HTML, XHTML, and CSS Bible

If you are a complete novice at building web sites and you feel a little frightened about even beginning to learn, there are several more basic books available to help get you started on this adventure. However once a few rather simple lessons are learned and you are gazing in joy at your first attempts at web pages, Schafer's book is your next step. He also covers all of the basics for beginners but those chapters are useful more or less as a review rather than a starting point. His coverage of HTML is not offered in a hand-holding fashion for the meek but rather in a straight-forward, "here's how to do it" format. His presentations and explanations are perfect though for everyone who eventually comes to the realization that they are not "dummies" and who want a more grown-up approach to learning basic web site construction. Schafer's conversational style helps those who have a grasp of the basics and is also the book they will continue to use throughout their web site creation careers: HTML, XHTML, AND CSS BIBLE, Fourth Edition is a long-term reference tool. The one drawback to the book is that it lacks any color to help brighten some of the many examples he creates. However, this loss is offset by the affordable price of the book and in the long run does not detract from its usefulness. For anyone who wants an accessible text they can grow with, Schafer's book is their answer.

We've been in the web development business for over 11 years and have watched so much change in that time. We're often asked what tools are vital to learning how to work in our field. Many from the 'bible' series books have been on our office shelves over the years. This one is the latest to actually take up residence on each of our desks as a regular reference tool. Buy it, use it, use those nifty post-it flags & highlighters all over it, and when the pages start falling out, tape them back in & keep using it. As for the bad reviews - my suggestion is that if you're advanced in HTML or looking for advanced techniques in CSS there are books for that, too. It takes an entire library of reference books to stay up with all the changes & aspects of this industry, and as you grow beyond the levels found here add to your collection, but this one really is important to your library!

It's easy to read, full of useful information, and up to date. It is well written and has great examples. I don't know what more to say. If you are interested in using HTML/XHTML or CSS, I'd say this is a very valuable book to own. Jenn [email protected]

This is a bible for beginners, written in clean and simple language. For me, it has been the ideal reference. For somebody just beginning in web design, I recommend pairing "Head First HTML..." with this book, as the "Head First" series takes more time teaching certain basic concepts. It is both a reference and a chapter by chapter teaching guide. All in all, it has been very helpful.

I have used this book as a textbook for an "Introduction to HTML" class I taught. I looked at several references prior to choosing on one, and this was by far the best formatted and most appropriate for those with little to no existing knowledge of HTML. The previous reviewer's complaints are mostly unfounded, in my opinion. The appendix contains a more or less comprehensive listing of all HTML tags and their usage, etc. The chapters are well organized, easy to read, and comprehensive. If this book spreads itself a little thin at times trying to cover so much ground, it is necessary due to the inherently connected nature of HTML, XHTML, and CSS. Covering only HTML would not be useful for beginners who want to gain a basic understanding of these technologies. I assume the "HTML 4 Bible" by the same publisher is more what the previous reviewer was probably looking for. I highly recomend this book to anyone wishing to learn HTML.