Sams Teach Yourself ASP.NET in 21 Days
Ideal for anyone new to Web programming on Windows and for  anyone making the leap from the older ASP to the new ASP.NET,Sams  Teach Yourself ASP.NET in 21 Daysoffers an approachable guide to  the latest in Microsoft .NET technologies. The author's example-packed  and accessible presentation style help make this title a success.In  a three-week lesson plan (actually this book has 23 lessons, plus three  extra "bonus" weekly sample programs), this text walks the reader  through the essential APIs and programming techniques needed to use  ASP.NET effectively. For those with some previous ASP experience, this  book shows what's different (and better) in ASP.NET. (In fact, every  chapter has a section marked "But That's Not ASP!" where the author  points out gotchas and tips for navigating the richness and complexity  of the new ASP.NET.)After covering basic Web Forms and controls, the  author looks at database support and ADO.NET, then XML, in subsequent  sections. He uses an online banking application, which is enhanced  after each full week, to show off techniques from each group of  lessons. (His final, fanciful "BananaMobile" online application,  however, might be a bit off the mark for some business readers.) Along  the way, there's good coverage here of Web services and the basics of  configuring and deploying ASP.NET applications on live servers. A late  section on mobile controls glances at Mobile Web controls.Like other  titles in the Teach Yourself series, every lesson presents the reader  with a handful of questions (usually about a half dozen), with thorough  answers provided in a reference appendix. In all, this title will make  ASP.NET accessible for just about anyone, with or without exposure to  the older ASP standard. Clearly written and well organized, the author  covers a lot of material but doesn't get bogged down with the somewhat  daunting details of .NET.--Richard Dragan