Rating:  Summary: Unusable as a quick reference Review: (FYI, I'm new to html, and have only about 1 year's experience with computers.) Instead of just listing tags and showing what they do, "HTML 4 For Dummies" goes into long-winded discussions on how things work -- discussions that amount to nothing more than filler, which the reader must sort through in order to find the information he needs. Let's say you have a problem with a link in your website. (Like I did.) You look in the table of contents in your copy of "HTML 4 For Dummies" and surprise, surprise, there's nothing on links. Instead, you have to look in the idex, where you'll find the word "link" referenced several times -- all the way from page 10 to page 337. Which page to look at? I don't know. It looks to me that the only way to use this book is to read it cover-to-cover, before trying to use any of the information inside. Of course, that'll take you a couple of weeks, and by the time you've completed it, you'll have forgotten much of what you've read. (Not to mention the fact that most of what you've read is irrelevant to you.) Me, I've given up, after making it only to Chapter 4. While people with more experience might find the book easy to get through, I did not. The book goes from overly easy to tremendously difficult in just a few pages. It comes with a disc. I don't understand how to use it, or what it's supposed to show me other than the Lanwright website. I found (and continue to find) the book to be a waste of $25. There's stuff on the internet on how to build websites that I found much more useful. Since that stuff is free, and this book is not, I suggest staying away from it.
Rating:  Summary: Unusable as a quick reference Review: (FYI, I'm new to html, and have only about 1 year's experience with computers.) Instead of just listing tags and showing what they do, "HTML 4 For Dummies" goes into long-winded discussions on how things work -- discussions that amount to nothing more than filler, which the reader must sort through in order to find the information he needs. Let's say you have a problem with a link in your website. (Like I did.) You look in the table of contents in your copy of "HTML 4 For Dummies" and surprise, surprise, there's nothing on links. Instead, you have to look in the idex, where you'll find the word "link" referenced several times -- all the way from page 10 to page 337. Which page to look at? I don't know. It looks to me that the only way to use this book is to read it cover-to-cover, before trying to use any of the information inside. Of course, that'll take you a couple of weeks, and by the time you've completed it, you'll have forgotten much of what you've read. (Not to mention the fact that most of what you've read is irrelevant to you.) Me, I've given up, after making it only to Chapter 4. While people with more experience might find the book easy to get through, I did not. The book goes from overly easy to tremendously difficult in just a few pages. It comes with a disc. I don't understand how to use it, or what it's supposed to show me other than the Lanwright website. I found (and continue to find) the book to be a waste of $25. There's stuff on the internet on how to build websites that I found much more useful. Since that stuff is free, and this book is not, I suggest staying away from it.
Rating:  Summary: First let me be absolutely clear... Review: ... I HATE DUMMIES BOOKS. All dummies books. I think it's insulting and arrogant to place the reader in the position of claiming to be stupid in order to obtain information about something. It would show more respect (and therefore be deserving of money earned from sales) if titles were something like "HTML Simplified" or something. There! I'm glad I FINALLY got that off my chest. All that said, I bought this because it was required in an online course I took. (I resent the title so much it actually hurt to pay for it. I may not know much about computers, but that doesn't mean I'm a dummy.) As I went through it I decided the dummy isn't the reader at all. I leave it to you to decide just who is! Compare this book to Jakob Nielsen's DESIGNING WEB USABILITY (subtitle: The Practice of Simplicity)and it comes out sadly lacking. In DUMMIES the humor is strained and sometimes inappropriate (tests should be serious)and there's too much repetition (stating something twice -- the second time as a reminder -- is plenty). As far back as Chapter 20 the authors are still saying things like, "Going easy on the graphics, bells, whistles and hungry T.Rexes." Web design is fun. It's easy to learn. But that doesn't mean that because you don't understand it, you're dumb. It just means you ought to buy a different book on the subject, one that shows respect for the reader.
Rating:  Summary: Castro's Book is much better! Review: A big disappointment. Elizabeth Castro's book runs circles around this work. It is badly organized and badly written. Of course one can learn from it, but one can learn Chinese from Cantonese restaurant menus too. Big deal... Get Castro's book instead!
Rating:  Summary: Dummies, Unite! Boycott! Review: A frustrating book due to its poor organization. Every time I turn to the index to look up a simple topic (e.g., "paragraphs" or "spaces"), it is invariably absent. Useful information also gets lost on the pages due to the layout. And the book often seems too vague for a "dummy," yet goes into excessive detail in other places. When I popped in the accompanying CD-ROM to use a graphic, the file wasn't there! (Note to publisher: Check your CD's!) As an added kick in the ribs, the authors' attempts at humor usually fall flat.
Rating:  Summary: Great for ideas Review: A great book for beginners, lots of ideas & samples. I learned so much from this, it would be easier to do a new page than make additions to the exsisting one.
Rating:  Summary: Absolutely a Waste of Time Review: After struggling with this book through the first several chapters I finally decided to logon and look for other books on the subject. I ordered one of them and I sincerely hope it won't also be a waste of time. Just to double check my impressions of this book I checked the other reviews on this site and found one (other than mine) one-star rating and 3 (3!) five star ratings. How can this be? Am I and the guy that also thought this book was useless completely out of it? To repeat the sentiment expressed by the author of that review, Naaaah! This book is a waste of your money AND a waste of your time. It actually has negative value. By the time you've read it you will have many misconception to overcome that you didn't have before.
Rating:  Summary: Beginners Beware! Review: As humerous as the book is written it is a tad bit on the difficult side to understand. Beginners beware of this book! There are definately some better (and more "reader-friendly") books out there.
Rating:  Summary: An excellent book, for dummies ;) Review: As the title says, this book is for people with very little knowledge of HTML - but knowledge of how to use a computer at an intermediate level. It covers most basic HTML tags, up to and including tables and a limited amount of framesets, as well as providing a large reference section aimed at the beginning HTML coder, becoming a decent reference manual even after the Tutorial section is finished. It's not the be-all and end-all of coding references, but it's perfect for someone that is comfortable with a computer, and wants to being creating simple web pages. This can take an individual with little knowledge and give them enough information to where they can understand the more complex online references and puzzle out the rest, or to a level where they can successfully invest their time in learning more about CSS, JavaScript, and DHTML to move to more complex sites.
Rating:  Summary: It taught me everything I needed to know. Review: Easy to use. Easy to read. Written in plain english
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