Reader reviews

An enjoyable and informative read, though it could have been shorter.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.

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

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. 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. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

Exactly the book I needed. Straight to the point and genuinely useful.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

The clearest explanation of user experience I have come across.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. 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. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

Decent, but uneven. Some chapters are much stronger than others.

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 author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. Borrow it first if you can, or at least check the table of contents carefully before buying.