Pearson (www.pearson.com), has generously donated numerous books for raffle to the LA Drupal User Group in the past. They have done it again, with their newest Drupal publication, Drupal 7 Explained: Your Step-by-Step Guide.
The first of the three copies Pearson sent us was raffled off as a prize at last night's meetup. Congratulations to the lucky recipient! Two more copies will be raffled soon.
This book is an excellent starting point for new Drupal users, or for the Drupal-curious. Written with the needs of the absolute beginner in mind, it provides a resource for anyone, no matter how much or little the individual knows about HTML, PHP or servers, to get started on their own advanced website.
Burge manages to clearly explain very difficult Drupal concepts, such as Taxonomy, Views and Layouts. He also pointedly introduces the reader to the Drupal community (Drupal's greatest asset) throughout the book.
Don't give up if you get frustrated during the install chapter. This is the most complicated part of the entire process, and Burge has simplified it brilliantly. Follow his guidance, and when you complete the chapter, you will be able to enjoy the rest of the projects throughout the book. By the end of the book, you will fully understand why those of us who use Drupal every day are so passionate about it!
This is a new book, and there are still a couple of errors that haven't been corrected; if an instruction seems non-sequitur, it probably is. By the time you read the book, there will probably be an errata page to reference, but if you get stuck, backtrack a bit and think through the steps. Burge's explanations should give you enough foundation to figure it out on your own; if they don't, ask the community and you'll be back on track quickly.
I definitely recommend this book as a starting point for those new to Drupal, and am grateful to Pearson for their continued support of the LA Drupal User Group!
"Drupal 7 Explained: Your Step-by-Step Guide" by Stephen Burge; Pearson/Prentice Hall Professional, May 2013;
Publisher page; http://www.informit.com/store/drupal-7-explained-your-step-by-step-guide...
Sample Chp #4, "Drupal Administration Explained": http://ptgmedia.pearsoncmg.com/images/9780133124231/samplepages/01331242...
Comments
Thanks indeed for the kind
Thanks indeed for the kind review, rainbreaw. It means a lot to authors when someone takes the time to really read and review a book thoroughly.
I need to give a shout to my co-author Cindy McCourt also: https://drupal.org/user/50326
For errata, we're collecting them here: http://www.ostraining.com/books/d7e/errata/ Hopefully these will make it into a second edition, out soon.
http://ostraining.com Drupal Training, online and live.