5 comments about Learning ActionScript 3.0: A Beginner's Guide.

1. I'm plugging away with Learning ActionScript because I can see how it's capable of amazing things, and I have been using Flash for a little while.
   However this book is written using the kind of language that seems simple to a programmer and obscure to the rest of us - a lot of what is written I simply can't fathom despite frequent re-reading (I'm afraid this probably says more about me than the writers of the book). It's probably best for those who are more familiar with the composition of scripts and want to upgrade to ActionScript 3. Not really a beginners guide.



2. Any computer library strong in web development titles in general and ActionScript in particular will want the beginner's guide to Flash, LEARNING ACTIONSCRIPT 3.0. It's an excellent introduction which also lends well to classroom use and assignment, covering all the basics of how ActionScript and Flash work and surveying logic, content, transferring projects to ActionScript, waveform visualization, loading HTML and more. Chapters offer hands-on exercises to reinforce skills building learning and also pair well with a companion web site offering material for all the exercises plus test quizzes. ActionScript learners will find it an essential - and surprisingly easy - reference.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



3. I'm surprised a book by O'Reilly was released with this many typos. I've been going through it and typing the tutorials that were new material for me. The amount of mistakes is just unacceptable, especially that many times it happens in code. The code is correct in the examples from their web site which begs the question, why didn't they just cut and paste it from the WORKING examples? The errata on their web site has a few of the mistakes but I've found many more.
   
   Anyway, apart from the ridiculous number of typos it is a pretty good book. I don't think its the be-all Flash book like some people on here that have been raving, but it is a good stepping stone book to learning some OOP. Its very practical and eases you from timeline code into classes. Most Flash books seem to go all timeline or all OOP, so good job to them for understanding their audience. Another knock I have is that in many examples they try to show you additional techniques apart from the main thing they are trying to illustrate. Normally I would applaud this because you just learn more, but too often here it just confuses. My last issue with the book is that it sometimes fails to explain an important element of code or give you a really vague explanation, even if that is the purpose of the exercise! Personally I want to know why I'm typing every line in so I can be more flexible when I write my own code, as opposed to blindly memorizing and hoping I remember it when I need it.
   
   All in all, you won't go wrong with this one, but it is by no means perfect. It could've been great. Its not. But its still good and worth a purchase.



4. After reading the other reviews I decided to give this book a try and I don't regret it.



5. First, please note that many of the 5-star reviews are written by experience Flash professionals, who already have experience with actionscript concepts -- and that makes them poor judges of how clear this book will be to a beginning audience.
   
   The book is explicitly written for beginners, but the authors don't always have a good grasp on what readers know. On one page they start talking about "trapping" events. What does that mean? Who knows?
   
   Elsewhere, in a discussion of "properties" they throw in the term "elements." Are these terms synonymous or different?
   
   They write, "all three results could potentially execute" when they mean, "any one of the three results could potentially execute."
   
   They start throwing around the terms "parent" and "child" without defining them.
   
   It gets better as you go along, but it's pretty rough going, especially at the beginning. These expert authors should have had a complete novice review their book for language and clarity.

5 comments about iPhoto '08: The Missing Manual.

1. iPhoto 08 was exactly what I needed to get the most from my home photography. It is well written and easy to follow. The price was excellent and the quick service was greatly appreciated.



2. Apple really needs to collaborate with Mr. Pogue and put this book in every software application! I was at a loss converting from one system to a Mac but this book has truly made it so much easier for me. I have finally been able to stay off the phone with Apple and work on my photos! Thanks Mr. Pogue! Once again you have come through for me!



3. I have showered so much praise on these 'Missing Manual' books it may seem like I am getting paid by David Pogue himself to write these reviews, but I guarantee you that is not the case!!
   
   Full of crisp, clear, color photos that jump off the page, a writing style that is fun and easy to follow, and a layout that is second to none, there simply is no line of books for learning applications on the market that is better than the 'Missing Manual' series.
   
   If you use an application (whatever it is) and you want to learn to use the tool in question, forget going online or taking a class. Either it will be a waste of time, money or both!!! Just look at the name of the app you are interested in, see if there is a Missing Manual book for it and BUY IT.
   
   These books are that good, that impressive, that well written, and that well published. I put the highest stamp of approval on this line by O'Reilly.
   
