Pro CSS Techniques (Expert's Voice) - Softcover

From the reviews:

"Croft, Lloyd, and Rubin promise real-world cascading style sheet (CSS) techniques for real-world CSS professionals. ... The basics of CSS are covered, along with a number of tricks, handy shortcuts, and workarounds. The book offers down-to-earth advice on how to handle browser differences from simple problems. Screen shots and graphics illustrate the main points clearly. ... the main target audience for the book is likely to be Web page designers, or programmers implementing a given design." (Annika Hinze, ACM Computing Reviews, September, 2008)

Pro CSS Techniques is the ultimate CSS book for the modern web developer. If you've already got web design and development basics under your belt, but want to take your knowledge to the next level and unleash the full power of CSS in your web sites, then this is the book for you. It is a collection of proven CSS techniques that you can use daily to get the most out of the time you spend on your projects, from start to finish. Every topic is presented in an informative tutorial style, with each point backed up by several real-world examples and case studies. Authors Jeff Croft and Bryan Veloso cover all the essential areas of CSS development, like browser support (including IE7), hacks and filters, code management, advanced layouts and styling, typography, and much more. CSS levels 1, 2, and 3 are given a full treatment. The book also includes several reference sections that allow you to look up details quickly and easily. The book aims to help you in four areas: maintainability, compatibility, reusability, and practicality. You'll be able to keep your code organized and easy to maintain, avoiding browser issues before they crop up (or hacking around them when absolutely necessary).You'll learn to get the most out of your styles with inheritance, and by using techniques you can build on.

And you'll learn to use what works in the real world, without getting too caught up in ideals, because you can always optimize later.