Given that time has become our most precious resource, it's no surprise that publishers including Sam's Technical Publishing should introduce an entire series of titles that promise to teach some of the most complex programming skills in a short 24 hours. This is, of course, assuming a total of 24 hours invested over many days; it does not imply that in a straight 24-hour timeframe all the content provided in a 400+ page book can be absorbed. This is just isn't possible given how people learn which is by repetition and continued practice. Even for the most advanced students who are ready for tackling this book would take at least a week worth of accumulated time testing, verifying, and learning the concepts of the book. When the publishers state learning the subject in 24 hours, they are only speaking of time-on-task, not the ability to comprehend and use the insights gained. If this sounds like the publishers are over-committing and under-delivering, they are. It may take an accumulated time of 24 hours to read the book, yet comprehending and applying the complex concepts of this book will take at a minimum day for the most advanced students, to weeks for those just learning a programming language.
             24 Hours Assumes The Perfect Storm for Learning
             One of the major drawbacks of this book is that it assumes the following about those reading it, and while the author obliquely acknowledges these points in the Who Should Read This Book section of the book, they are not spelled out. These are the points the author assumes about the reader in order for them to read through the book in an accumulated 24 hours and get the most out of it: Assumes that the reader already has a compatible version of Visual Basic up and running on a PC that will be accessible throughout the reading and studying sessions based on the book. This is the biggest leap of faith for any writer to take when writing such a technically complex book as this one. There ...