Let's start with the (little) negative part, and that's the way this book is organized. In my opinion the first 4 chapters and the appendix A/B should be presented in a different way. I'll see many people starting with chapter 5, or even with the appendix if you need to refresh your knowledge about SQL.
During the past years, i have been working on database apps. with VB6 and SQL Server, and since a while, i had been experimenting a little with data in the .NET environment. In my case, this was the book I needed, because the author does not waste too much time on explaining how to create your first stored proc or how VB works.
Also, he doesn't compare the old ADO with the new ADO .NET which you will see in many other books. No, in chapter 5 you'll get everything to know what you need about the Dataset, maybe some stuff you knew before, but with the details you need, and things start to become more interesting in chapter 8 until the end of the book.
If you are looking for a way to create a quick, nice user interface
by using a datagrid for example this is not the book for you, because these are hardly mentioned.
Instead of this, you'll get to know how to work with xml data, master/detail rel., data binding, images, multi user, query by example,etc. in other words, the data itself.
Excellent book, in case you know the basics about VB .NET and if you've been playing a little bit with ADO .NET, and need to go a step further. However, have a look at the content before you buy.
Gunther
