Useful Compilation, 25 Oct 2008
This book is a really useful addition to the web designers arsenal - it's sort of a mix between Designmeltdown.com (created by the author) and www.cssimpress.com - with the best bits saved for this book. If you are lacking the inspiration which you usually have, or if you can't go through the whole of DesignMeltdown's archives - this is for you.

Useful Compilation, 25 Oct 2008
This book is a really useful addition to the web designers arsenal - it's sort of a mix between Designmeltdown.com (created by the author) and www.cssimpress.com - with the best bits saved for this book. If you are lacking the inspiration which you usually have, or if you can't go through the whole of DesignMeltdown's archives - this is for you.

An inspiring read, 06 Aug 2008
This is an inspiring read about two young Stanford Institute of Technology students who took on the world - and won. Through a stunning power of belief, they decided one day to download the whole Internet and to use thousands of computers to store the data and so build the quickest and most reliable search engine of its time. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

One of the chapters is called "A Healthy Disregard for the Impossible" and that just about sums up the attitude and philosophy of the google founders.

This book (both descriptive and analytical) should be read by those at corporate level and also those who are thinking of lighting the creative entrepreneurial spark that awaits inside them.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that this is actually bordering on being a self-help book, such is its power to motivate.

Boring, Boring, Boring!, 19 Apr 2008
Sure this book gives you the facts where the author knows them but with Larry and Sergey well known for not often giving interviews or much away there really isnt much you couldnt find with a bit of good web research. The biggest disappointment is that book is written in such a boring and uninvolving way with zero entertainment value. Has to be one of the worst books I have ever read!

A disregard for the impossible, 28 Oct 2007
Google is the story of the creation of the best internet online search engine with the most powerful software, flashing speed and mountain high storage capacity.
Many analyst doubted for a long time that the company could generate serious revenues, but its business model (advertising directly linked to each individual search) proved to be a heap of goldmines.
The end is not in sight as the company even entered the genetics field. With its enormous storage capacity and its massive computing power for analyzing vast quantities of data, scientists should be able to search and find specific genes and genetic abnormalities that are causing diseases.

The author also comments on the creation of Gmail, privacy issues and the battles with software rivals (e. g., for the hiring of software engineers).
With and inside the internet space, Google together with Amazon changed the world we live in.
A must read.


Story of how two men changed the world., 11 Sep 2007
What a fantastic story, brilliantly told! As I read the book it made me realise how much one website has changed the way we do so many things. It's pretty incredible to realise that the two guys who set it all in motion only met in 1995 and didn't start the company until 1997!! A riveting read.

Google Endless Growth, 28 Jul 2007
This book describes the growth of the Google Empire. It is written in a gripping detective like format that you dont want to put down.

Even though it is written 2 years ago, the book does not have a dated feel.

A great read!

Useful Compilation, 25 Oct 2008
This book is a really useful addition to the web designers arsenal - it's sort of a mix between Designmeltdown.com (created by the author) and www.cssimpress.com - with the best bits saved for this book. If you are lacking the inspiration which you usually have, or if you can't go through the whole of DesignMeltdown's archives - this is for you.

An inspiring read, 06 Aug 2008
This is an inspiring read about two young Stanford Institute of Technology students who took on the world - and won. Through a stunning power of belief, they decided one day to download the whole Internet and to use thousands of computers to store the data and so build the quickest and most reliable search engine of its time. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

One of the chapters is called "A Healthy Disregard for the Impossible" and that just about sums up the attitude and philosophy of the google founders.

This book (both descriptive and analytical) should be read by those at corporate level and also those who are thinking of lighting the creative entrepreneurial spark that awaits inside them.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that this is actually bordering on being a self-help book, such is its power to motivate.

Boring, Boring, Boring!, 19 Apr 2008
Sure this book gives you the facts where the author knows them but with Larry and Sergey well known for not often giving interviews or much away there really isnt much you couldnt find with a bit of good web research. The biggest disappointment is that book is written in such a boring and uninvolving way with zero entertainment value. Has to be one of the worst books I have ever read!

A disregard for the impossible, 28 Oct 2007
Google is the story of the creation of the best internet online search engine with the most powerful software, flashing speed and mountain high storage capacity.
Many analyst doubted for a long time that the company could generate serious revenues, but its business model (advertising directly linked to each individual search) proved to be a heap of goldmines.
The end is not in sight as the company even entered the genetics field. With its enormous storage capacity and its massive computing power for analyzing vast quantities of data, scientists should be able to search and find specific genes and genetic abnormalities that are causing diseases.

The author also comments on the creation of Gmail, privacy issues and the battles with software rivals (e. g., for the hiring of software engineers).
With and inside the internet space, Google together with Amazon changed the world we live in.
A must read.


Story of how two men changed the world., 11 Sep 2007
What a fantastic story, brilliantly told! As I read the book it made me realise how much one website has changed the way we do so many things. It's pretty incredible to realise that the two guys who set it all in motion only met in 1995 and didn't start the company until 1997!! A riveting read.

Google Endless Growth, 28 Jul 2007
This book describes the growth of the Google Empire. It is written in a gripping detective like format that you dont want to put down.

Even though it is written 2 years ago, the book does not have a dated feel.

A great read!

A good book by a master in his field, 19 Jun 2008
Eric Meyer is chief aiuthority in this field and this book was perfect for what I needed to know on CSS for part of my degree project on accessibility and tableless design.

Good, but not that good a read., 22 Apr 2008
I can't fault this book for its content. It does indeed cover the A to Z of CSS. However, I personally found it very dry. I went through it from cover to cover, and the examples etc all worked as stated (in comparison to far too many books out there which are full of errors), however, I have had no real urge to return to it for reference since.

I've given it 4 stars because anything less than that would be criminal. However, it didn't engage me like some of the better CSS books out there.

Excellent general text, 31 Jan 2008
Computer text books are rarely as clear, comprehensive and easy to use as this one. Well written, good indexing and well thought out examples.

I went from zero knowledge to being totally at home with CSS using just this book and the odd web search.



Very good Reference for any Web Developer, 28 Nov 2007
The book is big and I think not meant to be read but taken as a reference instead. Basically it is very helpful when you need to fix a display issue or find the exact meaning of any CSS attribute. What I like is the accuracy and the amount of information you can find in this book. I would recommend it for any web developer working on very recent web designs.

An excellent reference, but don't mistake it for an introduction., 02 Aug 2006
In this fantastically detailed book, Eric Meyer explains the basics of css and systematically elaborates on each css property, their scope, and values. Whilst the book is not designed to be read as a guide or an introduction, it does make an excellent reference for those times when you need definitive information on a particular css property.

If you're looking to learn about css, I wouldn't recommend relying on this book alone; buy yourself a real beginner's guide, and maybe get this as a reference tool for when you need to clarify something. As I learnt more about css, I found often found myself flicking through the book and having moments of realisation when paragraph or two would clarify something I'd read elsewhere. That's the sign of a good reference book.

Some people may find the book a little heavy going to begin with. I don't think the book has been designed with the intention that the reader go through it cover to cover in one go. I found that reading a lot of the book at once left me with a lot of questions: these were answered through practical experience with css, and through other, less detailed, introductions. However, I do feel as though the difficulties I had were a result of my lack of understanding rather than any real problem with the book itself; it's still the one book I'll turn to when the others don't answer my questions.

All in all, this is a great book: it won't walk you through your first steps in css, but it does provide exactly what you need when you're lost and need some real answers. If you're new to css, pair this book up with a well-rated introductory text, and you'll be all set to go. For those who have some practical css experience, I'd recommend this as a great reference tool, without hesitation.

Useful Compilation, 25 Oct 2008
This book is a really useful addition to the web designers arsenal - it's sort of a mix between Designmeltdown.com (created by the author) and www.cssimpress.com - with the best bits saved for this book. If you are lacking the inspiration which you usually have, or if you can't go through the whole of DesignMeltdown's archives - this is for you.

An inspiring read, 06 Aug 2008
This is an inspiring read about two young Stanford Institute of Technology students who took on the world - and won. Through a stunning power of belief, they decided one day to download the whole Internet and to use thousands of computers to store the data and so build the quickest and most reliable search engine of its time. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

One of the chapters is called "A Healthy Disregard for the Impossible" and that just about sums up the attitude and philosophy of the google founders.

