Rating: 
Summary: I bought a copy for every room in my house.
Review: The best aspect of this book is the fact that not only does it teach you the theories and principles, but also how to apply them in a real world environment and even when you should break the rules. The book is very well written, entertaining and at times humourous, which is rather rare for a book dealing with the topics of Web Standards and accessibility, but just as Zeldman proves that sites utilzing Web Standards can be visually appealing, he also proves that writing about such topics does not need to be dry nor full of techno speak.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and fun to read
Review: This book belongs on the desk
of every Web developer. Author explains
designing and constructing standards-compliant
Web pages in a clear, concise
(often humorous) prose.
Lots of great information on XHTML structural
markup and styling Web pages with CSS.
Highly recommended. Well done.
Rating:
Summary: No, I MEAN REALLY!
Review: Aside from the most frightening cover in book history, Designing with Web Standards is an appallingly useful book. Not only does it walk you trough technical aspects of coding in everyday english, but has, if you can believe it, humor. It could be said that Jeffrey Zeldman is a genius, a pioneer in the web industry, and an altogether great guy to have at parties, but then that would be overstepping the bound of this review. The book is a keeper, his site ... is a fantastic example of what this book teaches you. Basically, if you don't get this book and you work with web sites, you will not only loose business, but will also not be invited to terrific parties.
Rating:
Summary: The only book you need to get you started on web standards
Review: Jeffrey Zeldman has been at the forefront of pushing web standards for several years now, and with his involvement with webstandards.org he has helped put and end to the 'browser wars'. Now is the time to take advantage of how standards compliant new browsers are becoming...If you have always been meaning to get serious about designing with web standards, but have never found the time or right project to do it, then this book is the kickstart you need! From beginning to end Jeffrey's writing style is accessible (a lot like the code he's talking about most of the time!), humourous, and technical when it needs to be, but still maintaining a human touch to it all - drawing you in and keeping you captivated. This will suit you very well if you have no idea about what standards are and you're looking for a place to start, but those who have been using CSS for a couple of years now will also find the book informative, useful, and insightful. The book is peppered with interesting and practical examples of how css and xhtml can be used to better your website - making it accessible across all browsers and platforms - minimising code and cost - but maximising impact for the client. I really can't reccomend this book enough. If you are a web designer and you want to keep web designing to the standard - then you need this - because it won't be too long before everything that Jeffrey teaches in this book becomes common practice for us all.
Rating:
Summary: A nice teacher
Review: Jeffrey Zeldman is always a pleasure to read, and this book is not an exception. The first part will help you convince your clients that they should make the move to standards compliant websites - and why. Zeldman gives you plenty of ammunition to show the advantages of building futureproof, accessible and easy to maintain websites. He doesn't tell you what to do, he shows how you can do it. To me this non-judgmental, constructive tone is very motivating. In the second part of the book Jeffrey holds your hand while leading you into structural markup and building a transitional site that complies with web standards. It is always about the best result. The best result for you as a web designer (you'll absolutely become smarter), the best result for your clients (they will get a site that is built and can be maintained in less time - so they will have to pay you less), and - above all - the best results for the audience who will come to enjoy your websites. All while ensuring that the site looks pleasing, too. Your sites will load a lot faster and will be accessible for everybody! Does this book teach you many new things if you are ahead of the curve in webdesign? The only true answer is no (I'm sorry). Zeldman does teach you a lot if you are willing to make the shift to standards compliant webdesign. He also shows that standards compliant design is not the enemy of good graphic design. And he is a pleasant teacher as well, so it will not be hard to stay attentive. If you are not new to the subject this book will still be most useful - reminding you how wonderful our job is.
