Presents for under your tree (for next year)

By Brett McLaughlin

I'm going to do something that makes me very nervous, because all this Christmas giving makes me -- perhaps -- a little addled in the brain. I'm going to pull back our proverbial kimono 'round here, and tell you a bit about what we hope to have for you as presents in good old (or is it new?) 2008. Yes, that's right... with just an extra click of your mouse, you can see what Head First books are planned for the coming year.

First, I should say at least one word of warning. I generally insist that the Head First editors, marketeers, sales force, etc., don't tell anyone what Head First books are coming until as close to release as possible. Lots can go wrong on a book, but even more importantly, lots can happen that require us to push a book out a month or two to make sure it's the utmost quality.

I think about Head First Software Development; we delayed that book six months, and it's one of the decisions I'm proudest of here in Head First land. The book, now, is simply astonishingly good. I can't imagine it without that extra time.

So you have to take all of this with hope and promise, but realize things can (and do) change. But, with no more buildup, here are the books we hope to release sometime in 2008. Have a napkin handy to catch the drool?

* Head First Servlets, 2nd edition: covering the brand new SCWCD exam from Sun

* Head First Ajax: completely reworked, rewritten, and dramatically expanded from Head Rush Ajax

* Head First Algebra: Head First takes on math's most oft-confused subject

* Head First Physics: You got it. What would happen if you fell into a hole that went through the center of the earth? Now you can find out, and think like a physicist along the way (trust us, that's a good thing, and doesn't require any voice modulation at all).

* Head First Statistics: This is a cool one. You'll finally know how 4 out of 5 dentists can recommend so many different toothpastes all at once.

* Head First PHP and MySQL: It's been on the radar for a while, but the wait will have been worth it. This book boasts some of the coolest and most ambitious learning exercises and examples you'll ever see in a technical book, Head First or otherwise.

* Head First Web Design: I admit it, this one is a bit of a long shot to make 2008, but boy is it going to be amazing. You simply won't believe where you web coders and designers can take your sites with this book. I'm so excited about this one...

* Head First Programming: Take your first steps into structured programming, all within the context of the Python programming language. This is our bridge book for all of you who have wanted to get into Java or C#, and have been intimidated or put off by all the "formal" programming concepts.

* Head First XML with XSLT and XQuery: XML finally makes the Head First cut. With XQuery tearing up the programming and data worlds, it's time to treat XML, Head First style. As a frequent writer on XML, this one gets me pretty excited (yes, I'm a geek).

...and maybe a few others along the way.

Pretty impressive, isn't it? Well, hold on to your hats, it's all (hopefully) coming your way in 2008. And now that I've put the pressure on all of us, let's enjoy the holidays, because next year is going to be capital-B Busy!

Thanks
Brett

 

 

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