This book (both descriptive and analytical) should be read by those at corporate level and also those who are thinking of lighting the creative entrepreneurial spark that awaits inside them.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that this is actually bordering on being a self-help book, such is its power to motivate.

Boring, Boring, Boring!, 19 Apr 2008
Sure this book gives you the facts where the author knows them but with Larry and Sergey well known for not often giving interviews or much away there really isnt much you couldnt find with a bit of good web research. The biggest disappointment is that book is written in such a boring and uninvolving way with zero entertainment value. Has to be one of the worst books I have ever read!

A disregard for the impossible, 28 Oct 2007
Google is the story of the creation of the best internet online search engine with the most powerful software, flashing speed and mountain high storage capacity.
Many analyst doubted for a long time that the company could generate serious revenues, but its business model (advertising directly linked to each individual search) proved to be a heap of goldmines.
The end is not in sight as the company even entered the genetics field. With its enormous storage capacity and its massive computing power for analyzing vast quantities of data, scientists should be able to search and find specific genes and genetic abnormalities that are causing diseases.

The author also comments on the creation of Gmail, privacy issues and the battles with software rivals (e. g., for the hiring of software engineers).
With and inside the internet space, Google together with Amazon changed the world we live in.
A must read.


Story of how two men changed the world., 11 Sep 2007
What a fantastic story, brilliantly told! As I read the book it made me realise how much one website has changed the way we do so many things. It's pretty incredible to realise that the two guys who set it all in motion only met in 1995 and didn't start the company until 1997!! A riveting read.

Google Endless Growth, 28 Jul 2007
This book describes the growth of the Google Empire. It is written in a gripping detective like format that you dont want to put down.

Even though it is written 2 years ago, the book does not have a dated feel.

A great read!

A good book by a master in his field, 19 Jun 2008
Eric Meyer is chief aiuthority in this field and this book was perfect for what I needed to know on CSS for part of my degree project on accessibility and tableless design.

Good, but not that good a read., 22 Apr 2008
I can't fault this book for its content. It does indeed cover the A to Z of CSS. However, I personally found it very dry. I went through it from cover to cover, and the examples etc all worked as stated (in comparison to far too many books out there which are full of errors), however, I have had no real urge to return to it for reference since.

I've given it 4 stars because anything less than that would be criminal. However, it didn't engage me like some of the better CSS books out there.

Excellent general text, 31 Jan 2008
Computer text books are rarely as clear, comprehensive and easy to use as this one. Well written, good indexing and well thought out examples.

I went from zero knowledge to being totally at home with CSS using just this book and the odd web search.



Very good Reference for any Web Developer, 28 Nov 2007
The book is big and I think not meant to be read but taken as a reference instead. Basically it is very helpful when you need to fix a display issue or find the exact meaning of any CSS attribute. What I like is the accuracy and the amount of information you can find in this book. I would recommend it for any web developer working on very recent web designs.

An excellent reference, but don't mistake it for an introduction., 02 Aug 2006
In this fantastically detailed book, Eric Meyer explains the basics of css and systematically elaborates on each css property, their scope, and values. Whilst the book is not designed to be read as a guide or an introduction, it does make an excellent reference for those times when you need definitive information on a particular css property.

If you're looking to learn about css, I wouldn't recommend relying on this book alone; buy yourself a real beginner's guide, and maybe get this as a reference tool for when you need to clarify something. As I learnt more about css, I found often found myself flicking through the book and having moments of realisation when paragraph or two would clarify something I'd read elsewhere. That's the sign of a good reference book.

Some people may find the book a little heavy going to begin with. I don't think the book has been designed with the intention that the reader go through it cover to cover in one go. I found that reading a lot of the book at once left me with a lot of questions: these were answered through practical experience with css, and through other, less detailed, introductions. However, I do feel as though the difficulties I had were a result of my lack of understanding rather than any real problem with the book itself; it's still the one book I'll turn to when the others don't answer my questions.

All in all, this is a great book: it won't walk you through your first steps in css, but it does provide exactly what you need when you're lost and need some real answers. If you're new to css, pair this book up with a well-rated introductory text, and you'll be all set to go. For those who have some practical css experience, I'd recommend this as a great reference tool, without hesitation.

Lots of evangelism, theory and very little practice, 13 May 2007
As a, self-taught, one-man-band website owner/designer/coder/developer I was surprised to realise, upon reading the book, that I was not the 'target audience' for it. I think its more for the middle-men and consultants of big organisations who want to plan a project to the nth degree before a big budget is blown on it.

Because of my hands-on experience, I found that this book merely gave me formal names for many of the processes and aspects of Information Architecture (IA) that I had been implementing already. Despite this, however, I learned a lot from this book. It rounded-off aspects of the topic that I had previously overlooked. It filled some holes and inspired me to make many changes to the information structure of my website.

Unfortunately these gems of knowledge were buried within a lot of waffle. Furthermore, the whole of the first section is pure waffle - which is very frustrating for someone who is eager to learn new practices.

THIS IS AN 'OK BOOK' and you can avoid some of the waffle that I suffered by making the following modifications:
(i) Remove Chapter One (you don't need to read these 15 pages that include waffle on "Why Information Architecture Matters" and two & a half pages on "What Isn't Information Archicture" etc.),
(ii) Remove Chapter Two. It, for example, includes a page titled "Do We Need Information Architects?". It then follows on with 4 more,pointless, pages that provide a thorough list of professions and skills that are related IA! This chapter ends with the message "Now it's time to delve into the guts of IA...so, roll up your sleeves and dig in". The next one starts with "...but before we jump into the actual "stuff" of IA..." -AAARGH!
(iii) So rip out chapter 3 or you'll rip out your hair!
(iv) Next, read chapter 9. (It contains key info that is constantly refered-to throughout the earlier chapters).
(v) Then carry on reading from chapter 4 - Where you actually start learning about actual "stuff" of IA.

This book is 'OK'. It would be so much better if they had structured the information within it a bit better and stripped out about two thirds of the content.

Theory, practice, and a little evangelism too, 19 Feb 2007
When I first told people I was reviewing this book, there was often a blank look. When I explained what information architecture was, then there was invariably a look of pity that passed across their faces. It appears that many people haven't a clue what information architecture actually is, and when they find out, wish they still didn't.

Well, this book has shown me the light. And I'm here to share it with you. Hallelujah, and so forth.

Information is all around us, and thankfully for much of it we have had plenty of time to work out a sensible way or organising it. When you look at a map, you understand the conventions, you know north is going to be up, you know there will be a scale, and so on. So much so, that when those conventions aren't there, if, for example, you are looking at a mappa mundi, you are completely thrown.

A bigger example is that of libraries. We are all used to some form of organisation in libraries - we know that related subjects will be near each other, that we can look this up and go straight to the shelf we want.

This is all well and good, and librarians, such as the authors of this book, have had many years to improve this system, to impose some sort of order on the chaos of so much information. The problem comes, however, when we consider the new sources of information that have exploded over the last 20 years or so. These electronic systems, and the greatest of these is of course the internet, provide completely new challenges - challenges we can start to try and tackle using principles and lessons learnt from other methods of organisation that have been developed elsewhere, but which will ultimately need to be solved in ways we cannot yet fully grasp.

This is where this book comes in. This third edition gives a novice like myself a good grounding in the philosophy behind information architecture, and proceeds to show how this can help in the design of large web sites. Coming from both a web development and a project management background, I felt a sense of relief that the vague concepts I was trying to use were at least recognised elsewhere, and had been developed far beyond what I had been able to. I suspect anyone who has had to grapple with how to display information to users will get a similar feeling when reading this book.

However, the philosophy and semantics are only part of this book. More important is the techniques it describes to actually implement information architecture - both the process, and the likely pitfalls that will be faced in a commercial environment. The formalised process is a good guide to anyone working in this area. (Mind, I would say that - I'm a project manager, so I think processes are intrinsically beautiful...)

These sections of the book, in addition to the examples at the end, provide anyone interested in how to use information architecture to improve their website with the tools they need. There is, however, more to this book.

