Terra Kaffe - Shop now
$7.99 with 60 percent savings
Print List Price: $19.95

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

A Smarter Way to Learn JavaScript: The new approach that uses technology to cut your effort in half Kindle Edition

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,966 ratings

Learning JavaScript is hell because of two problems.
I remove the problems, and you start having fun.

The first problem is retention. You remember only ten or twenty percent of what you read. That spells failure. To become fluent in a computer language, you have to retain pretty much everything.

How can you retain everything? Only by constantly being asked to play everything back. That's why people use flashcards. But my system does flashcards one better. After reading a short chapter, you go to my website and complete twenty interactive exercises. Algorithms check your work to make sure you know what you think you know. When you stumble, you do the exercise again. You keep trying until you know the chapter cold. The exercises are free.

The second problem is comprehension. Many learners hit a wall when they try to understand advanced concepts like variable scope and prototypes. Unfortunately, they blame themselves. That's why the Dummies books sell so well. But the fault lies with the authors, coding virtuosos who lack teaching talent. I'm the opposite of the typical software book author. I'll never code fast enough to land a job at Google. But I can teach.

Anyway, most comprehension problems are just retention problems in disguise. If you get lost trying to understand variable scope, it's because you don't remember how functions work. Thanks to the interactive exercises on my website, you'll always understand and remember everything necessary to confidently tackle the next concept.

"I've signed up to a few sites like Udemy, Codecademy, FreeCodeCamp, Lynda, YouTube videos, even searched on Coursera but nothing seemed to work for me. This book takes only 10 minutes each chapter and after that, you can exercise what you've just learned right away!" —Amazon reviewer Constanza Morales

Better than just reading. And more fun.

You'll spend two to three times as much time practicing as reading. It's how you wind up satisfied, confident, and proud, instead of confused, discouraged, and defeated. And since many people find doing things more enjoyable than reading things, it can be a pleasure to learn this way, quite apart from the impressive results you achieve.

"Very effective and fun." —Amazon reviewer A. Bergamini

Written especially for beginners.

I wrote the book and exercises especially for people who are new to programming. Making no assumptions about what you already know, I walk you through JavaScript slowly, patiently. I explain every little thing in sixth-grade English. I avoid unnecessary technical jargon like the plague. (Face it, fellow authors, it is the plague.)

"The layman syntax he uses...makes it much easier to suddenly realize a concept that seemed abstract and too hard to wrap your head around is suddenly not complicated at all." — Amazon reviewer IMHO

The exercises keep you focused, give you extra practice where you're shaky, and prepare you for each next step. Every lesson is built on top of a solid foundation that you and I have carefully constructed. Each individual step is small. But, as Amazon reviewer James Toban says, when you get to the end of the book, you've built "a tower of JavaScript."

If you're an accomplished programmer already, my book may be too elementary for you. (Do you really need to be told what a variable is?) But if you're new to programming, more than a thousand five-star reviews are pretty good evidence that my book may be just the one to get you coding JavaScript successfully.

"Mark Myers' method of getting what can be...difficult information into a format that makes it exponentially easier to consume, truly understand, and synthesize into real-world application is beyond anything I've encountered before." —Amazon reviewer Jason A. Ruby

Shop this series

See full series
See included books
Shop this series
There are 3 books in this series.
Bundle price: Kindle price
By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.

This option includes 3 books.

Something went wrong.
Bundle price: Kindle price
By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.

Customers also bought or read

Loading...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A few years ago I set out to teach myself JavaScript by reading programming books. It was such a struggle that I decided I must have lost some learning ability over the years. Then it hit me... I wasn't a bad learner. The books were bad teachers! I fought my way through a dozen books, and by brute effort, learned JavaScript. But I had to design exercises for myself. Without practice, I couldn't retain anything. JavaScript, I learned, isn't that hard. The books make it hard. So I wrote a book that makes JavaScript easy. And, since exercises are the only way to make the knowledge stick, I programmed 1,750 of them for you. I'm a former lecturer in the Communications School of Boston University. I hold an A.B. from Harvard. My professional focus is on using technology to reduce the effort and tedium of learning, primarily through interactivity. I'm developing the "A Smarter Way to Learn" series on programming, a collection of instructional books paired with online interactive exercises. I run the website http: //www.ASmarterWayToLearn.com. Along with my wife Judy and our two politically-active cats, I live in Taos, NM, where I cook under the ghostly supervision of Marcella Hazan, read extensively, play showboat frisbee once a week, and long for more episodes of "Breaking Bad."

