Reader reviews

Some sections were excellent and others felt like filler.

I have been working with graphics & design for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. Fine, but there are stronger books on the same subject if you look around.

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

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. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. Good value for the price and worth the time it takes to work through properly.

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

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.

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

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. Solid, and I would buy another book from this author without hesitation.

The clearest explanation of javascript I have come across.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. 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.

Strong content, uneven pacing. I would still recommend it.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.