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The Road to learn React: Your journey to master plain yet pragmatic React.js
A lot of roadmaps exist on how to master React. This book uses the common sense of these roads and weaves it into the implementation of an attractive app. You will build a Hacker News React app. On the road you will learn ES6, React with all its basics and advanced concepts and internal state management.
http://www.robinwieruch.de/the-road-t...
http://www.robinwieruch.de/the-road-t...
197 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
417 people are currently reading
671 people want to read
About the author
Robin Wieruch
8Ìýbooks109ÌýfollowersRobin Wieruch is a german software engineer and freelancer located in Berlin. In the recent years he has gained experiences in single page applications which use Ember, Angular and React. He is a full-time JavaScript developer, is doing his best to teach students on his blog and strives to learn something new every day himself.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
December 27, 2018
Simple, short...
Less words, more examples...
We can say it's an example-based book.
The author supposed that you're familiar with Web Development environment, OOP... in other words, the web basics.
In my opinion, some topics need more details and explanation.
Less words, more examples...
We can say it's an example-based book.
The author supposed that you're familiar with Web Development environment, OOP... in other words, the web basics.
In my opinion, some topics need more details and explanation.
January 16, 2017
Pretty solid introduction to React that doesn't try to be comprehensive. I just wanted a taste to understand what it was about and this book gave me exactly that.
I didn't follow all the little footnotes to learn about the new ES6 features I've missed ("I wouldn't say I've been missing it, Bob."). But I'm sure for those of you who have fallen behind and are diligent about following those, you can probably learn a lot more than just what the book teaches.
For anyone who's interested in reading this, the same author also wrote using React and Redux to build a Soundcloud client. I plan to work through that next.
I didn't follow all the little footnotes to learn about the new ES6 features I've missed ("I wouldn't say I've been missing it, Bob."). But I'm sure for those of you who have fallen behind and are diligent about following those, you can probably learn a lot more than just what the book teaches.
For anyone who's interested in reading this, the same author also wrote using React and Redux to build a Soundcloud client. I plan to work through that next.
August 23, 2017
A well written book that gets you up-to-date quick, but still has enough references in it to make you read more about the topics. I liked it a lot, and recommend it to anyone looking for a good React overview. Support the author and pay for it, so we might see the next book about Redux happen too.
Plus for keeping it open source and accepting PRs.
===== Longer review in Swedish ========================
Jag behövde fräscha upp mina Javascript-kunskaper med ES6, men även få en överblick av React (och sedermera Redux) för att komma ifatt på framändesutveckling igen. Jag är framför allt en bakändeutvecklare (Java, Spring Boot med mera), men då och då gör jag en del högre upp i stacken. Sist jag sysslade med React var något år sedan, och mycket har hunnit hänt sedan sist.
Boken räknar med att du har grundläggande kunskap om CSS, HTML och Javascript, och tar dig igenom React, en del ES6 och grundläggande om tillstånd. Den gör det på ett enkelt och föredömligt sätt och med en lagom rolig app som tar dig igenom koncepten. Många koncept nämns bara i förbifarten, men nästan alltid lämnas referenser där man kan läsa vidare.
Jag gillar den skarpt, finner den välskriven och genomtänkt, och har på en vecka (en sådan här bok läser jag flera gånger, på olika nivåer i en blandning av att memorera och laborera) lärt mig långt mycket mer om både ES6 och React än vad jag trodde. En kanonbra start och jag rekommenderar den varmt.
Man kan själv bidra till boken, då den ligger på GitHub och tar emot PRs. Man betalar så mycket man vill, vilket jag förstås tycker att du ska göra. Författaren jobber med en uppföljare om Redux, och genom att betala för den här uppmuntrar du nästa.
PS Jag försöker att skriva tekniska benämningar på svenska då en svensk översättning finns.
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Plus for keeping it open source and accepting PRs.
===== Longer review in Swedish ========================
Jag behövde fräscha upp mina Javascript-kunskaper med ES6, men även få en överblick av React (och sedermera Redux) för att komma ifatt på framändesutveckling igen. Jag är framför allt en bakändeutvecklare (Java, Spring Boot med mera), men då och då gör jag en del högre upp i stacken. Sist jag sysslade med React var något år sedan, och mycket har hunnit hänt sedan sist.