Rating: 
Summary: Tomorrow's Web, Today
Review: Jeffrey Zeldman is a man who knows what he's talking about. His latest book, DWWS, is no exception. Starting from the Why (as in, why you'd want to design with web standards), he carefully outlines in the first few chapters the ridiculous state web design is in. Moving to the How, the second half of the book is an excellent introduction to the methods that will free us from junk markup and inaccessible sites. Web design is about bringing your message to the largest possible audience. Only by following the methods in DWWS can one truly start to achieve this goal. Ask yourself what's more important: catering to the dwindling 1% of users using outdated browsers, or designing for the growing 99% using modern browsers and alternative browsing environments like PDAs. DWWS can be somewhat redundant in spots, and touches on some very boring (but important) information - Zeldman graciously acknowledges the dryness of the material, and his writing style ecourages plodding along despite it all. If you read zeldman.com daily, there will likely not be much new to see in DWWS. Pick up a copy anyway, and pass it around the office. Everyone working on today's web should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Better Than a Candy Bar
Review: Designing With Web Standards has a softy chewy inside and a hard crunchy outside, which I really like, the two things together, as opposed to just one or the other alone. Wait, sorry, I'm thinking of a candy bar. Seriously, this review is like the millionth one down, so why are you even reading it? Is it that you're looking for the truth? Okay, here's the truth, as I see it. The first hundred pages of this book will be no help to those already sold on the need for designing with web standards. In Zeldman's defense, though, there are at least hundred pages' worth of reasons for doing this, so if you're not hip to it yet, or are only partly hip, or are on-the-fence hip, these pages are for you. The remaining three hundred pages are like the best candy bar in the world, assuming that what tastes good to you is making web sites that work for everyone: budget-conscious clients; the full range of users; and also for you you you, the sharp designer/developer aiming to deliver faster load times, greater accessibility, higher search engine placements, and full separation of presentation and structure, among other goodies. Also, as you no doubt already know, Zeldman is, like, good at writing and stuff, so it all goes down with a certain dark chocolate smoothness. And even better than an actual candy bar, which you eat once and is gone, Designing With Web Standards can be returned to again and again, whenever you want to remember the deal about doctypes or that Fahrner Image Replacement trick or just admire the genius of descendant selectors one more time before calling it a day.
Rating:
Summary: Our corporate site redesign
Review: We could have redone our site recently with CSS without ever looking at this lovely orange book. We could have found our own work-arounds and reinvented the proper structure of a style-sheet. We probably could have even deciphered the frustratingly inconsistent way in which browsers render "the box-model." Thank God we didn't have to.
Rating:
Summary: Be Prepared To Rethink The Way You Think
Review: I have dozens and dozens of computer books on my shelves. I have never read any of them all of the way through. This is the first computer book that I have read from cover to cover. I plan on going through it once more. The author does a great job at explaining the details in an interesting fashion. There are a few sections in the beginning that cover some of the basics. If you are an experienced web designer, you may be tempted to skip over these. DON'T! I have been working on the web for many years now, and there were many things that I never really understood until I read those sections. Everyone here at work has had this book shoved in their face to let them know that they also need to get a copy. You should read it. Be prepared to rethink the way you think. If you want to be ready for tomorrow, you need to start designing using Web Standards today!
Rating:
Summary: Web Standards: Is This Anyway To Run An Airline?
Review: Should have been the title of this book...Or "Web Standards - What we have here is a failure to communicate" Jeffery Zeldman can communicate and he gets to the heart of the matter with clarity. Vendors have mangled Web standards...Jeffery is pissed off and is not taking it anymore (from vendor versions) and has done something about it, and makes a compelling case that you should do something about it to... code to embrace the future, not the present. After reading Zeldman, commonsense tells you it doesn't make sense to blindly keep coding down the path you have been. He does more than explain how these technologies work, but the history and confusion behind the developments that brought us to this point. You can't help but think differently after reading the first 10 pages... or at least by page 38 under the subject heading "The Road to Stupidsville"where after explaining how Web standards got so messed up asks the question "...Is this anyway to run an airline?" Zeldman's entertaining writing style may border on chatty for some, but his desire to communicate with clarity outshines his style. And it's always sincere and down to earth. Zeldman doesn't claim to have all the answers, but he asks the right questions to challenge, educate, entertain and transform your thinking about building web sites.
And transform your thinking he does. This book definitely brings something sorely needed in Web development... Perspective.
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