HTML 5 for Web Designers by Jeremy Keith, Charles Robert, Jeffrey Zeldman Synopsis The HTML5 specification is the longest ever written. It is also the most powerful and, in a sense, the more confusing. How should web designers and developers harness the power of HTML5 in current browsers? With great style and wit, Jeremy Keith goes straight to the point in this user guide, providing entertaining and brilliant answers to these questions, with clear examples and practical support for web development.
Review 1 I think I have been conned. This "book" is totally useless. It added nothing to my knowledge of HTML5 and there are single web pages that will give you 1,000 times more useful information on web design. The only advantage is that the printed text is so big that I did not have to put my glasses on to read it. Well, I suppose the big text was necessary to successfully make it 100 pages. In summary, an article on a blog would have been largely sufficient for what the author has to say. (Posted by Vern)
Review 2 Though this book helps to understand HTML5, it is far from sufficient. There is much blabber about not a lot and this book could have been done in half the pages. It is more about what will happen in the future than giving you guidance to actually put into practice HTML5. It's a shame, because Volume 2 by Dan Cederholm on CSS3 is much more precise and concise! That said, I think also I am not totally objective about HTML5. On the one hand, there is in some respects a regression for web design, with a laxity of language, the removal of some formatting tags but not others, and you can’t customize the new controls. On the other hand, HTML5 gives the impression of a return to the "war games" of the 90s between Netscape and Internet Explorer. The battle today between, roughly, IE and others, requires the design as in the 90s web pages to meet both clans. In addition, browsers that implement as they see fit the new form controls such as "range" for example, will face a slew of non-customizable buttons and fields. Therefore it is difficult to put into practice without the need for conditional comments. These comments aside, this book is well presented and gives the minimum information to know about HTML5. This book is not a reference book, but for its reasonable budget you will learn just enough to know how to use (or not) HTML5 for web development. (Posted by Eric)
Review 3 Presented in an elegant style and written with a touch of subtle humor, this book on web development is primarily intended for the curious who want to discover what the future holds with the arrival of HTML5. A useful book for the beginner. (Posted by Fran)
Review 4 Agreed that there is not a lot of detail in this book, but it's not that kind of book. As an introduction to HTML 5, it does give a useful overview. (Posted by Web Design Shrewsbury