Colin Moock, ActionScript: The Definitive Guide
(Sebastapol, CA: O'Reilly & Associates, 2001)

This is the essential resource for anyone hoping to master ActionScript. It contains the best dictionary of elements available. It also covers the basics of programming and contains chapters explaining the major coding structures. It does not cover the non-ActionScript aspects of Flash.

Robert Reinhardt and Jon Warren Lentz, Flash™ 5 Bible
(New York: Hungry Minds, Inc., 2001)

This exhaustive reference covers everything from the basic Flash interface to advance interactivity in ActionScript, complete with examples and tutorials.

Chrissy Rey, Macromedia Flash 5: Training from the Source (Berkeley: Macromedia Press, 2001)

Good introduction to the Flash interface. Beginner to intermediate level. Not very sophisticated ActionScript.

Visual Quickstart Guide
Katherine Ulrich, Flash 5 for Windows and Macintosh (Berkeley: Peachpit Press, 2001)

This book is a cheap introduction to the Flash program for beginners. It does not go very deeply into ActionScript, but it does cover the aspects that we will not be emphasizing in this class.

Visual QuickPro Guide
Russell Chun, Flash 5 Advanced for Windows and Macintosh (Berkeley: Peachpit Press, 2001)

This book is just "o.k.", but it's cheap and fast. For some reason, he does not use the "expert" editting mode in his example scripting.

Books by Designers:

Sham Bhangal, Foundation ActionScript (Birmingham, UK: friends of Ed, 2000)

Sham Bhangal, et al, Flash 5 ActionScript Studio (Birmingham, UK: friends of Ed, 2001)

Todd Purgason, et al, Flash deConstruction: The Process, Design and ActionScript of Juxt Interactive (New Riders Publishing, 2002)