Highly readable with an effective presentation

I started my search for an HTML+CSS book on Amazon, thinking that the highest-rated books would be a sure bet. I'm glad I browsed at the bookstore before buying, since otherwise I would have missed this gem of a book.

It was a good fit for me. The writing is concise, thoughtful, and light-hearted with an under-stated humor that makes you think how nice it would be to sit down and have a chat with the author.

The order of the presentation is very logical, and the integrated teaching of a little XHTML with the CSS to go along with it in every chapter was exactly what I wanted. I had a sense of orderly, steady progress while reading along and doing the exercises, moving from one "baby step" (my word choice) to the next.

What this book teaches, you will learn well. It gives as much depth and coverage of HTML and CSS as I think a single-volume primer should: not too little and not too much. I don't feel intimidated now at all, to pick up Eric Meyer's CSS books or to read through the HTML of popular web pages, to see how they tick.

Sure, there are errata--those are corrected on the author's website. I also wasn't thrilled with Sybex's typesetting and choice of inserts at the front of the book. There are quibbles to be found once or twice in every chapter, but overall this book seems to be a product of experience and careful attention to the presentation.

This book isn't as flashy as some, but it's solid, acceptably up-to-date, and worthy of your time. I recommend it especially for beginners who tend to procrastinate when seeing large tomes and who want to start small but have big ambitions... like me!

Other Reviews

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