Reader reviews

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

This is the third book I have read on data visualization this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

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

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

Useful in parts. Fine as a reference, less so as a cover-to-cover read.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. Useful as a reference, less so as a straight read from cover to cover.

A superb guide. The examples are small but complete.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

Almost excellent. A second edition could easily push it to five stars.

I picked this up after getting stuck on a project and it turned out to be exactly the right book at the right time. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

Very good, with a few caveats. The core material is strong.

I have been working with game programming for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.