I have been creating websites since 1994, only one year after the world wide web became royalty free and publicly available, and Jon Duckett's book on 'JavaScript & jQuery' is the best book I have ever read on 'interactive front-end website development.' His explanations are well illustrated, comprehensive, and the whole book is well designed. That said, this is not a book for the complete beginner, but is the second in a series of two books, and follows on from the first book in the series by the same author, 'HTML & CSS' 'design and build websites'. Websites are built using HTML code, designed using CSS code, and made interactive using JavaScript, so the JavaScript book assumes you already know how to code in HTML and CSS. Even if you already know how to code in HTML and JavaScript you may initially feel overwhelmed by the first third or so of the JavaScript book, as Jon Duckett provides all the background information needed for the remainder of the book. However, once mastered, the first part of the book provides a solid base for the projects in the remainder of the book and is well worth the effort for the insight and depth of knowledge he imparts. There are hardly any good JavaScript manuals, but this is certainly one of the best, and for anyone serious about building interactive websites both these books are well written and worth the investment of time and money for the depth of knowledge they impart.