Information architecture is a very young field. Part of this book is a primer for anyone interested in information architecture as a career, or part of a career. It sets out what, in the opinion of these authors, is a set of ground rules for how to be an information architect - the ethics, what to learn, what tools to use. It follows this with a set of short essays on how to actually sell the concept of IA, because a young discipline needs to carve out its niche in the world, bit by bit, organisation by organisation. It needs people to become enthused by this book, or by others, to take part in the work of popularising IA, to take part in the ongoing work of defining what IA actually is - as a new area of work, there are still many competing views on what it actually is, how it should work, and this book provides only one view of that.

But more importantly, this book shows us that there is still a lot of work to be done in creating a shared set of tools and techniques for navigating this new, vast information resource that we have created. This isn't about making sure commercial websites will make more money, though it will do that. It's not about making people feel happier about their user experience, though it will do that too. It's about making sure we are not overwhelmed, swamped by the sheer volume of data out there. It's about making sure we can find the information we need, and only the information we need, when we want it. It is, in essence, an expression of egalitarianism, the same egalitarianism that drove the internet in its earliest days. If we want to make as much information as possible available, it is ultimately worthless if only a small, trained few can actually find what they need. We need to build the systems that will ensure everyone is able to get to where they need to be.

In short, we need to make sure that the new generation, those who have grown up with the internet a ubiquitous reality, use the best techniques we have had for handling previous information systems, and combine them with completely new ones to create a truly accessible web, one that enables users to get to where they want to be.

So yes, read this book. Use the techniques it talks about. It will make your websites better. But more excitingly, it will let you take part in defining what the map and compass of the internet will actually look like.

Thought provoking book, 27 Jan 2006
The book has many good areas to stimulate thought on the some of the things you should be considering when building applications. Some areas such as librarian practices will have little use in every day work.

Not really a reference book for building usable applications, more of a good night time read.

But for those of you who believe that usability is a big issue that many people overlook, you'll find a friend in this book.

Rather Old, Rather Tired, 12 Jun 2004
This was possibly the first book to use the words "information architecture" in its title that most people ever encountered. It's since become one of the defining IA texts. However, it has not aged very well at all. The discipline of IA has evoloved rapidly over the intervening years, and the view this book has of the field is really now only one facet of it - essentially that of libriarianship and information organisation rather than the wider activities of interaction design and "user experience" that IA has now widened into.

However, as a good, if rather boring introduction to some concepts that budding information architects will need, it's a marginally worthwhile read. The polar bear on the cover is rather a good choice of animal in this case.

Excellent overview - second edition required!, 04 Nov 2002
For someone fairly new to the area, I can't recommend this book enough.
The book is well researched and written in an accessible style - sometimes not an easy thing to do in an area like this.
A couple of minor points:
- The book actually gives some useful pointers for IA for Intranets as well as 'the web' - this should be made more clear
- I don't feel that the book gives adequate information on site maps
- Some of the illustrations look old - this has the result of the book looking like it's out of date - it isn't!

These are minor gripes, however, and should not distract you from buying this book.
But please, 4 years on, can we have a second edition??

Useful Compilation, 25 Oct 2008
This book is a really useful addition to the web designers arsenal - it's sort of a mix between Designmeltdown.com (created by the author) and www.cssimpress.com - with the best bits saved for this book. If you are lacking the inspiration which you usually have, or if you can't go through the whole of DesignMeltdown's archives - this is for you.

An inspiring read, 06 Aug 2008
This is an inspiring read about two young Stanford Institute of Technology students who took on the world - and won. Through a stunning power of belief, they decided one day to download the whole Internet and to use thousands of computers to store the data and so build the quickest and most reliable search engine of its time. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

One of the chapters is called "A Healthy Disregard for the Impossible" and that just about sums up the attitude and philosophy of the google founders.

This book (both descriptive and analytical) should be read by those at corporate level and also those who are thinking of lighting the creative entrepreneurial spark that awaits inside them.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that this is actually bordering on being a self-help book, such is its power to motivate.

Boring, Boring, Boring!, 19 Apr 2008
Sure this book gives you the facts where the author knows them but with Larry and Sergey well known for not often giving interviews or much away there really isnt much you couldnt find with a bit of good web research. The biggest disappointment is that book is written in such a boring and uninvolving way with zero entertainment value. Has to be one of the worst books I have ever read!

A disregard for the impossible, 28 Oct 2007
Google is the story of the creation of the best internet online search engine with the most powerful software, flashing speed and mountain high storage capacity.
Many analyst doubted for a long time that the company could generate serious revenues, but its business model (advertising directly linked to each individual search) proved to be a heap of goldmines.
The end is not in sight as the company even entered the genetics field. With its enormous storage capacity and its massive computing power for analyzing vast quantities of data, scientists should be able to search and find specific genes and genetic abnormalities that are causing diseases.

The author also comments on the creation of Gmail, privacy issues and the battles with software rivals (e. g., for the hiring of software engineers).
With and inside the internet space, Google together with Amazon changed the world we live in.
A must read.


Story of how two men changed the world., 11 Sep 2007
What a fantastic story, brilliantly told! As I read the book it made me realise how much one website has changed the way we do so many things. It's pretty incredible to realise that the two guys who set it all in motion only met in 1995 and didn't start the company until 1997!! A riveting read.

Google Endless Growth, 28 Jul 2007
This book describes the growth of the Google Empire. It is written in a gripping detective like format that you dont want to put down.

Even though it is written 2 years ago, the book does not have a dated feel.

A great read!

A good book by a master in his field, 19 Jun 2008
Eric Meyer is chief aiuthority in this field and this book was perfect for what I needed to know on CSS for part of my degree project on accessibility and tableless design.

Good, but not that good a read., 22 Apr 2008
I can't fault this book for its content. It does indeed cover the A to Z of CSS. However, I personally found it very dry. I went through it from cover to cover, and the examples etc all worked as stated (in comparison to far too many books out there which are full of errors), however, I have had no real urge to return to it for reference since.

I've given it 4 stars because anything less than that would be criminal. However, it didn't engage me like some of the better CSS books out there.

Excellent general text, 31 Jan 2008
Computer text books are rarely as clear, comprehensive and easy to use as this one. Well written, good indexing and well thought out examples.

I went from zero knowledge to being totally at home with CSS using just this book and the odd web search.



Very good Reference for any Web Developer, 28 Nov 2007
The book is big and I think not meant to be read but taken as a reference instead. Basically it is very helpful when you need to fix a display issue or find the exact meaning of any CSS attribute. What I like is the accuracy and the amount of information you can find in this book. I would recommend it for any web developer working on very recent web designs.

An excellent reference, but don't mistake it for an introduction., 02 Aug 2006
In this fantastically detailed book, Eric Meyer explains the basics of css and systematically elaborates on each css property, their scope, and values. Whilst the book is not designed to be read as a guide or an introduction, it does make an excellent reference for those times when you need definitive information on a particular css property.

If you're looking to learn about css, I wouldn't recommend relying on this book alone; buy yourself a real beginner's guide, and maybe get this as a reference tool for when you need to clarify something. As I learnt more about css, I found often found myself flicking through the book and having moments of realisation when paragraph or two would clarify something I'd read elsewhere. That's the sign of a good reference book.

Some people may find the book a little heavy going to begin with. I don't think the book has been designed with the intention that the reader go through it cover to cover in one go. I found that reading a lot of the book at once left me with a lot of questions: these were answered through practical experience with css, and through other, less detailed, introductions. However, I do feel as though the difficulties I had were a result of my lack of understanding rather than any real problem with the book itself; it's still the one book I'll turn to when the others don't answer my questions.

All in all, this is a great book: it won't walk you through your first steps in css, but it does provide exactly what you need when you're lost and need some real answers. If you're new to css, pair this book up with a well-rated introductory text, and you'll be all set to go. For those who have some practical css experience, I'd recommend this as a great reference tool, without hesitation.

Lots of evangelism, theory and very little practice, 13 May 2007
As a, self-taught, one-man-band website owner/designer/coder/developer I was surprised to realise, upon reading the book, that I was not the 'target audience' for it. I think its more for the middle-men and consultants of big organisations who want to plan a project to the nth degree before a big budget is blown on it.

Because of my hands-on experience, I found that this book merely gave me formal names for many of the processes and aspects of Information Architecture (IA) that I had been implementing already. Despite this, however, I learned a lot from this book. It rounded-off aspects of the topic that I had previously overlooked. It filled some holes and inspired me to make many changes to the information structure of my website.