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00H1W9I6C
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (November 28, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 28, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.2 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1497408180
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,966 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Mark Myers
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

When I got into the authoring business twelve years ago, I'd been a newspaper reporter, advertising executive, and lecturer in communications at Boston University. I'd spent my life making things easy to understand and, if possible, entertaining.

What's more, I understood learning. It's what got me through Harvard, cum laude, with a minimum of effort.

As a dedicated home cook who owned a hundred cookbooks, I knew that even the great Julia Child couldn't transfer her skills to me through the written word. I had to practice.

With this background and years of coding experience as a computer enthusiast, I felt I was the right guy to reinvent the computer language book.

My learner-friendly teaching approach, put to the test in my Smarter Way to Learn series, has accumulated more than four thousand five-star reviews on Amazon—a record for books in this category.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
2,966 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

Customers say

Customers find the book's learning method effective and engaging. They appreciate the short, concise chapters that are easy to read in 5-15 minutes. The interactive exercises help strengthen new skills and build upon existing ones. Readers describe the book as easy to digest and worth the money. The exercises come in a variety of methods and formats, helping them learn and memorize the material from several angles.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

1,234 customers mention "Learning method"1,136 positive98 negative

Customers find the book's learning method helpful for learning JavaScript syntax and developing consistent habits. They appreciate the approach for each mini lesson, which provides beginners with the building blocks to begin. The practice questions are short and sweet, and they make you code properly. Overall, readers find this book a good way to learn JavaScript.

"...in blanks with key words and ending up with writing and running actual code snippets. They seduce you with a rapid start and positive reinforcement...." Read more

"...I am very enthusiastic about learning coding this way, as an older person who has an in-born love for computer programming but is intimidated by the..." Read more

"...Also, as the lessons become more advanced, it continually introduces elements of earlier lessons, so you don't have to re-learn the things you..." Read more

"...Despite these criticisms, Mr. Myers has done a very good job building a JavaScript resource about which he should be very proud." Read more

184 customers mention "Chapter length"172 positive12 negative

Customers find the chapters in the book short and quick. They say it takes 5-15 minutes to read a chapter. The reading is short and to the point, then it follows up with quizzes and interactive techniques. There is no lengthy website to be distracted by advertisements or having to dig. The book is divided into very small chapters, each teaching only a small bit of new information.

"...As this book is quite long and in depth aside from that, I'm not sure how much more getting deeper into RegEx would've extended this book...." Read more

"...The longest lesson was 3 pages. Very doable in a quick sitting...." Read more

"...Each chapter is short and you spend most of your time doing exercises. No environment to setup and no error ridden code to copy...." Read more

"...I also like that the chapters are short; I'm able to block an hour out of my day and read through a chapter PLUS take the practice exam...." Read more

170 customers mention "Interactiveness"170 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the interactive exercises in the book. They find them challenging and fun to complete. The pace is lively and engaging, with results appearing before their eyes. The book makes learning code fun and not overwhelming. It provides interactive lessons to strengthen new skills and build upon them. Readers appreciate the short, concise chapters with interactive lessons online in a virtual sandbox that let them test and apply.

"...You'll have fun, improve reading comprehension, memory, reasoning, typing accuracy and speed. For some parts you'll need a little HTML...." Read more

"...It's fulfilling and a fun way to learn and actually get to write the code regularly so that it really sticks...and you need to learn the syntax..." Read more

"...It was fun and interactive, and it also explained everything pretty well. It went a little more in depth on many topics I was confused with...." Read more

"...Every bite-sized chapter comes with 20 online interactive exercises to work with the syntax, methods, and concepts introduced... this is the..." Read more

78 customers mention "Ease of digest"78 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's format straightforward and easy to understand. They appreciate the simple, short chapters and exercises that break down new concepts into manageable parts. The website interface is also praised for its ease of use.

"...The longest lesson was 3 pages. Very doable in a quick sitting...." Read more

"...He does an amazing job breaking down Javascript into parts that are easily and fully understood...." Read more

"...As most of the book reviews state, it is separated into small, digestible parts, and the online exercises are fantastic at reiterating the..." Read more

"...There's even timed statement-writing exercises, easy snippets that are really doable. So don't forget that damn semicolon for each statement, LOL...." Read more

77 customers mention "Value for money"77 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides good value for money. They say it's an incredible investment and worth the price.

