Reader reviews

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

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 chapters on higher education are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.

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

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

A superb guide. The examples are small but complete.

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 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. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

Solid and well-organised. A couple of chapters dragged a little.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.

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. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

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

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.