GOOD BOOKS. LOUD IDEAS.

Hard to recommend. The examples assume too much and explain too little.

This is the third book I have read on javascript this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. I would look elsewhere unless you have a specific reason to need this particular title.

A genuinely enjoyable read that also taught me a great deal.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The chapters on javascript are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

Better than I expected. Rare to find a technical book this well judged.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.