Author: John Papa
Publisher: O’Reilly
Pages: 366
ISBN: 978-1430218678
Aimed at: All Silverlight developers
Rating: 4.5
Pros: Fantastic book on all things data
Cons: Sadly, now a little out of date (but still great)
Reviewed by: Dave Wheeler

I love this book.

Papa has delivered a book that all good Silverlight developers should read, understand, and keep close at hand.

Silverlight (and WPF, for that matter) is all about how to present data well, and Papa examines all aspects of this. He clearly understands Silverlight, and how to make the most out of data binding and the underpinning services that this requires, whether they’re RESTful or otherwise.

In short, if you’re planning to build a Silverlight application that presents data to its users, read this book. It’s that good.

However, there is a tiny catch. This is a Silverlight 2 book, not Silverlight 3. So it doesn’t cover the changes to areas such as validation, nor does it examine technologies such as .NET RIA Services. So bear that in mind when you read it.

And you really should read it. Especially given that you can pick it up for around half price, since it has the number 2 in its title. It’ll be worth every penny.