Reader reviews

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

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

A few useful pages, but mostly material I had seen better elsewhere.

I have been working with javascript 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 progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. Not one I will be returning to. There are better introductions to javascript available.

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

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. Good value for the price and worth the time it takes to work through properly.

Mixed feelings. The good parts are genuinely good; the rest is forgettable.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. Borrow it first if you can, or at least check the table of contents carefully before buying.

A worthwhile addition to my shelf, with realistic expectations.

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 early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. 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. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.