In one sense this is a book that appears to be unnecessary. All its contents are out there on the Web. On the other hand the Web is cluttered up with junk and finding the nuggets is not easy.

This book is well conceived and properly presented. The text is documentation with no more source code than is absolutely essential to aid your understanding. All the rest comes on the accompanying CD. The material is the result of a team effort and represents thousands of hours of surfing, assessment etc.

The hundred applets cover a wide range. It is perhaps unsurprising that 48 of them come under the heading of Multimedia/Special Effects. The remaining 52 are spread through Business/Science (18), Educational (8), Entertainment/Games (13) and General Utilities/Programming (13).

Even if you have a full Internet connection this book is probably a cost effective study aid in that you can use it without paying dial-up charges (that makes it less attractive for those that do not pay a telco for their Internet connection). The UK price is a correct conversion from the US price ($29.99).