Reader reviews

Outstanding. I kept finding reasons to come back to it.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with javascript.

Finally, a book that treats javascript with the care it deserves.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

I got a lot out of this, even if a few sections felt rushed.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. Solid, and I would buy another book from this author without hesitation.

Some sections were excellent and others felt like filler.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. Borrow it first if you can, or at least check the table of contents carefully before buying.

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. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The chapters on javascript are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with javascript.

An enjoyable and informative read, though it could have been shorter.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. A good addition to a technical library, as long as you know what you are buying.