Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional Upgrade
$549.00
Visual Studio 2008 is a great product, however, there is no excuse for the packaging. I literally had to smack it against my desk top several times to crack the plastic container so that I could wedge a screw driver in and force the container open.

Also bad is the license number which was nearly hidden on the plastic box, and I was so frustrated trying to open the box I threw it away and then had to dig past lunch in the trash-can to retrieve it. The whole thing was exhausting.

After a nuclear war two things will survive - cockroaches and this stupid plastic container.

Come on MS - you're proud libs who enjoy cutting boyscouts off at the knees - put your product in cardboard so that you at least make it sound like you believe in the nonsense you libs spew.

Professional Visual Studio 2008 (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)
$59.99
Thanks for a VB book. It describes the vast IDE options available well. Unfortunately it is not good for making design decisions. Programming description is brief but unreliable concerning options. Unlike the very good SQL Server 2005 Bible by Nielsen, the errors are not mostly due to terminology or version changes. It did make me wish for the Team System edition but then I found how much the professional edition (and now SQL Server 2008 SP1) can actually do. You will need internet access and preferably some significant space for other books.

Visual Studio 2008 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
$39.99
This book provides an overview of Visual Studio 2008. It is not a programming language book. To learn C#, Visual Basic, or C++ you need to get a book on those languages.
However, there are many parts of Visual Studio and the IDE that aren't covered anywhere else, except in the online documentation from Microsoft that sometimes can be a challenge to find what you are looking for.
This book explains a number of terms, such as LINQ, Ajax, Asp.net, ADO.net, CSS, etc. It also gives a good overview for deploying your application using OneClick or the Windows .msi installer.
A number of those kinds of topics are consolidated in this one reference.
The book is not a language tutorial. But it does exactly what it claims - it is an excellent Desk Reference for Visual Studio 2008.

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional
$799.00
We do all of our development in Visual Studio, from simple desktop applications to full-scale web apps. We train our staff in its use, and purchase additional copies regularly.