Customer Rating: 
Summary: If I could give it fewer stars, I would
Comment: I bought this (quite expensive and surprisingly small) book thinking I would learn how to use Authorware. The book is definitely not for beginners. It assumes you already are a skilled Authorware user, and discusses mostly advanced topics. Since I have no Authorware skills, I cannot comment on how well it handles these advanced topics, but I have read other reviews by advanced readers and they were none too impressed also. It is hard to say what exactly is the target audience for the book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Authorware Tutorial : A Complete Waste
Comment: As an experienced Authorware user, I am continually seeking advanced material for the my trade as an educational resource developer. This book is perhaps the worst written and ill logically conceived book since Guttenberg. My advice, save your money. Mr. Schifman and Mr. Gancy should be ashamed of them selves.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not for the novice
Comment: Although I know something of authorware. This book left me in the dark at times. The book contains a number of words spelled incorrectly, which you would think, for the price, would have been edited more thoroughly. At times you have to read and re-read passages to try to figure out what is going on. The tutorials given are not thorough enough. It would be nice to know what one is doing and get into more detail. Most of the book is not really a tutorial, it is more informational.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not up to date
Comment: There have been so many changes in authorware that this book, while handy for it's time, is not a valid resource anymore. IT really lacks because of this, missing on some of the finer points of the newer authorware systems and abilities. Most of the high points of this book are moot now, expecially with the advent of Flash integration, the expanded Calculator Icon, and the higher movie integration.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Disappointing Authorware Tutorial
Comment: I think the title says it all but anyway here's an objective review in more detail. To begin with the book is very thin for the price...318 small sized pages.The first 26 pages are just general considerations regarding computer based training...information that anyone requesting this book will know already...rip out these pages.
pages 28-64 contain information on scripting but it is incredibly basic to anyone with a background in IT and could be condensed into half the number of pages...still these pages are OK.
The next chapter on knowledge objects - pages 65-87 contain some useful info but only really gives you a smattering of what you were expecting. Also its very hard work following what they are saying...not enough diagrams...far too wordy...and many grammatical mistakes which are annoying...in fact the grammatical errors and typos apply right throughout the book.
Pages 89-231 contain peripheral information on things like activeX, CMI, packaging for the web etc. - by peripheral I mean none of it is about building the applications themselves...some of this info is useful (especially packaging for the web). However I bought this book hoping to become an authorware guru who could build complex authorware applications...so to that end these pages are not 100% relevant.
pages 233-318 are individual lessons on different aspects of authorware...these are useful but some of them are long-winded for what they are actually saying. Also some of them are sloppily written and require a lot of effort to follow what the guys are saying.
After reading the book from cover to cover I still feel a long way short of being an authorware guru.
I am now going to play around with authorware myself and try to work out how all the features work etc. I guess I'll have to snoop around a lot on newsgroups etc.
All in all very disappointing especially considering that some of the authors claim to be professional authorware instructors.
I would not advise anyone to buy this book. Keep your money or give it to charity but dont spend it on this book.
