Reviews for HTML Utopia: Designing Without Tables Using CSS, 2nd Edition

1. get a bit of everything

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, February 12th, 2009

   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.
   

2. A Good Introduction

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, December 12th, 2008

   This book assumes knowledge of basic HTML. The first 8 chapters are mainly (quite interesting) reading, introducing CSS. The subsequent chapters build web pages to demonstrate the more complex concepts, including multi column layouts and how to float elements. The authors show that they have in-depth knowledge of CSS and approach even the more difficult concepts in an accessible manner.
   The code can be downloaded, at different stages of development.
   Recommended.

3. Critical information is lost in overly complex examples

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, July 12rd, 2007

   It's telling that you have to wait until chapter 8 (entitled "Simple CSS Layout") until you reach the key part most web designers will be after; i.e. how to create multi-column, web standard, layouts without tables. The first part of the book is given over to semantic explanations of what various CSS controls can do -- none of which have anything to do with "designing without tables". It covers fonts, colours, inheritance, and the like; basically nothing very interesting or useful. Most designers, I'm sure, are using these controls already. The worst thing, however, is that the book's two killer bits of info (how to create a 2 and 3 column box-model layout) are embedded inside massively complex examples with pointless and fussy design flourishes. After pain-painstakingly following the chapters through I realised that 98% of the code they were giving you was nothing to do with the box model at all. I've since downloaded the code for this book and reverse-engineered their box model, but I am still ruing the hours of my time this book has wasted. Never has a book failed so spectacularly to live up to its title.

4. Must-have reference book

   Rated 5 out of 5 stars, January 12th, 2007

   Well written, easy to follow with a wealth of CSS information in the Appendices. It has changed my approach to coding web pages, and I have found it very easy to use to solve coding problems. Very practical advice. But this is not a book for beginners, you need to have a thorough grasp of HTML and a little experience of using CSS, if you are to benefit from this book. A book for geeks ? No, but a book for someone who is dedicated to creating good, modern Web Pages and is prepared to take a lot of trouble in achieving that goal.
   Not that I agree whole-heartedly with all the contents (I avoid fixed width layouts like the plague). But a sensible mix of some of the coding techniques shown, with tabular layouts where this is by far the easiest solution, will result in web pages that are easy to maintain, quick to load, and fast to render.