Rating: 
Summary: Could've been great, BUT......
Review: Ok sorry. But I'm going to spoil the party here, given all the preceding glowing reviews about this book.
Before buying this book, I had some exposure to Flash especially with drawing and animation, but no scripting at all.
Now up to chapter 11, the explanation about drawing and animation is great. The hands-on examples take you step-by-step in putting to practice what you learned. The writing style is witty and the book is well designed and organized.Now when you come to chapter 12, the gateway to the most important aspect of Flash which is interactivity and action scripting, the authors suddenly abandon the critical necessity of providing a hands-on, step-by-step example of creating a very basic interactive flash movie, like for example: A "play" button symbol where let's say, a mouse click/over event triggers a simple movie symbol in another keyframe to play, and maybe another button symbol to stop the action. Very simple!
Instead they provide general explanations like "if you want to get this result, then you have to do this, otherwise do that". Now I don't know about you, but I LEARN BY EXAMPLE. I know flash action scripting is very intuitive and the concept is very easy to understand (I have been programming Visual Basic since version 1.0, so I know what event-driven programming is, and definitely have the aptitude to understand these things) But you need basic, hands-on examples of how it's actually done. The mechanics, not the generalities, and if learning by example worked beautifully in the preceding chapters, why give it up at the most critical juncture? Now, I'm going to have to buy another book that has hands-on examples for basic scripting. If the rest of the book is so great, why do I give it only 2 stars instead of say, 4 because of only one chapter? That's because basic action scripting is the linchpin. If you don't understand how it's actually done, then you can't go any further to the rest of the chapters. If I were the authors I would re-write chapter 12 to include this oversight (extensive step-by-step basic scripting example(s) with variations) in their second edition. It would be a shame if they don't because this is a wonderful book. Why do I think the previous reviewers had a totally different perspective on this matter? Either they haven't gotten this far in the book, or they've done basic scripting before, so they didn't need a hands-on example.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to Use and Fun to Read
Review: Flash MX Savvy is an extremely well written book that smoothly takes you through lots of differnt topics and skills. On top of this, there are times whe its pretty funny to read. Its pretty obvious that a lot of the author's character is in the book. The book has great introductory/intermediate Actionscript coverage (especially the audio related Actionscript stuff). You'll also find really good coverage of topics that you won't see in your run of the mill Flash book: Flash CD-Rom development, Flash and 3D, Flash and Director, Flash and Freehand (one of my favorites since I started out as a print designer using Freehand). On top of all of this, the book has 8 extensive project based tutorials at the end of every seciton. This is a definite must if you like learning by doing. I was incredibly glad I bought this book and recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning Flash MX.
Rating:
Summary: An essential for anyone wanting to learn Flash MX
Review: I teach new media design at a small technical college, and I'm always on the look out for new books to use in my classes. The first thing that caught my eye about Flash MX Savvy is that its written by two instructors. As I went through the book, this really showed. They write like they are talking to a room full of students. It seems like whenever I had a question, they anticipated it. The book covers all the basics in a fair amount of detail, and then moves on to more intermediate topics. The transition is easy and gentle. The Actionscript coverage (something that is sometimes dificult for stuents to get a handle on) is great! It isn't too complicated and it isn't too simple...its just right! I hihgly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn flash without being overwhelmed.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Intermediate Flash Resource
Review: There are sooooooo many Flash books out there that promise to cover more than the basics, but really do nothing but leave you hanging with a big fat hole in your wallet where the [money] used to be. I'm here to tell you that Flash MX Savvy is NOT ONE OF THOSE BOOKS!!! Not only does it cover the basics, but it coveres intermediate and some advanced techniques. On top of that, it has a whole ton of chapters that are dedicated to specialized topics such as integrating Flash with other program, working with Flash and 3D, and creating Flash for CDs. On top of all of this, the Actionscript coverage (a topic which I was terrified of) was incredible. It started you off gently and covered not only how you use Actionscript, but why Actionscript works the way it does...something that I realized was vitial to striking out on my own in teh world of Actionscript. Buy it, use it, love it!
