Rating: 
Summary: A fine book for beginners to CSS
Review: After 3 weeks of learning HTML (with Sam's Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML and XHTML in 21 Days by Laura Lemay) I bought Cascading Style Sheets for Dummies. It was DREADFUL. Undetered, I went out and bought this book.Within days I was comfortable and happy with CSS. The real-world examples in the book and the clear way in which it has been laid out make it very easy to follow. Prior knowledge of HTML is going to be a big help, but HTML listings are provided for everything. Steve Callihan has created the ultimate beginners guide to CSS here.
Rating: 
Summary: This book will get you going with style sheets
Review: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) By Example teaches CSS in a way that should be easy for anyone with reasonable facility using HTML. It is not a tome like Eric Meyer's Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, but it is nonetheless a technically rigorous work. The emphasis is on getting readers up to speed in a step-by-step manner. I reviewed the online version at Safari (http://safari.oreilly.com/) and downloaded the sample documents from the author's web site at http://www.callihan.com/cssbook/. The theme of the book is "by example," and it delivers on that theme. The samples are well thought out from a teaching point of view. Each contains elements that gave a good look at the concepts being taught. As with HTML, CSS is best learned by doing, and the examples allow the reader to use already prepared documents and add CSS to them. Readers should be able to stay on track and not get discouraged by too much typing. I confess that since I was reading an online version, I generally copied and pasted the CSS code into the downloaded examples--a slight cheat, but I don't think it seriously detracted from my learning experience. The author starts off with an overview of how to use CSS and in subsequent chapters steps back to the beginning to go through the training from the start. The first section thus has a lot of references to what is to come in later chapters, but I think it is helpful for a beginner to see the big picture before getting into the details. I thought the balance was about right, and the order of topics was logical. The book builds to the point of using positioning to create a page with three columns, one of the most challenging aspects of tables-free design. I found that the example of three columns did not work in Mozilla browsers, though it did in Opera and Explorer. I posted a question on the example to the author, and he responded within a day with the explanation and a corrected example. Any author giving that much attention to his work deserves support. Real-world advice on what works or doesn't and what is best practice is interspersed throughout the lessons. I value these kinds of features as they save time in trial and error, particularly with different browsers. Obviously, the advice will change over time as browsers develop, but the basics will remain true for a long time. The appendices include a useful CSS reference, a section on using CSS with other technologies like DHTML, and an overview of CSS software tools. The author's web site has errata, links to additional resources, and the sample pages described above. As with so many books on web design now on the market, this one is about two years old, and it could use a second edition. There have been browser developments even in that short time, such as the release of Internet Explorer 6.0, that would change some of the advice. I suspect that the author also might have a different perspective now on how far back to go to accommodate older browsers. Considering that sites like ABC.com and ESPN.com no longer display in version 4 browsers and instead tell visitors to upgrade, it would be interesting to see what Mr. Callihan has to say to current web designers. Within the vintage of browsers covered, though, the book has plenty of suggestions on which styles work and which are problematic. Hopefully, this edition has had sufficient readership to encourage the author and the publisher to produce an updated version. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) By Example is an excellent introduction to CSS. It is slightly dated in terms of browsers, but it effectively takes the reader from the basics of CSS through advanced techniques. I would recommend this book for individuals at the early through intermediate level of CSS experience and as a reference for CSS training classes.
Rating:
Summary: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) By Example
Review: Do you want a book which teaches you CSS by examples and also have an author who is willing to help you with questions? Then, BE SURE to purchase this book. I purchased it only a few days after its publication and am very pleased with it. There are example files which you download from the book's website (This eliminates alot of unnecessary typing). A concept is explained and then you are given an example to type in the style sheet and then check in your browser to see what the affect is. This makes it very easy to understand and see the results. In addition, there are 3 appendix which give further valuable information. One in particular lists all the CSS1 properties and descriptions. If you are really interested in learning CSS, purchase THIS book.
Rating:
Summary: Good starter book but...
Review: Great book until halfway through. I found the black and white graphics a bit hard on the eye when the actual work was so colorful. Perhaps better coding examples would have helped? Also noticed the files on the authors website did not always match the files in the book. this caused me to put down the book in frustration at least once. I do recommend this book for beginners though. The author will hold your hand and walk you through the examples as you learn. Great beginning companion/stepping stone to "Eric Meyer on CSS: Mastering the Language of Web Design" Between the two books you should be ready to go.
Rating:
Summary: Good starter book but...
Review: Great book until halfway through. I found the black and white graphics a bit hard on the eye when the actual work was so colorful. Perhaps better coding examples would have helped? Also noticed the files on the authors website did not always match the files in the book. this caused me to put down the book in frustration at least once. I do recommend this book for beginners though. The author will hold your hand and walk you through the examples as you learn. Great beginning companion/stepping stone to "Eric Meyer on CSS: Mastering the Language of Web Design" Between the two books you should be ready to go.
Rating:
Summary: Great References
Review: I already knew the basics of CSS when I purchased this but wanted a reference manual. I haven't had a question that I could not find an answer for in this book. If you're just learning, then this is also a great book. It really is "by example" and it's great that you can get the code files off his web site and then just work with the different CSS examples to see how you can control formatting. I recommend this book without hesitation for people new or familiar with CSS.
Rating:
Summary: great book for those new to CSS
Review: I have been easing into CSS for a few months now. I mainly get my information from websites and tutorials. This book helped me SO MUCH. In the fist two chapters my eyes were opened to things I had already done but didn't understand why they worked or didn't work. It is great for anyone new to CSS and feeling a little confused.
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Summary: DRM blues
Review: I have not read this book yet. I bought it as an ADOBE eBook. I am sure it is probably very good. My disapointment is that it is DSM ("digital security management"? - I think) YOU CANNOT TRANSFER IT TO YOUR POCKET PDA as a workable file in ADOBE format. I did not see that anywhere when I made the purchase. Perhaps I overlooked it...don't you.
Rating:
Summary: Mr. Callihan Does It Again
Review: I have read two other books written by Mr. Callihan and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is another great book. When I first opened the book I really didn't know what to expect. I didn't even know what a CSS was. I had just heard the term and was curious. At first glance, I was a little intimidated. There was a lot of coding in there! But as I worked through the lessons I began to understand not only what Style Sheets were but how they could make my web site development easier and cleaner. Mr. Callihan's instruction is clear and thorough. The examples, which he provides for download on his website, make working through the lessons a breeze. When I started the book I wasn't sure I was going to be able to learn the material, there was just so much. But by the end I could read other web developers code and understand what they were trying to do. Wonderful! Mr. Callihan taught me HTML in a Weekend, now he's taught me CSS. I highly recommend this book for any web developer who would like to understand how to use Cascading Style Sheets in their web site.
Rating: 
Summary: Good concept
Review: I very much like the concept of teaching with examples and this book does that well. I think this is an excellent book for those who are new to css and html. It is too shallow for people at an intermediate level of either of those skills. If the author's intent was a beginners-only level book, then I should rate this as a 5-star product. If it was intended to bring the reader to an intermediate level, then my rating is correct. Good work, but it left me hungry before I got halfway through.
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