Boken räknar med att du har grundläggande kunskap om CSS, HTML och Javascript, och tar dig igenom React, en del ES6 och grundläggande om tillstånd. Den gör det på ett enkelt och föredömligt sätt och med en lagom rolig app som tar dig igenom koncepten. Många koncept nämns bara i förbifarten, men nästan alltid lämnas referenser där man kan läsa vidare.
Jag gillar den skarpt, finner den välskriven och genomtänkt, och har på en vecka (en sådan här bok läser jag flera gånger, på olika nivåer i en blandning av att memorera och laborera) lärt mig långt mycket mer om både ES6 och React än vad jag trodde. En kanonbra start och jag rekommenderar den varmt.
Man kan själv bidra till boken, då den ligger på GitHub och tar emot PRs. Man betalar så mycket man vill, vilket jag förstås tycker att du ska göra. Författaren jobber med en uppföljare om Redux, och genom att betala för den här uppmuntrar du nästa.
PS Jag försöker att skriva tekniska benämningar på svenska då en svensk översättning finns.
===========================================================================
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October 28, 2017
I don't usually use goodreads to track technical books I read, but this one deserves a shout out.
I was interested on learning react a few months ago, but I couldn't find a tutorial or a course with the quality of this book. I make some tests and a couple of exercises but after a few days I lost the interest in react until I found The Road To Learn React. This book and the whole content that Robin creates, are top quality.
Keep going!
I was interested on learning react a few months ago, but I couldn't find a tutorial or a course with the quality of this book. I make some tests and a couple of exercises but after a few days I lost the interest in react until I found The Road To Learn React. This book and the whole content that Robin creates, are top quality.
Keep going!
January 3, 2023
I wrapped up this one yesterday, I think that this book is perfect for people that have some idea on how React is actually working and have had their hands dirty with some coding before it.
I would recommend it as a guide to a total beginner as well, since the book is divided in two - a crash course on React in the first 150 pages and then giving you the option to choose the path you want to cover after that.
I would love for this to had more TypeScript in it, but I guess I will have to find another source for that. Overall perfect score.
I would recommend it as a guide to a total beginner as well, since the book is divided in two - a crash course on React in the first 150 pages and then giving you the option to choose the path you want to cover after that.
I would love for this to had more TypeScript in it, but I guess I will have to find another source for that. Overall perfect score.
June 7, 2017
The book is quite short and doesn't go too much further than the initial tutorial found on React website (though in the areas that are covered by both, this book goes into slightly more detail) - the part which overlaps with the online tutorial covers about 60 of 164 pages.
As someone somewhat experienced with JS and very experienced with C# (which made ES6 extremely natural for me, quite a few chapters in the book were a bit too verbose. I was looking to learn "how things are done the React way". Many areas were covered, but I was left with a lot questions still.
This book is an extended tutorial for React and should be treated as such (and at that it is very good at). It is written in a style which is very clear and technical, but lacks personality. Don't expect to become expert by reading this book.
There was only one point where I was a bit confused and required additional googling to clear things up for me (when binding a component method in constructor is first demonstrated, it was not obvious why is it necessary).
Note that this book is sold as "pay what you want" (even nothing, if you are that kind of person), which makes any discussion of value for money moot.
As someone somewhat experienced with JS and very experienced with C# (which made ES6 extremely natural for me, quite a few chapters in the book were a bit too verbose. I was looking to learn "how things are done the React way". Many areas were covered, but I was left with a lot questions still.
This book is an extended tutorial for React and should be treated as such (and at that it is very good at). It is written in a style which is very clear and technical, but lacks personality. Don't expect to become expert by reading this book.
There was only one point where I was a bit confused and required additional googling to clear things up for me (when binding a component method in constructor is first demonstrated, it was not obvious why is it necessary).
Note that this book is sold as "pay what you want" (even nothing, if you are that kind of person), which makes any discussion of value for money moot.