"...consider that getting this book in Kindle, e-reader format is so very inexpensive..." Read more

"...This is the best money I've spent on any learning material in a long time. Thank you to the author." Read more

"...Take a break. Rinse and repeat. And you cannot go wrong at the low price." Read more

"...reviews on this book and thought I'd give it a shot since the price was so low; I figured I had nothing to lose! I am not disappointed!!..." Read more

62 customers mention "Interactive exercises"55 positive7 negative

Customers find the book's interactive exercises helpful. They mention it comes with a large cache of practice exercises in a variety of methods and formats. The accompanying online exercises are excellent and get you to do what you need to do, code. The timed questions and examples are useful. Overall, customers appreciate the right mix of interactivity, repetition, learning, and applying what they learn.

"...The format of the exercises is varied which serves to keep your interest up and the positive feedback makes them like eating potato chips - hard to..." Read more

"...So, the exercises note your mistakes and bring you back to have a chance to get the same, or similar, exercise correct...." Read more

"...Hands-down! I really appreciate how cleanly the chapters, and exercises are laid out and chunked perfectly for 20-30 minute sit-downs...." Read more

"...It may not look fancy, but great care was taken, I assure you...." Read more

45 customers mention "Build strength"45 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides a solid JavaScript foundation. They say it's well-organized and durable, with positive reinforcement and online practice. The book is well-put together, providing a good foundation that is consistent.

"...They seduce you with a rapid start and positive reinforcement...." Read more

"...It is a solid, superior first course in the basics of writing JavaScript." Read more

"...the chapters, and exercises are laid out and chunked perfectly for 20-30 minute sit-downs...." Read more

"...I really want to support Myers in his efforts to provide such high quality and effective training." Read more

43 customers mention "Build-on"40 positive3 negative

Customers appreciate the book's gradual build-up. They find the lessons bite-sized and logically progress to more complex aspects. The chapters are short with end-of-chapter quizzes that reinforce the material. The content is introduced in small doses, with each lesson followed up by 20 short exercises. Customers find the presentation and hands-on exercises engaging.

"...fail to do is present the learning in a manner that builds on previous lessons. An example: the very first lesson covers alerts...." Read more

"...Each chapter logically builds on previous chapters. The tecnnique is simple. Read (<10 mins), do the exercises (<25 mins), take a walk...." Read more

"...But it is an excellent start that builds good programming habits and increases knowledge retention...." Read more

"...Wow, this is good teaching! The knowledge is broken down to bite sized chunks, and you're tested mercilessly at every step...." Read more

I cautiously recommend this book.  THE ONLINE EXERCISES BADLY NEED ERROR REPORTING OR PROOFREADING.
3 out of 5 stars
I cautiously recommend this book. THE ONLINE EXERCISES BADLY NEED ERROR REPORTING OR PROOFREADING.
Update:I am up to chapter 45 in the book now. I've pasted an extremely simple code snippet where my answer does not deviate from the Author's yet it is marked incorrect. I am basically checking all of my own answers at this point and do not believe the online exercises because there are multiple -- sometimes up to 6 -- errors per chapter. It's only usable if you fend for yourself. In the examples below, the first was marked wrong because the Author inccorectly put the word &#34;or&#34; in his correct answer. I've pasted the author's full answer with &#34;or&#34; (which is not a legal javascript keyword so it wouldn't run) and only that was accepted as correct. In the second example, there is nothing wrong. My spaces, caps, and everything are perfect, but it wasn't accepted as correct. Annoying.Before I bought this book, I was copying coding exercises online unsure what the semicolon might be doing in a particular statement or why there were empty parentheses after some statements and not others, and crucially I didn't know what words were keywords to javascript and which weren't. It was easy to confuse keywords with variables and constants in tutorials because I wasn't given the background to know what was what. I was told I would learn simply by coding and the syntax would come to me as I coded more. It did, but only in a way where I could read the code and not write it. Enter A Smarter Way to Learn Javascript. I won't repeat the premise of the book as so many have already elaborated on the coding sandbox from which to learn, how it's sensitive to spaces, etc etc. I will however bring up one thing which I haven't seen for some reason in other reviews, it's this: THERE ARE JUST ENOUGH ERRORS IN THE CODING EXERCISES TO MAKE YOU WANT TO THROW YOUR MOUSE ACROSS THE ROOM. Still, the book delivers on its promise, albeit in a flawed way. Some of these errors by the way, I am 100% sure I'm not wrong because I pasted the authors own code into the answer input and they were still marked wrong. They start around chapter 20. I'm not looking forward to the even more in depth chapters where things get even more complex and their is more probability for errors. Tempted to rate 3 stars, but won't since the value of the book is still very high despite it's extremely frustrating mistakes. Fix it up Mark!
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2014
    This training technology (it's much more than a book) probably was targeted at web developers and it's great for them but it has far wider applicability.

