Rating: 
Summary: Best book for experienced HTML coders to learn JavaScript
Review: I am a full-time website developer and I had been trying to learn JavaScript for the past two years. I purchased numerous books, and couldn't seem to get the hang of JavaScript until I bought Joe's book. I able to learn the basics of JavaScript in less than a week. I now use JavaScript everyday and can call myself a JavaScript programmer. In fact, I would even recommend this book for experienced HTML coders who are interested in learning programming. Joe has done an excellent job explaining Arrays, Variables, Objects, Loops, etc. These are functions that are found in almost all programming languages, including Visual Basic, C, C++ and Java. After I finished this book, I started teaching myself Visual Basic and I have found that many of the things that Joe taught me apply to VB. If you are looking to expand your skills beyond HTML, this is the book to buy.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for JavaScript Concepts
Review: I discovered Joe Burns, Ph.D. and his online references years ago. Generally I like his stuff a lot, mainly because Joe has a real advantage over most people who write computer books - He is NOT a computer professional! His Ph.D. is in Communications!That means Joe excels at explaining the way things work, but he is not always as adept at writing good code. I actually tried to use this text for an introductory JavaScript class I teach. Given the organization and structure of the book (there are 55 lessons covered in 9 chapters), I expected few problems. Then we started keying in some of Joe's sample scripts. To be blunt, Joe's syntax sucks. He almost never uses closing semicolons at the end of his statements and he often does not use the correct case for reserved words or methods. Since JavaScript is a touchy programming language at best, these seemingly minor errors can drive a beginner (or expert) to distraction. In spite of the above comments, if you need a "how to" book to get you started in JavaScript, this is not a bad reference to begin with. The lessons are well organized and introduce beginners to basic programming concepts and theory, in spite of the syntactical errors they contain. I recommend, however, that you get O'Reilly's "JavaScript: The Definitive Guide" as a supplemental reference. The O'Reilly text will give you the CORRECT syntax (syntax is the computer equivalent of grammar, folks) plus lots of other nitty-gritty details that will come in handy as your skill level improves. Good luck! BKA
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I think this is a great book. The examples are right there, and Joe Burns explains the code LINE by LINE, in pretty much non-technical jargon. Great for a beginner, definitely, and certainly intermediate and advanced JavaScripters !
I enjoy the book, and Burns' humor. No question about it, this isn't your typical blah JavaScript book ! Would be good for instructors teaching JavaScript !
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good basics for beginners, but...
Review: If you've ever wanted to try and learn some simple JavaScript, you've likely picked up one of these two types of books: the "for Dummies/Idiots/Simpletons/Morons" books (which I think tend to read as though they were *written* by dummies, etc.), or one of the "JavaScript bible" books that are about as think as your telephone book, and about as interesting reading as that, too. Well, hooray for Joe Burns, who, with co-author Andree Growney, have written a book simple enough for absolute beginners, yet not condescending or utterly simplistic. Each section gives you a script, shows screen shots of how it appears in a browser, and then tears it apart line by line, explaining new concepts and building on previously-learned ones. By the end of the book, even those with no previous JavaScript experience will feel confident in going forth and learning more complicated concepts. I really wanted to give this book five stars, because I just love Joe Burns' other "Goodies" books and web sites, and I love the concept and planning of this one. But, I had to lop off a star because of [what I suspect is] editorial sloppiness: several URL examples are incorrect, there are some typos in code examples, and that just isn't going to work in a book like this. I hope these will be fixed for future editions, because the rest of the book works well for beginners. Recommended for those with little or no JavaScript background (but beware the typos/bad URLs). Not recommended if you have some programming experience under your belt, because there's probably not much new here for you.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Book by Joe
Review: Joe Burn's has a unique talent to write technical stuff in a simple and easy to read style. He is an author that writes as if he is talking to you. Although this book is more technical than his first one, I strongly recommend this book as a great way to break into programming JavaScript. Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works: How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated
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Summary: START HERE!!!!
Review: Ok, you're not going to be a javascript wizard by reading this book. You may not even close the back cover with a complete understanding of the document object model, or what makes text scroll, or even why javascript works. You may even be a little teed that you were made to type all of that stuff (most of which worked, some of which didn't) and sort of "left hanging." Where now? What you will have when completing this book is enough knowledge to go forward to more advanced material and find out why javascript can give you hives of pleasure when implemented correctly. If you have no programming background, you're going to have to grind through this material eventually to make javascript do what you want it to. Think of this book as a first step towards a long journey of enlightenment. Wrox's "Beginning Javascript" is a good follow-up.
Rating: 
Summary: Style good for beginners, but too many errors will confuse
Review: The style, presentation, good for beginners features are potentially great, but there are too many errors that will confuse and mislead beginners and frustrate experienced programmers (I've been programming for 44 years). I now have very little confidence in what I read in the book because of the errors and misleading discussions. His explanation of capitalization, spacing, and line breaking on page 8 shows he doesn't know JavaScript syntax. He makes it sound like black magic. There are proper ways to do those things. His discussion on random numbers and modulus arithmetic in Chapter 6 is fatally flawed. His explanations of some other computer science terms and concepts is confused, incomplete, and erroneous.
Rating: 
Summary: Avoid this book
Review: This is a Terrible book! I have never seen a more obnoxious book. It is full of code that doesn't work. Even copying and pasting from his web site doesn't work. I have used this book and 2 classrooms of 20 students each and they absolutely hated the book and hated his bigger and mighty attitude! ...
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Summary: Ashmith.com Web Developer Review - Great Beginner book !!
Review: This is the best book I have seen on JavaScript. Joe Burns and Andree Growney have done a great job in explaining and experimenting JavaScript. They cover all the beginner to intermediate tasks. This is a superb book, you should consider buying. Especially, if you are new to JavaScript. This is the cheapest book with lots of features never even shown in other books....
Rating:
Summary: Good introduction for the complete novice
Review: This is the JavaScript book for the non-programmer who knows some HTML and wants to learn how to enhance their web site with some JavaScript. The book assumes no knowledge of programming at all so even the complete novice can learn some programming skills. I used this book in my JavaScript class and by the time we got through the book, my students were even able to write some simple games like Blackjack and Craps. The book opens with a look at the main objects of a web page that are used in JavaScript and gives some example scripts that are explained in detail. In fact, the book is full of scripts that are used to explain each technique as you learn. The key concept of what an object is and what properties, methods, and events are is explained in some detail. Validating a form is explained. Image flipping and animation are covered. Example scripts will explain how to create scrolling text and a digital clock on your web pages. Basic programming techniques such as if statements, loops, and arrays are covered. Examples are really the one thing that make this book worth the investment. Each new subject being discussed is introduced with a script followed by explanations and further examples. Then an assignment is given to help you verify that you have learned the information covered. The solutions to all the assignments are on the author's website. The book covers the basics of JavaScript and will provide a good foundation for the novice. After reading this book you won't be an expert JavaScript programmer but you will be ready to move on to more complex programming tasks and more difficult books.
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