November 1, 2020
This is an okay introduction to React. It's concise and to the point, but it only touches the very basics.
It is great that a lot of the ES6 features are present and explained. On the other side, the React framework has changed a bit since this book was written. As such, Hooks API is not mentioned at all. Redux, React Route, React Native are not described in the book. The book is more like an introduction, a tutorial. It is however very clear and readable.
For that reason I find it to be a bit more than 3 stars. So I gave it 4 stars, in the end.
It is great that a lot of the ES6 features are present and explained. On the other side, the React framework has changed a bit since this book was written. As such, Hooks API is not mentioned at all. Redux, React Route, React Native are not described in the book. The book is more like an introduction, a tutorial. It is however very clear and readable.
For that reason I find it to be a bit more than 3 stars. So I gave it 4 stars, in the end.
August 2, 2021
Great starting book for React. Very practical and filled with examples. Highly recommended for starters.
February 3, 2018
Great book for React beginners since it doesn't try to bring much jargon and state management libraries into the book at very early stage. In contrast, some latest ECMAScript expressions frequently used in React world are introduced solidly.
January 31, 2018
I'm loving this book! I did a Udemy course on React and was confused on a few things. Going through this book, and reading all of the additional links the author recommends, has really clarified things for me. Over and above this, the author provides a very active Slack channel where readers can ask questions on the book's content.
January 5, 2018
A great intro to React. I thought the author did an excellent job of walking you through building a simple news reader app. I especially liked how the author would explain how a certain concept works then add additional outside references so you can learn more about it. There is a fine line between going into too much detail vs skimming over a topic and I think the author would occasionally fluctuate between the two throughout the book.
October 20, 2019
If you'd like to learn React from scratch, this book is a great way to do it.
It's mostly introductionary material, but it's very well-written. Things are presented methodically, with working examples and tight descriptions. Supplementary materials are there in the form of links to blog posts and documentation, extra source code and videos. While very useful, but in no way required to get the picture � the book does that extremely well. This lets you choose when to zoom in and when to move forward with the book.
The author has written three other books about the React ecosystem � one about GraphQL, one about Redux and one about Firebase. The whole thing seems like an amazing way to get into the tech. The books are even free � if you're paying, it is for the extra materials in the course.
I'm very impressed with the whole thing. It's just great technical writing. I heartily recommend it if you plan to walk, ahem, the road to React.
It's mostly introductionary material, but it's very well-written. Things are presented methodically, with working examples and tight descriptions. Supplementary materials are there in the form of links to blog posts and documentation, extra source code and videos. While very useful, but in no way required to get the picture � the book does that extremely well. This lets you choose when to zoom in and when to move forward with the book.
The author has written three other books about the React ecosystem � one about GraphQL, one about Redux and one about Firebase. The whole thing seems like an amazing way to get into the tech. The books are even free � if you're paying, it is for the extra materials in the course.
I'm very impressed with the whole thing. It's just great technical writing. I heartily recommend it if you plan to walk, ahem, the road to React.
May 25, 2017
What I really like about the book is how it covered so many topics without being too lengthy. The chapters are pretty much bite-sized and there was good pacing. The way that the book was written was very conversational so I didn't get overwhelmed with the technical jargon/stuff at all.
The extra exercises/reads at the end of each chapter are gold. It saves you time from searching the web about certain parts of the documentation and you can learn more about some things that are not fully covered in the book.
The extra exercises/reads at the end of each chapter are gold. It saves you time from searching the web about certain parts of the documentation and you can learn more about some things that are not fully covered in the book.
August 22, 2018
This book is hands down the best introduction to anything programming related I have ever read. Robin is truly skilled at easing the reader into the React ecosystem. One of my favorite things about the book is how thoroughly he describes why he makes the programming choices he makes & why parts of React are the way they are. He also bestows upon the readers many words of wisdom to make sure you write good, professional level code. I am definitely purchasing his next book, Taming the State & have high hopes that it can teach me about state management as well as this book has taught me React.
July 7, 2021
I recommend this book for someone learning react, it covers a lot about managing a local state of components, specially using react hooks. Also it has a short but nice chapters about tests.
