Microsoft & .NET Titles by Apress, Manning, O'Reilly and InformIT

There are several ways to keep yourself updated in the ever
changing world of IT, be it Java or .NET or any other technology; we use online
forums, web sites, podcasts, attend conferences, and above all read the latest books.

Books are an incredibly important resource for every
developer wanting to learn new skills and technologies. It also helps us learn these
technologies which have been tried, and tested thoroughly by the authors, and
give us an in-depth knowledge of the relevant topic.

I asked publishers from Apress, Manning, O'Reilly, and InformIT to send me the latest and upcoming books for our IT Book Zone and .NET Zone. The publishers sent me links and sample chapters to some amazing books on these technologies. I selected 5 books from each publisher. Listed below are the books with links to their web sites, and sample chapters where available.

Apress has provided us with PDF sample chapters for the five books listed below. You can dowload the attached Zip file in the article resources section.

Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 by Joseph C. Rattz, Jr.

Rather than obscure the relevant LINQ principles in code examples by focusing on a demonstration application you have no interest in writing, Pro LINQ: Language Integrated Query in C# 2008 cuts right to the chase of each LINQ operator, method, or class. However, where complexity is necessary to truly demonstrate an issue, the examples are right there in the thick of it. For example, code samples demonstrating how to handle concurrency conflicts actually create concurrency conflicts so you can step through the code and see them unfold.

Beginning C# 2008: From Novice to Professional by Christian Gross

Beginning C# 2008 has been written to teach you how to use the C# programming language to solve problems. From the earliest chapters, and from the first introductory concepts, you'll be looking at real-world programming challenges and learning how C# can be used to overcome them. As you progress through the book the problems become more involved and interesting while the solutions become correspondingly more complex and powerful as C# features interact to achieve the results that you want.

Pro C# 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform, Fourth Edition by Andrew Troelsen

Be the first to put .NET 3.5 and C# 2008 to work, with expert tuition and guidance from esteemed author, Andrew Troelsen. In Pro C# 2008 and the .NET 3.5 Platform, Fourth Edition, you'll find complete coverage of .NET 3.5, including WPF, WCF, and WF, guided by a deep understanding of the .NET platform and appreciation of the subtleties of C# that could only come from this award-winning author's invaluable experience.

Accelerated VB 2008 by Guy Fouché, Trey Nash

Accelerated VB 2008 is both a rapid tutorial and a permanent reference. You'll quickly master VB syntax while learning how the CLR simplifies many programming tasks. You'll also learn best practices that ensure your code will be efficient, reusable, and robust. Why spend months or years discovering the best ways to design and code VB when this book will show you how to do things the right way, right from the start?

The Definitive Guide to the Microsoft Enterprise Library by Keenan Newton

The Definitive Guide to the Microsoft Enterprise Library introduces one of the most exciting and popular .NET-oriented initiatives, the Enterprise Library. The EL offers eight application blocks and other reusable code that are used to solve a variety of common problem spaces. These problems cover a number of topics, including data access, exception handling, caching, logging, security, cryptography, validation, policy injection and configuration.