Unfortunately these gems of knowledge were buried within a lot of waffle. Furthermore, the whole of the first section is pure waffle - which is very frustrating for someone who is eager to learn new practices.

THIS IS AN 'OK BOOK' and you can avoid some of the waffle that I suffered by making the following modifications:
(i) Remove Chapter One (you don't need to read these 15 pages that include waffle on "Why Information Architecture Matters" and two & a half pages on "What Isn't Information Archicture" etc.),
(ii) Remove Chapter Two. It, for example, includes a page titled "Do We Need Information Architects?". It then follows on with 4 more,pointless, pages that provide a thorough list of professions and skills that are related IA! This chapter ends with the message "Now it's time to delve into the guts of IA...so, roll up your sleeves and dig in". The next one starts with "...but before we jump into the actual "stuff" of IA..." -AAARGH!
(iii) So rip out chapter 3 or you'll rip out your hair!
(iv) Next, read chapter 9. (It contains key info that is constantly refered-to throughout the earlier chapters).
(v) Then carry on reading from chapter 4 - Where you actually start learning about actual "stuff" of IA.

This book is 'OK'. It would be so much better if they had structured the information within it a bit better and stripped out about two thirds of the content.

Theory, practice, and a little evangelism too, 19 Feb 2007
When I first told people I was reviewing this book, there was often a blank look. When I explained what information architecture was, then there was invariably a look of pity that passed across their faces. It appears that many people haven't a clue what information architecture actually is, and when they find out, wish they still didn't.

Well, this book has shown me the light. And I'm here to share it with you. Hallelujah, and so forth.

Information is all around us, and thankfully for much of it we have had plenty of time to work out a sensible way or organising it. When you look at a map, you understand the conventions, you know north is going to be up, you know there will be a scale, and so on. So much so, that when those conventions aren't there, if, for example, you are looking at a mappa mundi, you are completely thrown.

A bigger example is that of libraries. We are all used to some form of organisation in libraries - we know that related subjects will be near each other, that we can look this up and go straight to the shelf we want.

This is all well and good, and librarians, such as the authors of this book, have had many years to improve this system, to impose some sort of order on the chaos of so much information. The problem comes, however, when we consider the new sources of information that have exploded over the last 20 years or so. These electronic systems, and the greatest of these is of course the internet, provide completely new challenges - challenges we can start to try and tackle using principles and lessons learnt from other methods of organisation that have been developed elsewhere, but which will ultimately need to be solved in ways we cannot yet fully grasp.

This is where this book comes in. This third edition gives a novice like myself a good grounding in the philosophy behind information architecture, and proceeds to show how this can help in the design of large web sites. Coming from both a web development and a project management background, I felt a sense of relief that the vague concepts I was trying to use were at least recognised elsewhere, and had been developed far beyond what I had been able to. I suspect anyone who has had to grapple with how to display information to users will get a similar feeling when reading this book.

However, the philosophy and semantics are only part of this book. More important is the techniques it describes to actually implement information architecture - both the process, and the likely pitfalls that will be faced in a commercial environment. The formalised process is a good guide to anyone working in this area. (Mind, I would say that - I'm a project manager, so I think processes are intrinsically beautiful...)

These sections of the book, in addition to the examples at the end, provide anyone interested in how to use information architecture to improve their website with the tools they need. There is, however, more to this book.

Information architecture is a very young field. Part of this book is a primer for anyone interested in information architecture as a career, or part of a career. It sets out what, in the opinion of these authors, is a set of ground rules for how to be an information architect - the ethics, what to learn, what tools to use. It follows this with a set of short essays on how to actually sell the concept of IA, because a young discipline needs to carve out its niche in the world, bit by bit, organisation by organisation. It needs people to become enthused by this book, or by others, to take part in the work of popularising IA, to take part in the ongoing work of defining what IA actually is - as a new area of work, there are still many competing views on what it actually is, how it should work, and this book provides only one view of that.

But more importantly, this book shows us that there is still a lot of work to be done in creating a shared set of tools and techniques for navigating this new, vast information resource that we have created. This isn't about making sure commercial websites will make more money, though it will do that. It's not about making people feel happier about their user experience, though it will do that too. It's about making sure we are not overwhelmed, swamped by the sheer volume of data out there. It's about making sure we can find the information we need, and only the information we need, when we want it. It is, in essence, an expression of egalitarianism, the same egalitarianism that drove the internet in its earliest days. If we want to make as much information as possible available, it is ultimately worthless if only a small, trained few can actually find what they need. We need to build the systems that will ensure everyone is able to get to where they need to be.

In short, we need to make sure that the new generation, those who have grown up with the internet a ubiquitous reality, use the best techniques we have had for handling previous information systems, and combine them with completely new ones to create a truly accessible web, one that enables users to get to where they want to be.

So yes, read this book. Use the techniques it talks about. It will make your websites better. But more excitingly, it will let you take part in defining what the map and compass of the internet will actually look like.

Thought provoking book, 27 Jan 2006
The book has many good areas to stimulate thought on the some of the things you should be considering when building applications. Some areas such as librarian practices will have little use in every day work.

Not really a reference book for building usable applications, more of a good night time read.

But for those of you who believe that usability is a big issue that many people overlook, you'll find a friend in this book.

Rather Old, Rather Tired, 12 Jun 2004
This was possibly the first book to use the words "information architecture" in its title that most people ever encountered. It's since become one of the defining IA texts. However, it has not aged very well at all. The discipline of IA has evoloved rapidly over the intervening years, and the view this book has of the field is really now only one facet of it - essentially that of libriarianship and information organisation rather than the wider activities of interaction design and "user experience" that IA has now widened into.

However, as a good, if rather boring introduction to some concepts that budding information architects will need, it's a marginally worthwhile read. The polar bear on the cover is rather a good choice of animal in this case.

Excellent overview - second edition required!, 04 Nov 2002
For someone fairly new to the area, I can't recommend this book enough.
The book is well researched and written in an accessible style - sometimes not an easy thing to do in an area like this.
A couple of minor points:
- The book actually gives some useful pointers for IA for Intranets as well as 'the web' - this should be made more clear
- I don't feel that the book gives adequate information on site maps
- Some of the illustrations look old - this has the result of the book looking like it's out of date - it isn't!

These are minor gripes, however, and should not distract you from buying this book.
But please, 4 years on, can we have a second edition??

Not a Reference, 24 Mar 2008
When I saw that Eric Meyer released a CSS Pocket reference I was certainly happy to hear this as I enjoy a good quick reference at my hand. When I got the book however, I was disappointed. This book may be many things, but it is not a reference book. Apart from the index at the back there is no way to quickly look up certain properties, but seeing as the index is ordered alphabetical this only helps if you know the name of a style porperty. The content overview is on one single page and summarizes the section titles such as floating rules and positioning rules. If you are looking for a breakdown based on what the styles group under, such as text formatting styles for example, then this book will disappoint you as well.

HTML is a familiar FLA (four letter acronym) but what about XHTML? Is it merely a typographical error or simply XML by another name? The readable preface to this book puts us right and there is more detail in Chapter 1 which is also an interesting potted history of the web and web technologies.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is for controlling layout and specifying hypertext links for documents viewed with a browser. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) controls its standardisation. XML (Extensible Markup Language), also defined by the W3C, is a standard that allows structured data to be presented in a standard way that it can be understood by many different technologies, for example, relational database engines and web browsers. Use of XML for the exchange of data between businesses on the Internet is increasing rapidly. Now, finally, comes XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language), which is HTML reformulated to bring it into line with the XML standard.

The authors try to instil good habits and style considerations, as well as an appreciation of kumquats (a recurrent theme in the examples). They revile use of the blink tag extension that causes text to oscillate between two colour states and blink, constantly, irritatingly and advocate visiting a wide range of Web sites to learn what works and what doesn't.

The comprehensive coverage of the topic is divided into chapters like Text Basics, Formatted Lists, Forms, Frames and Executable Content. HTML & XHTML: The Definitive Guide is a feature-driven guide to what the languages can do rather than a guide to producing a finished item, but it should help a beginner to make good progress nevertheless, and is written in an approachable style. --Mark Whitehorn

Useful Compilation, 25 Oct 2008
This book is a really useful addition to the web designers arsenal - it's sort of a mix between Designmeltdown.com (created by the author) and www.cssimpress.com - with the best bits saved for this book. If you are lacking the inspiration which you usually have, or if you can't go through the whole of DesignMeltdown's archives - this is for you.