But it doesn't go into much detail in other areas, it feels more like a $10 than a ~$30 book.
But it doesn't go into much detail in other areas, it feels more like a $10 than a ~$30 book.
July 12, 2022
Quick easy guide. Very readable and easy to follow.
November 2, 2020
Great book and definitely recommended, really fit my style of learning. This book is for:
- You like to learn a new tech or framework by understanding the fundamentals over following a build app guide.
- This book presents fundamental knowledge you need to understand how React apps are written. You may not fully understand them but it gives you enough familiarity to know what to look for.
- You are familiar with Javascript but not so with the new features of ES6 (perhaps the same with me coming from jQuery).
- Probably the part of this book is separating ES6 with React. I agree with the author that the introduction of both ES6 and React makes it harder to learn (and especially when most guides assume you know ES6).
Something else I'd like to share is I started reading this way back in 2018 but stopped because I needed to focus on looking for a new job (I'm a backend engineer, this was just for a hobby) and just recently got back with it. During the break, there was a significant update in the React world (introduction of hooks) and I was so happy I didn't need to rebuy the book. The author updated the book and although Amazon doesn't update their ebooks, true to his promise, the author provided me access to the latest edition of the book. Such a great experience!
Overall the book and the experience that came along with it are great. It felt like one of those classes from college you'd enjoy.
- You like to learn a new tech or framework by understanding the fundamentals over following a build app guide.
- This book presents fundamental knowledge you need to understand how React apps are written. You may not fully understand them but it gives you enough familiarity to know what to look for.
- You are familiar with Javascript but not so with the new features of ES6 (perhaps the same with me coming from jQuery).
- Probably the part of this book is separating ES6 with React. I agree with the author that the introduction of both ES6 and React makes it harder to learn (and especially when most guides assume you know ES6).
Something else I'd like to share is I started reading this way back in 2018 but stopped because I needed to focus on looking for a new job (I'm a backend engineer, this was just for a hobby) and just recently got back with it. During the break, there was a significant update in the React world (introduction of hooks) and I was so happy I didn't need to rebuy the book. The author updated the book and although Amazon doesn't update their ebooks, true to his promise, the author provided me access to the latest edition of the book. Such a great experience!
Overall the book and the experience that came along with it are great. It felt like one of those classes from college you'd enjoy.
January 3, 2020
The best React resource I have found.
Stand alone courses can be a great way to expand your knowledge is any field. In the Technology realm I have found some very good resources. Robin Wieruch’s Road to Learn React stand head and shoulders above others I have found. His point of differentiation is this: he makes no assumptions about prior knowledge. I found definitions and explanations that other teachers assumed I knew. Maybe I should have known them, but when everyone assumes the knowledge, there remains little opportunity to grow in knowledge.
His explanations were not an exercise in “dumbing things down� but a commitment to thoroughness. This was true, not only in explaining things, but in choosing course content. He seems to innately know the principles build on principles and he, therefore, doesn’t skip what might be mundane concepts in the overall scheme of things. He carefully lays the bricks one upon another.
Thank you Robin for a job very well done. I will be moving on to other titles of yours.
Stand alone courses can be a great way to expand your knowledge is any field. In the Technology realm I have found some very good resources. Robin Wieruch’s Road to Learn React stand head and shoulders above others I have found. His point of differentiation is this: he makes no assumptions about prior knowledge. I found definitions and explanations that other teachers assumed I knew. Maybe I should have known them, but when everyone assumes the knowledge, there remains little opportunity to grow in knowledge.
His explanations were not an exercise in “dumbing things down� but a commitment to thoroughness. This was true, not only in explaining things, but in choosing course content. He seems to innately know the principles build on principles and he, therefore, doesn’t skip what might be mundane concepts in the overall scheme of things. He carefully lays the bricks one upon another.
Thank you Robin for a job very well done. I will be moving on to other titles of yours.
August 19, 2017
Great book to get started with React and with ES6.
