Rating: 
Summary: My first Flash book...
Review: ...Actually, I've been using Flash for over three years, but I needed to get a refresher, as Flash 5 has many new features. This book was an excellent way to get back into the swing of things. This is not a book for intermediate or advanced users. It is purely for those just starting out in Flash, or those getting back into it after some time away. I think the best part about this book is knowing that each chapter is designed to take an hour, and at the end of that hour you will know something new. Some books weigh 30 pounds and require a lot of courage to open. Then, they scare you with long chapters that cover several topics at once. Flash 5 in 24 Hours allows the reader to learn at their own pace. The operative word is "learn." This book actually works. 1) For beginners! 2) For intermediates who need a refresher. 3) For teachers who need a textbook.
Rating: 
Summary: Great intro to Flash 5
Review: A well thought out, well organized introduction to Flash 5. The author makes great efforts to simplify the text and it is pretty straightforward to follow. This is the perfect book for a quick intro to flash 5 and yet it does not compromise on depth or detail. It would have been an added plus to have a CD with demonstrations and sample work. Compared to the prices of other flash books and the quality instruction that this book offers, this is quite a bargain!
Rating:
Summary: Very good book for one new to Flash
Review: After looking over the reviews of several Flash books I chose this one because of its high ratings. After using it I find it does indeed deserve the praise given. It's perfect for someone like me just starting out with Flash. I only give four stars because of a few errors, most minor, but one fairly important one which caused some serious grumbling and gnashing of teeth on my part--In Hour 16, radiobuttons, page 351, the author neglects to instruct the reader to put a stop action in the first frame. Still, it's a great book and well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, practical, well written book
Review: Although an intermediate-level flash user myself, I found many useful new techniques in this step by step book. Many of the new books are poorly written, read like help files, or contain too much fluff. This book is different - the author does an excellent job in writing, presentation and organization of topics, an A+ job. Skilled, not too basic, not too jargony, he seems to get it 'just right'. Kept me hooked for hours straight reading, that's unusual for this type of book, for me :) He's written it to be read, then used with flash on your pc, a bit at a time, so he walks you through exactly what to do to learn each topic. Great approach. I went to a local bookstore to browse through all the flash books, I bought this one, colin moocks, and others.. this was the first one I'm working on, very well presented and organized. I'm learning new things about a program I've been using for a year + already. Good work, of all the intro texts this one seems to be the best, even good for an intermediate user like myself. nice book - better than the others
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, practical, well written book
Review: Although an intermediate-level flash user myself, I found many useful new techniques in this step by step book. Many of the new books are poorly written, read like help files, or contain too much fluff. This book is different - the author does an excellent job in writing, presentation and organization of topics, an A+ job. Skilled, not too basic, not too jargony, he seems to get it 'just right'. Kept me hooked for hours straight reading, that's unusual for this type of book, for me :) He's written it to be read, then used with flash on your pc, a bit at a time, so he walks you through exactly what to do to learn each topic. Great approach. I went to a local bookstore to browse through all the flash books, I bought this one, colin moocks, and others.. this was the first one I'm working on, very well presented and organized. I'm learning new things about a program I've been using for a year + already. Good work, of all the intro texts this one seems to be the best, even good for an intermediate user like myself. nice book - better than the others
Rating:
Summary: somebody hand me a machete
Review: First of all, I learned how to get rolling in Flash with this book. But it was also exasperating coping with the at-times contorted English and the overly complicated explanations filled with chatty filler which I would have to re-read over and over in order to comprehend. Even with my inexperience I found a coding error in one of his instructions which one could find an interesting and educational challenge since it is not very difficult to solve. After having gotten Colin Moock's superb Action Script: the Definitive Guide published by O'Reilly I discovered there was quite a bit that I simply needed to relearn. Having said that one would need a primer like Flash 5 in 24 Hours before working with Moock's "ASDG". Kerman's book will help you to get rolling and you may enjoy the needless verbosity which for this writer detracted from and frustrated his learning experience. Also expect to find scattered about some meaningless sentences which should have been corrected in the editing process. Definitely a value at the discount price.
Rating:
Summary: The perfect introduction for me
Review: Going into this stuff, I knew nothing about Flash other than what I'd seen surfing around the web. What I was looking for was a simple but comprehensive introduction to the core functionality of Flash -- something covering the basics of animation, tweening, how timelines work and pretty much how to "think" in Flash terms. I wanted something that'd give me a well-rounded introduction from which I could begin experimenting immediately. This book is exactly that. It's very readable (the author should be commended for his clarity of composition); I was able to get through it in about four days. The examples are appropriately repetitive -- by Hour 15, you'll notice the exercises getting shorter but more complex, repeating and building upon the stuff you learned the day before -- and they all work exacly as they're supposed to, which, as an engineer, I can testify is rarely the case with technical books. By the end of the book, I had a firm understanding of the basics of animation, symbols, buttons, timelines, ActionScript and basic communication with server-side applications. Too many books of this kind are long on fluff and short on substance. Not this one. It might not be much to look at, but it's all there. For beginners seeking the definitive introduction to Flash 5, look no further.
Rating:
Summary: 24 hours is a definite possibility.
Review: Having used and taught Flash since its earliest versions, I can sincerely vouch that learning Flash is a considerable undertaking. The latest upgrade to version 5 only compounds this fact, yet Phillip Kerman has nonetheless written an excellent resource for getting a good, solid jumpstart. It is very fortunate that this book does NOT gloss over the fundamentals nor spare the reader important exposure to Flash's more complex features. This book is written by someone who intimately understands this product and multimedia development in general. As this book is also thorough and sensitive to the neophyte, I am recommending it as the textbook in my future coursework.
Rating:
Summary: Logical instruction order, friendly writing style
Review: I am pretty much a self-taught software user (Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver) and firmly believe in the use of manuals. However, I found the tutorial included with Flash 5.0 software jumped around from topic to topic that I was lost after a few hours. Flash is a complex program and if you have little or no experience with Macromind Director, you'll need all the help you can get. That's when I decided to search Amazon for a better resource and found the "Sam teach yourself series". This is the first time I have ever purchased a book in this series and it is the best $25 dollars I have ever spent. It is well worth the investment -- make time to go through the book at your own pace. The instruction is taught in a logical order, and the writing style is easy to follow. I am currently at hour 12 and cannot wait to go through the rest of the exercises. Buy it and have fun learning! jb
Rating: 
Summary: Too brief
Review: I got this book from the library. I was quite elated when I got hold of it. Immediately, I poured over the books for a few hours. As I'm a computer person, I'm quite patient in reading up and trying out the tasks from the book. After 4 hours, I decided to return the book tomorrow. Found that the book is very brief in all areas. I personally think that examples are very important to learn something. And I find very little of them in this book. The book will show the basic of doing something and then that's it. Time to go to the next chapter.
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