Graphics and Compute: Primer Volume 1 (Hardback)

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

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

Mixed feelings. The good parts are genuinely good; the rest is forgettable.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. Three stars feels about right. It will stay on my shelf, but it will not be the first one I reach for.

Solid and well-organised. A couple of chapters dragged a little.

This is the third book I have read on programming this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.