Reader reviews

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

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

A superb guide. The examples are small but complete.

I have been working with parallel programming 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 clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. 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.

Strong content, uneven pacing. I would still recommend it.

I have been working with game programming for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. The chapters on game programming are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. 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 balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. 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.

Three stars feels about right. Useful, but not essential.

I have been working with javascript for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. Three stars feels about right. It will stay on my shelf, but it will not be the first one I reach for.

Finally, a book that treats graphics with the care it deserves.

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. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.