Review: C# in Depth, Second Edition

• April 18, 2011
• James Skemp
• review

I've been working in C# (heavily towards Web usage via ASP.NET) for almost a handful of years now, with the various Wrox books, and online materials, serving me rather well. However, I never really dug 'deep' into C#, and knew that there was a great deal of functionality I just wasn't using.

This book, C# in Depth, comes up a lot during discussions of really understanding C#, or the man (legend?) that is Jon Skeet. So, while I'd consider myself an intermediate user, I decided to pick up a copy of C# in Depth and try giving it a read. Would it just go right over my head, or would I find it genuinely interesting?

Thankfully, I found C# in Depth to be an absolute pleasure to read, with only a few chapters going over my head, or slamming into it, causing a slight headache. (Thankfully, in all these instances he gave fair warning.)

First, Jon has a gift for explaining almost everything covered in easy to understand ways, using examples when necessary, and a good number of links for other resources. All too often books have, in my opinion, too few links, requiring the reader to hunt about for resources.

Second, he has an honest love of the language and its history, which becomes quickly apparent as you begin reading the book. Of course, he's also apt to point out the flaws of certain items, offering suggestions when possible.

All of this combines to make for a rather quick read, despite the rather large number of pages.

If you have any interest in understanding how C# has developed from version 1 to where it is now with version 4, and consider yourself something of an intermediate (or 'high' beginner), I'd strongly recommend this book. As I believe I'll refer to this book again, as I continue to work with C#, and wouldn't hesitate purchasing future editions, I give this book 5 of 5 stars.

Note: I purchased an electronic copy of this book direct from Manning, and read it on an iPad. Therefore, I can't speak to the quality of the physical book, but have found my previous Manning book (Silverlight 4 in Action) to be well constructed. Manning offered that electronic copy as a DRM-free PDF, among other formats, which secures it a place in the short list of publishers I'll buy an electronic book from again.

• review