well into the depths of the .NET framework class library. The book starts with a thorough explanation on what the .NET framework and the CLR is all about and where C# as a language fits in. The C# language is introduced in 3 detailed chapters - The basics of the language, Object oriented features in the language, and advanced topics on C#. These chapters had some really nice examples and gave me a strong foundation in understanding the constructs of the language. This is followed by an introduction to the core classes in the framework and how to put them to use. From then on, there are 18 more great chapters covering the framework class library in detail right from writing Windows Forms Applications, Data access with ADO.NET, Controls and Data binding, how to work with the XML classes in the framework, ASP.NET, COM(+) interoperability techniques, GDI+, Web Services, Remoting, Security, Windows services, ADSI etc., You name it and there's probably a topic on the subject covered in sufficient detail to get you up and running. It's hard to pack such exhaustive content all into one book, but they've done a great job at that. Overall, I am very happy with the book and it's well worth the money I spent for this 1220 page tome.
Rating:
Summary: Garbage
Review: I bought this book and sent it back after 2 weeks. This book contains so many mistakes! Also, because of the amount of overlap between authors, you're really only getting a book of about 200 pages (the rest of the pages are filler and overlap). I can't believe some people give this book 5 stars. It is one of the worst books I've ever seen on programming.
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