Reader reviews

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

This is the third book I have read on javascript this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.

Finally, a book that treats databases & big data with the care it deserves.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

I have read a lot of books on this subject and this is the clearest.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

Not quite what I expected from the description, but there is material here.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. Borrow it first if you can, or at least check the table of contents carefully before buying.

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

This is the third book I have read on game design this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.

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

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with javascript.