    Beginners: Kids, I am your grandfather, a card carrying Mensan, and have been in information technology since before your parents were born, *stop reading* come back when you've completed the 'A Smarter Way to Learn JavaScript" that I gave you.

    Senior Citizens: Stop wasting time with "brain training". Learn something useful while training AND acquire a new opportunity for self expression. You'll have fun, improve reading comprehension, memory, reasoning, typing accuracy and speed. For some parts you'll need a little HTML. Someone should write a one page HTML cheat sheet specific to the course.

    Lynda.com: Immediately purchase Mark for an obscene amount of money and we can all say we knew him when.

    The rest of you: Mark Myers has done something great here. He has applied some sound psychological principles to teach practical JavaScript programming.

    Why do you care? Add "these few precepts in thy memory": JavaScript started off as Brendan Eich's simple, quick effort to provide web site scripting. It is now a monster probably accounting for more lines of code than any other language and is best described by David Flanagan's 1078 pages of "JavaScript: The Definitive Guide". You probably aren't going to go cover-to-cover with that tome but, if you're serious, you should own a copy. JavaScript has been taken over by a standards body and is called ECMAScript 5 with ECMAScript 6 soon to be released. People are cross compiling other languages into JavaScript. Browsers run it so efficiently that first person shooters have been written in JavaScript. "It's alive!" AND evolving.

    Of course Mark doesn't teach the whole thing. It probably wouldn't even be advisable - see Douglas Crockford's, "JavaScript: The Good Parts", the other book you really should own to get into JavaScript.

    No, Mark restricted himself to more what Brendan's bosses probably had in mind when they tasked him with coming up with a web scripting language. It's not all you need but it's a real good start. This is not a text to read. It is not a reference.

    A Smarter Way to Learn JavaScript is a training system for a useable subset of JavaScript. It consists of 89, two to three page Chapters. Carefully read the Chapter - there *will* be a quiz. Each topic chapter is matched with 20 exercises on the web site. The exercises are where you'll spend the most time. They create a graduated involvement in producing code starting with filling in blanks with key words and ending up with writing and running actual code snippets. They seduce you with a rapid start and positive reinforcement. This is experiential learning by guided doing and will require effort on your part to carefully read the exercise, to understand the point the author is making and then verify your comprehension by completing the exercise task - usually a line or two of code . There is new info in the exercises; they do not merely cover what's in the text. The format of the exercises is varied which serves to keep your interest up and the positive feedback makes them like eating potato chips - hard to stop with just one. Don't try, do. Encouraging words and a green background added to your answer become rewards you'll seek. If you're wrong, learn from it. It may stick with you longer and you'll get a chance to redeem yourself as you complete the exercises. I worked every one of them - some are real puzzlers requiring brain power beyond rote memory. Keep the big picture in mind and go for simple solutions.
    11 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2018
    I have previously reviewed Mark's HTML/CSS book which I had to learn in tandem while learning JavaScript in this book. I am very enthusiastic about learning coding this way, as an older person who has an in-born love for computer programming but is intimidated by the thought of having to try to remember things I've learned (not nearly as easy to do as when I was young).

    Since I have now gotten used to the general concepts of coding that cross platforms (I have now learned some PHP at free sites online, also with a PHP/MySQL book purchased from Amazon, and am now also working my way through Mark's Python book), I realize even more how helpful teaching like this is for either beginners or someone like me who learned some programming languages long ago but needed a reboot having forgotten much of what I'd originally learned. Mark uses the same type of starting examples across his different books, they are simple to understand and he starts out very easy, plainly laid out so that you are able to grasp the underlying mechanisms at play.

