I recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/-/dp/0321877586 http://www.amazon.com/-/dp/0321877586 It focuses on the language, not any specific implementation.

I recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/-/dp/0321877586 http://www.amazon.com/-/dp/0321877586 It focuses on the language, not any specific implementation. The examples all use the command-line compiler, not Visual Studio. So you would be able to use the Mono Development Kit.