   ***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION



4. iPhoto '08 is very useful for newcomers to iPhoto. One surprising, to me, plus is that the book actually begins with a couple of chapters that are photography tutorials that are helpful without being too technical. I think this 'missing manual' can help many get the most from their use of iPhoto '08.



5. Packed with great information, well organized and presented in a humorous fashion. I keep it right alongside my computer for reference.

5 comments about Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions.

1. This is a very important book. It helps you understand why the landing page is so impacting on the final actions of your visitors and what a landing page is for that matter. The book provides you with excellent guidance for analyzing your current website and determining how to make it easier for the visitor to use and, more importantly, easier for the user to do what you need them to do.
   
   I loved the section titled, "Why your site is not perfect". It provides excellent information on how to uncover hidden problems in your site that your users are experiencing even though you may not have noticed them. Let's just say that it goes way beyond dead links.
   
   Finally, "the math of tuning" shows you how to make logical decisions for next steps and make sure you're not wasting time fixing things that aren't broken or don't matter. Overall... a great book.



2. Could a book that would obviously be about grabbing a web surfer's attention for commercial purposes be helpful to someone who wasn't particularly concerned about `conversions'? In this case, absolutely yes. If you can allow your mind to think outside the box just a bit, this book can really provide some helpful advice which can be easily translated to your particular goal.
   
   Mr. Ash assumes you know what you want to do but nevertheless gently nudges you with reminders of the many things which you should be considering. Complex - but necessary - concepts are explained in context and without boring definitions so that you can smile smugly with the sure and steadfast knowledge that you've always understood things like Full Factorial Non-Parametric Testing. After a few pages, you'll be eager to make meaningful changes to your own website!



3. Certain types of advice go without saying; eat your vegetables, listen to your mother, look both ways before crossing the street. In his new book Landing Page Optimization, Tim Ash reminds us of fundamental landing page design concepts that seem simple. But we all (at least occasionally) fall into the trap of forgetting them when designing a page.
   
   Landing Page Optimization starts and ends with a very simple premise: you are not the expert in designing an effective landing page -- your customers are. You may feel that you have pegged the perfect message, the right layout and the simplest form. You reason you derived all of these elements from an exact understanding of who is visiting the website and why. Truth is, you haven't. Your design most likely rests on how you see your product or service, how you structure your company, what your CEO likes, or any number of other things that have little or nothing to do with the customer's needs. Swallow your pride, trust your customers to tell you what they want through their actions, and give it to them.
   
   Tim asserts the basic principle that your page must appeal to the emotional responses of the visitor. Make them feel welcome, safe and connected to your site. Unfortunately, you don't have the time to explain to them why they should trust and commit. Visitors devote only a few seconds to your landing page, and you must make the most of these seconds. Assume no one wants to read your lengthy descriptions. Communicate quickly with images and bulleted lists, with your overall goal of maximizing conversions constantly in mind.
   
   Tim has delivered a must-read book for every level of an organization that wants to make its website and online marketing efforts successful. Far from being a book for any one job title, Landing Page Optimization gives everyone in an organization a solid foundation for how to think about customers, how that relates to design, and how to test sites with maximizing conversions in mind. Each person involved in landing page design must think about how each element on the landing page helps or hinders a visitor's ability to understand immediately who the site owner is, conclude there's a solid benefit for them, and trust the site owner with their information.
   
   In all, Landing Page Optimization provides a valuable look at the factors we should consider when evaluating the effectiveness of any landing page. This excellent read will leave you saying, "I knew that! Why haven't I been doing this all along?!?"



4. Though I had given this book 5 stars, I really mean it - this book is everything you need about the topic.
   But.
   A warning here. Author goes on for a lot of math, theory and things, what can scare you away, in case your mind is prepared to see a lot of pictures & comics style reading like you probably saw in this book:
   
   Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition
   
   I would say - if you want easy book to read on a topic - take a Steve's book, but of you are ready to serious brain wash with a topics starting from Myer/Briggs personas (same topic is covered by another great book - Waiting for your cat to bark, from Eisenberg brothers), probability theory, quantitative approaches, and other similar issues - then this book is for you.
   
   Just do not expect the easy go read. This is what I wanted to say



5. This book may be the best thing since sliced bread for you, or can be practically useless. It has an extensive focus on Joe web surfer's persona, on why and how he behaves on the web. It also explains basic concepts such as A-B split testing, ROI, and gives a few examples from author's consulting background. There's a few mathematical formulas, which I am sure are excellent for marketing folks.
   
