Don't get me wrong... this is a good book for some... but for most this is just another book in a big stack of Flash books that has no real-world application what-so-ever.
This book essentially has 3 parts:
1. How the author got into flash.
2. Equations
3. What the author can do in flash.
Now it should be mentioned that this book has NO examples and that in chapter one it is clearly stated that this book is not and was not intended to be a tutorial book. Now, having said that, future buyers should be wary in that you really will not be told how or shown how to do anything with this book. The author is essentially saying, "Here are some equations you can use in flash, but I'm not going to show you how to use them, or what to use them for."
Those of you familiar with the blue book for automobiles will find that this book reads strikingly similar. By this I mean the blue-book will tell you about cars, but not how to operate or service one. Likewise, this book will tell you about flash and some things flash can do, but not how to do them.
To a developer/designer like myself who is actually out creating sites for clients this book offers next to nothing. However, this book is great I imagine for those people who just create visual effects you would never see on a normal website. By this I mean I've never had a client request a snowstorm or a tornado on a project. And I do NOT mean mousetrailers, interface design or any of the good real world creations.
This book will also appeal to those who just like to read manuals, in that you don't need to have a computer to do anything related to this book. As mentioned earlier, because you don't actually do anything in this book, all you need is the book (you don't even need flash). This book can easily be summed up in, "Here is an equation, here is another equation, and here is another equation. Here are some things that I did with those equations in which you will never find any real world use for unless you get your own book deal some day and then you can pass them along". This book is only a reading book, and can be read cover to cover without even needing to turn your computer on.
Now don't get me wrong, the book is entertaining to read and as stated earlier it clearly tells you in chapter 1 that it isn't going to show you how to do anything. It will, however, give you INSIGHT to programming in flash and enhance your skill in that area. Undoubtedly your math skills will improve as well. For this I give the book 5 stars. However, as I design and develop for a living, I need to know where the real-world application is... and this book has none... for that I give this book 1-star. Thus my review I have given 3 stars.
The author is supremely talented in mathmatics and programming and undoubtedly if he sat down and wrote a book that was practical for what flash is capable of turning the web into, it would be a knockout bestseller. Unfortunately this is not that book.
Another thing I find terribly ironic is that every flash book to date raves on the uses and superiority of flash over your standard HTML driven websites and yet when you visit any of these books authors websites you find a dinky 2 page site that is HTML driven... kinda makes you wonder eh?
