Chandu Thota's book Programming MapPoint in .NET features a good developer-level coverage of using Microsoft's mapping technologies (circa 2005) in the .NET framework. Recommended for developers who use the MapPoint Web Service and the desktop edition of MapPoint, but the Virtual Earth coverage is now of historical interest only.

There are very few books about Microsoft's various mapping platforms, but Programming MapPoint in .NET is definitely one of the better ones. Chandu Thota writes at a developer level and avoids the marketing fluff of his then-employer, Microsoft.

The book has four sections, covering: MapPoint 2004 (144 pages), MapPoint Web Service (112 pages), MapPoint Location Server (34 pages), and MSN Virtual Earth (20 pages).

The book was published at the end of 2005 - months before MapPoint 2006 was released. MapPoint 2006 and 2009 introduced few changes from the programming perspective, so this section is still relevant. It gives a particularly useful "how to" use MapPoint's COM interface from .NET. This is invaluable when it comes to add-ins which can be tricky.

Historically, the web service has been less popular, but its profile has been increasing with the recent release of the Virtual Earth Web Service. Chandu Thota gives a good introduction to MapPoint Web Service concepts and use.

The MapPoint Location Server appears to have been quietly sidelined by Microsoft. With few users, this section is probably of limited interest.

The original release of Virtual Earth was literally months before this book was published. With rapid ongoing development and innovation, Chandu Thota wisely gives a smaller taster of the new platform. We are currently up to Virtual Earth 6.2, so this short chapter is of historical interest only. Be aware that the samples will not work because of this.

So, overall this book continues to be useful for the .NET programmer using the desktop edition of MapPoint, or someone who wants a good introduction to the MapPoint Web Service.