Rating: 
Summary: Valuable Creative Tool
Review: "Playing With Fire" is one of those books that readers are going to love or are going to hate. You will love this book if you already have been introduced to Fireworks in the past and are in search for some new ideas for graphical design. You will hate this book if you are trying to learn the fundamentals of how to use Fireworks 4. If you are a beginner you should work through the Fireworks tutorial that came with the software and possibly another beginner level book such as "Dreamweaver 4 Fireworks 4 Studio: A Beginner's Guide". If you already have used Fireworks and are intermediate or advanced then this book should be in your library. When I first read through the book I felt as though it needed more volume to justify the price, after all most books on Fireworks are 500 pages or more. Then I realized as I experimented with some of the projects that this book is about creativity and originality. The thing that sets most web design apart from the crowd is graphics that catch the eye of your audience and make them want to read further. This book has several design elements that most Fireworks users will find as valuable inspiration that they may apply to their web pages. "Playing With Fire" does not teach you how to use Fireworks, it teaches you how to take the next step with Fireworks and create professional designs.
Rating:
Summary: Valuable Creative Tool
Review: "Playing With Fire" is one of those books that readers are going to love or are going to hate. You will love this book if you already have been introduced to Fireworks in the past and are in search for some new ideas for graphical design. You will hate this book if you are trying to learn the fundamentals of how to use Fireworks 4. If you are a beginner you should work through the Fireworks tutorial that came with the software and possibly another beginner level book such as "Dreamweaver 4 Fireworks 4 Studio: A Beginner's Guide". If you already have used Fireworks and are intermediate or advanced then this book should be in your library. When I first read through the book I felt as though it needed more volume to justify the price, after all most books on Fireworks are 500 pages or more. Then I realized as I experimented with some of the projects that this book is about creativity and originality. The thing that sets most web design apart from the crowd is graphics that catch the eye of your audience and make them want to read further. This book has several design elements that most Fireworks users will find as valuable inspiration that they may apply to their web pages. "Playing With Fire" does not teach you how to use Fireworks, it teaches you how to take the next step with Fireworks and create professional designs.
Rating:
Summary: Going beyond Fireworks 4
Review: Actually, I had a very different- somewhat typical review planned for "Playing With Fire", when I read a negative review that was posted on this site. 'They' were disappointed that the book had 'nothing to do with fireworks 4' . After reading in utter amazement I realized 'the rub'. The difficulty is confusing 'how to do Fireworks 4 MECHANICS' with 'now that you have it downloaded, now what? I would bet that if that disgruntled reviewer purchased Joe Lowery's Fireworks Bible first, they would come out with a wealth of 'mechanical' knowledge covering material for the very elementary user thru to the advanced. And sometime along the way, I have absolutely no doubt that that very same reviewer, unless they already had an extensive (emphasize the word - extensive) art background, would begin hungering for a book that showed them how to put all these fabulous tools to work - creating artwork.
'Playing with Fire' admittedly does not begin with..."so you just downloaded Fireworks 4 and want to know where to start." There are many manuals and books for that. Where 'Playing with Fire' does begin, is when the 'computerartist' has finished the basic tutorials, copy-catted what he was taught and added his own little 'bent' to the image or idea, but now is ready to develop his very own creations from 'soup to nuts'. But how is he going to do that?
Playing with Fire closes 'the gap' between those who have Fireworks 4 and those who can create spectacular work using Fireworks 4. Not only does the book teach mechanical aspects beyond the 'baby basics'(I can't count the number of insights I received and I began with Fireworks 2!), it dissects artwork using a software that is already within the user's hands. There is plenty of artwork 'how to' manuals out there, but many of them presuppose you know where to access and apply your tools.It takes the reader step by step, point by point showing you not only what to 'draw' or paint - but where to access the tools within Fireworks.
It was because of this book I now know how to create an effect that I have been seeking the answer to for nearly two years! Because I saw my answer was in that book, I need to confess - I actually went into a bookstore of all things (unheard of thing for me to do since ...!) and paid ... MORE!!! - because I simply couldn't wait a moment longer. Then lo and behold I found ideas I didn't even know you could do in Fireworks!
So, Dear Reader, if you want to have the answers to the questions before you even know you need to ask them, about 'how do they do that?' artwork using Fireworks 4, get this book.
Rating: 
Summary: An OK overview...
