Reader reviews

Well worth picking up if you already have the basics.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. A good addition to a technical library, as long as you know what you are buying.

A useful guide. The examples assume a particular environment, but that is fixable.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. Good value for the price and worth the time it takes to work through properly.

The clearest explanation of graphics I have come across.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

Outstanding. I kept finding reasons to come back to it.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.

I have read a lot of books on this subject and this is the clearest.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

A genuinely enjoyable read that also taught me a great deal.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.