First off, this book is so cool! It’s written in the funniest possible way, so it makes what is usually a dry boring subject (learning to write any code can be made into the most ho-hum experience you’ve ever had) a delight.

It’s 700 pages of great content (give or take a few) and adorable illustrations. Its written clearly and although the reader should have some scripting knowledge, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand it.

The book begins by asserting that it is NOT a reference book and indeed it isn’t. The introduction tells you all the things you’ll need to have at hand before you get started and then plunges you into writing code with the first chapter. By the time you get to chapter 16, you’re very nearly an expert java programmer.

I highly recommend this book if you’ve ever thought about learning to write Java. You won’t be disappointed.

For the book in PDF format, I’m offering it to you for a limited time for free. Just leave your comment  here and post about getting a free book on your site using a link back to this post. I’ll send you a download link.

The Art and Science of CSS is written by Cameron Adams, Jina Bolton, David Johnson, Steve Smith and Jonathan Snook. It covers the principles of creating standards compliant Web 2.0 web pages.

Standards compliant CSS code can be a daunting subject, yet with numerous screen shots, and a step-by-step guide, the reader is taken on a tour through the jungle of CSS. Your guides are experts in their field and their craftsmanship is evident on every page. Even such things as rounded corners is covered in this book. Meticulous detail is paid to writing clear clean code.

Beginning with Chapter one, we learn to use special fonts and effects to make headers that stand out and make your web page unique.

Chapter two deals with effectively using images to highlight and enhance your web page.

Backgrounds are one of the signature ways we stamp a website as our own and no book about CSS would ignore dealing with backgrounds, their unique properties and writing lightweight code are all covered in Chapter three.

Particular attention is paid to accessibility by users and site navigation techniques in Chapter four.

Forms have always been a bugaboo for me, but this book deals with them in a straightforward manner that takes away the tediousness of them in Chapter five.

One of the facts of life web developers have always dealt with are the squared look of all web pages. Chapter six of this book teaches us how to round corners to soften the look of your page.

Tables have long been used (incorrectly) as a layout element. The Art & Science of CSS’ Chapter seven takes tables out of this role and places them firmly where they belong; as presenters of data.

Using the principles in the book, I’ve been able to create a totally validated (both XHTML and CSS) website for a friend of mine. While my own sites are still being revamped to comply, using this book, I will be able to accomplish that in much less time than if I were trying to do it on my own.