Stylin' with CSS: A Designer's Guide (2nd Edition)
When I started browsing Amazon for a CSS book appropriate for a beginner, I was overwhelmed by just how many there are out there! I read all the reviews and such, but could not really determine any major difference between the books or figure out which ones were `better than the others.I decided that in order to make my decision I was going to have to flip through the books a little myself before purchasing. I took my little list to the local bookstore, gathered all of them up, and plopped down on a couch. I flipped through about 6 different books including Designing with Web Standards, CSS Core, CSS Cookbook, Beginning CSS, both Eric Meyer books, and of course, Stylin' with CSS.
I really didn't expect much from this book, I kind of grabbed it as an afterthought, or "might as well..."
I spent a good hour or so browsing the table of contents, reading bits and pieces of each book to get a feel for the author's style. I have to say I was not impressed with most of these, particularly the Eric Meyer books that so many people seem to swear by. My decision came down to Stylin' With CSS or Designing with Web Standards by Dan Cedarholm.
I chose Stylin' with CSS for several reasons. For one, Charles Wyke-Smith has a great, easy style of writing and explaining the concepts behind the rules of CSS. CSS is not overly difficult, but there is a learning curve and Wyke-Smith breaks it down into plain English. Secondly, the organization of the book is probably the most logical among the CSS books. It is not a reference book, as there are thorough explanations, but it is organized like a reference- by topic, in a sensible order. This makes it not only easy to follow the first time around, but makes it much easier to jump back to as a reference when needed. The quick reference chart in the back also comes in handy, and this book stays next to my computer at all times. Lastly, the page layout of the book is also visually appealing. It's not a picture book, but it doesn't look like a dictionary either. There's just the right amount of helpful images and screenshots, as well as colored text to differentiate code from explanations.
This book is the best that I can recommend for getting started in CSS. I can honestly say that my purchase was the best $20 I've ever spent on web design.
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