Rating: 
Summary: I can't believe I bought this book
Review: ...It's not that there isn't any good information, it's just that it's all so shallow and disjointed that it really doesn't serve as much of a reference. The sections are VERY brief, give you hardly any idea of what's good, bad and ugly about various elements, and the "code" available on-line is nothing more than poorly (read that as "NOT") documented snippets. It seems like the author had a check list of properties and styles to show off, so he raced through, hacking at HTML until he could say, "yeah, there's an example of that."This book is a great example of great intent gone very, very wrong. It's just too rough around the edges to serve as a decent reference, and unless you just like reading a book cover-to-cover for the thrill of turning pages and not actually getting any knowledge whatsoever, you'll probably want to pass on this one. The saddest thing is that I haven't found a decent CSS reference out there (not that I've searched that thoroughly) that really walks through topics like cross-browser issues, best-practices and design considerations in a readable format. Just goes to show that even a mediocre book w/ a really good index can still be usable. Unfortunately "DHTML and CSS" can't even claim that honor. I just can't believe I bought this book.
Rating: 
Summary: You get what you pay for
Review: It may be, if you're in tune with this author's way of thinking, that you'll find this book useful.
I wasn't, and I didn't. In fact I found it so off-putting that I took it back! The Peachpit idea of liberally peppering the text with screen shots and code samples is excellent, IMO, and in their Javascript book I found that it worked really well. But not here. One major problem is the eccentric sequencing of the topics. Why, for example, do the CSS "pseudo-classes" only appear in Chapter 24, well into the second half of the book - which is supposedly all about DHTML?
Why isn't it included way back in Chapter 4, for instance, which discusses CSS text controls? A second key issue was the emaciated index.
How many web designers would know, if not already familiar with CSS, what a "pseudo-class" is? Not many, I'd guess. Yet the index makes no mention of "hover", "active" or "visited". The "link" pseudo-class, on the other hand, IS referenced in it's own right - 16 times! Bottom line: You get what you pay for.
....
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing, check thouroughly before buying
Review: Although the work seems thorough at first, the author appears to make it a point to ignore Internet Explorer's extensive editing features, vaguely covers IE 5.5 and doesn't cover IE 6.0 at all.
No mention of Opera, early or current version. Nothing, except a quick word in an appendix about how Opera browsers stick to most of W3C edicts.
Even more disappointing because I was looking for a something like a newer version of Danny Goodman's 'DHTML Definitive Reference' published by O'Reilly. He is currently working on a 2nd edition which would encompass the drastic web development since first edition in mid-98, but I needed something as complete as possible in the meantime.
'DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web' seems to aspire to be both a tutorial and a reference book, but fails in both, in my view. It probably is too confusing a tutorial for the beginner, much too superficial for intermediate to advanced web programmers, and the organization and indexing make it really irksome as a reference book.
Furthermore, the coverage of JavaScript is a joke.
If you can, save your dollars and wait for Danny Goodman's second edition; in such a fast pace moving domain as IT technologies, knowing that your book will be outdated within the year, the least you can expect is a complete and unbiased coverage of the current technologies. I regret this purchase, and would have returned the book, had I not left my mark and spilled coffee on it. Regardless, Goodman's first edition and online documentation will do it for now.
Rating: 
Summary: Learn DHTML & CSS in blazing fast-forward mode!
Review: Another brilliant addition to the Visual Quickstart Guide series! You simply cannot be a web developer and NOT be in possession of this and at least a half-dozen other titles from this series! Since I own over 20 Visual Quickstart Guide titles, I feel qualified to rank DHTML & CSS for the WWW by Jason Cranford Teague among the top 5 best-of-series, right up there with Elizabeth Castro's HTML 3.2 & 4.0, Castro's PERL & CGI for the WWW, Debra and Eric Ray's UNIX, and lastly, I'll cheat by treating PHOTOSHOP 4, 5, 5.5 and 6 as one book because of the consistent and informative efforts by authors, Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas. (I hear the DREAMWEAVER 4.0 by J. Tarin Powers is pretty awesome as well!) In my experience, all, but for a couple of marginal misfires, are excellent. Be forewarned, however, the Visual Quickstart books are not project or tutorial driven. These are the books to use AFTER you've cut your teeth on the application tutorial-- when you're out there in the REAL webdev world, building stuff, even if it's your first time. These books are worth 100 times their weight in gold! Think of a cookbook where brevity is key and success is guaranteed if you follow each step as directed. Anyway, enough free advertising for Peachpit Press and back to DHTML & CSS by Jason Teague! The writing is clear and concise. All of the style and script examples are useful immediately and relevant in the real world of webdev. Each step of every script or style is prefaced by referenced snippets of code so you know exactly where you are in any particular script, which can sometimes be pages long. Teague is also a master at anticipating problems you might encounter when deploying some of his examples. So, he includes on-the-spot browser-compatibility info, helpful hints and browser-specific workarounds, just in case woeful rendering in a misbehaving browser gives you fits! (and because he probably doesn't want to invite litigation for property damage when you throw a brick at your computer out of frustration when you can't get a script to execute properly in say, Netscape V4.715367894508061182745? Or a stylesheet doesn't render as you intended in Opera V2.0 or Explorer V3.0-if at all!!!) Another credit to the author is that he never leaves out steps relying on the happenstance that his readers maintain a preconceived level of knowledge about what might be considered obvious (which is all relative anyway, depending upon whether the reader is left or right-brain hard-wired!). He shows respect for his readers by leaving nothing to chance, while appealing to all levels of audience technical capability. In short, it doesn't matter whether you are a newbie or a seasoned coder. You WILL find a treasure trove of useful information and a bountiful number of useful scripts and style examples for just about anything interactive you could ever hope to add to your web site. GUARANTEED! And, now? TA-DAH!!! I saved the best for last! The prized characteristic of this book? When you need to zero in on a particular task, style or script, the index is magnificent! The subject, phrase or task you are looking for in the index corresponds directly to a page containing the information you need. So when you go to the page noted in the index, THE INFORMATION IS REALLY THERE--FIRST TIME AROUND!!! No guessing games or a dozen hit-and-miss trips back to the index to unlock some kind of elusive clue or national security clearance code known only to the author, that reveals the secret location of the information you seek, the exposure of which carries the obligatory condition of having to kill you! The index, on its own merit, is quite the workhorse that more than justifies the modest cost of the book in time saved, BEFORE you ever key in the first character of code! No, I'm not a representative for Peachpit Press, nor do I play one on TV!!! I'm just a hardworking web developer trying to keep up with ever-changing technology in the blazing speed of internet time. Anyone who contributes to the shortening of my learning curve is my best friend for life! Thanks, Jason. Your book rocks!!
