Rating:  - Extremely well written book!
Very readable and enjoyable book. The authors' carefully chosen example designs are dissected to highlight key CSS concepts. The process examples were especially enlightening for me. Even the references at end of the book were spot-on.
Rating:  - Great Illustrations, but left me a little puzzled
I bought this book years ago wanting to learn CSS before it became popular. I have always loved the artwork produced on csszengarden's web site. I figured that the book would teach me css. I was somewhat wrong. The book covers techniques the page developers used to create some of the artwork, but never really explains what the different settings mean. The book also seemed to jump around and did not flow with any explanation. I ended up learning CSS from the web. Even now that I know CSS extensively, I have gone back and read this book again and can really see how it jumps around and does not explain the techniques very well. I do still keep the book in my toolbox for some reference, but hardly ever look at it anymore.
Rating: - Great addition to a great website.
I came across this book due to my love of the great website of the same name as the book. If you are a web designer or want to see some better ways to make your online web presence look better, and more slick, this book is a great addition to your tool box.
Rating:  - Boring book
I am a big fan of the website which is a big source of inspiration, and was very happy when I found out that there was a book.
And now... Disappointment.
First of all, the cover is very ugly, and the book's format is a bit clunky.
The designs they have chosen are nothing special, kind of boring designs. Why did they choose these designs, when there are much more interesting designs on the site?
And the book also feels a bit out-of-date. Hey, they even talk about Netscape!
Nope, spend your money on some other book. Read the CSS on the website!
Rating: - Beautiful work - companion to website.
I've only breezed through this book, but bought it because I wanted it as the companion to their website - css zen garden dot com - and I'm happy I did. You can download all the corresponding code from their site that goes along with this book (instead of having to type it all in manually).
After 9 years of old-style HTML coding, I'm upgrading my skills to the new CSS/XHTML. This book takes the focus away (momentarily) from code and points to beauty. I'm looking forward to becoming a designer like the ones in this book.
Beautiful and inspiring!
|
