Reader reviews

Worth every page. I have already recommended it to two colleagues.

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 examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with graphics & design.

This is the one to get if you are serious about javascript.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. 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.

Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.

Genuinely excellent — I finished it in a week and immediately started again.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

Very good, with a few caveats. The core material is strong.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The chapters on javascript are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. A good addition to a technical library, as long as you know what you are buying.

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

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.