So many books like this get 'dinged' in the reviews for not being very accessible by beginners. What people seem to forget is that not every book (on JavaScript or any other technical subject) is written for the beginner. The authors (or probably the editors) make it very clear in the Preface of this text, that this book was written for the intermediate JavaScript coder. 'Intermediate' isn't spelled out as such, but it seems to mean that you're either a person who is well versed in the lessons taught by a beginner's manual, or you know just a little JavaScript, but are quite comfortable in other programming languages (and thus general programming practices). If you haven't written a line of JavaScript in your life and are eager to learn, do not buy this book. You're not ready. If you try to learn JavaScript from jump street using this book, you'll just end up frustrated and unjustly criticize the authors. With that said, if you are familiar with the basics of JavaScript or are otherwise qualified as described above, please continue reading this review and see if this text is right for you (I think it will be).
I'm not often fond of books written by more than two or three authors. Usually a huge collection of writers makes a book seem like a patchwork quilt, in terms of writing styles and perspectives (and I've been lead author on such I book, so I should know the challenges involved). Fortunately, this 'art and science' book lends itself quite well to the anthology format and each author brings their unique experiences and skill sets to the table (or the book shelf, as it were). Hmmmm. Seven authors and seven chapters. I think I see a pattern emerging.
Each chapter represents a specific task or set of related tasks that you can accomplish using JavaScript. Remember, you are presumed to know the basics, so don't complain if the instructions seem just a tad 'advanced' (to be fair, there's enough 'handholding' in the book to see you through areas that you might not be very familiar with). In Chapter 1, you are started out with how to construct a basic table in HTML. It doesn't get much more 'handholding' than that. Of course, from there, the real JavaScript tutorial takes off, so don't expect to be 'handheld' very long.
It seems pretty obvious that SitePoint told each of the authors to pick a favorite topic within JavaScript that they'd just love to write about, and said 'go for it'. Writing your favorite chapter on JavaScript would be like writing a magazine article, rather than a book. Normally, when authoring a book, there's a certain amount of pressure to get it all done in the shortest time possible. The nature of technology and the speed at which it develops, can make a text book almost obsolete by the time it sees print. This usually means an author (or authors) has a maximum of 3 or 4 months in which to write. That's one of the advantages of this particular book; while the chapters are quite detailed and complete, each writer only had to be concerned about one chapter, letting them concentrate their all on a single topic.
The 'fun' aspects of the book show throughout. It's a fun book to read and learn from. Bonuses include all sample code being available online for download (something I'd expect of just about any programming book). SitePoint books have a reputation for high quality, full-color illustrations and printed code examples, and this book is no exception. While a print book can't demonstrate the motion results of executing JavaScript, it does a fine job of illustrating what those results should look like in a static presentation.
The pitfalls of the book aren't really pitfalls at all, I don't think. In addition to basic JavaScript, you are supposed to already know HTML (XHTML) and CSS at least reasonably well. If you are ready for a book like this, you should already be developing web sites. You might have to tweak things a bit if you expect to apply what you learn in this book to a production environment. Unfortunately, as much as most authors try, a great many books (including this one), don't provide a one-to-one mapping between the textbook and the real world 'doing' of things. Beyond those comments, I think that The Art and Science of JavaScript makes a fine 'next step' for any web programmer who wants to get to the next level of their education and their practice.
