Reader reviews

Not quite what I expected from the description, but there is material here.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. Useful as a reference, less so as a straight read from cover to cover.

Good value. Not perfect, but I would buy another book from this author.

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

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

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. Good value for the price and worth the time it takes to work through properly.

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

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. Solid, and I would buy another book from this author without hesitation.

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

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

The clearest explanation of programming I have come across.

This is the third book I have read on programming this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.