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    Eloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming

    Reviewed by Brian Bird, Faculty, Lane Community College on 6/20/17

    Comprehensiveness rating: 5

    This book is quite comprehensive. It covers the features of the JavaScript language thoroughly as well as giving a complete explanation of the way JavaScript interacts with the DOM and the HTML 5 canvas. Advanced features like Modules are also presented. In addition there is a chapter on debugging as well as a section on Node.js

    Content Accuracy rating: 5

    The book is very accurate. The author's explanations and descriptions are thorough and correct.

    Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

    This book was copyrighted in 2014 and is based on ECMAScript version 5. ECMAScript 6 was released in 2015 so the book is slightly out of date.

    Clarity rating: 5

    The writing is lucid and includes some nice humor. Concepts are broken down and explained clearly and in a way that is accessible to readers without prior programming experience.

    Consistency rating: 5

    Terms related to programming and JavaScript in particular are used consistently and accurately throughout the book.

    Modularity rating: 5

    The books parts, chapters and sub-sections are divided logically and while the topics build on one another each section is well organized and cohesive.

    Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

    The book follows a fairly typical organization for a book on programming, stating with procedural concepts, then introducing functions, then objects. Chapter length projects are interspersed at regular intervals throughout the book to illustrate the concepts that have been presented.

    Interface rating: 5

    The book has a detailed table of contents and index with accurate page numbers. Diagrams and illustrations are clear and well done.

    Grammatical Errors rating: 5

    I did not detect any grammar errors. The English is standard and does not reflect any regional dialect.

    Cultural Relevance rating: 5

    The book mainly sticks to the technical details of JavaScript programming, but the author does use some entertaining stories, like the one about the Jacques the "weresquirrel", a man who turns into a squirrel after the sun goes down. He uses this story as a prop to discuss data sets. All the the stories are unoffensive and would be relevant to readers from most cultures.

    Comments

    This is a very well written book that is accessible to beginning programmers but that will take them all the way to an advanced level of programming with JavaScript.

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