In the interest of free enterprise, I thought it might be fun for the first JEMS book review to be that of an e-book. That's right, boys and girls, if you want a hard copy you'll have to print it out yourselves. This book clearly demonstrates the potential advantages of reading an electronic document, with its ability to display items in colour, its ease of browsing, and the speed with which you can maneuvre a virtual book as opposed to wading through a conventional text book.

The lite Website Companion (revised), the latest offering from webmaster HTMlite (aka David Stanley), numbers 340 pages and includes everything from newbie questions (getting around the web, can I really get paid to surf), to basic coding (HTML, CSS, JavaScript), to tips and tricks for those who are beyond the basics. The book also contains an introduction to XHTML, a section on layout and webdesign, and several convenient appendices.

One of the great things about this book is that it is user friendly:  never condescending, never insulting, and never over the reader's head. It is a refreshing departure from the onslaught of "Web for Dummies" and "HTML for Idiots" which currently overpopulate the bookstores. Its all-inclusive approach makes it a potentially wonderful textbook for middle or upper school levels. For those with little or no internet experience, there is an extensive section on becoming oriented to the web. This material is not generally covered in other coding books, and I have recommended the book to instructors of classes for senior citizens and others who may be just starting out.

David's writing is clear, concise, and to the point. Excessive verbiage is kept to a minimum so as not to distract from the information being covered, yet explanations do not suffer. "The 'lite' tutorials were built for understanding, learning and usability," David says in his preface. Building upon this idea, he presents the reader with the opportunity to attain progressive levels of understanding, thereby making the more difficult concepts easier to grasp.

N.B. Sadly, as of 2002, David's book is no longer available for purchase.

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