An inspiring read, 06 Aug 2008
This is an inspiring read about two young Stanford Institute of Technology students who took on the world - and won. Through a stunning power of belief, they decided one day to download the whole Internet and to use thousands of computers to store the data and so build the quickest and most reliable search engine of its time. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

One of the chapters is called "A Healthy Disregard for the Impossible" and that just about sums up the attitude and philosophy of the google founders.

This book (both descriptive and analytical) should be read by those at corporate level and also those who are thinking of lighting the creative entrepreneurial spark that awaits inside them.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that this is actually bordering on being a self-help book, such is its power to motivate.

Boring, Boring, Boring!, 19 Apr 2008
Sure this book gives you the facts where the author knows them but with Larry and Sergey well known for not often giving interviews or much away there really isnt much you couldnt find with a bit of good web research. The biggest disappointment is that book is written in such a boring and uninvolving way with zero entertainment value. Has to be one of the worst books I have ever read!

A disregard for the impossible, 28 Oct 2007
Google is the story of the creation of the best internet online search engine with the most powerful software, flashing speed and mountain high storage capacity.
Many analyst doubted for a long time that the company could generate serious revenues, but its business model (advertising directly linked to each individual search) proved to be a heap of goldmines.
The end is not in sight as the company even entered the genetics field. With its enormous storage capacity and its massive computing power for analyzing vast quantities of data, scientists should be able to search and find specific genes and genetic abnormalities that are causing diseases.

The author also comments on the creation of Gmail, privacy issues and the battles with software rivals (e. g., for the hiring of software engineers).
With and inside the internet space, Google together with Amazon changed the world we live in.
A must read.


Story of how two men changed the world., 11 Sep 2007
What a fantastic story, brilliantly told! As I read the book it made me realise how much one website has changed the way we do so many things. It's pretty incredible to realise that the two guys who set it all in motion only met in 1995 and didn't start the company until 1997!! A riveting read.

Google Endless Growth, 28 Jul 2007
This book describes the growth of the Google Empire. It is written in a gripping detective like format that you dont want to put down.

Even though it is written 2 years ago, the book does not have a dated feel.

A great read!

A good book by a master in his field, 19 Jun 2008
Eric Meyer is chief aiuthority in this field and this book was perfect for what I needed to know on CSS for part of my degree project on accessibility and tableless design.

Good, but not that good a read., 22 Apr 2008
I can't fault this book for its content. It does indeed cover the A to Z of CSS. However, I personally found it very dry. I went through it from cover to cover, and the examples etc all worked as stated (in comparison to far too many books out there which are full of errors), however, I have had no real urge to return to it for reference since.

I've given it 4 stars because anything less than that would be criminal. However, it didn't engage me like some of the better CSS books out there.

Excellent general text, 31 Jan 2008
Computer text books are rarely as clear, comprehensive and easy to use as this one. Well written, good indexing and well thought out examples.

I went from zero knowledge to being totally at home with CSS using just this book and the odd web search.



Very good Reference for any Web Developer, 28 Nov 2007
The book is big and I think not meant to be read but taken as a reference instead. Basically it is very helpful when you need to fix a display issue or find the exact meaning of any CSS attribute. What I like is the accuracy and the amount of information you can find in this book. I would recommend it for any web developer working on very recent web designs.

An excellent reference, but don't mistake it for an introduction., 02 Aug 2006
In this fantastically detailed book, Eric Meyer explains the basics of css and systematically elaborates on each css property, their scope, and values. Whilst the book is not designed to be read as a guide or an introduction, it does make an excellent reference for those times when you need definitive information on a particular css property.

If you're looking to learn about css, I wouldn't recommend relying on this book alone; buy yourself a real beginner's guide, and maybe get this as a reference tool for when you need to clarify something. As I learnt more about css, I found often found myself flicking through the book and having moments of realisation when paragraph or two would clarify something I'd read elsewhere. That's the sign of a good reference book.

Some people may find the book a little heavy going to begin with. I don't think the book has been designed with the intention that the reader go through it cover to cover in one go. I found that reading a lot of the book at once left me with a lot of questions: these were answered through practical experience with css, and through other, less detailed, introductions. However, I do feel as though the difficulties I had were a result of my lack of understanding rather than any real problem with the book itself; it's still the one book I'll turn to when the others don't answer my questions.

All in all, this is a great book: it won't walk you through your first steps in css, but it does provide exactly what you need when you're lost and need some real answers. If you're new to css, pair this book up with a well-rated introductory text, and you'll be all set to go. For those who have some practical css experience, I'd recommend this as a great reference tool, without hesitation.

Lots of evangelism, theory and very little practice, 13 May 2007
As a, self-taught, one-man-band website owner/designer/coder/developer I was surprised to realise, upon reading the book, that I was not the 'target audience' for it. I think its more for the middle-men and consultants of big organisations who want to plan a project to the nth degree before a big budget is blown on it.

Because of my hands-on experience, I found that this book merely gave me formal names for many of the processes and aspects of Information Architecture (IA) that I had been implementing already. Despite this, however, I learned a lot from this book. It rounded-off aspects of the topic that I had previously overlooked. It filled some holes and inspired me to make many changes to the information structure of my website.

Unfortunately these gems of knowledge were buried within a lot of waffle. Furthermore, the whole of the first section is pure waffle - which is very frustrating for someone who is eager to learn new practices.

THIS IS AN 'OK BOOK' and you can avoid some of the waffle that I suffered by making the following modifications:
(i) Remove Chapter One (you don't need to read these 15 pages that include waffle on "Why Information Architecture Matters" and two & a half pages on "What Isn't Information Archicture" etc.),
(ii) Remove Chapter Two. It, for example, includes a page titled "Do We Need Information Architects?". It then follows on with 4 more,pointless, pages that provide a thorough list of professions and skills that are related IA! This chapter ends with the message "Now it's time to delve into the guts of IA...so, roll up your sleeves and dig in". The next one starts with "...but before we jump into the actual "stuff" of IA..." -AAARGH!
(iii) So rip out chapter 3 or you'll rip out your hair!
(iv) Next, read chapter 9. (It contains key info that is constantly refered-to throughout the earlier chapters).
(v) Then carry on reading from chapter 4 - Where you actually start learning about actual "stuff" of IA.

This book is 'OK'. It would be so much better if they had structured the information within it a bit better and stripped out about two thirds of the content.

Theory, practice, and a little evangelism too, 19 Feb 2007
When I first told people I was reviewing this book, there was often a blank look. When I explained what information architecture was, then there was invariably a look of pity that passed across their faces. It appears that many people haven't a clue what information architecture actually is, and when they find out, wish they still didn't.

Well, this book has shown me the light. And I'm here to share it with you. Hallelujah, and so forth.

Information is all around us, and thankfully for much of it we have had plenty of time to work out a sensible way or organising it. When you look at a map, you understand the conventions, you know north is going to be up, you know there will be a scale, and so on. So much so, that when those conventions aren't there, if, for example, you are looking at a mappa mundi, you are completely thrown.

A bigger example is that of libraries. We are all used to some form of organisation in libraries - we know that related subjects will be near each other, that we can look this up and go straight to the shelf we want.

This is all well and good, and librarians, such as the authors of this book, have had many years to improve this system, to impose some sort of order on the chaos of so much information. The problem comes, however, when we consider the new sources of information that have exploded over the last 20 years or so. These electronic systems, and the greatest of these is of course the internet, provide completely new challenges - challenges we can start to try and tackle using principles and lessons learnt from other methods of organisation that have been developed elsewhere, but which will ultimately need to be solved in ways we cannot yet fully grasp.

This is where this book comes in. This third edition gives a novice like myself a good grounding in the philosophy behind information architecture, and proceeds to show how this can help in the design of large web sites. Coming from both a web development and a project management background, I felt a sense of relief that the vague concepts I was trying to use were at least recognised elsewhere, and had been developed far beyond what I had been able to. I suspect anyone who has had to grapple with how to display information to users will get a similar feeling when reading this book.

