Written by a trio of interactive design pros and published by the folks behind the software, this guide is the place to turn when you’re ready to move beyond the manual and leverage all of Flash MX 2004’s power to solve real-world problems. Through a combination of straightforward explanations and hands-on exercises, you’ll learn about such key topics as accessing external data sources, publishing in various formats, and creating elegant and effective ActionScripts. Best of all, the authors share their inside knowledge of Flash MX 2004’s newest features: essential ActionScript 2.0 commands and standards, expanded support for rich media, a streamlined user interface, new Timeline Effects and Behaviors, and more. The companion CD includes all of the files you need to complete the book’s lessons. So what are you waiting for? Get this book and start getting flashy with your dynamic, interactive Web sites.

Written by a trio of interactive design pros and published by the folks behind the software, this guide is the place to turn when you9re ready to move beyond the manual and leverage all of Flash MX 20049s power to solve real-world problems. Through a combination of straightforward explanations and hands-on exercises, you9ll learn about such key topics as accessing external data sources, publishing in various formats, and creating elegant and effective ActionScripts. Best of all, the authors share their inside knowledge of Flash MX 20049s newest features: essential ActionScript 2.0 commands and standards, expanded support for rich media, a streamlined user interface, new Timeline Effects and Behaviors, and more. The companion CD includes all of the files you need to complete the book9s lessons. So what are you waiting for? Get this book and start getting flashy with your dynamic, interactive Web sites.

Great shot from Macromedia Press!!!
[**this review was made by Roberto Cunha from AIR User Group**]It’s not correct to say that it’is a book for beginners. There are, on the first pages, the traditionals lessons about the menus, the stage, how to work with panels. Basic concepts are boarded with the right details levels for the inexperienced.
However, with more than eight hundred pages, this book reaches the most advanced levels, as manipulate applications with audio and video, 3D animation, object-oriented programming and communication with external sources.
The promise of the heading is fulfilled, once that it is possible to find practically all the subjects into the flash MX 2004,since the small ball put into motion (the "hello world" of the flash), even applications for pocket-pcs and options of accessibility.We also find chapters entirely dedicated to the publication techniques (CDs, web sites, relation with search engines), debugging, best programming practices and characteristics of the flash player.
Summarizing: almost nothing was forgotten. Therefore it is an appropriated book as source of information for novices and also for the experienced ones. Moreover, it is a book published in association with Macromedia Press, with the signature of a three authors first class group, five contributors and three technical reviewers.

I wish I could give it 5 stars
This book is a must-have Flash book. The only thing that was missing, at least for me, is a chapter where the trio of the best Flash developers out there could have included a real application and deconstructed it in front of our eyes. Let’s face it, advanced Flashers,though might stumble over some code, can find a way out without much hassle. Those who are somehow new to Flash (beginners and intermediates) need a hands-on practice. I need a real rich application get dismanteled before my eyes. I don’t want to see the code. I want a book to guide me to create my own code. Afterall, this is a book that you’d never regret buying. Oh Yea, worth your savings!

Flash goodness is directly proportional to it’s heaviness!
All readers will appreciate this clearly written, very detailed book on the latest version of flash. Great for those wanting to learn more about Flash’s programming and backend capabilities. Especially handy were the sections on external data, skinning components and 3D.

Definitely a resource worth having!

Well rounded guide to MX 2004
If you are new to Flash or you are an intermediate Flash user then this is a great book for you. Rarely do you see a book that manages to touch upon all the aspects of Flash MX 2004 as this book does. The chapters on using the authoring the environment are clear and concise. The chapters on Actionscript give you a good start with practical examples. The specialized chapters on Accessibility, 3D, Math, PocketPC development, etc. don’t focus on squeezing in one sample app that may or may not be relevant to you but rather deal with the concepts involved around these topics. All that and the language is easy to read and concepts are quite made quite clear.

This book is an excellent resource for anyone but an advanced Flash developer, giving the reader just enough breadth to see where a concept may be relevant to their needs. Don’t expect this to be in depth in any particular topic but rather use this as a starting point to launch into other books with greater depth in the areas you are interested in. You may be surprised what new things you discover about Flash that you hadn’t thought of doing before!

Demystified... What a great CONCEPT
Being a student in Spain, I found this book a great guide for anyone starting out with Flash. It was easy for me follow and understand (unlike some other flash books out there). Great tutorials, helpful tips and a quick point form reviews of each chapter. A book that answered all my question. Plus a web companion which was a big bonus!
....
Over all, an awsome book written in an English lanuage that anyone can understand. Looking forward to a future second edition.

Will get you up to speed with MX 2004 quickly
I took a quick flip through and it looks good! Nice thick book, over 800 pages and it certainly covers a lot. I like the "Points to Remember" after each chapter. This is good for people like me who like to scan through information quickly. There’s a whole chapter on video which is helpful. Part 4 - Extending Flash is of particular interest. It introduces Accessing External Data (XML, etc) and Advanced Communication (Flash Remoting, Flash Com Server). Part 5 gets into more advanced concepts like OOP, math, and manipulating 3D effects. This book even covers Developing for Pocket Devices. The writing style is clear and easy to understand. Included are icons along the side which point out tips, cautions, what’s new in 2004, etc.
The companion site ...contains source files.

My first impression, this is a good book if you want to get up to speed with MX 2004 quickly. Congrats, nice job guys!