Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: I am a current instructor and have sat in on a course dealing with Flash ActionScripting with Norbert and I have found his book to be very helpful and useful in learning both the program and the ActionScripting.The information is presented in a very clear and precise manner and they provide various sites that discuss the information taught in each chapter so that you can see how the information given actually pertains to the topic. I highly recommend this book for anyone just starting to learn Flash and for those who have some Flash knowledge and just wants to go a little further with their programming skills.
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Summary: MX Savvy Excellent for Beginners and Seasoned Flashers alike
Review: Flash MX Savvy has something to offer on all levels of experience. New users will find it easy to read and comprehend and teach valuable base concepts in Flash MX. For those already familiar with Flash basics, you will be happy to find ample coverage of Actionscript, audio and video. I was very impressed with the chapter on audio, and excellent techniques for building dynamic audio with DoReMedia Sound Families. This book is also excellent for students and instructors wishing to use Flash in a classroom environment. Care has been given to explain how to integrate Flash with other Multimedia programs such as Freehand and Director. If you are new to Flash and need a comprehensive intro, or you need to brush up on your existing skills and familiarize yourself with the new features available in Flash MX, this book is right for you.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Sourcebook.
Review: After taking my time and going through the book for about 2 months, I finally came around it and found the book extrememly useful. Having prior experience in Flash, this book helped me understand a lof of useful elements and new commands in Flash MX. The book has proved to be a great companion whenever I need any kind of reference. I hope something similar like it comes out for Advance Actionscripting by the same authors. [...]
Rating:
Summary: Write a review?
Review: I normally wouldn't bother writing a review on a book. Except that this book is actually different from most I have bought and use for reference. I actually wanted to learn Flash and the professor at the college where I was taking a class was very conceptual in his teaching technique. He really didn't care or list a required textbook. Matter of fact, he really didn't care if you came to class. Needless to say I was on my own. Flash MX Savvy has all the stuff you need laid out in a very logical fashion. It took me 7 or 8 chapters before I could see that I was actually learning more than the neccesary "basics". The authors contunually refer you to additional material later in the book but it was really unneccesary as they followed a very locigal progression of steps to learning the material. Great book. I will look forward to more material from them.
Rating:
Summary: This one is good!
Review: An excellent job, starts off right from scratch and builds up to a comprehensive look at all the salient features. Needs to be read slowly and carefully, is not a "Flash MX in 3 minutes" type book (those are of limited use anyway) but if studied, pays excellent dividends. I highly recommend this book (written by an archeologist!) to anyone starting Flash MX from the ground up.
Rating: 
Summary: Not sure about this one?
Review: Contrary to the stellar revues, I would have to say that this book is a good overview of Flash MX. However, it doesn't in my estimation cover anything in enough depth to really give you an understanding of the underlying concepts especially when it pertains to the scripting. I am an intermediate to intermediate plus Flash User and this is definitely not the first book I turn to for answers when I need some guidance. Sorry Kids!!~
Rating:
Summary: Mixed Review
Review: I purchased this book because of the rave reviews I read here & every day for 2 weeks I kept trying to get into it. For me it was too much of an information dump with too little hands-on to really get me started. This book does not get to creating an amination until Chapter 9 (page 160) & scares you many times before you get there that the process is sooooo complex! I bought this book to learn & gain confidence not to have it taken away. To get myself out of the slump, I purchased Flash MX Training from The Source & received a wonderful step-by-step learn-by-doing, jump-right-in approach that gave me the knowledge and confidence I was looking for. The source book gets you up & animating in chapter 4, and includes a good foundation on scripting throughout. However, in it's defense, Flash MX Savvy covers a lot of ground & it's definately a good reference - it just wasn't a good starting point for me to sink my teeth into.
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Summary: Best Flash MX Book Available
Review: This is simply the best book available at this time that covers Flash MX. It is actually understandable by people who aren't computer programmers. I was amazed at the amount and quality of information in this book! The author covers complex topics and simplifies them into instructions that anyone should be able to follow. I looked through MANY books before choosing this one over them all...
Rating:
Summary: These authors did an incredible job!
Review: Flash MX Savvy is by far one of the best Flash books I've ever read - and definitely the best Flash MX book that I know of. I loved how it was written - kind of an informal, comfortable lecture style (which isn't that surprising because both of the authors teach new media at two differnt colleges). The toics that were covered were pretty extensive, not just your run of the mill basic kind of Flash stuff. On top of all of this, the book itself looks really good: the layout is efficient, and the paper quality is great. Despite the fact that I gave it 5 stars, there are some things that I woudl like to have seen. I wished there had been more detailed coverage on components and designing Flash for mobile devices. However, what it lacked in some areas, it more than made up for in other areas. It had the most detailed and complete covereage of Flash and audio that I've ever seen in any other book. The...price tag may seem a little steep for those just getting into Flash, but its well worth it because you'll use the book for a long, long time...not just put it back on your shelf after you've learnined the regular kinds of intro topics covered by other books.
Rating:
Summary: Great Flash Manual
Review: This book gives incredibly detailed tuition on Flash MX usage in a very readable manner. A very simple to understand book, which has great depth, so suits real beginners up to those who have avoided ActionScript in the past because it is a programming language. Once the basics are explained, this is not so complicated and with the help built into Flash MX when using scripting, should not put users off. I can't find any drawbacks to this book. The lessons are uncomplicated and sensible and using the cdrom included, much can be achieved in a short time. If you are only getting one book to learn to use Flash MX, then "Flash MX Savvy" must be a serious contender. If you know nothing of Flash, then it walks you through all the steps in a simple but not simplistic way. This holds true from beginning to the serious ActionScripting towards the end. Links to inspirational sites featuring the major points of each lesson or chapter make this a book to savour. At least one third of the book concentrates on ActionScript which enables real interactivity and also a very detailed section on sound, and it's application and installation in Flash movies. A worthwhile section on it's own as this is the way to enlarge your experience of Flash MX and it's relationship with other programs and the user. The reader is taken through all the basics of the program and how to use the tools, and how to create animations in the first 3 sections. After that comes an introduction to ActionScripting, but done in such a way as to not render it difficult for novices. ActionScript is generally under-used by beginners, when understanding can bring so many more benefits to the user. You then have advanced ActionScript and writing the code.
Audio has long been a problem for Flash users who needed to lip synch, or just have sounds play on demand, and this is dealt with here, going into real detail on using different programs to work on audio, with explanations of the dynamics of sounds and how to employ them. Then you learn to incorporate Flash into other programs, and how to publish and distribute your Flash movies. The appendix contains a wealth of information and ActionScript references. This book is written from an interesting viewpoint. Firstly, it assumes no prior knowledge, but then also covers every complexity of this fascinating program, and once the basics are covered, it will make even the experts sit up and take notice. It is full of subtle hints to enhance the user's experience of your creation, and the introduction to ActionScripting, which puts a lot of users off, is done in such a way as to not daunt the non-programmer. I got rid of my old Flash tutorial book because I won't need it again after this book. I can't be any more enthusiastic than that. At least look at it for yourself before purchasing any tutorial book. This is one of the first of the Savvy range, and if the others are as good, then you should inspect them. Tim Skyrme
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