Dabblers in web design may skip this book for now. But if you are serious about investing your time and energy in web design and development, particularly if you are still mixing CSS (Style Sheets) and HTML markup unsystematically according to what seems to patch up your site's function (mea culpa), you owe it to yourself to check this out. Even if you just browse the first two chapters standing in a book store (sorry, authors), READ IT!

Ordinarily, I would not have cared much about another 'history of the web' except that theirs (chapter 1) explained WHY and HOW changes from simple HTML to more efficient developments (esp. CSS) can vastly SIMPLY and empower the way your web design proceeds, enhancing: 1) accessibility of your site, 2) speediness of your site, 3) and best of all speed of your development and revision work.

Although I agree that some exposure to CSS (even just from an introductory web design book) will make the going easier when you read this volume, from Briggs et al. you will finally learn the principles of WHY you save time and money by beginning your design with CSS (instead of just HTML/XHTML) and HOW the units of CSS work. It's like getting your first real understanding of how to do (virtually) all your work on a computer - when you had been clunking along trying to hang on to the familiarity of a typewriter for half your tasks.

Finally, I have to express a real appreciation for the thoroughness of the presentations and the humanity of the writing style - no ranting, no hype - just thoughtful analysis of the state of this art/science and how to cope with its quirks and potentials. I enjoyed their tasteful, wry humor, agreeably sprinkled where appropriate - and the big laugh I got when I decided to look at the authors' pictures. (Seriously, guys, why did you let the publishers use mug shots? ;)

As an olde timey graphics type (remember Rapidiograph pens and Rubylith anyone?) that has made the leap to HTML, I have found CSS to be the missing boone to those that still believe in white space and page control more like the ancient practice of type specification (leading, kerning, etc) followed by scooting the block of text around to get visual flow, balance and attractive layout....

I bought this one partially for the "yadda-yadda" history on the front-end. While this is a great book for making the leap from HTML, a web programming newbie should stay away from this one. The author assumes you are taking your NEXT LEAP, not a first baby step into web programming.

My one star deficiency is based on value. By the time you get done reading, you will have a clear grasp of CSS structure. But if you want to start plugging sexy, cool stuff into pages, and like heady examples to help hone skills, you will have to purchase an additional book. This is akin to a driver's ed class....you'll learn how to start dad's Buick and drive it around an empty parking lot. Want to do a few turns around the Indie 500 track? You'll need another set of wheels.

This book is well done and very logical...really whets the appetite but ain't the full-meal-deal. Still highly recommended tho'.

A book that has something to say to beginners and experts alike. The authors managed to condensate a huge amount of informations, both on CSS theory and practical implementation. The chapters written by Steve Champeon alone are worth the price

A book that has something to say to beginners and experts alike. The authors managed to condensate a huge amount of informations, both on CSS theory and practical implementation. The chapters written by Steve Champeon alone are worth the price

This book is an excellent introduction to CSS; however, I have a few quibbles with it -- hence, the reason for a loss of one star in my rating of the book. My rationale for calling it "an excellent introduction to CSS" is the following:

1. It covers markup and presentational theories -- thus, affording the beginner a good background for understanding the interplay of (X)HTML and CSS.

2. It adequately explains the box model. The explanation is quite clear; however, my quibble with it is that it is not as detailed as the explanation of the box model in Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide. Such detail can be important even to a beginner.

3. It has a chapter on typography and how typographic principles can be enacted in CSS. This chapter is a real boon to beginners and more advanced users of CSS. Since typographic CSS can be implemented without wrecking a design in every modern browser, knowledge pertaining to how to use it well is important.

4. It offers some troubleshooting techniques. This chapter is not as nearly helpful as the other chapters, but it is good to see such a chapter in a CSS book since the browser manufacturers still have partial and/or buggy implementations of CSS. (Note: the bugs are not all that common.)

5. It provides clear explanations of the CSS properties and selectors that it does cover.

I have covered some of my quibbles, but essentially, they all pertain to not enough detail or coverage of CSS properties and selectors. The book is not aimed at being a complete reference. It is written as a tutorial and, consequently, cannot include the entirety of CSS. I praise it for being a tutorial and limiting the coverage of CSS for beginners. That is why I highly recommend this book for beginners. However, a serious user of CSS will need to also purchase Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide and Cascading Style Sheets: Designing for the Web, 2nd Edition to complete her education about CSS and to pick up the details that this book excludes.

In an easy-to-read 279 pages, the authors guide the reader through the concept of separating content from presentation in web design. The authors advocate the use of Cascading Style Sheets to achieve this objective.

In addition to making a strong case for CSS, these authors provide many practical examples of how to implement CSS based upon their experience using the technology in a cross-browser environment. The authors clearly demonstrate their understanding of the "real-world" of web development by addressing may of the issues web developers will face if they decide to implement CSS. The authors are not "stary-eyed" evangelists - rather they appear pragmatic and realistic about the use of this technology (which is actually refreshing). There are a plethora of code samples and the book includes a detailed chapter on typography (more than you'll probably ever want to know). Overall, it's a very well written book that addresses CSS in a comprehensive and cohesive manner. Great Job!

This book has a great number of positives.

The chapters on typography and selectors is beyond compare and the discussion on 'flow' within a page works should be required reading for anyone who takes web site development seriously, i.e. this book probably isn't for the Loving_Hands_Web_Site_Studio.com crowd.

The only 'slight' negative I would make is that the first 78 pages are yet another recitation on what browsers 'should' be doing and how terrible that this hasn't happened - yada, yada, yada.

The CSS purist crowd drone on and on about this topic daily, weekly, endlessly when responding to any legitimate question about implementing CSS on their web sites, newsgroups, e-mail lists - enough already. It's beyond tedious.................

I give the book 5 stars with no reservations but I'd like to see a future edition sans the first section - it's not like this information is new or even relevant. Browsers are what they are - deal with it.

This is a solid book for the *serious* beginning or intermediate Web worker who recognizes that CSS is -and will be- a technique essential to their career.

The authors do a great service in emphasizing the role of proper HTML structure. Without that understanding, CSS is merely decoration instead of an integral aspect of Web-building.

The authors make more effort to deal with backwards compatibility issues (meaning the decrepit Netscape 4) than I think necessary. But at no point do they cater to that browser. They completely avoid wasteful hacks such as tables for layout and 1-pixel .gif tricks.

The authors guide the reader in all the best modern practices, avoiding the old hacks, to create structurally logical and human-readable code -- code that looks nice and displays in new ways.

It's been a long time coming but finally the right Web coding practices are coming to the fore, with the help of books such as this.