Before starting this book I had neither developed anything meaningful with React nor used ES6. Robin explains both masterfully and even though it can get complicated a lot of times, I was able to eventually understand. I haven't read many hands-on software books (or written courses) so I can't compare it to others, but this one helped me a lot to learn react.
Recommended to anyone that wants to start using React and wants to learn ES6 WITHOUT learning all the ecosystem related to react.
What you get:
-Easy to start project
-React basics
-ES6 basics
-Hands-on approach
-Good practices and bad practices
-The multiple ways of doing things
What you don't get:
-Setting up the React ecosystem (Babel, Webpack, Redux)
-No external state management (Redux) but you get a bit of internal state management at the end of the book.
Before starting this book I had neither developed anything meaningful with React nor used ES6. Robin explains both masterfully and even though it can get complicated a lot of times, I was able to eventually understand. I haven't read many hands-on software books (or written courses) so I can't compare it to others, but this one helped me a lot to learn react.
Recommended to anyone that wants to start using React and wants to learn ES6 WITHOUT learning all the ecosystem related to react.
What you get:
-Easy to start project
-React basics
-ES6 basics
-Hands-on approach
-Good practices and bad practices
-The multiple ways of doing things
What you don't get:
-Setting up the React ecosystem (Babel, Webpack, Redux)
-No external state management (Redux) but you get a bit of internal state management at the end of the book.
December 1, 2018
Very approachable book, with easy-to-understand examples. It builds upon a single project throughout the book. The style is good, and teaches important concepts in an easy to understand manner.
Each chapter builds upon the previous one, and ends with actionable exercises which help to internalize the knowledge. Many of the exercises involve further reading about the topics covered in the chapter.
Even though I find the "further reading" parts very useful and informative, they slowed my progress throughout the book, and made it harder to estimate how much time it will take me to finish reading it.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking to learn React, and even developers who have some beginner knowledge of it, since it covers the main concepts in a very clear manner.
Each chapter builds upon the previous one, and ends with actionable exercises which help to internalize the knowledge. Many of the exercises involve further reading about the topics covered in the chapter.
Even though I find the "further reading" parts very useful and informative, they slowed my progress throughout the book, and made it harder to estimate how much time it will take me to finish reading it.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking to learn React, and even developers who have some beginner knowledge of it, since it covers the main concepts in a very clear manner.
November 9, 2021
This was the best introduction to React book I have ever read. I thought it was put together really well. It was up to date with a lot of the new features of the language. It addressed React hooks, how to use them, and how to even make your own hook. It gave a great testing overview, covering unit tests, integration tests, end to end tests, and snapshot tests which are relatively newer. You can create a project as you are going along the book to actually practice what they are talking about. Each chapter has a form of a skill check to make sure you understood the concepts. This was one of the best coding books I have ever read. I strongly recommend to anyone looking to learn React.
October 3, 2018
I haven't had much experienced with React and I learned a lot from this book about how to make use of ES6 syntax in my React Application, therefore, I have another way to refactor my code so that it could be more readable. I recommend this book for those who have basic/fundamental knowledge about React, you could use this book to review what you have learned and build your own application.
For those who are completely new to React, I think you should take a free course online or learn at somewhere else to know about basic concepts in React before getting into this book.
For those who are completely new to React, I think you should take a free course online or learn at somewhere else to know about basic concepts in React before getting into this book.
December 9, 2018
A very good book on beginner react. Unfortunately I read the react js documentation and I didn't find anything new but I'm not going to allow that to determine my score. If you've not react the react js documentation then this is a good basic guide. It touches on all the fundamentals.
I would say that the react js documentation is a better guide to react than this but again that doesn't mean that this is bad. It just means there's better content out there which will always be the case.
I'm sorry I couldn't keep the bias of other content out of this review.
I would say that the react js documentation is a better guide to react than this but again that doesn't mean that this is bad. It just means there's better content out there which will always be the case.
I'm sorry I couldn't keep the bias of other content out of this review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2018
I have been working with React during the last year and recently decided to read The Road to learn React. The book is an easy book to read that covers the main best practices of React.
The author shows to have a great know how about React, javascript and software development in general a great effort to make it simple for beginners in React.
