Book · 2011
Eloquent JavaScript
by Marijn Haverbeke
Marijn Haverbeke's free JavaScript book teaches closures and recursion, then has its own author admit he wouldn't wish a game-programming career on anyone.
What does Reddit think of Eloquent JavaScript?
Eloquent JavaScript's fifty-one mentions lean practical. r/learnprogramming and r/webdev combine for 44 of them, both scoring positive, and the book gets recommended the way you'd recommend a free resource that actually delivers. No hedging. A 77-upvote webdev comment calls it straightforwardly "a good book for learning javascript advanced concepts," filed next to a C fundamentals suggestion and Harvard's CS50. A 128-upvote learnprogramming reply folds it into a "be 1% better every day" pep talk, treating it as the next concrete step rather than the whole plan. The most memorable displayed excerpt isn't a recommendation at all — it's author Marijn Haverbeke's own aside, quoted from inside the book, admitting he "wouldn't wish a career in game programming on anyone" even while calling writing games for fun "amusing." That's the book's actual texture: solid, unglamorous, and self-aware about the industry it's teaching you to enter.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Free, practical JS fundamentals recommended without hedging
- · Paired with CS50 and C basics as part of a self-taught web-dev path
- · Advanced-concepts framing — closures, recursion — over pure-beginner material
- · The author's own game-programming aside as a memorable digression inside the text
Common praise
- + A 77-upvote webdev comment calls it "a good book for learning javascript advanced concepts" without further qualification, the kind of plain endorsement that doesn't need selling.
- + It gets folded into a bigger self-improvement pep talk (↑128) as the next concrete step, not a chore to get through.
- + One reader (↑53) lists rereading it as an actual method for staying sharp, alongside broader test-coverage habits.
- + The book earns its own author a direct quote in the dataset — Haverbeke's game-programming aside (↑65) is memorable enough that Redditors cite the book by way of citing him.
Common criticism
- − Its presence in r/compsci and r/ExperiencedDevs is close to nonexistent — one and three mentions respectively — so its standing among more theory- or seniority-focused crowds barely registers here.
- − Every displayed endorsement is a single sentence; nobody unpacks a specific chapter in depth.
- − r/cscareerquestions gives it only two unscored mentions — it hasn't crossed over into interview-prep discourse the way some of its shelf-mates have.
Who it's for
Already comfortable with JS basics and want the advanced concepts explained properly? webdev's plain endorsement (↑77) is aimed at exactly that gap. Building a self-taught path out of CS50, some C fundamentals, and free resources? This slots directly into that stack, per the same thread. And if you reach the game-building chapter and find yourself agreeing with the author that the industry is rough even while the exercise itself is fun — that's not a bug. Haverbeke says so himself, inside his own book.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Eloquent JavaScript?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“Here's my list of the classics: **General Computing** * But How Do It Know? - The Basic Principles of Computers for Everyone * The Elements of Computing Systems: Building a Modern Computer from First Principles * […
“How much? Don’t register a time frame or quantify how much you need to learn. Just try to be 1% better everyday and you’ll be 365% more knowledgeable every year. The learning will not stop and JavaScript is just the beginning of a web developers journey. Read Eloquent JavaScript, that will speed …
“I feel theoretical books are far more important than pop/hard non fiction. - **Concrete Mathematics**: A Foundation for Computer Science by Knuth et al. - **Introduction to Algorithms**, by Cormen et el ( or **The Algorithm Design Manual** by Steven Skiena — I'm particularly fond of this book than …
“Learning c is a good start, there are also some other resources I used Eloquent javascript is a good book for learning javascript advanced concepts Harvard cs50 (available on YouTube for free) is a great course if you wanna get a well rounded understanding of programming in general, nothing too lo…
“>I wouldn’t wish a career in game programming on anyone. Much like the music industry, the discrepancy between the many eager young people wanting to work in it and the actual demand for such people creates a rather unhealthy environment. But writing games for fun is amusing. \- Marijn Haverbeke, E…
“If you're interested in Javascript then these are three great resources for a deep dive into it: You Don't Know Javascript, Eloquent Javascript, and [Javascript: Understanding the Weird Parts](http…
“Yes 100% agree with Eloquent JavaScript!
“This book (Eloquent JavaScript) is what made it all click for me
“I usually refer people to Chapter 11 of Eloquent Javascript eg if questions regarding Promises/async come up but even just skimming through that article I'd say that it explains the *Why* much better (specifically why callback hell is a thing that *sho…
“Eloquent JavaScript is excellent for getting the basics down, yeah.
“Eloquent JavaScript!
“100%, it's important to go through the basics before learning a framework, or you run into roadblocks trying to figure out what functionality is vanilla. I always recommend eloquent javascript!
“Maybe check out Wes Bos’ 30 days of JavaScript to get you started. First build them in plain JavaScript, then port them to react. Do the whole thing TDD and get solid at testing. Next, Eloquent JavaScript is full of pro…
“*Don’t* read Eloquent JavaScript, it is utter crap for beginners. Start with javascript.info or freecodecamp or MDN or any other number of actually beginner friendly courses.
“I would say get really comfortable with html, css and JavaScript first before jumping into a framework. Especially JavaScript. Follow along a book like 'eloquent JavaScript' or 'you don't know JS' because it will make things easier once you start using frameworks. All those tools you mentioned wil…
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Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with Eloquent JavaScript — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring Eloquent JavaScript
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
Eloquent JavaScript — frequently asked
Is Eloquent JavaScript good for advanced concepts, or just beginners?+
Advanced, according to the plainest endorsement in the dataset. A 77-upvote r/webdev comment calls it "a good book for learning javascript advanced concepts," recommended alongside C fundamentals and Harvard's CS50 rather than as a first-touch beginner text.
Does Eloquent JavaScript's author say anything memorable inside the book?+
Yes — the most striking excerpt in this dataset (↑65) quotes Marijn Haverbeke directly, admitting he "wouldn't wish a career in game programming on anyone" given the gap between eager applicants and actual demand, while still calling writing games for fun "amusing." It's the one moment here where the book itself, not a recommender, is doing the talking.
Should I read Eloquent JavaScript as part of a self-taught path?+
Reddit threads treat it that way. A 128-upvote learnprogramming comment frames it as a concrete next step inside a broader "get 1% better every day" plan, and a separate webdev list pairs it with CS50 and C basics as part of an assembled curriculum, not a standalone finish line.
Is Eloquent JavaScript taken seriously by experienced developers?+
Not especially, at least not in this dataset — r/ExperiencedDevs contributes exactly one unscored mention. Its real audience here is r/learnprogramming and r/webdev, both running positive sentiment, which suggests it works more as a solid learning resource than a text senior engineers cite to each other.