Rating: 
Summary: Definitely a Beginner's Guide
Review: If you have any experience coding in any language you will find this book too basic and slow to follow. It doesn't include an appendix of java commands so you can pick up its control structures and commands quickly. Didn't like it for what I was trying to do- debugging existing Java code in my website.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely the one to buy
Review: If, like me, you want to learn JavaScript but you don't have a solid programming background, then I highly recommend this book. Pollock has done a great job of taking JavaScript and breaking it down into its essential elements then focusing on one element at a time. He begins with elementary information such as how to place JavaScript into a web page then moves into the basics of programming such as defining and calling variables, functions, operators, conditional statements, etc. Once he has introduced these topics, he moves into more complex material that teaches you how to manipulate them.Where Pollock excels is in his laying out of the topics. As a former teacher I was very pleased with his approach here. At the beginning of each chapter he introduces a topic and he then quizzes you briefly about that topic. This serves to reinforce the material in your mind. He then walks you through some very basic scripts using those elements that progress until you are writing out a more complex script. At the end of the chapter, after you have worked through numerous samples, he has you write a script on your own. He provides you with what the script should do, but you must write the actual code without his aid. This does a great job of giving you an opportunity to test and reinforce your knowledge at this point. If you have problems, you can always refer back to the previous pages as the task is based on previous ones. Finally, he ends each chapter with a series of multiple choice questions that serve to sum up that chapters lesson. Having worked through this book, I not only have a greater understanding of how to program in JavaScript, I have a greater understanding of programming concepts in general, so this book has also served as an introduction to general programming concepts. This is not to say that this book is the only one you'll ever need--it is only introductory--but having read Pollock's book, I now am prepared to move onto more detailed ones such as JavaScript: The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Choice
Review: Pollock's Beginner's Guide for Javascript is a great introduction to the language--and to programming languages in general. If you've been fumbling with free web guides and guessing games--just give in and buy this book. It leads beginners step-by-step through JavaScript programming. One caution: if you already know a programming language, you are NOT a beginner and you will find the pace slow.
Rating:
Summary: An actual beginner's guide! Excellent!
Review: SHORT: Real beginner's books are very rare, but this is one! This book takes you by the hand and no questions or problems arise while studying it. The book contains a lot of examples and after reading it and going through the exercises, you will have a good overview of what you can do with Javascript. LONG: As I changed jobs the need came up to learn some scripting languages fast. I started with the client side and ordered this book since it had good reviews. I have an intermediate programming background, for instance a year of bug fixing a Java application, so it turned out that this book was a bit on the light side for me personally. I was just so used to the fact that what is called a beginner's book usually isn't, not really anyway. This is one though!
Still, after reading this book in three days cover to cover, I found that it gave me a very nice overview of what is possible with Javascript and when to use it. Real beginner's will need a bit more time, since they will not have seen basic programming routines like events, conditional statements and such.
Besides just learning Javascript, a beginner will get a headstart on more serious programming languages.
Very recommendable for beginner's (or intermediate programmers that like an easier read at times ,besides their Dilbert calendar).
Rating:
Summary: If you can't learn javascript with this book.....
Review: switch careers. This book is so easy to read and understand that It's impossible not to learn Javascript. I read this book on my way to work in the morning and I can't wait to go home and continue reading. I've bought tons of books on various technical applications, such as JAVA, HTML, XML etc and I've never read such an easy to understand subject and absorb so much in a short time frame.
Rating:
Summary: If you can't learn javascript with this book.....
Review: switch careers. This book is so easy to read and understand that It's impossible not to learn Javascript. I read this book on my way to work in the morning and I can't wait to go home and continue reading. I've bought tons of books on various technical applications, such as JAVA, HTML, XML etc and I've never read such an easy to understand subject and absorb so much in a short time frame.
Rating:
Summary: Makes JavaScript SO easy!
Review: This book is wonderful! His tone is extremely conversational (funny in places, too!), not technical or boring like some other books. The book is interesting (I would say captivating, but that would reveal the extremity of my geekiness!) and easy-to-comprehend. If you want to LEARN JavaScript, this book is a must have! I've read half of it, and I can't wait to finish the rest!
Rating:
Summary: Makes JavaScript SO easy!
Review: This book is wonderful! His tone is extremely conversational (funny in places, too!), not technical or boring like some other books. The book is interesting (I would say captivating, but that would reveal the extremity of my geekiness!) and easy-to-comprehend. If you want to LEARN JavaScript, this book is a must have! I've read half of it, and I can't wait to finish the rest!
Rating:
Summary: Good idea, but not optimally done
Review: This book isn't bad, but neither does it reach its mark. My biggest complaint with it is that it is filled with hundreds of isolated and nonsensical "hello, world" type of examples. Readers would have been better served with practical examples, especially ones chained together (i.e., exercises that build on previous ones). Also, for some odd reason the fairly straightforward concept of arrays isn't covered until mid-book. As a result the first half of the book contains many gloss-overs like "it'd be cool to show you this nifty feature using arrays, but we won't discuss them until a later chapter." Also conspicuously absent was a summary chapter at the end that brought together most of the ideas on the book, in a nifty sample application. That said, of the 600 pages in this book, about 200 or so serve as useful references. Perhaps you'd be better off buying a reference book though.
Rating:
Summary: Good idea, but not optimally done
Review: This book isn't bad, but neither does it reach its mark. My biggest complaint with it is that it is filled with hundreds of isolated and nonsensical "hello, world" type of examples. Readers would have been better served with practical examples, especially ones chained together (i.e., exercises that build on previous ones). Also, for some odd reason the fairly straightforward concept of arrays isn't covered until mid-book. As a result the first half of the book contains many gloss-overs like "it'd be cool to show you this nifty feature using arrays, but we won't discuss them until a later chapter." Also conspicuously absent was a summary chapter at the end that brought together most of the ideas on the book, in a nifty sample application. That said, of the 600 pages in this book, about 200 or so serve as useful references. Perhaps you'd be better off buying a reference book though.
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