Reader reviews

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

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. 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.

A worthwhile addition to my shelf, with realistic expectations.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.

Worth every page. I have already recommended it to two colleagues.

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 code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

Worth every page. I have already recommended it to two colleagues.

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 index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

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

This is the third book I have read on graphics & design this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. Solid, and I would buy another book from this author without hesitation.

A worthwhile addition to my shelf, with realistic expectations.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.