   But what completely lacks from this book is THE WHAT and THE HOW. The "Uncovering Problems" section is surprisingly small and has no real value. It is explainable - the later part of the book is nothing but a marketing promo of author's consulting business. This costs author 1 star in my review.
   
   The second star I remove because this book is completely useless for small to medium business. If you are a company with under $20 million in revenue - which is where 99% of websites belong - this book is not going to help you much.

No comments about You: Breathing Easy: Meditation and Breathing Techniques to Relax, Refresh and Revitalize.

5 comments about Pro C# 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform, Fourth Edition (Windows.Net).

1. Andrew Troelsen has done a remarkable job. The book
   does a great job of explaining C#. Every time I had a question about a specific topic he would answer it with in a few pages. This is not a reference book. It is a book that through thoughtful text and coresponding examples leads you through C#. It is an intense book and every word and example needs to be examined so don't expect an easy trip. Pro C# 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform, Fourth Edition (Pro Series)



2. It's a great book for an experienced programmer who already knows Object Oriented Design and Programming, because many important concept (like inheritance and polymorphism) are explained very briefly.
   But if you come from Java, C++ or any other C++-derived language, you'll feel familiar with the concepts explained and begin developing in C# quickly.
   The development tools explained are principally Visual Studio 2008, but also some other IDE and compiler are explained.
   Maybe a little disappointing the examples, and some suggestion of exercises at the end of each chapter would be very usefoul.
   Anyhow, 4 stars.



3. This is a book that I'd expect from Apress pro series. As a java developer, I've had no prior experience with .net. This book has walked me through and tought me the .net concepts and the c# language in no time. Very straightforward, no blabla, and thorough. Also with 1300+ pages and being hard-cover, it is a bargain. Highly recommended.



4. Ho trovato un'ottima guida in questo libro. Gli argomenti trattati sono spiegati in maniera eccellente: breve introduzione, esempio banale e poi una trattazione approfondita dell'argomento. Un breve sommario conclude ogni capitolo e permette di fare un ripasso di quello che si e' letto all'occorrenza.
   
   E' un libro che consiglio sia a chi inizia per la prima volta a programmare in c#.net (seppure sono necessarie delle basi di programmazione oop) e naturalmente ai piu' esperti, pubblico a cui sembra essere destinato.
   
   Devo dire che ho trovato in questo libro un fedele compagno di lavoro, visto che e' corredato anche di un ottimo indice analitico e, per chi lo acquista subito, dell'intero pdf full searchable.
   
   Mi assumo la responsabilita' di consigliarlo a tutti :).



5. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about learning C# and is coming from an older .NET platform or from previous C/C++ experience. The book is extremely thick, yes, but wastes little space. The examples are detailed in explaining the topic at hand but do not carry extraneous details that could distract from the current topic.
   
   I would also recommend this book to anyone who might not have constant access to a computer to test out the topics. I find this book to be one of the few programming books that I can sit down with in front of the fire and read without having to get up every five minutes to see how an example really works. This book manages to fully explain the topics in such a way that the explaination is complete; a visit to the computer to try and understand the text is rarely needed.

5 comments about Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual.

1. If you're new to dreamweaver this book will be very very helpful, pretty straightfoward, although it's huge, it will cover everything you need to know about dreamweaver cs3, very easy to understand, especially for newbies like me, highly recommended!!!



2. I've heard about O'reilly books before. And I'm glad to have one. It has a comprehensible and sincere expression. After all I've found my missing manual! Thanks...



3. I have had no prior experience with web programming, or with Dreamweaver. I really liked the flow of the manual and the amount of information in it. I did not realize how thick the manual is physically, but glad that it has so much information. The tutorials are a step by step process, which I needed to get me started. The examples and source files are all included. I recommend it.



4. It is discouraging to work with the book. To much small talk and very little hands on. You have to go trough four pages of autor's ideas and tips before you find what you are looking for or what you have to do. The book could be four times smaller and then would have been one of the best.



5. This book is a lifesaver! I still had many questions about Dreamweaver after taking a six-week online class, but no one to ask. Dreamwear CS3 the missing manual answered all of them and more. It has made my job easier, and completing task faster.

5 comments about Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction.

1. I started by reading the first edition of this book. I got the second edition when I was almost finished with the first edition of this book.
   
