There is more than one audience for this book, according to the author. Not only are “developers who need to create accessible applications of any type” a targeted audience, but also “anyone who needs to learn about accessible application resources.” The author says that the book is also about “understanding legal requirements for section 508 compliance.” While the book clearly caters to the first audience, it does a less clear job of catering to the reader who wants to learn about section 508 requirements, or about accessible application resources.

The subtitle, “Understanding the Section 508 accessibility requirements,” implies that the bulk of the book addresses analyzing Section 508 requirements. Aside from a brief introduction to the requirements in Part 1, “An Overview of Section 508 Accessibility,” and an equally brief explanation of each, there is little other discussion of the topic. I would have expected a book with this title to continually refer back to the 508 section to which the text referred, but there is very little reference to the specific requirements. Even in chapter 2, “Understanding the Section 508 Requirements,” the author separates the chapter into four categories (usability, performance, user needs, and special requirements), but the 508 requirements are not clearly labeled within these categories.

Parts 2 (“Writing Accessible Desktop Applications”) and 3 (“Writing Accessible Web Applications”) of the four-part book address options for creating more accessible applications. These sections go into great depth about how to do each, and have examples throughout. For the developer, these are useful resources, and I can see having the book on hand as an accessibility reference. The author clearly knows this subject matter well.

The chapters in the book are introduced with a helpful list containing the chapter points, and a summary concludes each chapter. The book has a good glossary and appendix, both of which are useful and in-depth. For the developer, I would recommend this book. For anyone else, I’d recommend bypassing it, and reading something less technical and example-oriented.