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Summary: Absolutely required reading for anyone doing business online
Review: Ditto on all the comments made about this book. If you're involved in e-commerce as a client, developer, manager, or an innocent bystander, buy this book now. Painless to read, well structured, and infinitely useful
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Summary: An immense treasure trove of great Web advice!
Review: Although I'm no Web professional and my Web site is pretty amateurish, it's caught on with at least a few search engines and has brought me both notoriety and business - thanks largely to advice provided by Greenspun in this book. Just understanding how the Web's search engines approach their tasks was an enormous help to me in my own Web site work. And it did work! I've had business and inquiries from across the country based on how well it worked, even including an "Artist of the Month" designation for my Web site. And I'll tell you, Mom & Dad were pretty proud of my Ph.D., but they never would have dreamed anyone would actually call me an artist! Thank you, Philip Greenspun!
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Summary: a very realistic review of the state of this art
Review: This book carefully points out where the hype associated with e-commerce has obscured reality. To me the main strength of Philip Greenspun's presentation is the detailed examples and extensive references for further study. It's also plain fun to read.
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Summary: A book so bright you will need to wear sunglasses.
Review: After spending some time reading a few chapters the author's web site, I bought Philip Greenspun book, read every single page of it, and that's the best thing I ever did to improve the quality of my own work. Anyone having anything to do with web publishing (no only the techies) should read this excellent book before even starting to build a web site.When someone writes a book to tell you all about web publishing and database-backed web sites, it's one thing. But when that 'someone' has 100+ sites under his belt, each one of them handling thousands of hit a day, I tend to trust what he has to say. If, on top of that, he can manage to make it more enjoyable by putting it in an humorous way, that doesn't hurt. This is in a nutshell what 'Philip and Alex guide to web publishing' is all about: Philip talks the talk, but he can also walk the walk and that gives more weight to every opinion that he formulates. The book covers the different phases of creating a site: planning, choice of hardware and software, implementation, maintenance, and shows how a little thinking before hand can save a lot of time later on. Don't we all like that? Philip Greenspun shows that you can actually own a Ph.D. and still have a strong common sense. Many of the ideas he presents are not rocket science: anyone with decent computer knowledge can implement them. It is just amazing that one person came up with all of them and was able to conceptualize them in 600 pages. Finally, getting a copy of this book will make you the lucky owner of the first coffee-table book about web publishing. You will get for free hundreds of wonderful pictures taken all around the world. it). My final word of advive: Don't try to fool yourselves; until you read this book, you don't know what web publishing is all about. I gave him 5 stars for the lack of more.
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Summary: The finest book on web design. No contest.
Review: Philip has very strong opinions about web design and technology in general, and he is not afraid to share his position. Brutal honesty and a clear vision of the way things _ought_ to be in the IT world make the book a must-read for anyone who is contemplating building a web service. I recently had the good fortune to attend one of his seminars. It was similar in spirit to the book, and a worthwhile experience, providing a temporary escape from the mediocrity that seems to plague this field.
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Summary: Clear, consise and practical. The best Web book on my shelf!
Review: After combing the shelves of my local bookstores for Web books which would give me practical, real-world and friendly direction, Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing was recommended to me by a friend. Without a doubt, this book has given me and many of my colleagues the most intellegent and sensible approch to Web development and publishing. I believe Philip Greenspun is the first author to bridge the gap in knowledge between novices and experts with a book that neither slows down the expert or outpaces the novice. If you want to learn about Web publishing, and I know you do, READ THIS BOOK. It will, without a doubt, change your perception of the Web, challenge your ideas about best practices, and most importantly, it will make your Web sites better. Get rid of those Web books which talk down to novices or treat experts as though they aren't. Learn something new from an expert who wants to help you learn how to do Web publishing better. Clear, consise and practical... this is best Web book on my shelf!
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Summary: Timely *and* Timeless
Review: This book changed my life. Honest. While I'm not prone to refer to a book as 'required reading', I make a strong exception in this case. - This is the book most deserving of the (modern) term of 'Bible' with regard to software development. Period. That it makes me laugh is a precious bonus. - It helped me better understand the past while laughing at the present (and promised future). Example: The sections on computing platforms and hyped middleware/vaporware. - It helped me learn to better articulate the difference between interaction design and graphic design - and I've been trying to do that for years. - It helped me better understand how to architect web services that can truly scale. Example: Using AOLserver and Oracle on a solid Unix platform; most importantly, why technologies such as these *are* scalable. - It managed to transform my disillusionment with software development - web development in particular - into a kind of motivation and inspiration that I didn't think I could have about my career. - It also manages to bring well-deserved honor to the engineer, while never sounding vengeful for the boneheads who believe a programmer can't be the star of an organization. At the same time, it can be read by anyone, regardless of technical background. - Finally, it's the first book that I refuse to put on a bookshelf. It's also a coffee table book. It's also the first book in *years* that I find myself wanting to buy for everyone. Thanks, Philip. Buy the book!
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Summary: ....and five million toilets flush."
Review: Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing is a must for Executive's whose career is dependent on getting a return on investment in the Internet. I buy Workshop manuals for cars - not because I fix them, but when I talk to the mechanic I want to know what he is "probably" talking about. This books the same for the internet. Phil's crazy style also helps. "Use language that lingers in the mind and the message survives. Use lazy cliches and stilted prose and five million toilets flush." Alan MacKelworth
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Summary: Incredibly insightful and helpful.
Review: I have read many books about web publishing and run a small website myself. This is the most insightful and useful book I have ever seen on these subjects.The insistence on RDBMS for an informational site is exactly correct. The tips on hardware and software are critical to anyone's success in web ventures. The photography links are incredible and Philip's work is better than most well known photographic masters. I am buying this for several of my friends!
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Summary: A keeper in a disposable world. Get it.
Review: Philip and Alex's Gyide to Web Publishing is that rarest of all creatures; a computer book that is at once educated, entertaining and worth keeping. Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing is not a read and forget book--although it's so well written you may read it at a single extended session. It develops a philosophy of web site design that offers maximum user relevance and content and--if you're willing to master the technology--shows you how to do it. Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing has value to both newcomers searching for basic understanding of the web as well as the webmasters in charge of thousand page-plus sites. The book emphasizes the importance of creating web sites as community-building databases that encourage a community of visitors who will frequently revisit and actively contribute to the web site. Few readers will immediately need to implement all of the ideas described in Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing but every reader will benefit from exposure to Greenspun's point of view and writing style. Greenspun's writes with enthusiasm, momentum and a gonzo-journalist's writing style reminiscent of Hunter Thompson. "Iconoclastic," "outspoken" and "genuinely hilarious" only scratch the surface of words to describe his writing style. Philp and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing is impeccably printed on a glossy white stock and contains hundreds of extraordinarily beautiful four-color photographs. No captions are included--the photographs are interesting enough to be enjoyed on their own. The goal was to create "the world's first coffee-table computer book." They succeeded.
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