Reader reviews

Some sections were excellent and others felt like filler.

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. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. Borrow it first if you can, or at least check the table of contents carefully before buying.

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

I have been working with game development for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.

This is the one to get if you are serious about data visualization.

This is the third book I have read on data visualization this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

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

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. Good value for the price and worth the time it takes to work through properly.

Genuinely excellent — I finished it in a week and immediately started again.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. 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. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

This is the one to get if you are serious about higher education.

This is the third book I have read on higher education this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with higher education.