Just about every time I need a technical manual, especially software based, I head for the 'Bible' series. I've yet to be disappointed. I'm sure every web developer knows that Macromedia is "the" software to use. Though I use Dreamweaver and Fireworks quite proficiently, I'm a fish out of water when it comes to Flash. This book held my hand and led me thorough the tutorials I needed to understand the workings of Flash MX and gave me a great feel for the intricacies of the software. The financial and time investments in this book are well worth it. I've paid for the book and software many times over in the lessons learned. As with the many other Bible series books, they're an arms length away on a shelf for quick reference, with post-it stickers marking the many places I refer to on a regular basis!

I am the type of person who likes to have a gigantic book. If I will have a study book, might as well have the biggest one, especially for technical ones. Of course, some gigantic books absolutely make no sense to me and I will fall asleep even before a chapter ends but this book kept me going. I already finished a third of the book and learned along the way. Also, I have no design or Flash experience at all so this is all new to me but this book does not make me struggle too much. With enough time and effort to do the exercises and study the examples that come with the book and CD, you will definitely learn Flash. This is a very helpful book. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn Flash and to those who want to know as much of the interface as possible.

I buy every Flash Bible because they are the most comprehensive guides to Flash. This is a great book for people just starting out in flash because it will take your from beginner to intermediate Flash designer. It is also an excellent reference guide for the more experienced users.

Everyone in my office has a copy on their desk (if not multiple copies). I saw Snow Dowd talk at Flash In The Can. She is extremely knowledgeable in all matters flash related. I did not get a chance to attend Mr. Reinhardt's seminars, but I can only imagine the interesting concepts he had to share. The support website (http://www.flashsupport.com/) is also a resource of immeasurable value. All in all, when it comes to Flash and Action Script I would say Snow and Robert are the place to go for up to date cutting edge info (although I'm not sure I agree with Robert's anti-tween stance).

I've used this book for my Web Animation class and while it doesn't tell you every little thing you need to know about Flash. It's a great book to get started, especially if you need to work off of real examples then the cd-rom files included would really help. Although I wished that this book covered certain subjects in more detail and included more tutorials . . . This book would be good for beginners and maybe even intermediate users could use this as a reference. It gives you a nice balance of Flash animation and web design. However, after reading this book, you'll probably end up buying more books on Flash like me. If you're going to be focusing more on Flash web design, you might want to buy the Flash MX 2004 ActionScript Bible as well.