After looking at a friend's Flash-filled website, I knew I had to learn Flash for myself. This was a great book to get started. First, all the examples actually work. Second, I was able to understand why things worked as I followed along. The author is really good at breaking down complexity into simple, clear examples, then re-combining the examples into something complex that is simple to do and understand. Flash MX is such a versatile tool that I was perplexed learning it from scratch without a book that could unravel the complexity. This one does it in quick, simple steps. As a beginner I thought I was starting out slow, learning to use one tool at a time, but suddenly I was working with layers, timelines, tweens and motion guides making smooth animations flow across the screen, and it all made sense. Actually, I felt the sort of let-down you feel when someone explains a magic trick to you: "Aww, you mean it's that easy?!" Halfway into the book I was animating graphics from my digital camera and recording and using sound effects. I usually have a hard time following "cook book" how-to manuals because I want to know why and how things work, not just what sequence of buttons to push. The author breaks down all the technical pieces into short, sweet paragraphs leading into each exercise, so I knew what was happening technically with each step. There is all the information necessary for publishing Flash animations to the Web and experimenting to find that critical compromise between bandwidth and detail. The book goes easily through tools like the bandwidth profiler and preloaders, to tailor smooth animation at modem speeds. There is lots of detail on using ActionScript to make some very professional looking effects. I found this book useful both because it has all the detail to make every exercise work right the first time - there are few manuals I can say that about! - and because it is really easy to read, with just enough information about the nitty-gritty inner workings of web animation to make learning Flash a comfortable experience. I would recommend this book without question for beginners, and to anyone who uses the basics of Flash and wants to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the tools that are available, that they haven't yet used, because each module stands on its own, so you can skip the familiar parts and pick up where you need to start learning.
