Flash 5 For Dummies provides a light-hearted but thorough reference for anyone who wants to understand this bestselling tool quickly and in plain English. The authors cover each topic simply but in enough detail to make it useful. You will be able to quickly find any topic they need and get back to work without delay (not that we have anything against coffee breaks). The book is in the order you would use the program to create Web animation, also progressing from simple to complex. Beginners will be able to read the book from start to finish while intermediate users can look up only the sections they want. Flash has a high cross-platform profile. Luckily, one of the authors (Gurdy) is a Mac freak; the other (Ellen) is a PC stalwart.