Latest Read

February 2007

Windows Vista in a Nutshell
By Preston Gralla

I found the split format of this book is a great idea. It is more suitable for those readers with a prior knowledge of an Windows OS rather than a novice or newbie.
Experience of a previous OS will help you in identifying the correct section of the book in which to find the detail. Each section covers the information in just the right amount of detail.

When I read Vista the Missing Manual I actually wanted to try out and use Vista, which I will be doing once I receive my new works PC. Where as this book will be the book I actually use day to day to resolve any Vista problems or gaps in my knowledge.

Excel

Professional Excel Development: The Definitive Guide to Developing Applications Using Microsoft Excel and VBA
by Stephen Bullen, Rob Bovey, John Green

Here is a review of the book I wrote and posted at Amazon.

"This book is a must have for anybody who is or aspires to be a serious Excel developer.
For me the techniques and methods put forward by this book go from enlightening & new to reassuringly familiar. The authors' writing style and use of an example project makes reading and comprehending the advanced subject matter straightforward.

One word of caution though, reading this book will change the way you work!

I heartily recommend this book."

Programming Excel with VBA and .NET
by J. Webb, Steven Saunders

Integrating Excel and Access
by Michael Schmalz

VB and VBA in a Nutshell
by Paul Lomax

Excel Charts
by John Walkenbach

One of the first books dedicated to the topic of charts.

My 3d scatter example was mentioned in this book.

The Spreadsheet at 25: 25 Amazing Excel Examples That Evolved from the Invention That Changed the World
by Bill Jelen

Analyzing Business Data with Excel
by Gerald Knight

Beginning Excel What-if Data Analysis Tools: Getting Strated with Goal Seek, Data Tables, Scenarios, and Solver
by Paul Cornell

I was the Technical Reveiwer on this book.

Visual Studio Tools for Office: Using VB.Net with Excel, Word, Outlook,and Infopath
by Eric Carter, Eric Lippert

Excel Pivottables Recipe Book: A Problem Solving Approach
by Debra Dalgleish

Excel 2000 VBA Programmer's Reference
by John Green, Stephen Bullen, Felipe Martins

A Complete Guide to Pivot Tables: A Visual Approach
by Paul Cornell

I was the Technical Reveiwer on this book.

Excel Hacks: 100 Industrial Strength Tips and Tools
by David Hawley, Raina Hawley

I contributed a chapter on charting tips

Formulas and Functions with Microsoft Excel 2003
by Paul McFedries

I provided a quote for the front cover of this book.

"Clear, concise and instantly usable. The book's matter-of-fact approach makes the prospect of using complex formulas less daunting."

Developing Windows Solutions with Office 2000 Components and VBA
by Peter G. Aitken

This isn't Excel, it's Magic!
by Bob Umlas

Chart Design

Creating More Effective Graphs
by Naomi B. Robbins

Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten
by Stephen Few

Information Dashboard Design
by Stephen Few

.Net

Programming Excel with VBA and .NET
by Jeff Webb, Steve Saunders

Programming ASP.NET
by Jesse Liberty, Dan Hurwitz

ASP.NET 2.0 Cookbook
by Michael A. Kittel, Geoffrey T. LeBlond

Learning C# 2005, Second Edition
by Jesse Liberty

Visual Basic 2005 in a Nutshell
by Tim Patrick, Paul Lomax, Ron Petrusha, Steven Roman
 

Programming Visual Basic
by Jesse Liberty

Visual Basic.NET Core Reference
by Francesco Balena

MS.Net Development for MS Office
by Andrew Whitechapel

Visual Basic.NET Step by Step 2003
by Catapult, Michael Halvorson (Editor)

Visual Basic.NET Class Design Handbook: Coding Effective Classes
by Andy Olsen, Damon Allison, James Speer
 

ASP.NET Web Matrix Starter Kit
by M. Pope

ASP.NET Programming with Visual C#.NET Step by Step 2003
by Microsoft Press, G.Andrew Duthie (Editor)

Introducing ASP.NET 2.0
by Dino Esposito

SQL

Learning SQL on SQL Server 2005
by Sikha Saha Bagui, Richard Walsh Earp

SQL Cookbook
by Anthony Molinaro

Windows Server 2003 Security Cookbook
by Mike Danseglio, Robbie Allen

Programming SQL Server 2005
by Bill Hamilton

Programming

Head First Object-oriented Analysis and Design
by Brett D. McLaughlin, Gary Pollice, David West

Do not be put off by the unusual layout of this book. It is intended to aid learning and retention of knowledge. To the most part I think they achieve the desired effect. Although I must admit I could not read for more than 20 minutes at a stretch.

This is a book about methodology so don't expect any Excel related content. The books chosen language is Java, which I do not know how to code in, but even this is not a restriction in understanding the principles.

All in all a surprisingly good read.

Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction
by Steve McConnell.

For any serious coder, irrespective of their language, this book is a must.
Every chapter contains pearls of wisdom on how to tackle the whole art of coding.
Whether you code alone or in a team reading this book and implementing the suggestions will improve you as a coder.

Extreme Programming in Practice (XP S.)
by James W. Newkirk, Robert C. Martin

Javascript for the World Wide Web (Visual QuickStart Guides)
by Tom Negrino, Dori Smith

Object-oriented Software Construction
by Bertrand Meyer

Ado.Net and System XML V. 2.0: The Beta Version
by Alex Homer, Dave Sussman, Mark Fussell

Computational Geometry in C
by Joseph O'Rourke

.NET XML Web Services Step by Step
by Adam Freeman, Allen Jones

Beginning Visual Basic 6 Objects
by Peter Wright

Visual Basic Graphics Programming
by Rod Stephens

Visual Basic Algorithms
by Rod Stephens

Professional VB6 Web Programming
by Thearon Willis

Dan Appleman Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Win32 API
by Dan Appleman

Teach Yourself More Java 1.1 in 21 Days
by Jerry Ablan, Michael Morrison

Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide
by Eric Meyer

Professional Visual Basic 6 XML
by James Britt, Teun Duynstee, Teun Duynestee

ADO Programmer's Reference
by Dave Sussman

Monad: An Administrator's Guide
by Andy Oakley

Windows Server

Learning Windows Server 2003
by Jonathan Hassell

Introducing Microsoft Windows Server 2003
by Jerry Honeycutt

Linux

Linux for Dummies
by Dee-Ann LeBlanc

Sharepoint Services

Microsoft Windows Sharepoint Services Step by Step
by Olga Londer

Windows Vista

Windows Vista the Missing Manual
by David Pogue

An informative read. David's style of writing makes for easy reading.
The book covers all aspects of the new operating system, detailing the variations between the versions.
 

Windows Vista in a Nutshell
By Preston Gralla

I found the split format of this book is a great idea. It is more suitable for those readers with a prior knowledge of an Windows OS rather than a novice or newbie.
Experience of a previous OS will help you in identifying the correct section of the book in which to find the detail. Each section covers the information in just the right amount of detail.

When I read Vista the Missing Manual I actually wanted to try out and use Vista, which I will be doing once I receive my new works PC. Where as this book will be the book I actually use day to day to resolve any Vista problems or gaps in my knowledge.

XAML

XAML in a Nutshell
by Lori A. MacVittie