Rating: 
Summary: A great intermediate-advanced book for designers
Review: '`People who give this book 1 star ratings because it's not a beginner's book are missing the point. I picked this up because it fills a gaping gap between the Dummies or Teach Yourself in 24 Hours types of books, and the doorstop reference tomes. Like other Magic series books, this is entirely project oriented. While following each project I picked up a bunch of useful tips to get us working stiff web designers over the roadblocks that can prevent us from using CSS or JavaScript effectively. It's'`'` clear that the author has actually spent time working on real websites, and is not just a theoretician. I have already benefitted from the techniques and hints in the book in my paying projects.
I also appreciated the non-preachy tone: I know that I should be using CSS and XHTML and trying to wean myself away from tables, but there aren't that many books out there that actually show you how to do that without hitting me over the head with the "You Must Follow Standards" hammer. The'`'` clean, non-fussy designs appeal too. My favorite sections are the CSS section (Part 1) and the last section, which shows what a little imagination using JavaScript, CSS and browsers that support the W3C-DOM specs can produce.
Rating: 
Summary: not for beginners
Review: ...this is one of the worst technical manuals I have ever read.I bought this book because of its slick layout and CD of project examples. The book has absolutely no references to the examples from the CD, making it very difficult to determine which projects go with their corresponding examples from the CD. Furthermore, the examples from the CD often contain code different from the book-- very confusing. There is little explanation of any of the concepts presented in this book. The author presents code in a step by step format but doesn't explain any variables, rules or reasons concerning those steps. That said, this book is also a useless reference guide if you want to look up a specific topic. I was so frusterated by this book that I could hardly wait to slam it-- truly awful.
Rating:
Summary: Publishing Debacle
Review: ...this is one of the worst technical manuals I have ever read. I bought this book because of its slick layout and CD of project examples. The book has absolutely no references to the examples from the CD, making it very difficult to determine which projects go with their corresponding examples from the CD. Furthermore, the examples from the CD often contain code different from the book-- very confusing. There is little explanation of any of the concepts presented in this book. The author presents code in a step by step format but doesn't explain any variables, rules or reasons concerning those steps. That said, this book is also a useless reference guide if you want to look up a specific topic. I was so frusterated by this book that I could hardly wait to slam it-- truly awful.
Rating: 
Summary: Up to the usual standards from the Magic series
Review: A project based book, up to the usual standards from the Magic series, but with a slight misleading title. You will find some good real world advice and tips on CSS, intermediate level, pratical JavaScript (really sophisticated JavaScript is pretty rare everywhere) but only some marginal coverage of the DOM
Rating:
Summary: Ready to reform?
Review: Although there are some gems among the projects in this book for any Web professional, the ones who will surely get the most from this book are those who were trained in the old Photoshop "slice and dice" school. Adept in turning a page into an assembly of graphics-laden table cells, they are a bit threatened by all this CSS furor and wonder why the experts say tables are so bad. If you are one of those people, this book is definitely for you. The author seems to be a former practitioner of Photoshop Phascism herself (one of the book's 14 projects has 71 graphics!) so she knows where you're coming from. She also knows where you have to get to create modern, clean, easily-maintained code. Most of the projects are interesting in themselves and with copious illustrations, easy steps, and thoughtful side notes, you should have no trouble following along. I also really liked the way the code in the accompanying CD was presented. Each directory had an index file with a separate link to each important step. Note: There was often a disconnect between the label in this index and the label used in the book but this did not present an obstacle. There was a bit of a lapse in testing some of the files before publication. The finished files for projects 3 and 9 did not open in IE6/Windows. The problem was infinite looping caused by the script meant to deal with an infirmity in decrepit old Netscape 4...another reason why this browser should be left behind. There was another odd lapse for a book that is very free of errors: No, there is no CURSOR property value of ARROW. One further warning to more advanced Web workers: the reference to DOM in the title may give you the impression that the scripting is the new W3C DOM "node-speak." It is not. Neither is it missed here, because script is not the focus of this fine book. The focus is on good HTML structure and artful styling. If that is your focus too, then this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Filled with practical CSS and Javascript tips!
