In this article, I want to give you reviews of some of the most prominent books for learning JavaScript. But first off, let me ask you, why should you learn this language in the first place? Simply put, JavaScript is everywhere, you can become a front-end developer if you know JavaScript and/or some of its popular frameworks such as React, Angular, or Vue. For back-end development, Node.js is a server environment that can help you with that, or perhaps a new backend technology named Deno which is also built with JavaScript and TypeScript, so knowing JavaScript make you a full-stack developer :). Even you are an aspiring mobile developer, React Native framework can be your friend. JavaScript is also compatible with some low-level programming such as IoT, game development, or embedded systems. We all know AI and machine learning technologies are thriving vigorously nowadays, JavaScript offers some machine learning libraries such as TensorFlow.js, convnetjs, etc…

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Now, through the brief prelude, you realize the potential and lucrative value when betting yourself learning JavaScript. Yet, a big question is how should you learn JavaScript? Too many sites and books out there make you confused about where to start. The quality of a book probably lies in its effectiveness, applicability, and relevance to the reader. In this article, we will take a look at some of the best JavaScript books that make your learning journey becomes valuable.

1. You Don’t Know JS – by Kyle Simpson

This is not a book, this is a series of books. That is the amazing book series that I would highly recommend for everyone who is an avid JavaScript learner. It’s divided into 6 parts: “Up & Going”, “Scope & Closures”, “this & Object Prototypes”, “Types & Grammar”, “Async & Performance” and “ES6 & Beyond”. From basic concepts to advanced, each of them is presented in detail and clarity, and sometimes to understand this book we really have to be JavaScript lovers. In fact, this may not be suitable for beginners, if you already have knowledge of JavaScript and want to understand it deeply, or more you want to become an expert – this is one optimal option that worth your time.

You can read this book series here. Otherwise you can buy these books to read.

2. Eloquent JavaScript – by Marijn Haverbeke

Published in 2011, this book has become one of the most readable JavaScript books to date. As the name of the book “Eloquent Javascript” it will help you become a JavaScript programmer with an elegant and efficient code writing style. Like any good programming book, Eloquent JavaScript begins with fundamentals–variables, control structures, functions, and data structures–then moves on to complex topics like object-oriented programming and regular expressions.

This third edition introduces new features covering the 2017 version of JavaScript, such as class notation, arrow functions, iterators, async functions, template strings, and black scope. Author Marijn Haverbeke keeps the friendly tone and easy-to-follow explanations that made the original a hit, and he adds new exercises for readers to test their skills. Eloquent JavaScript will have readers fluent in the language of the web in no time, eloquently.

But this book does not seem to fit well with beginners, you should read through some other basic JavaScript books before reading this book or take a look at some other programming languages then reading this book is extremely effective.

You can read it online here or buy it to read.

3. JavaScript: The Good Parts – by Douglas Crockford

Most programming languages contain good and bad parts, but JavaScript has more than its share of the bad, having been developed and released in a hurry before it could be refined. This authoritative book scrapes away these bad features to reveal a subset of JavaScript that’s more reliable, readable, and maintainable than the language as a whole-a subset you can use to create truly extensible and efficient code.

This is a book that was published a long time ago. Some of the content seems to be no longer relevant to the present but in general, the value of the book brings to readers is undeniable. This book explores the basics of those features, and may give you a new appreciation for how special and cool JavaScript really is. This is a fairly readable book, and you only need to read this book for a short while to understand the basics of JavaScript. If you are a beginner or you are looking for a way to start your profound journey with JavaScript, the selection of this book is really judicious.

You can buy this book here.

4. JavaScript: The Definitive Guide – by David Flanagan

With the length exceeds 1000 pages, in the first part this book will begin with core JavaScript about variable, function, object, method, property, etc… along with specific examples to teach you the fundamental of this language. But If you are already a JavaScript programmer, Part I will sharpen your skills and deepen your understanding of the language. Followed by the next three parts (part II, III, IV) it will provide a comprehensive reference to the client-side JavaScript APIs defined by web browsers (Scripted HTTP and Ajax XML, DOM, ECMAScript, APIs, etc…). JavaScript: The Definitive Guide is always updated to give readers the best experience. It has been adding a jQuery chapter and a lot of other concepts between JavaScript and web programming.

It’s highly recommended for experienced programmers who want to learn Web programming, and for current JavaScript programmers who want to master it. Many people have chosen this book and are very pleased with the performance it brings.

You can buy it here. Or you can go to this link to read or download this book for free.