Learning a new language can be a daunting task. Even trying to master a language that you've already started using can be difficult. One of the most difficult challenges in learning and mastering C#, and the .NET Framework, is trying to navigate all the documentation that exists, simply to find out how to do what you want to do. The documentation available through MSDN is very rich but is organized primarily for people who already know where to start looking. If you know the name of a class or the name of a method, then the MSDN Library can provide great detail. But what if you don't know where to start looking? That is where the C# Cookbook comes in.

The C# Cookbook from O'Reilly Media is in many ways a reference just like MSDN but is organized by programming tasks, instead of by classes and methods. Each of these tasks, called recipes in the book, is common things that most programmers need to be able to do in any environment. Each recipe contains code samples, detailed information about the framework classes and methods that are used, and also lists specific topics in MSDN where more information can be found. Recipes range from string manipulation, to using generic collections, file I/O, and writing secure code.

The C# Cookbook is excellent for someone who is new to C# and already familiar with the basics of the language syntax, but is unfamiliar with the capabilities of the .NET Framework. Intermediate level programmers will also find this book to be a useful reference providing insight into features they may have used before but didn't understand all the details behind. It does include a lot of details about features new to .NET 2.0, but each recipe does not highlight whether it is specific for .NET 2.0, or whether it would work in earlier versions of the .NET Framework.

Some of the recipes may seem overly simplistic for intermediate programmers and especially advanced programmers. There are more "how to boil an egg" recipes than "filet minion" recipes. There is also some repetition between recipes in the same section, which makes this book hard to read straight through at times. But the repetition would also prove very useful for someone using this book as a reference since you can cherry pick the recipes you need without having to read a lot before and after each recipe for added context. For someone looking for an easy-to-use desk reference, the C# Cookbook is highly recommended.