David Powers
David Powers is the author of ten bestselling books on web design, concentrating mainly on PHP, CSS, and Dreamweaver. He has also contributed to four other books on web design. O'Reilly, the leading computer book publisher, listed The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS3 with CSS, Ajax, and PHP as the number 3 best selling title in the Large Programming Languages category in 2008. PHP Solutions: Dynamic Web Design Made Easy was chosen by Carolyn Wood, Editor of Digital Web Magazine, as her favourite book of 2006. David's books have also been translated into Spanish and Polish.
The appeal of David's books comes from a combination of his use of clear, jargon-free language—something he gained through many years as a radio and TV journalist—and the way he anticipates where readers are likely to make mistakes. Readers often say that, just as they're about to start tearing out their hair, the solution is right there in the book. David is an expert in PHP, HTML, and CSS. He's one of the first people to qualify as a PHP 5.3 Zend Certified Engineer.
David enjoys a strong personal relationship with the Dreamweaver product managers and engineering team at Adobe, and has worked closely with them to identify areas for improvement and future development. He can be found frequently offering advice in the Adobe Dreamweaver forums, and is also a moderator for Adobe Community Help. In recognition of the work he does in helping others improve their skills, Adobe appointed him an Adobe Community Professional, a title shared by fewer than 300 people worldwide. (The title changed from Adobe Community Expert in 2010.) He's also an Adobe Certified Expert for Dreamweaver, and teaches web design at a training centre in London, UK.
Originally trained as a linguist, David joined the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) shortly after graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in Russian and French. In 1980, he was seconded to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) as an adviser on English-language broadcasting. During his four years with NHK, he learned to speak and read Japanese. The BBC assigned him back to Japan in 1987, this time as a radio and TV correspondent. As well as reporting on the rise and collapse of the Japanese bubble economy, his knowledge of Russian enabled him to secure an interview with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1991, David was elected President of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. Just before he left Japan in 1992, he published Fushigi no Kuni no Tokuhain (Correspondent in Wonderland), a collection of essays about life in Japan.
Back in the UK, David was appointed Editor of BBC Japanese TV, a role he held for five years before going independent in 1999. It was during this time that he realized the potential of the internet for promoting the channel cheaply and effectively. Without an advertising budget to draw on, he designed and developed what eventually became an 80-page Japanese-English website. After leaving the BBC, David developed bilingual websites for leading clients, and did media training for Asian subsidiaries of a major US pharmaceutical company, but now concentrates on writing books and teaching. He has also translated several musical plays from Japanese to English.
David Powers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC and Amazon Europe S.à r.l. Associates Programmes, affiliate advertising programmes designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
