This book is unique, I know no other book that is based on the same concept

If you're familiar with C#1 or C#2 and want to learn more about the more recent releases, this book's made for you

The author knows exactly what he is talking about and explains it in a very clear way

Also if you think that C#1 is good enough and see no reason to upgrade, this book will definitely show you the really nice new features step by step

Ah! This is the C# book I was looking for. Very well done. At the risk of sounding nasty I will say this: I have read both books, and "C# in Depth" is far better than ""Effective C#" by Wagner.

When thinking about what an "in depth" discussion of C# might include, one might have voted for "challenging" topics like asynchronous programming or remoting in C#. But "in depth" in this book means going back in time to discuss in detail how the expressiveness of C# has improved with each new version by making the compiler take on more and more of the "heavy lifting". This approach to teaching about select new features in C# is quite interesting and illuminating, I must say.

I enjoyed reading this book, however c# 2.0 should have been excluded. Changes coming with 3.x is quite revolutionary and should have been covered little bit more than current size, even 2.0 can be taken out. Except this, I think it is right book to delve into details or review your knowledge base as an expert.

This guy just likes to blah blah blah and embeds points he likes to make in his blah blah blah. Not a good read. Not very much in depth either.
Not a good book. At least not to the point.

I've just counted, it's the fifth book I've read on C# this year (not to mention a dozen books on .NET) and this is by far the best. It's not just very good technically, useful and enjoyable to read, it's flawless. In fact, I didn't find as single typo, a single sentence that was slightly misleading or incomplete which, in my experience, is extremely rare for a first edition. On top of being a highly competent developer, Jon is clearly a gifted writer and a born teacher. Every term is always used appropriately and in the right context, every example is spot on and contains the least amount of code that shows the full extent of the feature... this is a rare treat.
So, forget about reading the C# Specification. If you want to know all the useful stuff without going through pages and pages of boring and tedious text, read `C# in depth' instead! (I've made the mistake of doing it the other way round).
To sum up, if you are a good C# developer and you want to become a very good C# developer, there are 3 books you can't afford not to read: Framework Design Guidelines by Cwalina/Abrams, CLR via C# by Jeff Richter and this one!

This book is a tremendous work for understanding how the most important features of the C# language work. Skeet's been a prolific poster in the C# forums on MSDN for some years now, providing answers, tips and tricks, and in-depth advice to a large number of forum visitors. This book wraps up his great knowledge of the inner workings of C# and hands it over to readers in a well-written, concise, usable book.

Skeet uses a very nice formula for the features of C# 2 and 3: he starts with demonstrating solutions to practical problems in C# 1 then shows the progression of that same solution through C# 2 and C# 3. His walk through of the evolution of delegates through 1, 2, and 3 is a perfect example of this: start with the very wordy, somewhat clunky handling in C# 1 and end up with C# 3's lamba expressions.

One of the many fine things about this book is Skeet's ability to clearly cover complex topics like Lambdas and expression trees at exactly the right level. Readers will be able to pick up the power, complexity, and benefits of language features because Skeet's kept the examples practical and the text conversational. With potentially complex topics it's too easy for authors to fall into trivial examples, or dive into overly academic discussions; Skeet does neither. He also does a terrific job of covering the cons of particular issues -- something I'm a big fan of since it helps me make informed decisions.

Part of the book's success is Skeet's solid focus on the book's topics. He stays directed on to language features and doesn't digress into software engineering or construction. As a result, in roughly 360 concise pages he's able to hit all the major goodies like generics, delegates/lambdas, nullable types, extension methods, and LINQ. He closes the book with a nicely laid out, thoughtful discussion of C# 3's benefits and its possible future.

This is a great book for understanding how some of the more fundamental features of C# are implemented, and how to best use them. This book definitely belongs on your bookshelf, right next to Bill Wagner's Effective C# and More Effective C#.

Just ordered my second copy and used Amazon.com (as opposed to .co.uk) for the first time to get a copy sent to a friend in the US.
Anyone that has ever Googled for anything threading related in C# will have come across the writing of Jon Skeet. Indeed, I have yet to meet a .Net developer that hasn't read and benefited from his writing on his "Yoda" blog. His writing has the very rare magic of being both concise and compelling.
Unlike most books within the current proliferation of .Net tomes, C# in Depth has a narrow focus. This allows the book to go into exquisite depth whilst maintaining a physical size that means it never leaves my backpack. I cannot stress enough that Jons expert writing means that although the subject matter is deep, you never feel "out of your depth". The chapter on Generics left me with the same feeling I got when I first read Don Boxes Essential .Net book. Excited. Stunned by what I thought I knew before but infact didnt. And most importantly, I actually felt more expert in my field.
Cant recommend this book enough.

