250 Html and Web Design Secrets by Molly E. Holzschlag (2004, Paperback)

I work as a 'web programmer' and teach in an Information Systems department at a gret Southern University. I have been introducing students to HTML, XHTML, & CSS for a few semesters in a new course about Ebusiness Technologies. We use w3chools.com as the primer for these topics, and supplement their excellent, but sparse, tutorials with other materials to organize the course and add some depth where needed.

Ms. Holzchlag's '250 Secrets' book popped up for me at half.com somehow, and I got it. I've got dozens of books since the '80s on 'web design', html, xhtml, css, &c, but this one answers questions about practical matters like 'centering content in a container', why IE makes 'vertical centering' difficult, which tags should be used to markup content, making sites accessible, managing them, and many other very practical tips that other authors do not cover. Where many other books are _about_ web design, this one is about how to _do_ it.

The book is laid out the best I've seen. Rather than the hodgepodge of '250 secrets' expected from the title, there is a very practical, comprehensive presentation of the most basic web tools, architecture of information, old HTML, new XHTML & CSS, forms, and best practices for all.

IMHO, this is the best book available for 'web design', either for beginners or for experienced web developers looking to add to their toolbox. I got it expecting to find a few new tricks and set it aside like the others. Instead, I was pleased to find a comprehensive guide to what's important for my work as a web developer and instructor.