"Windows Store App Development" by Pete Brown takes the reader through all aspects of building a Windows 8 application using C# and XAML.

The first two chapters describe the UI principles that make a successful Windows 8 application - an app that works for both touch and keyboard input; and an app that provides a good experience for the user.

The book is broken into 23 chapters - most of which cover some specific development concept or how to use a set of controls. For example, there is an entire chapter on various available text controls and how to use them to render great-looking text in your application.

My favourite chapter is "Controls, binding, and MVVM", which breaks down the Model-View-View Model pattern into easy-to-understand terms and shows how to apply this pattern in an Windows 8 application.

Overall, the book does an excellent job covering the key concepts of XAML development and diving deep into the use of the tools. It serves as both a reference book and as a manual to get started on this platform. I have used it as each of these.

The only drawback is that this book is specific to Windows 8 and does not cover any of the updates introduced in Windows 8.1. I don't know if Brown is planning an update to cover these. However, the vast majority of the book is still relevant, even if you are developing for Windows 8.1.

Review-Windows Store App Development by Pete BrownShortly after I acquired this book, Pete was kind enough to sign it for me. He preceded his autograph with the challenge: "Get off your ass and write some apps!" And I did. Thanks in part to Brown's inspiration, I now have 14 apps in the Windows Store.

If you are new to Windows 8 development, Brown's book is a good one to get started with.