This book came somewhat as a disappointment after I completed the excellent Sitepoint book on basic HTML & CSS called Build Your Own Website The Right Way Using HTML & CSS, by Ian Lloyd.

The back page of this book said it would be a tutorial book, so I expected that the majority of the book would consist of tutorials, but I was wrong.

This book doesn't seem to know which direction it wants to go:
a reference book, a theory book, or a tutorial book...so you get abit of everything.

1/3 of the book (7 chapters) covers theory: this section has no
exercises or tutorials at all, just examples to look at.

1/3 of the book covers the actual tutorials (3 chapters) where you
build a more advanced website.

1/3 of the book is a reference section.

If I wanted a reference book on CSS I would have bought an actual CSS reference book.
The same goes for theory.

Also, be aware of typos, I have found quite a few in the code.

On the plus side, the writing has the same casual touch as many other
Sitepoint books. If you want clear explanations without too much technical fuss, then you will enjoy this book.
If you have a done a basic course/book on (X)HTML and CSS, such as Ian Lloyd's book, then this book is a good continuation of your learning. It brings up more advanced stuff.

But, if you are looking for a hands-on book with lots of exercises, this is not the best book for you.

Owners of the book can download a zip file. The zip file contains all the examples, which there are few. You only get 3 examples in the first 6 chapters. I don't really want to read and read and read, I want to practice. The examples in the remaining chapters mostly build on a site adding headers, columns, and footers. I'm not sure I'll get that far, I prefer to learn by doing, not by reading. Here is the breakdown:

Chapter 1 -- 1 example
Chapter 2 -- No examples
Chapter 3 -- No examples
Chapter 4 -- No examples
Chapter 5 -- 2 examples
Chapter 6 -- No examples
Chapter 7 -- 6 examples
Chapter 8 -- 8 examples
Chapter 9 -- 4 examples
Chapter 10 -- 7 examples

In all fairness, the reading chapters do teach a lot, and give the foundation for the practice parts that come later.

I don't know if I will keep the book. The price point is fair but I'm having trouble following along without seeing any examples..

An Excellent and very informative book. Not only does it have a complete list of CSS 2.1 compliant listings, property by property , but practical use and examples that make it easy to understand and apply. You can't beat Amazon's price. I purchased this and "The CSS Anthology" for the same price as one of the books at BN or Borders. AN Excellent Addition to the Web Programmers Library!

Its a great book, but doesn't push very far for creativity. Some books smash the information through to you in such a way like its picture book... extreme use of examples. I'm more of the "just give me the methods and information clearly, and lemme fiddle around with my own creativity." The entire book I was thinking to myself "how can I take these examples and convert them into actual web page designs I want to make?"

Despite that, there is still a lot of information crammed into it. It has a beefy index, but then again, I wish it had more CSS "tricks." Like methods and ideas for pushing css possibilities to the extreme, despite minimal browser compatibility. It didn't shoot for the sky..

I'm not going to launch into a rhapsody like some reviewers do, pointlessly going beyond the pail dissecting a web design book like this. For me I just want to see if a book has what I need to get me where I need to go! Here's the facts - jack.

- The title is misleading, you will learn to design without tables, however that's not where the book is focused, if you expect myriad examples of how to layout pages with CSS you will be disappointed (as I was).

- Almost half of the book is reference!

- It is well written and a good book for those with some (x)html experience looking to power up with CSS.

- Is it worth the money? For me it wasn't since I want a book that's chock full of layout examples - however it's a good deal for those looking to learn CSS.
Of course you can learn all of the stuff in this book online for free, there's many great CSS sites out there.

So there you have it! A sucker free review with no superfluous wordage.