I lead the Tampa ASP.NET MVC Developer Group and we have had the joy of receiving numerous ASP.NET MVC Books from our good friends at Apress, Manning, Packt Publishing, and Wrox. I can't thank them enough for all their wonderful support of our group and their contributions to the .NET Developer Community in general.
Having had the opportunity to read so many ASP.NET MVC books, I have tried my best to give meaningful book reviews to help those with their buying decisions. The truth is that writing book reviews are difficult. My goal is to be non-biased, but my opinion and review of each book is altered based on 1) the books I have already read, 2) my current knowledge on ASP.NET MVC which is always changing, and 3) my expectations of the next book :) I do try my best, but inevitably these are just my opinions and our interests, knowledge, and expectations vary greatly in many cases I am sure.
However, below are the ASP.NET MVC books I have read to date with a statement on who might enjoy the book and why you might enjoy it. You can read the review to get the full details. Note that my opinion today in some cases might be a bit different from the conclusions in the reviews as I have read other books and my thoughts may have likely changed in some cases. Such is life, but let this be known - I have enjoyed and learned something from all of them so you will have to pry them from my cold, dead hands before I give any of them up :)
Pro ASP.NET MVC Framework
If you put a gun to my head and told me that I could only purchase one book and one book only on ASP.NET MVC, I would pick Pro ASP.NET MVC Framework. When I first started reading it, I literally couldn't put this book down. IMHO, it has great examples and clearly explains the ASP.NET MVC Framework giving you the whats, hows, and whys. You can read the full review here.
Professional ASP.NET MVC 1.0
Probably the best and easiest beginner book on the market which varies from my original review now that I have read other books. Has the wonderful Nerddinner example which will go down in history. Great for someone who just wants a beginner book and will purchase additional advanced books as necessary. Read the full review here.
ASP.NET MVC in Action
Has a wonderful architecture and patterns-based flavor that separates it from the other books. Tries to show ASP.NET MVC as it relates to proven practices and not so much cover every possible technical detail about the framework. Enjoyed reading it after the two books mentioned above as it offers a different flavor. Read the review here.
Beginning ASP.NET MVC 1.0
Feels more like a Pro book as it covers a lot of advanced topics. May not be as easy to read for the beginner as Professional ASP.NET MVC 1.0, but shows a lot more code and goes into a lot more depth. The WROX roadmap should probably flip these two books around in order of reading. Read the review here.
ASP.NET MVC 1.0 Quickly
I believe this is the first ASP.NET MVC book on the market. A really nice and quick introduction to the ASP.NET MVC Framework. Managers would love this book as it really gives you the highlights with a few deeper dives. Sadly gave away my ownly copy :( Read the review here.
ASP.NET MVC 1.0 Website Programming
Very, very specific to an application, called The BeerHouse. Doesn't really explain the ASP.NET MVC Framework, but instead shows you the code of an application built using the ASP.NET MVC Framework. More of a Problem - Design - Solution type of book as clearly stated in the subtitle. Read the review here.
So those are the ASP.NET MVC Books I have read to date. Again, the Tampa ASP.NET MVC Developer Group and myself thank the publishers and their authors for their hard work and generosity.
I hope this summary helps those of you looking to purchase an ASP.NET MVC book.
David Hayden