At 392 pages, this is not a long book. Jon intended this book not to be one of those `massive tome[s]' that adorn the bookshelves. It's lean and gets straight to the point, whilst keeping the writing style engaging; not an easy feat. The `frictionless' code examples are so clearly explained, you can glide through them without constantly having to back track into the text.

If there is one thing that sets this book apart from the others, it is the way is it structured to take the reader from C# version 1.1 to C# 2.0 and then through to C# 3. This would be especially useful for developers who are about to embark on a C# upgrade project, and want to be sure to use all the new language features to best effect.

This is the book I'll be reaching for to answer those hard and best practice C# questions. It`s an excellent resource for updating your C# development skills and taking them to the next level. If you write code in C#, you should read this book. Highly recommended.

Here's a link to some of the extra material: http://csharpindepth.com/Articles.aspx. The bluffers guides to C# 2 and 3 are a good way to get a rough overview of some of the new features. This web site also contains notes, online resources, and downloads.

Jon Skeet does a great job of demonstrating the differences between the features of C# 1, 2 and 3. An abundant amount of detail is provided on the history of the features and how they evolved into C# 3. There are also some great analogies used throughout the book.

In my opinion this book is a perfect size. It is 392 pages, but really seems like more due to the amount of detail.

Some of the major items this book covers - Generics, Delegates, Anonymous Methods, Partial Types, Expression Trees

In closing, this is a great book for intermediate to advanced developers. I believe even beginners will pick up some great concepts.

C# in Depth shows the most interesting and shiny aspects of the language and provides practical background and insight on why the feature was introduced and what's the best way to use it. All the material is backed up by practical experience of professional real-world programming, and not simply how to use the syntax. You won't find many of the tips and tricks anywhere else.

Moreover, Jon does a great job at comparing how to achieve the same results in C# 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 - and I have to admit, the 3.0 version always looks aesthetically pleasing and way better than the earlier versions. Mastering lambdas, anonymous types & Co is something very important for developing a good programming style and the book will teach exactly that - how to write clean, elegant, beautiful code given all the power of the C# language.

To be honest when I first started in C# I didn't think much about the syntax. Having worked for years in C++ and Java it was nice to see a language that was a cleaned up hybrid of both. At first I was glad to be rid of C++ generics because of the complexity that they brought to the language. But the lack of strongly typed collections was a bit of a drag.

C# 2 and 3 added generics in a nice way. From a consumer standpoint there isn't much to know. But if you are implementing a library, or want to get the most out of the language features, you are going to want to read C# In Depth. It's a well written book that treats the reader with respect. Language features are discussed practically without over language lawyering. Though the author does throw in a 25-cent software engineering term now and again.

if you want to know everything you can about C#. Or you are a serious library writer. You should pick up a copy of C# In Depth.

Rather than just tell you what the new features are, this book goes the extra mile and helps you appreciate the need for the new features and how you can code differently to take advantage of them.

It's the most useful one I've come across in a long time. I hardly buy books nowadays because there's so much detailed info online and most books are just glorified user manuals but this one is definitely a keeper.

Bonus: I was also pleasantly surprised to learn how responsive the author was in answering a question i had about some material in his book.

I know these comments are going to give the impression of being one of those "independent" reviews that often get put up on Amazon shortly after a book is released. Those reviews all give the book in question five stars to make sure the author makes a few quick sales until people find out the real story about it...but this isn't one of those...it's actually a truthful review!

C# In Depth is an excellent, bordering on brilliant, examination of C#2 and C#3.

The author clearly understands the C# language at a very deep level and has the gift to be able to communicate his understanding in a way that really gets through to the average developer like you and me.

Jon Skeet starts with the assumption that you already understand the basics of C#1. He then deliberately skips over the usual route of discussing the .NET framework libraries, instead concentrating exclusively on the C# language itself.

He is therefore able to focus his book on reaching deep into the C# language itself....certainly to a level that I've never seen any other book come close to.

What I especially liked was the author's own free little tool for running his code snippets. Instead of getting bogged down in masses of unnecessary supplementary code to demonstrate a simple point, "Snippy" allows you to just enter the few lines you really want to understand and play with - and then it takes care of compiling and running them for you...a really neat idea.

I always say that there's a simple way to tell if someone is really an expert in something....ask them to explain something complex.

The pseudo-expert will only be able to explain complex topics using complex jargon and complex analogies. The real expert can explain complex topics using simple language and simple analogies...and this book demonstrates that the author is a real expert!

An excellent advanced C# book.

I like simplicity so i have reduced my World to two TYPES of People, I dont see the World as full of Pianists, or Baseball players and their Subcategories such People who play piano to make a livinig, people who play Piano becuase they cant stop themselves etc..
I see only TWO kinds of humans:
Type 1 - Entropy Reducers
Type 2 - Entropy Increasers

For me Type 1 are the real intelligencias, the brain powers the others
i dont know what they are, i guess i could called them Children of Chaos.