Rating: 
Summary: Worst JavaScript book on the market!
Review: When I bought this book I knew nothing about JavaScript. I read it, and I still know nothing. Very badly written. All the examples in the book don't work unless you copy them from the CD. Only one of the chapters actually explains anything, every other chapter just shows you 5-page long scripts and tells you NOTHING whatsoever how they work. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!
Rating: 
Summary: Not very good
Review: This book doesn't teach you, it just tells you. I bought this book thinking I would learn something. All I learned was some of things Javascript can do. Also, another negative note, she adds a lot of unnecessary (unappreciated; for that matter) blah! Not recommended.
Rating:
Summary: I agree (It blows chunks)
Review: When I first encountered JavaScript as part of a CIW certification course I was intrigued - programming all the nifty things you can do on websites. I had an excellent learning experience with A+ Certification for Dummies (which is all you really need for A+), so I had high hopes of learning Javascript from the same publishers. Doh.This book promises to teach you all the tricks of doing the important interactive things on a contemporary website: form validation, rollovers, frames, etc. What it delivers is page upon page of unintelligible code (for the newbie)interspersed with vague hints about programming ideas. Core concepts and syntax of programming are treated as an afterthought. There are no exercises to work through, even if the concepts were there, so it's very, very difficult to learn anything in depth. In addition, there's very little reference material; this book isn't worth the time. As an alternative, I suggest Pollock's book (on this site somewhere) The topics he covers are not flashy (rollovers don;t get covered until 2/3rds through the book) but it teaches concepts thoroughly using simple illustrative exercises. I'm about half way through this book and it's already helping me learn ActionScript (the OOP language built into Flash 5.0. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Not all bad.
Review: I agree with the folks who say this isn't really a bad book, but it is misleadingly titled. If you have experience with object oriented programming languages like Visual Basic you will be able to learn some things about javascript with it. If not, you will be lost. Very little time is spent on the basics, and what there is isn't very good. An example: at the start of the chapter introducing objects, the author begins with a somewhat complicated example(for a beginner) involving "this" referances without explaining how "this" works, several objects that are contained within other objects, and two functions. The code used to illustrate these ideas consists of a few brief lines, without much context or explanation. Further confusing things is the author's habit of refering to everything as an object, from functions to properties, and this after an analogy comparing an object to a noun. Very confusing. You just have all these terms and concepts dumped on you at once, and all of it barely explained in a few brief pages. A more experienced programmer will be able to sort through it all and figure out what is happening. Anyone else will be absolutely lost.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of money
Review: This is one of the worst Javascript books in my office. I threw it away to free up more space in our bookshelf. The author seems more concerned with throwing in allusions to Christianity than with actually giving any helpful information about Javascript. Don't waste your money
Rating: 
Summary: Defending this book
Review: I recently purchased this book before having read any on-line reviews. After getting through the first 47 pages I believe it to be a great book and don't understand all the negative criticism. I have only been around javascript about three months now and have been using two other books (one of which is a totally useless visual quickstart book that is only good if you wish to copy the code and not learn a darned thing!!!)and believe this book is easy to digest. Any javascipt book takes some time to absorb (however, still avoid the quickstart book!!!) Take it slow and read carefully and do the exercises. Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: A DISGRACE TO THE SERIES
Review: This book falls far below the standard of other Dummies books I have. All those reviewers who say it is badly explained without due thought for beginnners are right. The writer suffers from the disgusting disease of explaining to people who already know what is going on. This is the disease Dummies books claim to cure. Ha!! I wrote to IDG, the publishers of the Dummies books, with details and examples of bad, unclear explanations. A form letter said they would reply later. They never did. I want my money back!!
Rating:
Summary: JavaScript, NOT FOR DUMMIES
Review: Uhh, i've been writing javaScript for money for years now. When i saw that my usually intelligent roomate was having trouble learning this easy language, i decided to look into it. I picked up this book, that he had been using and i found his problem immediatley. I looked over the first few chapters, and even i became confused. The beginning (most important) chapters are horribly laid out and poorly explained. The author's attempt at humor is pathetic as well.
Rating:
Summary: OK, it's not me after all...it's the book that sucks
Review: I tried to get through this book several times and kept giving up. I couldn't figure out why I was having such a hard time with learning JavaScript. I've learned other languages on my own. Therefore, why was it so hard to get a handle on the concepts of Javascript? I mean, this book is supposed to be for dummies like me, right? However, after my latest attempt to read this book and after reading some of the reviews on this site, I realize it's not me, it's the book. First off, the author fails to provide a context for JavaScript. She just launches into coding. There's no answer to the question "why?" A better approach would be to show a sample web page that uses JavaScript and then explain how the JavaScript accomplishes the end result. Then, explain the advantages of JavaScript over other possible solutions. Also, the author tries much to hard to make cutesy little jokes and puns and they get really annoying really fast. I don't think it's much of an exaggeration to say that she tries to make a joke in every other paragraph. I believe another review on this site recommends Thau's "Book of JavaScript." And, I agree with that recommendation. His book is just about everything this one isn't. It provides sample and context for the explanation of JavaScript. There is a light-hearted tone to the writing, which makes the reading of a technical topic easier. But, he doesn't go overboard with the cutesy puns and quips. So, if you want a beginner's guide to JavaScript, avoid this book. Try "Book of JavaScript" by Thau instead.
Rating:
Summary: Should be "JavaScript BY Dummies"
Review: I just bought the 3rd edition of this book, copyrighted in 2000. I wish I'd shopped here and read the reviews first. It's painfully obvious that neither the author of the folks at IDG are reading customer reviews, because they repeated all of the mistakes in this version that people here have been complaining about for two years. In the opening pages the author keeps claiming she doesn't assume you know anything about JavaScript or HTML, yet she starts the book off by listing JavaScript and HTML code that can't possibly mean anything to you unless you already know something about the languages, and she refers to those code listings as thought they are self-explaining. She introduces abstract concepts in the very early stages, then refers you to the Appendixes for explanations, which in many cases don't exist! All said, a waste of money and time.
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