Javascript books

[sosothirsty]

I don't know javascript very much at all. I'm knee deep in PHP/MySQL right now and want to apply some JS to my project. I'm wondering which book to start on...here are my three that I've researched and my thoughts right now.

1) Javascript: The Good Parts - supposed to be a tougher read for beginners but solid on fundamentals

2) Javascript: The Definitive Guide - an all-in-one reference and teaching guide

3) JavaScript & jQuery: The Missing Manual - jQuery seems like the shortest distance in implementing right away. So I wonder if a book with a heavy concentration on jQuery would make most sense.

I am considering on getting one or two if you needed to start off.

[Bonesnap]

I always like to know or at least "have an understanding" of the inner workings of something before I use it, but the truth is jQuery is far more useful, powerful, and accessible, whether you're a beginner or an expert at JavaScript. Its syntax is simplified and easy to follow and it's cross-browser (for the most part).

With that said, I would still recommend at least knowing "some" JavaScript if you decide to go down the jQuery path.

[johanafm]

As long as you need javascript only to manipulat stuff on the page and do XHR, I'd say jQuery is all you really need.

However, if you want to start handling more stuff client side, learning javascript is still a good idea. Weedpacket posted excellent links in another thread: Douglas Crockford's JavaScript site; starting particularly with The World's Most Misunderstood Programming Language.