Review: but not much better that the Macromedia manuel.
Rating:
Summary: Light my Fire
Review: Fantasic, wonderful, amazing! I can't say enough about the content of this book. If you're a Fireworks user and want to learn some of the neatest trick about Macromedia's Fireworks program, don't hesitate purchasing this book. From the time UPS delivered it, I couldn't put it down.......I went from cover to cover learning all the way, and I've been using Fireworks since version 1. Don't waste your time reading this review.....ORDER THE BOOK NOW!
Rating:
Summary: Best Book on Fireworks out there
Review: Highly recommend this book - great examples that WORK. Have found this book an invaluable resource for my web graphics work! Worth every penny!
Rating:
Summary: Best Book on Fireworks out there
Review: Highly recommend this book - great examples that WORK. Have found this book an invaluable resource for my web graphics work! Worth every penny!
Rating: 
Summary: OK
Review: I got this book after reading rave reviews and was a bit disappointed. A good portion of the book are tutorials I had previously seen on the Playing with Fire Website last year. If you've never been there then you probably wouldn't be disappointed. There are only 217 pages before the index so the book is a bit pricy.There are some great tips but I'd consider them more beginner and maybe intermediate. I also found a lot of intermediary steps missing. For instance, when you draw two objects you want to join. The directions read to draw each then to use the Combine, Join command. It doesn't tell you that both have to be selected before you apply the command. Maybe that's what makes it intermediate or advanced... you know enough to fill in the missing steps. But if you need to learn some basic tricks in Fireworks this book may suit your purposes. This is a quote about the book from the Playing with Fire web site, "Playing with Fire is a treasure trove of creative ideas, and a sourcebook of techniques for achieving beautiful effects for your Web site. " Individual techniques--yes, effects--yes. But a treasure trove of creative ideas... this is really stretching it--but it sounds good :-) Do yourself a favor and look at this one in your local bookstore before making a purchase. I know many have been very pleased with it. I guess I was expecting more based on all the hype and hoopla around it.
Rating:
Summary: Finally a book you can use!!!!
Review: I had heard this book would be out the first part of July, and I was hoping to snag a copy before I left on vacation to Germany. No such luck! I had to wait until I returned the end of July, but the wait was worthwhile. I am new at working with HTML, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks. But I'm not new to computers, I cut my teeth on Visicalc and a PC. I have been plowing through computer books ever since. Most books are nothing more than a re-hash of the user manual. They walk you through all the menu functions and commands. That really doesn't help if you have read the user manual, which of course I have. What users want IMHO is a book that shows them how to create something using the tools in the program. Linda does just that. Her book is a tutorial of different real world graphic challenges that can be implemented with Fireworks. It shows you how to do the real innovative techniques. You want gold metalic type faces? She walks you through the entire process. You want a gel effect, or a glass type effect? This book shows you how. It doesn't waste time explaining all the tools and menu options, that's what the other Fireworks books do. This one just hunkers down and walks you through a diverse number of ways to create exciting graphic interfaces that will have you and your viewers saying WOW! Al Sparbar's book, Dreamweaver Magic, is a tough act to follow. I don't know that I could say this book is better, but I would definitely place it in the same class. I am very impressed and would recommend it to anyone that wants to really tap into the power of Fireworks. If you know the basics of the program you will have no trouble immediately absorbing this book and moving to a new level in your graphics abilities. If you don't know the program, read the user manual or one of the other books on the market first. You do need to know how to use the program. But Linda's examples are clear and concise and walk you through some wonderful material from start to finish. Linda is also wonderful about giving you some inside tips, like the fact that if you create too many items in the Fireworks library you are going to slow down your program. Too many authors tell you how to create library items without pointing out the pitfalls. Weeks later when the program degrades the poor user has no clue why or how to resolve the problem. I give this book real kudos. Robert Lane, CPA, MBA Web Developer Ashland, Oregon
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for a great program
Review: I learned a lot of cool tricks from the Playing With Fire web site, so I could hardly wait for the book to be published. The book is filled with a lot of great tips and tricks (many from the web site) for Fireworks users, both novice and pros. This is NOT a how-to-use Fireworks book, you already need to know the basics, but its tutorials are clear and easy to follow. I only wish that the book expanded a lot more over the original web site. Even so, I strongly recommend Playing With Fire.
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