So, you've already got a book on JavaScript in your library ... Well, if you've had it over three years then it is OLD! ... JavaScript has moved on dramatically over the last few years ... so it's time to update your library. James Edwards and Cameron Adams, the co-authors of The JavaScript Anthology had this to say about the matter "The emergence of unobtrusive scripting, Standards-based design, AJAX, and the influence of Object Oriented programming principles has revolutionised the way that JavaScript is created and used."

Armed with this I delved into the book and found it to be well written and easy to follow. Newbies are going to love how the code topics are covered indepth ... Numbers, Strings, Arrays, DOM, Forms, Cookies and the rest are carefully explained and it would be nigh on impossible for anyone to get lost or perhaps misinterpret examples. And, speaking of examples, how about a carefully explained step by step guide to coding your own drop-down menu? Sound good? Well, I believe this is a first for me ... I haven't found a book on JavaScript ever to be this indepth before. Lets look at some of the topics covered:

• Drop-down menu system
• Control your web pages with the DOM
• Validate forms in real time using regular expressions
• Optimize code so that it runs faster
• Manage style sheets and modify styles on-the-fly
• Produce sophisticated drap-and-drop interaction
• Use JavaScript and Flash together
• Enhance your site with slick, animated transitions

Ajax and DHTML are also covered and an entire chapter is dedicatd to making sure of the accessibility of JavaScript applications.

Phew, thats a lot to get your head around ... luckily its all written down ... All joking aside, JavaScript has often been bad-mouthed and along with DHTML has suffered the tag the "evil of the web". I, for one, have never agreed with the slurs and I'm pleased that JavaScript via Ajax is now part of the competition of cutting-edge technology for RIAs on the Internet.

This book is a very solid reference and earns a thumbs up from me for the depth of its material, the writing style which is easy to follow and for offering samples of code that work and can be enhanced upon by the reader. Well done guys, love your work.