Rating:
Summary: Nothing Else Compares to Flash MX Savvy
Review: I dabbled with Flash in the past, but never really got the knack for it. When Flash MX came around, I decided to take the plunge and really learn the program properly. I decided that I would pick one book to go along with the software. I chose Flash MX Savvy, and you have no idea how happy I am with the choice. The authors are smart and funny. The book is well organized and logical. The chapters feature a smooth transition between beginner topics and intermediate material (all of which is very detailed) Best of all, the authors were incredibly up-front about who the book was intended for - this book isn't a pig in a poke. I loved that they spent the time to talk about Flash not only as a web design tool, but also a tool for creating content for a whole range of media. If you bought any other beginner/intermediate book, you'd be wasting your money. Gt Flash MX Savvy and you'll be happy as a clam.
Rating:
Summary: Great Beginner-Intermediate Flash MX Book
Review: This book is a great beginner-intermediate Flash MX book. The content is great, the organization is wonderful, the writing is really good (and pretty funny at times). I was also really impressed by the incredible coverage of Flash and Audio. Flash MX Savvy is light years ahead of many of the big Flash books - including the Flash 5 Bible and the Macromedi Flash MX: the Complete Refernce (which is a terribly book by the way. Buy it, I garuntee you'll love it.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect book for the Perfect Program
Review: I actually originally bought this book because of one of the authors (Ethan Watrall). I had purchased one of his other books (Dreamweaver 4 & Fireworks 4 Visual Jumpstart), and totally loved it. So, wanting to pick up a book to get me up to speed on Flash MX, I bought Flash MX Savvy. Boy, it was *totally* worth it. Not only do the authors write in a fluid, whitty, and easily understandable way, but the books content is organized wonderfully. They break down the topics in a totally logical way. While each chapter builds upon the previous one, you can also use the book as a really handy reference. Infact, the book is pretty much a fixture on my computer desk these days. I totally loved all the other non-corre Flash topics that the book covered in the later chapters. The CD even has a full bonus chapter on integrating Flash MX with Dreamweaver! If you only buy one Flash MX book, get Flash MX Savvy - you won't be sorry.
Rating: 
Summary: This book makes me sick
Review: A 600+ pages tour of Flash MX buttons and menus... with just a couple ridiculously elementary "tutorials" thrown in. Makes me think of somone who had to write a flash book and has never done anything with it but figure out how the user interface works. You won't find anything useful in here, that is about CREATING something with Flash. As for me I am never gonna buy a book from this author again, and I am probably also ditching the whole "savvy" line as well.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY
Review: The actual rating is MINUS 5 stars. This book sucks. The stupid CD DOES NOT WORK on PC. Finally I copied it from my Mac. More surprises. Some chapters, IMPORTANT ONES, ARE MISSING. Without completing these chapters, you can't move on. I am throwing my book away in disgust. I'm heading out to buy a book that actually works.
People who can't even program their own CDs shoudn't write "How to" manuals.
Rating:
Summary: Looked at many, bought this one.
Review: Flash MX Savvy is wonderful. I bought Sam's Teach Yourself Flash MX in 24 Hours several weeks ago... and it's fine. But MX Savvy is better. I am a total Flash newbie. In the past I had shyed (sp?) away from Flash because it was sooooo daunting. I've been using Swish (which BTW is a spectacular little app); but finally decided to bite the bullet and jump into Flash. So I got the Sam's book. I'm not sure why I felt the need for another book. I wasn't even half-way through Sam's. But something told me that in the long run I'd be glad to have two sources. So after much cogitatin', I landed upon MX Savvy. It is the perfect book. I have started at page 1, and am working my way through to the end. It is a perfect teacher and companion. It touches on everything about MX, newbie stuff and leads you into the advanced stuff. And it does so in that very comfortable manner of walking with you, but allowing to get your own hands wet in the process. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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