Overall, I would say that I am rather pleased with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 Demystified – The Official Guide to Using Dreamweaver MX 2004 by Laura Gutman. On one hand, this book is a wonderful trove of information, and works excellently as a quick start guide to quickly answer questions that may arise while using Dreamweaver. This book covers everything from setting up your work station to creating dynamic sites. However, this book is not an "everything you need to know for Web design" book. If you have no previous knowledge in building dynamic sites, for example, those sections of the book will likely come across as appearing rather Greek. Even though it gives quick explanations into what a dynamic site is, and how to implement one, this book will not replace a formal education in the topic. However, if you already know a few elements of dynamic site building, this book can quickly help you to recall previously learned knowledge, or serve as a companion to that knowledge.

One thing I did not like about this book is the way it reads. I do not recommend sitting down with this book for extended periods and trying to learn, unless you have a specific objective in mind. It reads a bit like stereo instructions, and is a quite technical manual. Some people might prefer this writing style, especially when dealing with technical issues. I, on the other hand, do not. This book is packed with text content, and a few black and white images to help you on your journey. I would've rather seen more examples and more color, but that may be the designer in me overriding the coder, and would've made for a much more expensive book in the long run.

One thing I really liked about this book was its completeness. It not over covers Dreamweaver specific topics, but web design specific topics, as well. Though it is geared towards Dreamweaver, there are many very general tips and tables that apply to Web design as a whole. For instance, in the section on Style Sheets, a table is included that covers common font translations for Macs and PCs, and their font category. It then goes on to cover CSS positioning extensively. Its guide on various media objects, from Windows Media Player to Flash is also a very helpful tool. If there is a topic in Web design that could be applied within Dreamweaver, this book will cover it on some level. I would recommend having it sitting by your computer whenever you're applying Dreamweaver concepts that you may be familiar with, but are still in the shaky "learning" phase.

Overall, I did not particularly like this book. It's bulky, boring, and sometimes contains too much information to find what you're looking for as quickly as some guides. But, at the same time, I do not think this book is trying to be a fun book to read. I do not think you're supposed to really like it. It should be used more as a tool, much like one might use a screwdriver or a hammer, as opposed to an educational Saturday afternoon read. You may not have strong feelings one way or another about the contents of the toolbox in your garage, but at the same time, you'll be glad you have it handy when something breaks.