However, the philosophy and semantics are only part of this book. More important is the techniques it describes to actually implement information architecture - both the process, and the likely pitfalls that will be faced in a commercial environment. The formalised process is a good guide to anyone working in this area. (Mind, I would say that - I'm a project manager, so I think processes are intrinsically beautiful...)

These sections of the book, in addition to the examples at the end, provide anyone interested in how to use information architecture to improve their website with the tools they need. There is, however, more to this book.

Information architecture is a very young field. Part of this book is a primer for anyone interested in information architecture as a career, or part of a career. It sets out what, in the opinion of these authors, is a set of ground rules for how to be an information architect - the ethics, what to learn, what tools to use. It follows this with a set of short essays on how to actually sell the concept of IA, because a young discipline needs to carve out its niche in the world, bit by bit, organisation by organisation. It needs people to become enthused by this book, or by others, to take part in the work of popularising IA, to take part in the ongoing work of defining what IA actually is - as a new area of work, there are still many competing views on what it actually is, how it should work, and this book provides only one view of that.

But more importantly, this book shows us that there is still a lot of work to be done in creating a shared set of tools and techniques for navigating this new, vast information resource that we have created. This isn't about making sure commercial websites will make more money, though it will do that. It's not about making people feel happier about their user experience, though it will do that too. It's about making sure we are not overwhelmed, swamped by the sheer volume of data out there. It's about making sure we can find the information we need, and only the information we need, when we want it. It is, in essence, an expression of egalitarianism, the same egalitarianism that drove the internet in its earliest days. If we want to make as much information as possible available, it is ultimately worthless if only a small, trained few can actually find what they need. We need to build the systems that will ensure everyone is able to get to where they need to be.

In short, we need to make sure that the new generation, those who have grown up with the internet a ubiquitous reality, use the best techniques we have had for handling previous information systems, and combine them with completely new ones to create a truly accessible web, one that enables users to get to where they want to be.

So yes, read this book. Use the techniques it talks about. It will make your websites better. But more excitingly, it will let you take part in defining what the map and compass of the internet will actually look like.

Thought provoking book, 27 Jan 2006
The book has many good areas to stimulate thought on the some of the things you should be considering when building applications. Some areas such as librarian practices will have little use in every day work.

Not really a reference book for building usable applications, more of a good night time read.

But for those of you who believe that usability is a big issue that many people overlook, you'll find a friend in this book.

Rather Old, Rather Tired, 12 Jun 2004
This was possibly the first book to use the words "information architecture" in its title that most people ever encountered. It's since become one of the defining IA texts. However, it has not aged very well at all. The discipline of IA has evoloved rapidly over the intervening years, and the view this book has of the field is really now only one facet of it - essentially that of libriarianship and information organisation rather than the wider activities of interaction design and "user experience" that IA has now widened into.

However, as a good, if rather boring introduction to some concepts that budding information architects will need, it's a marginally worthwhile read. The polar bear on the cover is rather a good choice of animal in this case.

Excellent overview - second edition required!, 04 Nov 2002
For someone fairly new to the area, I can't recommend this book enough.
The book is well researched and written in an accessible style - sometimes not an easy thing to do in an area like this.
A couple of minor points:
- The book actually gives some useful pointers for IA for Intranets as well as 'the web' - this should be made more clear
- I don't feel that the book gives adequate information on site maps
- Some of the illustrations look old - this has the result of the book looking like it's out of date - it isn't!

These are minor gripes, however, and should not distract you from buying this book.
But please, 4 years on, can we have a second edition??

Not a Reference, 24 Mar 2008
When I saw that Eric Meyer released a CSS Pocket reference I was certainly happy to hear this as I enjoy a good quick reference at my hand. When I got the book however, I was disappointed. This book may be many things, but it is not a reference book. Apart from the index at the back there is no way to quickly look up certain properties, but seeing as the index is ordered alphabetical this only helps if you know the name of a style porperty. The content overview is on one single page and summarizes the section titles such as floating rules and positioning rules. If you are looking for a breakdown based on what the styles group under, such as text formatting styles for example, then this book will disappoint you as well.

A good reference let down by the index, 01 Apr 2008
This is an excellent introduction to HTML 4.01. However, the XHTML 1.0 elements are less well covered and XHTML 1.1 is mentioned only in a few paragraphs. Although, to be fair, the differences from XHTML 1.0 are slight and only of interest to a few.

However, my main complaint is that the index is almost of no use for locating actual tags and their usage in the text. Additionally, the ordering of the topics means that this book should be seen more as a series of tutorials than as a reference from which information can be easily extracted.

A reference rather than a tutorial, 10 Nov 2004
If you need a handy HTML or XHTML reference, then this is the book for you. If you are a complete novice, then you need to read another book, such as 'Learning Web Design' by Jennifer Niederst (yet another O'Reilly book) first.

Did I say this was just a reference? Well, this is untrue. If you have some experience this book cuts nicely through the jargon and dogma and explains how an HTML document is structured, and then describes in detail all the elements (tags) in the structure. The book is organised in such a way that the HTML Quick Reference at the back of the book is cross-referenced to the main text down to the exact page (as is the CSS Quick Reference).

When it comes to the issues about standards and deprecated attributes and tags in the HTML 4.01 standard, Musciano and Kennedy are pragmatic and practical, rather than treating this as some form of religious debate. They are realistic enough to suggest that you should adhere to the standards wherever possible, but be prepared to make concessions where otherwise you would not be able to achieve what you want. There is also some good discussion on browser take up of CSS 1 and CSS 2.1.

The only beef I have is that in Chapter 6, Links and Webs, the explanations of URLs and of TCP/IP port numbers are not as good as they could be. It seems the writers have sacrificed clarity for brevity. Be that as it may, I have found this book invaluable and use it on a daily basis.

The Bible for (real) web designers, 13 May 2003
I was completely new to HTML, XHTML and WYSIWYG editors, and this book was recommended to me as the best place to start. I took it on holiday to Greece - and read it from cover to cover in a week, while everyone else was on the beach! - and it gave me a superb grounding on which to build a web design career. So, read it now, and read it first.

A non-patronizing guide to modern html, 04 Sep 2001
"HTML and XHTML: the definitive guide" will give you a thorough grounding in creating web pages. XHTML, by the way, is just HTML5 - the more mature version of the whizzy dynamic HTML4.

This book does not patronize - not that it's not "for idiots". It doesn't have cartoons, or annoying icons saying "kule stuff" either.

What it does do is to take you through the process of creating websites - from your first steps through to the deep end of HTML. Each element is detailed with sufficient examples; nothing is glossed over. Particular strengths are

are the trickier areas - its treatment of forms, GET and POST, frames, CSS and tables are very clear.

The book is careful to delineate what it deals with and what it doesn't. Although it touches upon Java, Javascript, Applets and server technology, these tend to be pointers to the reader - saying what the various things do, evaluating the options and pointing you to an O'Reilly book to buy!

"Kule stuff" includes the chapter on XML (should be on your resume!), "tips, tricks and hacks", the tag reference summary and some rather excellent history on the internet and all the various parties that try and work together to make it work. It's a neat book - personally, I'm an XML-type who's having to reverse-engineer my know-how down to HTML and it hits the mark for me!

Essential Book in a web page designer's tool box, 12 Jul 2001
This book couldn't have been more perfect for me. I was on the brink of understanding HTML in depth before buying this book. After reading I am now more fluent and more confident in what I use in my pages. I have a more wide spread knowledge of what I can use in my pages with a better understanding of the standards that uniform the web. I am now creating pages to standards - not to browsers.

This book has given me a very opening and logical insight into XHTML and XML.

Useful Compilation, 25 Oct 2008
This book is a really useful addition to the web designers arsenal - it's sort of a mix between Designmeltdown.com (created by the author) and www.cssimpress.com - with the best bits saved for this book. If you are lacking the inspiration which you usually have, or if you can't go through the whole of DesignMeltdown's archives - this is for you.

An inspiring read, 06 Aug 2008
This is an inspiring read about two young Stanford Institute of Technology students who took on the world - and won. Through a stunning power of belief, they decided one day to download the whole Internet and to use thousands of computers to store the data and so build the quickest and most reliable search engine of its time. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

One of the chapters is called "A Healthy Disregard for the Impossible" and that just about sums up the attitude and philosophy of the google founders.