Rating:
Summary: We REQUIRE our employees to read this book!
Review: As a Web Design firm, it is mandatory that we stay on the cutting edge of site development. We required our entire staff to study the first book in this series and we've already started passing out this second edition. Nothing provides better control over site appearance than DHTML/CSS and we have not found a better manual than this for our designers. Note, this is for people who are serious about web design and not FrontPage amateur hour users. This manual gives our information architects the cross browser/platform reference material they need to not waste development time. If you don't know this book's content, you're not a web author.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but nothing you can't find on the net
Review: Good book, but nothing you can't find on the net. Really, that sums it all up. The author goes into a lot of detail about things which a lot of people already know if they're diving into DHTML and CSS. Go to some tutorial webpages and you'll be able to find the exact same information - and more.
Rating:
Summary: Great Intermediate Web Design Book
Review: Having read a Visual Quick Start Guide previously, I expected an easy, basic and short introduction to both DHTML and CSS. What I received was much better. Yes, the topics were explained in an easy to understand and logical sequence, but there is some good intermediate information here as well. Cascading Style Sheets is the subject of the first sections of the book. I found this information to be invaluable. There is no reason that every web page is not constructed using CSS, due to its flexibility and time reducing factors for setting styles. The majority of the chapters are on DHTML. DHTML allows you to add dynamic content to your web site such as, Drop-down Menus, Pop-up text, and Sliding Frames. The author steps you through the code for designing these and several more projects. I found that much of what was mentioned in the text led to many of my own ideas based on the foundation I learned with the book. For this price I recommend that all beginning and intermediate Web Designers buy this book today. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: More a manual than a book
Review: How much you like this book depends on what you want out of it. When I buy a book that touts "teach yourself DHTML and CSS the quick and easy way" on the cover, I expect something that's readable and has a series of lessons. What I got was more like a reference manual than a book. If that's what you're looking for, this certainly has a lot of details on how CSS works. But if you want an engaging series of lessons that are easy to read, compelling, and keep your attention -- that's what I wanted -- this fell short for me. Too many lists of commands surrounded by lifeless prose; too few sections that were actually interesting to read.
Rating:
Summary: Not just easy - delightful!
Review: I always buy more than two books for each subject I want to learn. If I can't dig something out of one book, I can try the other(s). Well, it was finally time for me to really learn CSS, so I went to the bookstore and picked up a couple of books on the subject. The next night I went to a different bookstore to find some ASP manuals. While there, I noticed another book on CSS so I added it to my ASP pile. When I got home and started reading DHTML and CSS by Mr. Teague, I found it was not only easy to understand, it was delightful to read. It was better than having a friendly person sitting next to me in a hands-on session. This is the first computer manual that I can say this about, and I have a small library. As it turns out, by accident I bought two copies of the book - I was rushing the second time because the store was closing. I've decided to keep one copy downstairs handy in my computer room and the other upstairs by my bed to browse before sleep. If you have a chance, pick the book up and look inside. It's so easy to use it's actually fun. You need to know HTML and be familiar with JavaScript, which the author alerts you about. I'm looking forward to getting this book grubby.
Rating:
Summary: Bargain. Two very good books for less than the price of one.
Review: I am a big fan of the VQG set of books, and this is the best value for money I have seen from them, and considering their low prices that is saying something.
You basically get two books - one on CSS and one on DHTML. They stand apart and a reader could just focus on one or the other if they needed to.
CSS is a huge part of the future of web design, it is a fairly easy subject, but that doesn't mean a bad technical writer couldn't mess it up. Teague doesn't, grabbing the reader and leading them through. I could argue with the placement of certain information, I often asked a question only to find the answer a few chapters later. That said once finished I had all the answers and am at the stage where I can (almost) confine tables to history in terms of web design. In fact the only suggestion I would have for the next addition is to cover the WASP initative proposal of using CSS to hide style from older browsers (cough Netscape 4 cough) as an option the reader should at least be aware of.
The DHTML book is bigger and Teague does a good job of focusing on all the major parts, does a bang up job of explaining the various DOMs and what they do and provides a bunch of great code to work from. There are a couple of areas that seem too general to be useful - how to make an animated gif in fireworks/photoshop etc - but I would rather a section I can skip over than missing information.
Great book, great value.
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