Rating: 
Summary: One Word: Excellent
Review: As a beginner in Flash, this book was intimidating at first: seemingly dry and wordy for my taste. But, as my experience grew and I read further, I've found this book chock-full of concise, well documented information on making Actionscript work. I've read many books on the subject, and now I'm convinced this is the best book available. The examples Moock presents for various functions, methods, and properties are clearly explained with proper syntax. It's obvious he knows what he's writing about. I now refer to this book daily at my job; it's indespensible.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent. Excellent. Very thorough!
Review: Books by O'Reilly may not seem very readable, but they are indeed. After using them for a while especially this one, you start to see how much good information you can get out of them.
I can find better samples on almost any topic here than any other actionscript book out there.I wish they would make a nutshell version.
I would recommend this book to programmers who are getting into flash, since you learn the syntax and the power of actionscripting.
Rating:
Summary: top notch
Review: pretty much the only one which remains on my desk all the time. thanks colin.
Rating: 
Summary: great for NON-programmers, limited use for MX
Review: Firstly, this book is dated considering that Flash MX is out. Secondly, this book is targeted towards non-programmers, with little or no knowledge of basic programming language constructs. Thirdly, after reading two other "Definitive" books from O'Reilly, this publishing format is becomming a bit dull and is no longer effective for maintaining my attention span. A bit dry. That said, if you are a non-programmer this book is an excellent guide to ActionScript. It covers basic concepts, language syntax and application. Experienced developers can opt to skim or skip the first one-third of the book, since the language is based on Javascript and builds on programming principles that are already familiar. Just keep in mind that the book does not mention new, changed or deprecated featues in Flash MX (Version 6). One criticism that I have so far is the section on movie clips. The data structures related to these built-in objects are rather difficult to understand and this book, IMO, does not fully illuminate these details. It explains what the structure and behavior are, but for me this limits me to rote memorization of rules. If the book were to go a bit into "why", it would make this much more clearer for the reader. As for the Actionscript the language (not this book), it is a very powerful adaptation of Javascript/Ecmascript, however I'm finding it breaks down when it comes to modeling complex class hierarchies. It lacks the convenience of other languages such as Java or C++, and you'll find you'll have to do a bit more heavy lifting to achieve some of the same effects. But because Actionscript is intended to be the "glue" that drives a Flash movie, its practical use will probably not often require such complexity in object design. Indeed, it seems to do a very good job of adding programmability to Flash.
Rating:
Summary: Go deep with ActionScript!
Review: Me and my friend got this Actionscript book for a summer read. What can I say? It is perfect! Though it is not a actionscript "bible" but it goes in depth about actionscripting and debugging. It teaches you to work with actionscript like C++ or PHP. Unlike most books gives you pretty pictures and not much of explanations on what's going on. If you are a programmer or designer who just want to know what's behind the Flash magic, check out this book! It is all you need, and you won't have to buy another one. What's even better is that once you learn the language of Actionscript you won't have to worry about actionscripting in the MX family, there aren't much differences! It is like once you learn how to ride the bike, you won't forget it.
Rating: 
Summary: Really, really good book
Review: Like most books for web programming, this one assumes the reader is NOT a programmer. I learned a LOT from his chapter on bitwise programming. The book does progress to more advanced stuff, too. However, there could have been more concrete examples and projects. There is a quiz project that keeps popping up with different programming variations, and a couple other examples, but I would have preferred more variety.
Rating:
Summary: Boring to read ... but good as a reference
Review: I'm a programmer and I found this book very boring (there are so few full examples). However, it's very useful as a reference book. For learning ActionScript, I recommend Flash 5 ActionScript for Fun and Games.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST book on making the most out of Flash
Review: This book is amazing at how much it covers and the way it covers it. It may look like a just a computer programming reference with its simple black and white pages, however its written in such a clear way that you don't even have to be using Flash while you read it...such an easy read. Anytime I'm stumped at how to program something with ActionScript, I open this book and there's the answer. Plus, Colin has a ton of examples on his website which he regularly updates. This book is a must own for anybody designing in Flash.
Rating:
Summary: . : : The only book you need : : .
Review: Get the book. Keep it near you. Read it often!
A great read and easy to use as future reference. As it says, it is not a recipe book, rather a "learn how to cook" book and it certainly is.
Rating:
Summary: The ultimate reference book
Review: I bought this book with a vary basic understanding of ActionScript, and now I would feel comfortable doing just about anything in it. I've got my copy stuffed full of post-its for quick reference because I'm always coming back to this wonderful programming reference. Colin Moock starts you off easy with a gentle introduction of programming, but it quickly becomes a very steep learning curve after chapter one. The non-technically literate may want to try another book first. That said, it's brilliant and a must-have for anyone that's serious about learning ActionScripting. This book is highly technical, and after learning to code with it, I suggest you give Flash Math Creativity a look to see what cool tricks you can do with your newly aquired AS skills.
| 