This book (both descriptive and analytical) should be read by those at corporate level and also those who are thinking of lighting the creative entrepreneurial spark that awaits inside them.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that this is actually bordering on being a self-help book, such is its power to motivate.

Boring, Boring, Boring!, 19 Apr 2008
Sure this book gives you the facts where the author knows them but with Larry and Sergey well known for not often giving interviews or much away there really isnt much you couldnt find with a bit of good web research. The biggest disappointment is that book is written in such a boring and uninvolving way with zero entertainment value. Has to be one of the worst books I have ever read!

A disregard for the impossible, 28 Oct 2007
Google is the story of the creation of the best internet online search engine with the most powerful software, flashing speed and mountain high storage capacity.
Many analyst doubted for a long time that the company could generate serious revenues, but its business model (advertising directly linked to each individual search) proved to be a heap of goldmines.
The end is not in sight as the company even entered the genetics field. With its enormous storage capacity and its massive computing power for analyzing vast quantities of data, scientists should be able to search and find specific genes and genetic abnormalities that are causing diseases.

The author also comments on the creation of Gmail, privacy issues and the battles with software rivals (e. g., for the hiring of software engineers).
With and inside the internet space, Google together with Amazon changed the world we live in.
A must read.


Story of how two men changed the world., 11 Sep 2007
What a fantastic story, brilliantly told! As I read the book it made me realise how much one website has changed the way we do so many things. It's pretty incredible to realise that the two guys who set it all in motion only met in 1995 and didn't start the company until 1997!! A riveting read.

Google Endless Growth, 28 Jul 2007
This book describes the growth of the Google Empire. It is written in a gripping detective like format that you dont want to put down.

Even though it is written 2 years ago, the book does not have a dated feel.

A great read!

A good book by a master in his field, 19 Jun 2008
Eric Meyer is chief aiuthority in this field and this book was perfect for what I needed to know on CSS for part of my degree project on accessibility and tableless design.

Good, but not that good a read., 22 Apr 2008
I can't fault this book for its content. It does indeed cover the A to Z of CSS. However, I personally found it very dry. I went through it from cover to cover, and the examples etc all worked as stated (in comparison to far too many books out there which are full of errors), however, I have had no real urge to return to it for reference since.

I've given it 4 stars because anything less than that would be criminal. However, it didn't engage me like some of the better CSS books out there.

Excellent general text, 31 Jan 2008
Computer text books are rarely as clear, comprehensive and easy to use as this one. Well written, good indexing and well thought out examples.

I went from zero knowledge to being totally at home with CSS using just this book and the odd web search.



Very good Reference for any Web Developer, 28 Nov 2007
The book is big and I think not meant to be read but taken as a reference instead. Basically it is very helpful when you need to fix a display issue or find the exact meaning of any CSS attribute. What I like is the accuracy and the amount of information you can find in this book. I would recommend it for any web developer working on very recent web designs.

An excellent reference, but don't mistake it for an introduction., 02 Aug 2006
In this fantastically detailed book, Eric Meyer explains the basics of css and systematically elaborates on each css property, their scope, and values. Whilst the book is not designed to be read as a guide or an introduction, it does make an excellent reference for those times when you need definitive information on a particular css property.

If you're looking to learn about css, I wouldn't recommend relying on this book alone; buy yourself a real beginner's guide, and maybe get this as a reference tool for when you need to clarify something. As I learnt more about css, I found often found myself flicking through the book and having moments of realisation when paragraph or two would clarify something I'd read elsewhere. That's the sign of a good reference book.

Some people may find the book a little heavy going to begin with. I don't think the book has been designed with the intention that the reader go through it cover to cover in one go. I found that reading a lot of the book at once left me with a lot of questions: these were answered through practical experience with css, and through other, less detailed, introductions. However, I do feel as though the difficulties I had were a result of my lack of understanding rather than any real problem with the book itself; it's still the one book I'll turn to when the others don't answer my questions.

All in all, this is a great book: it won't walk you through your first steps in css, but it does provide exactly what you need when you're lost and need some real answers. If you're new to css, pair this book up with a well-rated introductory text, and you'll be all set to go. For those who have some practical css experience, I'd recommend this as a great reference tool, without hesitation.

Lots of evangelism, theory and very little practice, 13 May 2007
As a, self-taught, one-man-band website owner/designer/coder/developer I was surprised to realise, upon reading the book, that I was not the 'target audience' for it. I think its more for the middle-men and consultants of big organisations who want to plan a project to the nth degree before a big budget is blown on it.

Because of my hands-on experience, I found that this book merely gave me formal names for many of the processes and aspects of Information Architecture (IA) that I had been implementing already. Despite this, however, I learned a lot from this book. It rounded-off aspects of the topic that I had previously overlooked. It filled some holes and inspired me to make many changes to the information structure of my website.

Unfortunately these gems of knowledge were buried within a lot of waffle. Furthermore, the whole of the first section is pure waffle - which is very frustrating for someone who is eager to learn new practices.

THIS IS AN 'OK BOOK' and you can avoid some of the waffle that I suffered by making the following modifications:
(i) Remove Chapter One (you don't need to read these 15 pages that include waffle on "Why Information Architecture Matters" and two & a half pages on "What Isn't Information Archicture" etc.),
(ii) Remove Chapter Two. It, for example, includes a page titled "Do We Need Information Architects?". It then follows on with 4 more,pointless, pages that provide a thorough list of professions and skills that are related IA! This chapter ends with the message "Now it's time to delve into the guts of IA...so, roll up your sleeves and dig in". The next one starts with "...but before we jump into the actual "stuff" of IA..." -AAARGH!
(iii) So rip out chapter 3 or you'll rip out your hair!
(iv) Next, read chapter 9. (It contains key info that is constantly refered-to throughout the earlier chapters).
(v) Then carry on reading from chapter 4 - Where you actually start learning about actual "stuff" of IA.

This book is 'OK'. It would be so much better if they had structured the information within it a bit better and stripped out about two thirds of the content.

Theory, practice, and a little evangelism too, 19 Feb 2007
When I first told people I was reviewing this book, there was often a blank look. When I explained what information architecture was, then there was invariably a look of pity that passed across their faces. It appears that many people haven't a clue what information architecture actually is, and when they find out, wish they still didn't.

Well, this book has shown me the light. And I'm here to share it with you. Hallelujah, and so forth.

Information is all around us, and thankfully for much of it we have had plenty of time to work out a sensible way or organising it. When you look at a map, you understand the conventions, you know north is going to be up, you know there will be a scale, and so on. So much so, that when those conventions aren't there, if, for example, you are looking at a mappa mundi, you are completely thrown.

A bigger example is that of libraries. We are all used to some form of organisation in libraries - we know that related subjects will be near each other, that we can look this up and go straight to the shelf we want.

This is all well and good, and librarians, such as the authors of this book, have had many years to improve this system, to impose some sort of order on the chaos of so much information. The problem comes, however, when we consider the new sources of information that have exploded over the last 20 years or so. These electronic systems, and the greatest of these is of course the internet, provide completely new challenges - challenges we can start to try and tackle using principles and lessons learnt from other methods of organisation that have been developed elsewhere, but which will ultimately need to be solved in ways we cannot yet fully grasp.

This is where this book comes in. This third edition gives a novice like myself a good grounding in the philosophy behind information architecture, and proceeds to show how this can help in the design of large web sites. Coming from both a web development and a project management background, I felt a sense of relief that the vague concepts I was trying to use were at least recognised elsewhere, and had been developed far beyond what I had been able to. I suspect anyone who has had to grapple with how to display information to users will get a similar feeling when reading this book.

However, the philosophy and semantics are only part of this book. More important is the techniques it describes to actually implement information architecture - both the process, and the likely pitfalls that will be faced in a commercial environment. The formalised process is a good guide to anyone working in this area. (Mind, I would say that - I'm a project manager, so I think processes are intrinsically beautiful...)

These sections of the book, in addition to the examples at the end, provide anyone interested in how to use information architecture to improve their website with the tools they need. There is, however, more to this book.