   After getting the new version of the book I decided to continue reading the old one because I found that there are quite a few differences between the old and the new edition.
   
   This is perhaps one of the best books that I have ever read on programming in my life. The author Steve McConnell has put together a book that is independent of what ever programming language that is used. In the authors words. He wanted to write a good book on software construction because he had looked around and had not found any good books out there on the subject. I would have to agree with him there are not a lot of books on good programming technic. There are hundreds of books on this programming language or that programming language.
   
   Code complete is so good that I feel every programmer should read it. It would be best if in the first year of college every single student read the book. I just don't know how it could fit into a regular curriculum. Even if it does not fit that well into a regular curriculum what is taught in this book is probably more important then what most people learn at school.
   
   I like the book and would advise it to anyone that programs.
   
   I am looking forward to the new edition because the old book didn't have much advice about object oriented programming. Mostly because it was a new way of programming when the book was first written and he didn't want to commit much information to it when object oriented programming was so new. He does talk a little about things that are outdated but the book is still one of the best.
   
   I will wait a while before I read the second edition but I expect to be as satisfied with it as I was this one.
   
   Great book that should be in every programmers library.



2. it's a book that all programmers must to read. it explain a lot of interesting things about how to made good software!



3. I'm currently studying computer science and have been reading this in my spare time. Skip your lectures. Just read this book! If you want to construct software in a timely, efficient, and complete manner--this is the definitive book to read. Not dry at all, Steve McConnell covers topics for all experience levels. Even if you're an experienced programmer, you will learn something from this great piece of literature.
   
   I've only gone through the first few chapters thus far. So pending finishing my reading, I'll update this review. Unfortunately this might never happen as I find myself re-reading portions of the book to pick up new ideas and details for software construction!



4. If you're an experienced software developer or a newbee in the world of commercial computer programming this book will give a good kick in the right direction. Steve McConnel will keep you hooked by mixing the right guiding concepts with real-life knowledge and examples.



5. This was a great book both for me and my team. I've been in the software industry for many years. I started building a team of developers and needed an easy way to bring novice and experienced programmers together on a similar set of standards. This book provided us with the perfect framework from which to start our team. We've developed several major projects using the principles in this book and have experienced a great deal of success.
   
   One warning, the book gets a bit tedious after the first half. If you're looking to improve your C programming skills, it gets really detailed into pointers and other fun, or not, stuff. Also, the examples are in VB.NET...but you still get the point.

5 comments about Programming Collective Intelligence: Building Smart Web 2.0 Applications.

1. Love the book, great topical review of methods with working examples. Every chapter makes you think of a dozen things you could do next.
   My only reason for 4 instead of 5 stars is that the code examples are all python-based and leverage python specific features. The book title should be "Programming Collective Intelligence...with Python" although it does present a fun challenge to convert the examples to a different language (like Ruby!).



2. I use python as my primary programming language, when I ordered this book I was concerned it would be more about website design then AI algorithms (collective intelligence encompasses a subset of soft AI algorithms that draw upon information from various sources readily avaliable on the Internet, large document collections, etc.) I found the text to be readable with broad application in other areas including document classification systems for analyzing large amount of documents in the context of e-discovery. I would recommend this book to anyone using any-type of clustering process for review and analyzing documents and data. Taxonomic, clustering, neural networks, etc. are sold generally to the public as magic while in fact the concepts are readily accessible in this book.



3. As a long time O'Reilly reader & fan, I have to say this is the best O'Reilly book I've
   read in the past several years, and is now among my favorite programming books in general. This is really an applied Artificial Intelligence book in disguise, as it covers most of the core topics found amongst the top AI textbooks. I've recently read a few of the standard AI books, such as Norvig, Duda & Hart; which are thorough, but in a bad way, because they miss the forest for the trees. Your average working software developer is not going to be able to use these textbooks to create any code without investing a lot of time, or stopping long the way to get a Phd.
   
   And this is precisely where this books shines, unlike similar books out there--Toby Segaran has managed to explain the core AI algorithms in plain language, with very readable code examples that implement a fully working example to get you started. Reading this book made me realize most of the AI that I've studied is not hard in itself, but rather the standard way AI algorithms are presented in textbooks is just terrible and obfuscated.
   