Review: First let me say that I'm not a programmer, I'm a designer (I run my own web design business). This book is perfect for someone like me who learns from visual examples. I browsed through this book and decided to buy it when I found an answer to a problem that had me banging my head against a wall with Netscape 6 and image slices getting messed up! (The solution was on page 148.) Once I sat down to read the book I was very glad I got it. It's really not a reference book like so many books about CSS seem to be, but it it shows you many of the pitfalls that you face on _real_ web pages...and better yet, the workarounds for them. I haven't seen any other book like this that really shows you the problems that show up in browsers. It's a refreshing change from the books that say CSS "should" work a certain way - this one shows you how it actually _does_ work, right now. I would recommend this book just for the CSS hints alone which are scattered through the whole book, not just the CSS chapters. Oh, and now I finally "get" what the DOM is!
Rating: 
Summary: Good material, Very disturbing format
Review: I bought this book due to the high reviews already here and if I were to rate the book on content alone the rating would be much higher, but... I am having a very hard time reading the book. The layout of the book is very disturbing to me. It seems like an attempt to lay out the pages using a web-style layout. I really want to slam the book shut and toss it out, but I also really want the information contained within. I'm forcing myself to read faster and faster just to get to the end so I'm done.
Rating:
Summary: A great intermediate-advanced book for designers
Review: I just finished Goodman's Javascript Bible 4th ed and am about to emabark on the DHMTL book he wrote. I was looking for some design projects to help put things in context--and give me some ideas of what CSS, Javascript, DHTML, and W3C DOM is capable of doing. This book is it. I recommend this book if you are interested in putting the pieces together; HOWEVER, I caution that there are A LOT of errors in this book. If you follow along typing in the javascript examples you will find disparate names for functions--between where you initially type them in and where they are eventually called. The same thing happens with variable names, and Itoh sometimes uses capitals in two word + variable names, and sometimes doesn't, which is kind of irritating--and leads to more errors. These things combined can make for some serious clean-up headaches when you go to view the pages. The book is still worth picking up, especially if you're looking to make webpages that sing. Just make sure you're familiar with Javascript--otherwise you'll be frustrated.
Rating:
Summary: Great Project Book
Review: I just finished Goodman's Javascript Bible 4th ed and am about to emabark on the DHMTL book he wrote. I was looking for some design projects to help put things in context--and give me some ideas of what CSS, Javascript, DHTML, and W3C DOM is capable of doing. This book is it. I recommend this book if you are interested in putting the pieces together; HOWEVER, I caution that there are A LOT of errors in this book. If you follow along typing in the javascript examples you will find disparate names for functions--between where you initially type them in and where they are eventually called. The same thing happens with variable names, and Itoh sometimes uses capitals in two word + variable names, and sometimes doesn't, which is kind of irritating--and leads to more errors. These things combined can make for some serious clean-up headaches when you go to view the pages. The book is still worth picking up, especially if you're looking to make webpages that sing. Just make sure you're familiar with Javascript--otherwise you'll be frustrated.
Rating:
Summary: the most conversant and geeky powagirrrl
Review: I met Maki f2f at Web2000 in SanFran - when we were both on the same team participating in the *Site in a day* contest. Read the aftermath article "Cool Site in a Day: The Shortest Eight Hours of Our Lives" - co-written with Nick Finck from Digital-web Magazine that recounts the event. My first and lasting impression: she's the most conversant and geeky powagirrrl I've ever met. She's trailing from many years of print experience and is a reference expert in Portable Document programming as well as a business woman. Her close*up interview on netdiver.net is enlighting - and it didn't come as a surprise that she would write a book on javascript, css and DOM - which are proficient skills. From beginners to experts - a reference book to have!
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