Reader reviews

Good in places. I would borrow it before buying if you can.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. Useful as a reference, less so as a straight read from cover to cover.

The clearest explanation of graphics I have come across.

I have been working with graphics for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with graphics.

Useful in parts. Fine as a reference, less so as a cover-to-cover read.

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 book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. Three stars feels about right. It will stay on my shelf, but it will not be the first one I reach for.

Better than I expected. Rare to find a technical book this well judged.

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 exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

Finally, a book that treats ai & machine learning with the care it deserves.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

The clearest explanation of simulation I have come across.

I have been working with simulation for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with simulation.