   For example, Toby describes a fully working backpropagation neural network, with code(!) in about 9 pages. I've never seen a NN presentation better than this. There were several chapters where I couldn't help laughing at how conceptually easy a given algorithm ends up being if only you stop and explain it as simply as possible, and throw out most of the mathematical notation. That sounds obvious, but for some reason few authors think brevity helps get the point across, especially when dealing with a mathematical topic. So kudos to Toby for this, which is a major accomplishment in itself, as it's going to really help the book appeal to a much wider audience.
   
   I also though it was a great idea to connect every topic in the book to large data sets which anyone can get off the web. This lead me to think of many other kinds of datasets to try this code on, so it's not the kind of book that you read and put away;
   but rather you keep tweaking the example code(available on the book's website), adding to it and experimenting.
   
   In all, a great book, highly recommended!



4. I think this is a good, easy-to-read intro to several interesting data-centric software technologies, but it is superficial.
   
   For example, their collaborative filtering (ratings + recommendations) section illustrates only the most simplest of algorithms and completely skips over more advanced techniques (improved normalization, matrix factorization, and others), it skips over even basic benchmarking of the rec system (IMO, if you aren't doing objective benchmarks and tuning it off of those metrics, your rec system is useless), and doesn't address any of the common pitfalls and problems (sparsity, overfitting, normalization problems, scalability issues).
   
   I guess that is expected. If you want a book that's easy to read that can get you excited about some cool ares in software development, this book is great. If you want information beyond the introductory casual reading level, look elsewhere.



5. This is one of those books I wish I had more time to devote to. I've barely begun to read it and already, I'm thrilled with the information being shared - I never knew what I didn't know, but this book has really opened my eyes to an entire facet of my development expertise that needs to improve.
   
   Highly recommended

5 comments about Professional ASP.NET 3.5: In C# and VB (Programmer to Programmer).

1. Scott, Bill and Devin do a phenomenal job of covering evrything in 3.5. This massive book can be read cover-to-cover over a couple of weeks or sit on your desk as a reference. The info from these three is rooted in real-world experience. They cover the technical details as well as the how and why of decisions around developing Rich Internet Applications.



2. Bill, Scott and Devin are long-time ASP.NET experts, and the authors of several best selling ASP.NET and .NET books.
   
   This latest book is outstanding and provides an excellent end to end resource for almost all things ASP.NET related (UI, AJAX, Data Access, Security, State Management, Deployment, etc).
   
   The book is very well organized, with a nice balance of text, code samples, and screen-shots. All code samples are provided in both C# and VB - making it applicable to developers of all language backgrounds.
   
   The book does a good job of covering new .NET 3.5 material - with good content on LINQ, LINQ to XML, and LINQ to SQL, as well as the new ASP.NET 3.5 data controls - including the ListView control. It has chapters on ASP.NET AJAX and the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit. It also has some great IIS7 material.
   
   One of the things that is particularly useful is that the samples and chapters are written with Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Web Developer Express 2008. The book does a great job of explaining both the core ASP.NET programming concepts, as well as showing off how to use the tools to easily take advantage of them.
   
   All in all a great book and a fantastic addition to any ASP.NET developer's library.



3. If there's one book to own on ASP.NET 3.5 this is it! Unlike some other books that have simply added a couple of additional chapters at the end and a new cover, in Professional ASP.Net 3.5 sections that matter have been accurately updated to reflect the new changes and new chapters have been added where appropriate.
   
   This book is very well written, and is full of code examples. At 1674 pages it's a monster, but it's all solid content.



4. I've got the ASP.NET 2.0 version of this book (both the original and special edition versions) and all of the strengths still hold: It still walks you through all of the common (and some of the uncommon) usage for ASP.NET and provides great examples and code snippets to illustrate points. I'm not an ASP.NET newbie and I still find myself referring to the book from time to time - even in the age of Google - to find a nice, easy-to-understand example of this or that.
   
   That said, not much has changed from ASP.NET 2.0 to ASP.NET 3.5, so the important bits are the differences between this book and the previous version. So what is different?
   
   ADDED:
   * Lots about LINQ. Anywhere they discuss data - from databinding to working with XML - they've added info on how LINQ works into the picture. Thre is even a new chapter on "Querying with LINQ."
   * A chapter on IIS7 with a high-level intro to what it means for ASP.NET.
   * A chapter on basic HTML and CSS usage.
   * ASP.NET AJAX has been made a first class citizen with chapters on both the ASP.NET AJAX framework as well as the ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit. (It was an appendix in the ASP.NET 2.0 book.)
   * A section on WCF services has been added to the "Building and Consuming Services" chapter.
   * An ASP.NET-oriented subset of the indispensable Scott Hanselman Ultimate Tools List has been added as an appendix with screen shots and larger discussion of each tool.
   * An appendix has been added on basic Silverlight.
   
