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One data point here. I found the Recipes with Backbone well worth the $24 asking price. Aside from the PeepCode screencasts, it was the source that most helped me get up and running with Backbone.

I've also seen it recommended in several threads so I'm guessing (b) is also satisfied.

Did you miss this part: "The Pragmatic Programmers"?

Oh wow, I definitely missed that part. For some reason I thought the middle of the post was the end. The bold "How'd I do" made me think that was a closer

AFAIK many folks have a dream of getting a book published, not gettting it to be a best seller. (Probably getting a book published means less in the digital age but still a cool thing to have done.)

This only true the first time. The thrill of being a published author wears off quickly when you realize that this doesn't pay the rent. (In my case, the second time 'round I figured out how to get it to pay the rent as well. Believe me, it's very satisfying.)