    One thing to note is he doesn't get into any detail about regular expressions. In the chapter that touches on it, he openly expresses that. As I'm here to learn how to fluently code with confidence, at first I was a little concerned about this, but there are places I can find online to go into further depth on this subject, which sounds a little confusing. As this book is quite long and in depth aside from that, I'm not sure how much more getting deeper into RegEx would've extended this book. So, when you consider that getting this book in Kindle, e-reader format is so very inexpensive (you just download the Amazon reader app to your computer and start working on it through there, the links at the end of the chapters will open your browser to practice what you just learned), a person can easily afford other teaching materials to go into more depth on that subject if you so desired.

    Having looked at some other reviews of the chapter practice sessions, I feel the need to state that I've never had an issue with any of the peculiarities of learning code this way. The author has to structure the practices with precise number of spaces in certain areas, etc., as this is an automated system, not an AI system, of checking what you entered to see if it's a workable way of completing the required task, so the rigidness of the practice is necessary. It's the short chapters and immediate, multiple question practice that is the overwhelming strength of this book. I can't really imagine a different way now that I've tried this way.

    Originally I had tried taking lots of notes (to help my old memory) and then doing the practice at the end of each chapter. I realized at one point about halfway through this book that I had to go through the HTML/CSS book in order to be able to work with JavaScript for webpages. Once I finished that book, I went back through the first JavaScript chapters again rapid-fire, because I'd already lost some confidence in my memory of what I'd already learned with JavaScript (kids out there, getting old sucks that way!). That way of going through the book works really well, I found (that's how I am now going through Mark's Python book). I also discovered that I did in fact retain more than I believed I did, this way of learning truly works!
    12 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2024
    I have been trying to teach myself Javascript for a while now. The problem I keep running into is, most of the tutorials, books and courses are written for people that already understand the material, or basic programming. Another problem is the other courses give you lots of information, but no lessons so you can put what you have studied to work. This book is different. It's written in a way that is understandable, without talking down to the reader. Also, as the lessons become more advanced, it continually introduces elements of earlier lessons, so you don't have to re-learn the things you learned before.
    I am so impressed with this teaching material, that I am taking time from one of my learning sessions, just to write this review. This is the best money I've spent on any learning material in a long time.

    Thank you to the author.
    One person found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Mac
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for learning Java
    Reviewed in Canada on September 29, 2024
    It contains good information and the online exercises are fun. This is also great for those on a tight schedule.
    Customer image
    Mac
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    Excellent book for learning Java

    Reviewed in Canada on September 29, 2024
    It contains good information and the online exercises are fun. This is also great for those on a tight schedule.
    Images in this review
    Customer imageCustomer image
  • ottik
    5.0 out of 5 stars Genial, kann ich jedem empfehlen.
    Reviewed in Germany on February 23, 2024
    Das Buch ist so aufgebaut das man von Anfang an alles von Grund auf ausarbeitet, jeder kann mit diesem Buch Javascript lernen.
  • najmudheen
    5.0 out of 5 stars Best javascript book for brginners
    Reviewed in India on June 7, 2022
    Every concept is clear
  • Israel Martinez
    4.0 out of 5 stars Aprender a programar Java Script
    Reviewed in Mexico on June 14, 2017
    El libro tiene un estilo muy condensado del lenguaje, sirve muy bien para aprender y despuès poder profundizar en el tema con otros libros y o tutoriales, ya que lo basico esta bien explicado
  • Burial
    5.0 out of 5 stars Parfait pour un débutant
    Reviewed in France on December 16, 2018
    Suite à une formation vidéo un peu floue sur javascript, j'ai acheté ce livre sur Kindle ( moins de 7 euros ) car il avait énormément d'avis positifs sur amazon.com.
    Je ne suis pas déçu. L'auteur est extrêmement clair et vous fait avancer pas à pas dans la pratique de javascript.
    Mais la cerise sur le gâteau ce sont les super exercices accessibles sur son blog, via un lien fourni à chaque fin de chapitre (parfois, 20 exercices pour 2 pages de théorie ! ).
    Exercices chronométrés, théoriques et répétitifs, corrigés immédiatement afin de bien retenir et appliquer ce que l'on vient de lire dans le bouquin. Un très bon livre motivant pour un prix dérisoire !

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?