Only one of the over 20 programs has a .MAK file, a small but needless hassle. In one case, I spent over an hour trying to determine why one of the rich-edit examples worked, while the other wouldn't allow me to change text attributes. I finally discovered that the defective program wasn't setting the length field in a structure that it passed to the RTF control. Edsons book feels like a useful Windows program that lacks online help and is saddled with a conspicuously ugly icon. Whether that's enough to keep you from adding this title to your shelf is a personal decision.
Every newbie needs a guru.
When I began programming, my guru was archetypal, prone to offering Yoda-like koans at the drop of a paradigm. And you'll hammer at that wall for the longest time, to no avail. Til one day you will find a weapon that will smash the wall and allow you to break through to a whole new level of expertise. That weapon will always turn out to be a book. Weighing in at 879 pages, the book is intimidating.