The inclusion of this book stretched the limits of our selection criteria of "VB.NET focused" for books but we decided to go for it anyway because it is not only the best GDI+ book for VB available, but it was just about the first GDI+ for VB book available. But just because there are few competitors, it doesn't mean you're settling for less than the best quality book. First, APress is establishing a reputation of great quality control on this kind of "focused topic" technical book. They wouldn't let it go out of the door if it wasn't a great book.

Although the technical content is top rate, Symmonds writes in a style like personal conversation with little jokes and personal asides peppering the text (the word, "cool" is used several times a chapter). Although some people don't like that style, I found it makes the book much more readable and the technical content was easier to take. ("… a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.")

About the Author

Nick Symmonds, although he has a rich background in previous technologies like C++, proclaims himself to be a "convert" to .NET today. He works in the technology trenches on the West Coast and, if this book is any example, has a great future as a technology author. Nick has written one previous book for APress, also on a pretty specialized topic: software internationalization.