Good Beginner ActionScript 2.0 books?

[rgiven]

I am a graphic designer who mostly works in the print environment, occasionally working in web. I am probably at an intermediate level with Dreamweaver and Fireworks, but a beginner in Flash. I know about the stage, the library, the timeline, tweening....etc. However, I would like to begin to learn more ActionScript. There are so many books offered to learn ActionScript that I don't know where to begin.... Can anyone recommend a good text for learning ActionScript at the beginner level? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Flash Gordon]

Flash MX 2004: Training at the source.

It is a good start and touchs on EVERYTHING. I'd give it about a B average. If you combine it with these forums. It is A++

[deadbeat]

Colin Moock - Essential Actionscript 2.0 (O'Reilly)

K.

[yker22]

Robert Reinhardt Action Script Bible (Wiley)

[Chewie]

I have all 3 of these, would reccomend them all. Essential Actionscript concentrates on using AS for object orientated programming.

[yker22]

Art to ActionScript (Nik Lever, Focal Press) focuss on design and games. Good book to me.

[billingsgate]

I have a lot in common with Rgiven, perhaps. I'm a cartoonist (never drew Muhammed (pbuh) though), and though I have used Flash for four years to create animation, until 6 months ago the only script I knew was how to make a replay button work. I just started learning ActionScript within the last 6 months. Now I'm programming games and coming up with lots of special effects for my animations, and I'm wondering why I didn't learn this stuff years ago.

I believe that Colin Moock's first book - Action Script Definitive Guide, Second Edition - is absolutely essential. Although it's for AS1, and although it contains mostly discussion and very few projects, it will give a beginner a deep understanding of the whole concept of programming in Flash. If you don't really understand the theory, concepts and syntax of Action Script, then just learning a few AS tricks from other books won't help you. That's why this book is absolutely required reading. Moock is a brilliant teacher. At times it can be a little tough going, and you'll start getting impatient to actually do some real projects with Action Script, but it's worth reading it through to the end. His second book - Essential ActionScript 2.0 - is less useful for designers, more for hard-core developers. I don't necessarily recommend it at this point.

I have also found Derek Franklin's Flash MX2004 ActionScript: Training From The Source to be a very well-written, accessible tutorial guide, full of projects to try. But it helps to read the Moock book first.

Finally, Glen Rhodes' book, Macromedia Flash MX 2004 Game Development, is a wonderfully-written book, which is excellent at teaching Action Script. AND you get the bonus of having produced several working games by the end. it has the very best compact ActionScript reference guide I've seen so far, in its appendix.

What I've done is found all these books in the library, tried them out a bit, and then bought the ones I liked (there are a few I tried that I thought were less good, but I won't get into that here).