Rating: 
Summary: Mastering HTML 4 Premium Edition
Review: After browsing through a few titles, I decided to purchase this book and the Castro Quick Start Guide. I found the combination to be wonderful. Within a reasonable time of starting through the books, I was able to understand and create nice-looking HTML pages for our web site. I found the Castro book to be a good supplement to this; if I didn't understand it in one, I was generally able to understand the other. The coding is set out step by step so you can see where the additions are. I did find the CD to be pretty weak - but there is some stuff there that's worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: All you need from start to finish
Review: As a beginner to web design, I never had the faintest idea how to create a web page. I’ve not been a great one for reading manuals or how-to books, so the thought of reading a computing mumbo jumbo book the size of a bible written by eggheads - perish the thought! I had to learn somehow though, and at first was very tempted to use software such as Netscape Composer and FrontPage. But, rather than learning to use one of those programs (hearing of their limited capabilities), I discovered it would be far more rewarding and apparently as easy to learn, to try and write the code myself â€" giving me more control over my web pages...oh dear! My desires to be an independently efficient web designer eventually won the day (or was it week!) and off to the book shop I sped. As I envisaged, learning web design would ultimately become a long-term venture of mine, so I wanted a book that would cover everything I needed to know, and still have reference value in the future. A book such as â€~HTML for Dummies’ (written by the same authors) was a lot cheaper, but you don’t get the whole picture, and would not have been a wise investment. For its size (1200 pages) as much as anything, I began leafing through Mastering HTML 4.0 Premium Edition by Deborah S. Ray & Eric J. Ray - At a glance, it seemed to cater for the beginner through to advanced-gobbledeegoop! â€" so I took the plunge! The book covers everything from designing your first web page (with step by step instruction), through to advanced (as you soon will be) but learnable applications. Included is a must have â€~Masters Reference’ section, containing; tags, attributes, color codes, etc, which will ensure the books longevity. There’s also a bonus CD containing example code and shareware/freeware web programs. Initially some beginners - myself included, make the mistake of skipping pages wanting to know everything NOW, - your already half way through - and you still know nothing! Read this book page for page though, and you will sense the hands of the authors holding you, with plenty of examples to guide you through - they really were on my wavelength. This book enabled me to create my first Homepage within a couple of hours. In short - it becomes invaluable, it’s totally brilliant and cherished on my bookshelf... Who needs the likes of PageMaker and Frontpage Express etc? with pleasure, Paul P.S. I’m not related!
Rating:
Summary: All you need from start to finish
Review: As a beginner to web design, I never had the faintest idea how to create a web page. I’ve not been a great one for reading manuals or how-to books, so the thought of reading a computing mumbo jumbo book the size of a bible written by eggheads - perish the thought! I had to learn somehow though, and at first was very tempted to use software such as Netscape Composer and FrontPage. But, rather than learning to use one of those programs (hearing of their limited capabilities), I discovered it would be far more rewarding and apparently as easy to learn, to try and write the code myself â€" giving me more control over my web pages...oh dear! My desires to be an independently efficient web designer eventually won the day (or was it week!) and off to the book shop I sped. As I envisaged, learning web design would ultimately become a long-term venture of mine, so I wanted a book that would cover everything I needed to know, and still have reference value in the future. A book such as ‘HTML for Dummies’ (written by the same authors) was a lot cheaper, but you don’t get the whole picture, and would not have been a wise investment. For its size (1200 pages) as much as anything, I began leafing through Mastering HTML 4.0 Premium Edition by Deborah S. Ray & Eric J. Ray - At a glance, it seemed to cater for the beginner through to advanced-gobbledeegoop! â€" so I took the plunge! The book covers everything from designing your first web page (with step by step instruction), through to advanced (as you soon will be) but learnable applications. Included is a must have ‘Masters Reference’ section, containing; tags, attributes, color codes, etc, which will ensure the books longevity. There’s also a bonus CD containing example code and shareware/freeware web programs. Initially some beginners - myself included, make the mistake of skipping pages wanting to know everything NOW, - your already half way through - and you still know nothing! Read this book page for page though, and you will sense the hands of the authors holding you, with plenty of examples to guide you through - they really were on my wavelength. This book enabled me to create my first Homepage within a couple of hours. In short - it becomes invaluable, it’s totally brilliant and cherished on my bookshelf... Who needs the likes of PageMaker and Frontpage Express etc? with pleasure, Paul P.S. I’m not related!
Rating:
Summary: Get This Book.
Review: Authors never talk down to you, yet never assume that you know anything either. I had two distinct sites well underway within 2 weeks. And they looked pretty good, considering I didn't know a shred of html beforehand. I did use this with a second book, just to get started, (A Sam's Quickstart Guide, Learn HTML in 24 hrs.) but I soon passed the quickstart guide off to a friend, as this is all I need. As I become more adept I keep finding "goodies" in the back appendices. Never opened the CD. And I spent a good $50.00 on this book. Get it here, it's much cheaper. It is worth every penny.
Rating:
Summary: Get This Book.
Review: Authors never talk down to you, yet never assume that you know anything either. I had two distinct sites well underway within 2 weeks. And they looked pretty good, considering I didn't know a shred of html beforehand. I did use this with a second book, just to get started, (A Sam's Quickstart Guide, Learn HTML in 24 hrs.) but I soon passed the quickstart guide off to a friend, as this is all I need. As I become more adept I keep finding "goodies" in the back appendices. Never opened the CD. And I spent a good $50.00 on this book. Get it here, it's much cheaper. It is worth every penny.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing read
Review: Couple of observations: - Very few detailed examples - XML section is very weak - Too much space for HTML reference (Could have divided into two books) - Adds no marginal value when compared to an online HTML guide
Rating: 
Summary: quite ok
Review: HTML was the first language I learnt. I used this book for desining a site for my company. I think that this book proved quite benefitial in many respects. The one thing this book lacks are good(a little tough) examples. The coverage of HTML is almost complete. The masters ref section is good(only HTML ,not script and CSS). All in all this book will serve as a good reference but things are not that organised like they should be. But it is worth the money i spent.
Rating:
Summary: Captures the essentials of HTML 4 and XML
Review: I found the book especially useful for the XML. I have read most of the XML Bible and alot of stuff on the web, and I found the XML section of Mastering HTML 4 gave me the essentials of what XML is all about. Ray and Ray are very clear, lucid writers. I recommend the book especially for beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Straight forward, clear guide for learning HTML and more.
Review: I have only been reading this book for about 2 weeks, now, at an easy pace. I have read many tech. books covering topics from C++, data structures and algorithms to HTML itself. I have found this book to be very easy to follow along with straight forward examples used in a real life scenario. However, if you just need an HTML reference book for your desk and you are already experienced with writing HTML code you may want to look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Straight forward, clear guide for learning HTML and more.
Review: I have only been reading this book for about 2 weeks, now, at an easy pace. I have read many tech. books covering topics from C++, data structures and algorithms to HTML itself. I have found this book to be very easy to follow along with straight forward examples used in a real life scenario. However, if you just need an HTML reference book for your desk and you are already experienced with writing HTML code you may want to look elsewhere.
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