   REMOVED:
   * The introduction to Visual Studio. You won't get an overview of the IDE in the new book.
   * Basic .NET concept review like the chapter on "Collections and Lists" have been removed.
   * The chapter on developing for mobile devices using the contents of the System.Web.Mobile assembly.
   * The appendix on VB 8.0 and C# 2.0 language enhancements (generics, partial classes, etc.).
   
   COMBINED:
   * The ASP.NET 2.0 book separated out the discussions of "ASP.NET Web Server Controls" and "ASP.NET 2.0 Web Server Controls." This is now one chapter that doesn't differentiate by version.
   
   For the chapters that the two versions of the book have in common, really the only differences I could find were that the first few "intro" paragraphs for the chapter and the screenshots have been updated. A few sentences here and there have been updated to remove version-specific wording, but the copy is basically the same. I did a page-for-page comparison of one of chapters and almost everywhere it was exactly the same as the previous version, verbatim.
   
   That commonality is not a bad thing. It means the new version still has the great content found in the previous version, so if you didn't get the ASP.NET 2.0 book, the 3.5 book will cover you. If you did get the ASP.NET 2.0 book, Wrox also has a Professional ASP.NET 3.5 Upgrade book that just contains the new stuff so you don't have to re-purchase content you already have.
   
   Again, the typesetting irked me. The font really needs to be a point or two larger. Also, in the Professional ASP.NET 2.0 Special Edition, they used a light gray background to highlight code snippets so it was easy to make the distinction between prose and code. They lost that light gray background in the 3.5 book so the prose and the snippets run together a bit. (They use the light gray now as a "highlighter" for particular lines of code.) Of course, at 1600-odd pages, they might have to start shipping this bad boy on microfiche.
   
   In all, still highly recommended.



5. Being a Microsoft fanatic I always want to stay on top of things with Microsoft Technologies.I have been reading a couple of books on ASP.NET 3.5. I bought this book from Amazon. And having seen this book physically and went over the contents of the book and read couple of chapters of my interest, I can definitely say that, this is the ONLY book that any ASP.NET developer would want to have on his desk. Complete. Comprehensive. Cost effective. Definite BUY.

5 comments about Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter).

1. This book is a must. If you are a Power Point serious user, and recognize that you (and the people in the auditorium) are tired with the "standard" way you do your presentations, you must buy and read this beautiful book. You will read it in hours - it is marvelous. I strongly recommend this one.



2. I can't add a great deal to the praise already stated for this great little book. It is a quick, easy read, but you have to read it -carefully-. This is about changing how you think about a presentation, not a checklist or a template for giving presentations.
   
   At work, I cringe through many, many "Death b Powerpoint" presentations, and I get compliments from colleagues on mine. They grasp that there is something different about how I present, but they don't understand the philosophy enough to duplicate it. Get this book and all will be clear.
   
   If you present highly technical information, you will have to modify some of the ideas in the book, because it is essential to make some of the slide more substantial, for instance with graphs prepared from a good graphing program (Something like Igor, NOT Excel). However, this is a minor modification, and the backbone of your presentation can follow the philosophy so clearly expressed in this book.
   
   Very highly recommended.



3. This book will revolutionize the way you present. It includes invaluable tips on how to plan your presentation, simplify your ideas, tell interesting stories, and put together a presentation that will hook your audience. A must read!



4. This book will change the way you use PowerPoint. It is a must for developing a great presentation. Excellent examples, great writing, and easy to employ ideas. It has opened my eyes and I will forever be changed in my use of PowerPoint slides. My presentations will be just plain better for the audience.



5. Most books on using presentation software seem to start with the assumption that the software makes sense and that organizing content is the secret to a good presentation. Here, Garr Reynolds strips away those assumptions and asks you to think of presentations as they truly are--visual stories. They're more like movies than books and Garr opens up the possibilities through a radically different approach to designing slides.
   
   The book offers many beautiful examples and an engaging and reflective style that inspires you to create truly impactful presentations. These principles are particularly important for government communicators.