Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET 2.0 in 24 Hours, Complete Starter Kit (Sams Teach Yourself)
This was my absolute favorite because it started from the very beginning and explained everything thoroughly. While, I did have to skip the first 4 chapters, I still liked the way everything was explained. That's because I'm the type of person who does not skim, normally, I read programming books from top to bottom, so I don't miss anything and so I don't have to get confused later and come back.
--Who's it for?
You know PHP a bit, and understand MySQL Databases. Never used Visual Web Developer before, but want to get started, head first, right now. You may need a little explanation of the whole concept behind the languages, and want to be walked through the process of creating your first ASP.NET 2.0 website app. from beginning to end.
Beginning ASP.NET 2.0 Databases: From Novice to Professional
This made my second pick for books because it covered the database concept for ASP.NET 2.0 and Visual Web Developer, from top to bottom. If you're building web applications with ASP.NET, than the database part is probably the most important concept to grasp completely. You'll build databases starting in the 2nd chapter, and start to understand everything about them by the end of the book.--Who's it for?
From novice-pro Visual Web Developer people. From Novice-Medium ASP.NET 2.0 people. From Novice-Medium MySQL people will ALL find this reference helpful.
ASP.NET 2.0 Illustrated (Microsoft .NET Development Series)
Ok, this one is alright for beginners. Even better for someone who knows ASP.NET 2.0 a little and wants to REALLY put their minds around it and master it. I'll tell you right now, I had to put this book down and finish the "Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET 2.0 in 24 Hours" before I could come back to it, it was very extensive and assumed you know a bit more than I do. It's by Microsoft, so you know they won't steer you wrong in any way.--Who's it for?
People who know about web programming, understand the concept and have used ASP.NET 2.0 a little bit before. Now, you want to start building complex, properly formatted and the best possible ASP.NET web pages that you can.
ASP.NET 2.0 Website Programming: Problem - Design - Solution (Programmer to Programmer)
Umm....I'm not sure where to begin with this one. You truly do, build an E-Commerce ASP.NET website application from beginning to end. But, it is for someone who already knows some about ASP.NET 2.0 and has used it before. What I don't really get about this book, is that it is written like you already know ASP.NET 2.0, so above my head already.
But, they try and go over CSS in the first couple chapters...Hmm....Maybe they didn't have a very good editor. It's one of those books you know was written by programmer, edited by a programmer, and never really fine tuned to communicate the message right. On the up side, it does cover almost everything you will want to do with ASP.NET 2.0, including E-Commerce, user roles, sessions, complex databases etc.
--Who's it for?
Someone who knows ASP.NET 2.0, has built websites with it before, and needs a reference for some of the complex aspects of a website. This will be a great book for a programmer who needs to build something like a content management system, and wants a reference while creating it to steer them in the right direction.
ASP.NET 2.0 Instant Results (Programmer to Programmer)
This was the first book I bought, very excited and thinking I would create a blog application in two hours. First of all, this book is by the same people who wrote the book above, "ASP.NET 2.0 Website Programming: Problem-Design-Solution"
It gives you a CD with projects already pre-built including: CMS Application, Photo Gallery, Opinion Polls, Newsletter Mailing Systems, and a couple more.
The applications do work, and then the book basically explains everything for you. Great if you want to use the applications right away and want to use them. Bad if you're interested in learning ASP.NET 2.0 from the ground up, like I was.
--Who's it for?
Someone who wants to look at already created ASP.NET 2.0 website applications, learn how to deploy and use them. If you are a newbie, or experienced web developer and want to see how some complex ASP.NET web applications work, or want to use them right away, this is a pretty good book for you.