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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Experience required!, October 30, 1999
This is the most poorly written "How-to" book on Access (or on any subject) I have ever read. In the beginning of the book Celeste (the author) sets up a scenario for a hypothetical "Time Keeper" database, but this example is far too complex for the beginner to understand (even an intermediate like myself has a hard time understanding the purpose of the "Time Keeper" database). There are many step-by-step tutorial books out there that helpfully move the beginner through a project from start to finish and give the beginner something to look back on and say "Wow! Look what I'm able to create!" This book is NOT like that. This book steps you through every possible command and action you can take on an object (before the beginner would even know what an object is). The book is PACKED with statements like, "If this doesn't make sense now--DON'T WORRY, It will all make sense later." I'm halfway through the book now and, If I were a beginner, I would still be confused. There are multiple times in this book when Celeste will add a new field to a form, without explaination or instruction that the field needs to be added to the originating table first. When the beginner trys the examples she lays out, they're bound to get very, very frustrated and confused. Beginning to learn about databases is frustrating enough, the last thing I would want to take along on the journey is a poor guide.I bought this book because of a previous experience with a SYBEX book (I found "HTML: No Experience Required" to be a very good starting point for the beginning HTMLer). I am very disappointed about this (Access 2000) book however. If your a beginner to Access I would recommend starting with MS Press' book, "Quick Course: Access 2000". Your next stop might be a refresher course through "Access 2000: Step-by-Step" (These are the only other two books I've read, so there may be better than these available). These two books are well written for the beginner, complete with purposeful examples and reviews at the end of each chapter--once again something this book lacks. The back of the book states that this book is for Beginners/Intermediate. I'll give it credit for being written for Intermediate. The entire book seems to be a test of "What is the author thinking?" The only reason I give this book the two stars that I do, is that it is also listed as a reference book. I'll give it that much. The only reason I continue to skim through the remaining chapters is to brush up on my basic concepts and commands I may have overlooked until now (and just because I bought the book I won't feel complete until I'm finished reading it cover to cover). If you've got ten books on Access 2000 and you simply want another reference book to sit on your shelf, this book is okay (even at that, printing the help menus from within Access may be a more cost-effective alternative). Or if you've made a goal that you'll read EVERY Access book that comes out, then obviously you'll be buying this book. Other than that though, I see no reason to waste money on this book until it is completely revised!
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