I recently read this, worked through the examples, and was pleasantly surprised at the depth and quality. Subsequently we recommended it to our 800+ member meetup group as the top learning resource for new JS programmers. The content is enlightening and enjoyable and could be just the thing for reaching a breakthrough in understanding about functional programming.
Eloquent Javascript was the first programming book that I ever worked through online and subsequently went and bought because I was so happy with it. I was young and playing Diablo 2: LoD and stumbled upon some bot that would let me do Mephisto runs for loot all night, I was amazed with it and went back to the forums where I'd found it and did some reading, this was the book that they recommended for anyone who was interested in learning some programming.
I'd have to say that this book was one of the more gentle and concise introductory books I've ever read and so far I couldn't be happier that it was my personal introduction to JS and programming. It certainly set me leaps ahead in the JS section when I attended a web dev bootcamp. It is my personal go to for any of my friends who approach me about their interest in getting started with programming. Big Nerd Ranch books are a close second but I've only recently found them and begun reading them.