Information architecture is a very young field. Part of this book is a primer for anyone interested in information architecture as a career, or part of a career. It sets out what, in the opinion of these authors, is a set of ground rules for how to be an information architect - the ethics, what to learn, what tools to use. It follows this with a set of short essays on how to actually sell the concept of IA, because a young discipline needs to carve out its niche in the world, bit by bit, organisation by organisation. It needs people to become enthused by this book, or by others, to take part in the work of popularising IA, to take part in the ongoing work of defining what IA actually is - as a new area of work, there are still many competing views on what it actually is, how it should work, and this book provides only one view of that.

But more importantly, this book shows us that there is still a lot of work to be done in creating a shared set of tools and techniques for navigating this new, vast information resource that we have created. This isn't about making sure commercial websites will make more money, though it will do that. It's not about making people feel happier about their user experience, though it will do that too. It's about making sure we are not overwhelmed, swamped by the sheer volume of data out there. It's about making sure we can find the information we need, and only the information we need, when we want it. It is, in essence, an expression of egalitarianism, the same egalitarianism that drove the internet in its earliest days. If we want to make as much information as possible available, it is ultimately worthless if only a small, trained few can actually find what they need. We need to build the systems that will ensure everyone is able to get to where they need to be.

In short, we need to make sure that the new generation, those who have grown up with the internet a ubiquitous reality, use the best techniques we have had for handling previous information systems, and combine them with completely new ones to create a truly accessible web, one that enables users to get to where they want to be.

So yes, read this book. Use the techniques it talks about. It will make your websites better. But more excitingly, it will let you take part in defining what the map and compass of the internet will actually look like.

Thought provoking book, 27 Jan 2006
The book has many good areas to stimulate thought on the some of the things you should be considering when building applications. Some areas such as librarian practices will have little use in every day work.

Not really a reference book for building usable applications, more of a good night time read.

But for those of you who believe that usability is a big issue that many people overlook, you'll find a friend in this book.

Rather Old, Rather Tired, 12 Jun 2004
This was possibly the first book to use the words "information architecture" in its title that most people ever encountered. It's since become one of the defining IA texts. However, it has not aged very well at all. The discipline of IA has evoloved rapidly over the intervening years, and the view this book has of the field is really now only one facet of it - essentially that of libriarianship and information organisation rather than the wider activities of interaction design and "user experience" that IA has now widened into.

However, as a good, if rather boring introduction to some concepts that budding information architects will need, it's a marginally worthwhile read. The polar bear on the cover is rather a good choice of animal in this case.

Excellent overview - second edition required!, 04 Nov 2002
For someone fairly new to the area, I can't recommend this book enough.
The book is well researched and written in an accessible style - sometimes not an easy thing to do in an area like this.
A couple of minor points:
- The book actually gives some useful pointers for IA for Intranets as well as 'the web' - this should be made more clear
- I don't feel that the book gives adequate information on site maps
- Some of the illustrations look old - this has the result of the book looking like it's out of date - it isn't!

These are minor gripes, however, and should not distract you from buying this book.
But please, 4 years on, can we have a second edition??

Not a Reference, 24 Mar 2008
When I saw that Eric Meyer released a CSS Pocket reference I was certainly happy to hear this as I enjoy a good quick reference at my hand. When I got the book however, I was disappointed. This book may be many things, but it is not a reference book. Apart from the index at the back there is no way to quickly look up certain properties, but seeing as the index is ordered alphabetical this only helps if you know the name of a style porperty. The content overview is on one single page and summarizes the section titles such as floating rules and positioning rules. If you are looking for a breakdown based on what the styles group under, such as text formatting styles for example, then this book will disappoint you as well.

A good reference let down by the index, 01 Apr 2008
This is an excellent introduction to HTML 4.01. However, the XHTML 1.0 elements are less well covered and XHTML 1.1 is mentioned only in a few paragraphs. Although, to be fair, the differences from XHTML 1.0 are slight and only of interest to a few.

However, my main complaint is that the index is almost of no use for locating actual tags and their usage in the text. Additionally, the ordering of the topics means that this book should be seen more as a series of tutorials than as a reference from which information can be easily extracted.

A reference rather than a tutorial, 10 Nov 2004
If you need a handy HTML or XHTML reference, then this is the book for you. If you are a complete novice, then you need to read another book, such as 'Learning Web Design' by Jennifer Niederst (yet another O'Reilly book) first.

Did I say this was just a reference? Well, this is untrue. If you have some experience this book cuts nicely through the jargon and dogma and explains how an HTML document is structured, and then describes in detail all the elements (tags) in the structure. The book is organised in such a way that the HTML Quick Reference at the back of the book is cross-referenced to the main text down to the exact page (as is the CSS Quick Reference).

When it comes to the issues about standards and deprecated attributes and tags in the HTML 4.01 standard, Musciano and Kennedy are pragmatic and practical, rather than treating this as some form of religious debate. They are realistic enough to suggest that you should adhere to the standards wherever possible, but be prepared to make concessions where otherwise you would not be able to achieve what you want. There is also some good discussion on browser take up of CSS 1 and CSS 2.1.

The only beef I have is that in Chapter 6, Links and Webs, the explanations of URLs and of TCP/IP port numbers are not as good as they could be. It seems the writers have sacrificed clarity for brevity. Be that as it may, I have found this book invaluable and use it on a daily basis.

The Bible for (real) web designers, 13 May 2003
I was completely new to HTML, XHTML and WYSIWYG editors, and this book was recommended to me as the best place to start. I took it on holiday to Greece - and read it from cover to cover in a week, while everyone else was on the beach! - and it gave me a superb grounding on which to build a web design career. So, read it now, and read it first.

A non-patronizing guide to modern html, 04 Sep 2001
"HTML and XHTML: the definitive guide" will give you a thorough grounding in creating web pages. XHTML, by the way, is just HTML5 - the more mature version of the whizzy dynamic HTML4.

This book does not patronize - not that it's not "for idiots". It doesn't have cartoons, or annoying icons saying "kule stuff" either.

What it does do is to take you through the process of creating websites - from your first steps through to the deep end of HTML. Each element is detailed with sufficient examples; nothing is glossed over. Particular strengths are

are the trickier areas - its treatment of forms, GET and POST, frames, CSS and tables are very clear.

The book is careful to delineate what it deals with and what it doesn't. Although it touches upon Java, Javascript, Applets and server technology, these tend to be pointers to the reader - saying what the various things do, evaluating the options and pointing you to an O'Reilly book to buy!

"Kule stuff" includes the chapter on XML (should be on your resume!), "tips, tricks and hacks", the tag reference summary and some rather excellent history on the internet and all the various parties that try and work together to make it work. It's a neat book - personally, I'm an XML-type who's having to reverse-engineer my know-how down to HTML and it hits the mark for me!

Essential Book in a web page designer's tool box, 12 Jul 2001
This book couldn't have been more perfect for me. I was on the brink of understanding HTML in depth before buying this book. After reading I am now more fluent and more confident in what I use in my pages. I have a more wide spread knowledge of what I can use in my pages with a better understanding of the standards that uniform the web. I am now creating pages to standards - not to browsers.

This book has given me a very opening and logical insight into XHTML and XML.

Great Book for any starter genealogist!!!, 11 May 1999
I truly enjoyed this book. My daughters been trying to buy it for me for quite some time. Of course that was the previous version...I didn't think I needed it AND then I hit a brick wall. I asked her to get it for me for Mother's Day, sure enough, it helped! Matthew and April, Thanks!!!

This book is great and easy to use !, 12 Oct 1998
This book was very easy to use as a guide to online genealogy. I recomend it highly.

Useful Compilation, 25 Oct 2008
This book is a really useful addition to the web designers arsenal - it's sort of a mix between Designmeltdown.com (created by the author) and www.cssimpress.com - with the best bits saved for this book. If you are lacking the inspiration which you usually have, or if you can't go through the whole of DesignMeltdown's archives - this is for you.

An inspiring read, 06 Aug 2008
This is an inspiring read about two young Stanford Institute of Technology students who took on the world - and won. Through a stunning power of belief, they decided one day to download the whole Internet and to use thousands of computers to store the data and so build the quickest and most reliable search engine of its time. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

One of the chapters is called "A Healthy Disregard for the Impossible" and that just about sums up the attitude and philosophy of the google founders.

This book (both descriptive and analytical) should be read by those at corporate level and also those who are t