It is a must book for anyone using React, beginners or more advanced ones.
I recommend everyone follow Robin Wieruch blog as well. I have learning a lot from him and hope him to be able to continue share is insights about software development.
The author shows to have a great know how about React, javascript and software development in general a great effort to make it simple for beginners in React.
It is a must book for anyone using React, beginners or more advanced ones.
I recommend everyone follow Robin Wieruch blog as well. I have learning a lot from him and hope him to be able to continue share is insights about software development.
November 23, 2018
Absolutely amazing book! I was longing for learning resources which gives proper context and explains the concepts step-by-step, not too slow not too fast. And it feels like Robin has found the perfect pace. Also, he brings up a good mix of theory and hands-on approach. I love how he focuses on what matters at a given time by bootstrapping the necessary code.
I loved his teaching style. I wish this was the standard for other learning materials. I wish my professors in college were all like that.
ps.: make sure to read the external links resources.
Keep it up the good work!
I loved his teaching style. I wish this was the standard for other learning materials. I wish my professors in college were all like that.
ps.: make sure to read the external links resources.
Keep it up the good work!
January 3, 2020
This book is a must-read if you are new as well as intermediate level react dev.
It's rough ~200 pages pack so much react information in a very well thought out structure makes it one of the best programming books I have read.
If you have a bit of experience with react then you can finish this book on a weekend and level up your react game.
It also has a ton of extra links to various topics that one can dig into.
The fact that this book is available for free with the latest react updated topics makes it even more appealing.
Loved it.
It's rough ~200 pages pack so much react information in a very well thought out structure makes it one of the best programming books I have read.
If you have a bit of experience with react then you can finish this book on a weekend and level up your react game.
It also has a ton of extra links to various topics that one can dig into.
The fact that this book is available for free with the latest react updated topics makes it even more appealing.
Loved it.
July 20, 2023
Even though this book was created in 2017, I am reading it in 2023 and I boldly say that it is the best and most relevant react starter there is on the internet. The author is a gifted teacher. It is amazing how the author is able to explain so concisely, the examples are sufficient to understanding react concepts, he even introduced me to new es6 concepts that I was surprised I didn't even know after using es6 for a good while now.
The hands-on projects are tangible enough, and he introduces one to unit testing as well. It is an amazing book
It is all I need to get me in place for my next project. I must recommend it to all my Instagram followers... I must!! Thank you Mr. Robin
The hands-on projects are tangible enough, and he introduces one to unit testing as well. It is an amazing book
It is all I need to get me in place for my next project. I must recommend it to all my Instagram followers... I must!! Thank you Mr. Robin
December 15, 2019
This was a good book on React that cleared up many concepts for me as a web developer.
Although it assumes that you have done web development before and you know the basics of JavaScript, HTML, class structure and source control like Github.
As a .net developer I started using React and this book helped me get tips, tricks and covered all the required basics of getting started with React and work confidently in my projects.
It will be a good reference to me going forward.
Although it assumes that you have done web development before and you know the basics of JavaScript, HTML, class structure and source control like Github.
As a .net developer I started using React and this book helped me get tips, tricks and covered all the required basics of getting started with React and work confidently in my projects.
It will be a good reference to me going forward.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2022
This book reads like a series of blog posts. However the real gem that will help these series of "posts" to teach the reader React is that the author starts with a project at the beginning and builds upon it as the features are introduced and added.
Reading through the book gives the user enough to write React apps, and plenty of links to more information to get a deeper understanding of the material.
Reading through the book gives the user enough to write React apps, and plenty of links to more information to get a deeper understanding of the material.
August 29, 2024
Great book for starters of React
This book does not attempt to dryly go into all the details of the React framework. Instead, it covers all the essentials a developer may require, coupled with a continuous example App that helps tie the concepts together such that the reader can have a holistic understanding of React, and then providing links to more details for the interested reader to explore.
This book does not attempt to dryly go into all the details of the React framework. Instead, it covers all the essentials a developer may require, coupled with a continuous example App that helps tie the concepts together such that the reader can have a holistic understanding of React, and then providing links to more details for the interested reader to explore.
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