WebGL+GLSL/Graphics/Compute All-in-One (Paperback)

Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The chapters on graphics & design are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

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

This is the third book I have read on graphics & design this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

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

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 avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. 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. Useful as a reference, less so as a straight read from cover to cover.