Exploring JS: JavaScript books for programmers

Dr. Axel Rauschmayer
Blogger (2ality), book author, trainer

Versions of JavaScript

• Past versions: ES1–ES5, ES6 (a.k.a. ES2015), ES2016–ES2020
• Current version: ES2021

Essential JavaScript and TypeScript books

	JavaScript for impatient programmers (ES1–ES2021)   New A modern guide to the language No required knowledge (apart from programming) Start reading here
	Deep JavaScript: Theory and techniques (ES1–ES2021)   New Covers advanced JavaScript topics The book to read after “JavaScript for impatient programmers”
	Tackling TypeScript: Upgrading from JavaScript   New For people who know JavaScript: Learn TypeScript. Deepen your existing knowledge of TypeScript.

More JavaScript books

	Exploring ES2018 and ES2019 Covers what’s new in ES2018 and ES2019 (relative to ES2017)
	Exploring ES2016 and ES2017 Covers what’s new in ES2016 and ES2017 (relative to ES6)
	Exploring ES6 Covers what’s new in ES6 (relative to ES5)
	Speaking JavaScript (ES1–ES5) JavaScript for programmers No required knowledge (apart from programming)

Books related to JavaScript

• Setting up ES6
  • Using and configuring Babel 6 in web browsers and on Node.js.
• Exploring ReasonML and functional programming. ReasonML is probably the FP language that is easiest to learn for JavaScript programmers (and therefore a good way to get started with FP):
  • It’s a pragmatic language (based on OCaml), with various “impure” escape hatches (output, mutable state, etc.).
  • Its syntax is based on JavaScript’s.
  • One of its main goals is good JavaScript interoperability.

About the author

Axel has been writing about the future of JavaScript since early 2011.

Praise for Axel’s books